Eight years later, Clinton and Obama converge on Iowa

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — President Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton converged on Iowa on Monday at a critical moment for the Democratic presidential front-runner, whose support has been sliding for weeks.

The two politicians addressed separate crowds in different parts of the state — both talked about college education — and never saw each other. But the parallels to an earlier moment, almost eight years ago, were unmistakable.

For Obama, Iowa is a place resonant with memories, almost all of them good. “You know, they said this day would never come,” he said on Jan. 3, 2008, when he surged past Clinton in the caucuses here on the way to the presidential nomination.

For Clinton, that day now must seem never-ending. Once again she’s the putative front-runner for the Democratic nomination, and again she is struggling to connect with voters who seem to be questioning her authenticity and honesty.

Clinton, whose support among women is in free fall, on Monday acknowledged her dip in the polls. “I’m not one of those who ever thought that this was going to be a straight shot,” she said when asked about the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. “I’ve been in and around enough campaigns to know that there’s an ebb and flow. Polls go up and down; people’s attention and decision-making changes over time,” Clinton said at a news conference after her appearance at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

Clinton supporters listen to her speech in Cedar Falls, where she talked about higher education. (Scott Morgan/AP)

[Poll: Trump, Carson top GOP race; Clinton leads Dems but support drops]

Obama spoke at a town hall meeting in Des Moines, ostensibly to talk about his plans to make college more affordable. The backdrop of Iowa — a state crawling with presidential hopefuls — reflected his desire to insert one of his top priorities into a campaign dominated by the polarizing rhetoric of Republican front-runner Donald Trump, controversy over Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server at the State Department and his own vice president’s emotional deliberations about whether to run.

From the outset, it was clear that many in the audience were focused on 2016. A few minutes into the meeting, Obama was asked which candidate had the best education plan.

“Well, you know,” a smiling Obama stammered, before declining to answer. “Right now I am going to stay out of the campaign season, partly because I can’t keep track of all the candidates.”

Mostly, though, the president was relaxed and conversational. He joked about the local Hampton Inn, where he stayed when he was campaigning in 2008. “I must have stayed there like 100 days,” he said. “I am sure I got some points or something.”

The president was at his most passionate on immigration, railing against those candidates who have suggested that some immigrant children are “less worthy of our respect and care.”

“This whole anti-immigrant sentiment that is in our politics right now is contrary to who we are, because unless you are a Native American, your family came from someplace else,” Obama said in response to a question from a young Hispanic girl. “And although we are a nation of laws . . . don’t pretend that somehow 100 years ago the immigration process was all smooth and slick. That’s not how it worked.”

President Obama addresses the crowd at a town hall meeting at North High School in Des Moines. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

For her part, Clinton — who is often criticized for sticking too closely to her talking points — sought to forge an emotional connection with female voters, whose support for her is waning rapidly. She told a college audience Monday that voters have a choice between Republicans who would ignore women’s health and economic concerns, or a “president who will work her heart out.”

“I’m not going to let them shame and blame women,” Clinton said of Republican presidential candidates, predicting that their debate Wednesday would produce no new ideas that help women or those struggling economically.

She made a direct reference to Trump but declined a student’s invitation to give her opinion of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has risen in the polls with a message that has resonated with disaffected liberals.

[Poll: Sharp erosion in Clinton support among Democratic women]

Clinton’s message seemed designed to differentiate her from anti-establishment candidates such as Trump and Sanders, while appealing to those who feel that they’ve missed out on the economic recovery.

“If you want a president who will tell you everything that’s wrong about America and who’s to blame for it, you’ve got plenty of other choices,” Clinton said. “But if you want a president who will work her heart out to forge a better, stronger and fairer country, an America that works for people again, you’re looking at her.”

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Monday showed that Clinton’s support among Democratic-leaning women has dropped from 71 percent in July to 42 percent now, a decline of 29 percentage points in just eight weeks. That decline was the key reason her overall support fell from 63 percent to 42 percent over the same period.

Her appearance in Cedar Falls, where she stood at a lectern bearing a “Women for Hillary” sign, seemed to be aimed at young women, whose support she badly needs. Clinton spoke of her plan to address campus rapes by expanding support for victims, including health care and counseling, and ensuring a fair investigation process for both accusers and the accused.

She also sought to explicitly link her efforts to the current president, who didn’t mention her name or that of any other candidate.

“President Obama’s administration has worked hard to shine a bright light on campus sexual assault,” Clinton said, “and I intend to keep talking about that and building on it.”

Jaffe reported from Des Moines.