Hillary Told to Ignore Iowa Primaries

Fearing voter backlash from Iowa voters who will cast the first 2008 Presidential primary votes, a leaked memo from Sen. Clinton's Presidential campaign suggests the former first lady should 'skip' over Iowa.

Denouncing an internal memo suggesting "a new approach to winning" is needed, Sen. Clinton said she has no intention of not participating in the Iowa caucuses next year.

After a Des Moines Sunday Register poll showed Hillary trailing John Edwards and Barack Obama in Iowa, a memo from Mike Henry suggests Sen. Clinton's campaign money may be better spent in states that show the NY Senator is faring better than third place.

"I believe we need a new approach to winning the Democratic nomination," Henry wrote. "This approach involves shifting the focus away from Iowa and running a campaign that is more focused on other early primary states and winning this new national primary."

Because California, New York and Florida have moved up their primary dates, all presidential candidates are scrambling to adjust their approach for gaining their parties 2008 presidential nomination. These primary moves seem to be effecting the junior Senator from New York the most because her strategy of projecting herself as the eventual Democratic Presidential nominee is facing a stiff challenge from Edwards and Obama.

Mr. Henry went so far as to say Iowa is 'the weakest link' in the presidential hopes of Sen. Clinton.

Polls in Iowa have consistently shown Edwards winning the Iowa primary even though most national polls give the overall edge in almost every other state to Sen. Clinton. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has privately pondered and acknowledged the fact that maybe Sen. Clinton should not waste her time with Iowa.

Mr. Henry's leaked memo suggest it will cost roughly $15 million to campaign in Iowa, and Mr. Henry believes this money is better spent elsewhere.

"We have the opportunity to change the focus of the campaign from a traditional process (Iowa first) to a campaign that favors us," Henry wrote.

Once the Clinton campaign found out this memo was leaked to the AP, Clinton staffers moved quickly into damage, and spin, control mode by offering a plausible explanation about the information contained in the Mike Henry memo.

"This memo offered the views of one person," Clinton told the AP. "I didn't see the memo and didn't know about the memo until it apparently fell into the hands of someone outside the campaign."

Clinton also went on to say that debates about the best course of campaigning is normal in any presidential effort.

Clinton also said she is the one who makes the final decisions about what direction her campaign takes, and Sen. Clinton feels a campaign is well served when there is healthy debate about how the campaign should be run.

Speaking on condition of anonymity. some senior campaign advisers do feel Clinton is best served by avoiding the Iowa caucuses, and this memo was created by Mr. Henry to make sure Hillary knew about other options besides participating in Iowa. Other advisers in the Clinton "inner circle" feel Iowa has long been the focal point of her campaign, and these advisers feel Sen. Clinton still shares this opinion.

Hillary has all ready won the support of Gov. Vilsack and his wife, Christie. These two often accompany Sen. Clinton during her Iowa campaign stops. Sen. Clinton is showing her dedication to Iowa by making numerous stops in Western Iowa starting this Friday.

Former Sen. John Edwards almost won the 2004 Iowa primary, and he has been stumping extensively in Iowa. In addition, Sen. Obama's campaign advisers senses their may be 'blood in the water' because polls in Iowa show Obama may be the best nominee for the general election.

The Iowa caucus goers have gained increasing power and influence within the Democratic party ever since Jimmy Carter rose out of no where in 1976 to win the Iowa caucus and eventually the Presidency.

However, Former President Bill Clinton skipped the Iowa caucus in 1992 because one of his rivals, Sen. Tom Harkin was from Iowa. By-passing Iowa did not hurt Mr. Clinton because he still went on to win the 1992 Presidential election.

A top Clinton strategist, Harold Ickes, said Sen. Hillary Clinton has been weighing her options in Iowa because of the big influx of nominees for the 2008 election.

"Every campaign games out different scenarios and this is one scenario," he said of the memo. "The campaign is moving in Iowa, is going to stay in Iowa, and Mrs. Clinton is very dedicated to winning the state."

The 2008 Iowa caucus, scheduled for January, 14, 2008, is still some time away, and opinion polls can change. This means Sen. Clinton still has some time to decide if she wants for 'fish or cut bait' when it comes to her involvement in this caucus.

Read more about this leaked memo at Yahoo News