Campaign 08: Running Mate Blog 9/8/08

Campaign 08: Running Mate Blog 9/8/08

WASHINGTON (CNN) ― Curbing Their Enthusiasm
By Karin Caifa in Washington, DC



Remember during the long Democratic primary fight, when some pundits criticized Hillary Clinton for not being exciting enough. While Barack Obama electrified crowds of thousands with his speeches, Clinton toiled away, outlining wonky policy details in small, roundtable discussions.



With the arrival of Sarah Palin on the presidential campaign scene, Obama might now know how Clinton felt. Palin is a newcomer even newer than Obama, and now she's the one with "electrifying" attached to her appearances. The addition of Palin to the Republican ticket revitalized the McCain campaign, and that's got to have Obama concerned.



"He's got a real enthusiasm gap now on his side because all of a sudden everyone's exploded with enthusiasm about Sarah Palin," the Washington Post's Dana Milbank told CNN this morning.



So who has Obama turned to as his campaign tries to curb the Palin enthusiasm? Clinton.



There is little doubt that McCain selected Palin to woo some of the Hillary Clinton voters who were disappointed that Obama did not select the former first lady as his running mate. And Palin, a mother of five, repeatedly references Clinton's historic presidential bid in her own stump speech. While Clinton has pledged to do everything she can to secure an Obama-Biden win in November, politicos will be watching to see just how far she'll go when it comes to attacking Palin.



Clinton made one of her first post-Palin appearances on the trail in Florida today, and avoided targeting the GOP vice presidential pick directly. The closest she came was a variation on a line from her Democratic National Convention speech.



"To slightly amend my comments from Denver," Clinton said in Kissimmee. "No way, no how, no McCain, no Palin."



The Obama campaign has said that Clinton is likely to keep her attacks confined to policy differences, and not engage in any of the debates over sexism and women in politics that the Palin pick has sparked. According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted after last week's convention, 52 percent of women say they'll vote Democratic. And the GOP has been careful about Palin's introduction to the nation. She's been appearing at joint rallies with McCain, offering a similar stump speech (with the same zingers) at each stop.



But in this election, Clinton's own legacy is at stake, which might make her work a little harder for her former foe. After all, Clinton made "her 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" during an extended, expensive, presidential primary bid 35 years in the making. Voters will ultimately decide if Clinton will get another chance to break through, or if Palin gets closer to breaking through first.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserv