Iva Deutchman, professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, was quoted in two separate Daily Messenger articles about Hillary Clinton – one regarding reactions to Monday’s primary events and the other on the possibility of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s becoming the vice presidential candidate. The two articles, “Reaction Mixed on Clinton” and “Hillary for VP?” are listed below. Deutchman holds a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University in political science and economics. She is a professor of 20 plus years who has worked on two continents (Australia and North America). She has a long list of publications in major journals, the latest of which is “The Ideology of Moderate Republicans in the House,” written with colleague DeWayne Lucas, associate professor of political science, and published in The Forum.
Daily Messenger Reaction Mixed on Clinton Margaret Poe • Staff Writer • June 4, 2008 When Leslie Wood reached for a newspaper first thing Tuesday, she knew full well that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid didn’t have much hope. Even so, the campaign’s latest prognosis hit her in the gut. “It made me cry when I read it,” Wood said on Tuesday afternoon, her voice heavy with disappointment. “I can’t even talk about it.” Yet as the Canandaigua resident mourned the campaign’s imminent end, other residents celebrated what they saw as a boon for Sens. Barack Obama or John McCain, the presumptive Democratic and republican presidential candidates. The last of the primaries — Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota — wrapped up on Tuesday, bringing the marathon race for the Democratic nomination seemingly to an end. But when it comes to the impact of Clinton’s campaign, opinion was varied. “I’m just glad she’s getting out,” said Cathy Bond, a Canandaigua resident. “I don’t want another Clinton in the White House. They’re not trustworthy people.” Tim Potter, a Henrietta resident who tends to vote Republican, praised Clinton’s run. “She put up a good fight,” he said. To Wood, the adamant Clinton supporter, the lengthy campaign was “gutsy.” To Naples resident Kelly Johnson, the race only encouraged Democratic party infighting — and that weakened the Democratic bid for the White House. “It seemed to me she was so hung up on winning, she lost sight of what’s best,” Johnson said. The extended struggle came across as “selfish,” said Johnson, who joined the Obama camp after initially supporting John Edwards. Iva Deutchman, a political-science professor at Hobart and William Smith colleges, said the fallout from Clinton’s arduous campaign isn’t yet clear. The race had the potential, she said, to splinter the party. But on the positive side, it did pique people’s interest in the election and keep them involved, she said. “I’m optimistic that, assuming she does say goodbye tonight or tomorrow, and assuming her own behavior is positive, I’m optimistic the party will unite,” Deutchman said Tuesday afternoon. Clinton stopped short of dropping out of the race last night even though Obama had reached the requisite delegate count for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Instead of conceding, Clinton said she would spend the next few days determining “how to move forward with the best interests of our country and our party guiding my way.” Deutchman thinks Clinton has lingered too long in the race already. She’s hoping now that the former first lady will endorse Obama — and soon. The Democratic party is at stake, she said. “I don’t think they will be [competitive] if they can’t coalesce around a candidate,” she said. “And the candidate is Barack Obama.” Democratic party politics aside, Clinton struck a chord with many women voters. Longtime Canandaigua resident Janet Mamula said the end of the race saddened her. Clinton was at a disadvantage, she said, simply because she’s a woman. “Obama may be black,” she said. “But he’s a man.” Another Canandaigua resident, Marie Benivegna, agreed. “I’d like to see Hillary because she’s a woman,” she said, “and that’s a breakthrough.” But Rebecca Kelly, a self-described Democrat, denied Clinton’s gender played a role in her campaign. “I think that the country, men and women, saw that a woman can be a gender-neutral candidate and not just an anti-male view,” she said. Deutchman said every woman running for office, Democrat or Republican, knows what she’s up against. But increasingly, female Republicans are a rare commodity. Twenty years ago, congresswomen were split 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans. Today, the proportions are more like 80/20, Deutchman said. “You’re getting a Republican Party that looks less and less like the country it represents,” she said. Even with the 2008 presidential contenders nearly decided, some voters remain undecided. Bond, the passionate Clinton-basher, cheered the female senator’s acknowledgment that Obama had topped the delegate count. But she couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for the remaining two contenders. “When it comes down to it, we may end up voting against someone, rather than for someone,” she said. “And that’s a sad statement.” Contact Margaret Poe at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 322, or at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Daily Messenger “Hillary for VP?” Hillary Smith • Staff Writer • June 5, 2008 With Sen. Barack Obama’s clinching of the Democratic party nomination for president Tuesday, speculation about his choice for a vice presidential candidate has started in earnest. Obama isn’t taking the decision lightly. According to the Associated Press, he has appointed a three-person team — attorney and author Caroline Kennedy, former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson and one of his campaign’s senior legal advisors, Eric Holder — to help him choose his running mate. Earlier this week, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said in a conference call with fellow lawmakers that she wouldn’t be averse to running as Obama’s vice president. Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel said Wednesday she thought an Obama-Clinton ticket would be “extremely strong and would help to unify the Democratic party as we move forward toward November’s elections.” Pairing the candidates’ strengths and pooling their constituencies would be good for government, she said. Electing a black man and a woman on the same ticket would make a “remarkable statement about where the country is, from a historical perspective,” she added. Canandaigua City Mayor Ellen Polimeni — who, like Frankel, had traveled to two states to campaign for Clinton — was disappointed at the senator’s just-miss loss in the bid for the presidential nomination. But rather than having her as vice president, Polimeni said, she would like to see Clinton keep her position in the Senate or take on another senior role, such as secretary of state. “I don’t see the vice presidency as the spot where she can be most effective,” said Polimeni. Iva Deutchman, a political science professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, doesn’t think having Clinton on the ticket would help Democrats’ chances of landing their party in the White House. Pairing Clinton and Obama would be placing one too many controversial, or unconventional, candidates on a single ticket, she argued. “I don’t know that people want that much change,” she said. There will be a day in the future, she said, when voters won’t blink at choosing a ticket with a man and a woman, two women or two black candidates on it. But for now, she suggests Obama should “give people an opportunity to go into that good night gently.” If she were advising the Illinois senator, she would urge him to select a “safer” running mate, she said — a white man and, preferably, one who has military experience to counter that of presumptive Republican candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Wesley Clark, a retired four-star Army general who ran for president in 2004, might make a good running mate for just those reasons, said Deutchman. Another oft-mentioned prospect, Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, might be too young and doesn’t have as much experience, she said. Whomever Obama chooses, Ontario County Republican Committee Chairman Jay Dutcher says the Democrats will have their work cut out for them in beating McCain in November. “John McCain is an extremely strong candidate who resonates well on the issues that are important across middle America,” he said, adding that McCain “appeals to the mainstream, not the fringes.” Deutchman and Dutcher were in agreement that traditionally, candidates’ running mates have had little bearing on their campaigns. But Deutchman thinks this election has the potential to buck that trend, with McCain’s age — he’ll be 72 in August — causing voters to scrutinize his vice presidential candidate more closely than they would for a younger candidate. Dutcher disagrees. He said former President Ronald Reagan, who was 69 when inaugurated and served until he was 77, dispelled the notion that age limits a president’s capacity to serve. Whether or not Obama chooses Clinton, Deutchman said it would behoove him to wait a while to announce his choice. “Given everything he has been through” in the primary, “he needs to spend three or four weeks introducing, explaining and articulating himself” and his stands on major campaign issues, she said. Contact Hilary Smith at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 343 or at email@example.com