THE QUOTE OF THE DAY

Ken Berwitz

I think we\’ve learned that they were in a meltdown as thisrace got closer and closer, and they started, you know, e-mailing that theywere going to win, because they felt that Polk County and Dubuque County, theirstrongholds, still had not been counted, and this was the first, first hint ofanything from them all night saying that they were going to win.

So we transmitted that to you, pointing out that NBC Newsand no one else had declared them the victors, and they came out here havingsaid that Chelsea Clinton, Bill Clinton, and then Hillary Clinton were going tospeak. Then they were going to work the rope lines. 

Instead what you saw was her saying – without any commentsfrom her husband or her daughter – that she was breathing a sigh of relief.

Now in leaving here she has tweeted, personally, “Thank you,Iowa, from the bottom of my heart.” So, it is not a victory declaration butthey\’re trying to make it appear to be.

It is somewhat analogous to what happened with Bill Clintonin 1992 in New Hampshire. He didn\’t declare victory. He came in third, but hesaid that, you know, he was the comeback kid, because he was so far behind,because of all of the scandals that had erupted during that campaign.

So it isn\’t quite analogous but it certainly is herpresenting herself, and, as you all pointed out, in the middle of  Ted Cruz\’s victory speech, coming up on stagewith no warning. The staff did not know. The television pool traveling with herfrom the ABC network did not know.

Apologies went all around to everyone in this room becausethey did not know she was walking out on that stage when she did.

It\’s the most extraordinary thing I\’ve seen in a long time