A Note on Newsom: The Clinton Factor
When Bill Clinton endorsed Gavin Newsom, some pundits called it a game-changer: A former president stepping into a presidential primary so early in the process.
But now that Newsom is out of the race, what does it say about Clinton's ability to drum up support and campaign cash?
Earlier this year, Clinton was a big backer of Terry McAuliffe's bid for governor of Virginia, which ended with his loss to Creigh Deeds. Nevertheless, even as Clinton was pummeled in the media for his wife's defeat in the South Carolina presidential primary in 2008, he campaigned aggressively in California, which she won handily.
The fund-raiser that Newsom held with Clinton on Oct. 5 drew healthy turnout, but apparently not nearly enough money to trigger a flow of money to his campaign coffers. The week before, the DreamWorks trio of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen announced their endorsement of Jerry Brown, no mere coincidence as the Newsom team was fielding donors for its big event.Although Brown's upcoming fund-raiser will be his first major fete for his gubernatorial bid, he's been aggressively lining up donors and fund-raisers for months, calling and visiting them personally. Those he couldn't convince to stay in his camp may have at least stayed out of it. It's still early, after all, and the gubernatorial race was hardly generating the excitement of the Clinton-Obama rivalry in Hollywood.
The big surprise would be if Clinton again ventures into California gubernatorial politics any time soon. There was no love lost between
Clinton and Brown, both rivals for the Democratic nomination in 1992,
or, for that matter, between Clinton and Geffen, whose falling out came
to the fore in the early days of the 2008 presidential race.
If anything, Newsom's exit shows the limits of endorsements, even of the presidential sort. Newsom ran a campaign that sought to embrace the kind of youthful energy of Obama's run, but left lingering were doubts on how voters statewide would treat some of his negatives. Clinton's support certainly didn't hurt Newsom, but it didn't alleviate the anxiety of whether the San Francisco mayor really could win.
Update: Karen Ocamb writes that Newsom may have one person to thank for his scuttled gubernatorial bid: Frank Schubert. He's the political consultant who created the pro-Prop 8 ad last year that tried to make Newsom a scary figure to statewide voters. It features a clip of Newsom celebrating the state Supreme Court's decision to approve same-sex marriage, and the San Francisco mayor says that gay nuptials are coming to the state "whether you like it or not."
Photo of Brown and Newsom: Karen Ocamb
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GETTYMOVIE ... Getty/Hitler Trilogy is dedicated to UCLA Professor Emeritus Gene Levine.
Posted by: MACDONALDBANK | November 02, 2009 at 02:29 AM
Perhaps Gavin could ask Gordon Getty to resolve the Getty/Reserve issue. MACDONALD BANK earned the Getty Oil Company shareholders $4,000,000,000; our fee is unpaid.
I earned the Getty Oil Company shareholders 4 Billion Bucks
On the Reserve acquisition; the way they treat me -- it really sucks!
As the Getty inheritors bask in glee;
All I asked for was that they look after me.
Four billion dollars they earned on Reserve
My fee I surely deserve.
It turns out J.P. Getty may have been a Nazi;
His family even goes back to Germany.
With Hitler, Goring & Goebbels he did stand;
While trying to undermine the American land!
For paintings & artifacts he did receive
With his oil he was able to deceive?
Hoover & the FBI & Roosevelt they knew
That J.P. Getty & espionage he drew!
Many a young lad and Jew did die
As planes dropped bombs from the sky.
For years while Getty sat in Berlin
He may have committed many a sin.
The ashes and smoke from the chimneys it rose
While old man Getty sat cozy; he chose.
With artwork held tightly under his arm
Still dripping in blood -- as the real owner met harm.
Into the ovens & on meat-hooks, bullets between the eyes
Listen very carefully you can still hear their cries!
While the Gettys sit in England; at their estate at Wormsley
And Gordon sings in San Francisco
With his 727 in tow.
The Getty museum sits atop Malibu
While the corpses of World War 2 scream -- J.P. Getty -- We know you!
GETTYMOVIE: Getty/Hitler Trilogy soundtrack.
Posted by: MACDONALDBANK | November 02, 2009 at 02:31 AM