HILLARY TO SECOND PLACE AND BLAME GOP

Hillary Clinton has been sinking in the polls ever since she fudged her response to questions about driver’s licenses for illegal aliens in the Oct. 30 Democratic debate.

With the latest poll out of Iowa showing her in second place behind Sen. Barack Obama, Hillary’s blaming her woes on . . . Republicans!

In a new Clinton TV ad released Tuesday and airing in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the voice-over declares:

“Here they go again. The same old Republican attack machine is back. Why? Maybe because they know that there's one candidate with the strength and experience to get us out of Iraq. One candidate who will end tax giveaways for the big corporations. One candidate committed to cutting the huge Republican deficit. And one candidate who will put government back to work for the middle class. The strength to fight. The experience to lead.”

Wait a minute: we thought Obama and Edwards were attacking Hillary.

In an analysis piece in the Washington Post, Howard Kurtz observes: “Hillary Clinton is attempting a form of political jujitsu with this ad, portraying herself as the victim of unfair Republican criticism without specifying what that criticism is.”

The commercial “also evokes the years of GOP assaults during her tenure as first lady, ranging from the Whitewater investigation to the Monica Lewinsky controversy, which Clinton initially blamed on a ‘vast right-wing conspiracy.’”

Kurtz points out that Hillary has not disclosed a comprehensive plan to end corporate tax loopholes, or a plan to wipe out the $163 billion budget deficit while at the same time she is proposing increased spending on healthcare, housing, energy, and education.

Kurtz adds: “In mentioning the words ‘strength’ and ‘experience’ twice, this spot draws on what polls show are Clinton's greatest assets with Democratic voters, as opposed to questions about her candor and ability to foster change. The argument, in effect, is that Clinton draws the most fire from Republicans because she is the candidate they fear most.”

The ad comes as results of the latest poll in early caucus state Iowa now show Barack Obama leading Clinton by a margin of 30 percent to 26 percent.

Another poll taken after the Oct. 30 debate, by CNN/Opinion Research Corp., found that Clinton — who for months had commanded a 30-point advantage over Obama — had seen that lead slip to 19 percent.

And two polls in early primary state New Hampshire showed similar results.

A University of New Hampshire poll found that Hillary’s lead over Obama slipped from 23 percent to 14 percent. And a poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in New Hampshire showed her lead slipping from 22 to 12 percentage points.