If you want to see how two campaigns with very different means trying to achieve the same ends, watch Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden’s closing argument videos. Hillary’s two-minute spot is airing on Iowa news programs this evening. Biden’s five-minute pitch is online only.
Biden sells his candidacy based largely on the war in Iraq. He cites his prescient concerns about Pakistan’s security even before the Bhutto assassination. He comes off as pugnacious: “I want this fight. I relish this fight.”
Everything about Hillary, meanwhile, is softer. Her voice seems carefully modulated to convey calmness, almost motherly. She also looks younger than usual. In her monologue, she dumps policy specifics in favor of vague, comforting reassurances: Voters want “a president who could hear you and see you. … Help me change America … Stand with me for one night.”
According to YouTube, Biden’s video has been viewed 7,800 times since Dec. 31. Hillary’s has 17,000 views over the past day.
UPDATE 8:38 p.m.:
Barack Obama also
wants your caucus
.
