Hillary, Fearing Obama, Changes Strategy

Faced with the surprising success of Barack Obama in the polls and in fund-raising, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is growing increasingly concerned about her main challenger.

Now a worried Hillary Clinton is dramatically retooling her strategy on several fronts, including fund-raising, in an effort to fend off the challenge from Obama, according to a report in the latest edition of Time magazine.

Already, dollar for dollar in primary campaign money, Obama is beating Hillary, and her own aides acknowledge that the Illinois Senator is simply working the phones more than their candidate.

Her campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe acknowledged that Obama "works the phone like dog. He probably did three to four times the number of events she did” in the first quarter of this year. "No matter who I call, he has already called them three or four times,” McAuliffe told Time.

Clinton had planned to sweep to victory in the Democratic primaries and avoid the nitty-gritty. But Obama's success has forced her campaign to plan on more "small dollar” events, like a recent $100-a-head party at New York City’s Pier 94. And while up until now she has raised most of her money on both coasts, she is now planning more appearances inland – including a May 7 fund-raiser in Chicago.

On another front, Hillary is seeking to counter what Obama’s aides call "an enthusiasm gap.” The latest Gallup poll found that 52 percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of her. Her favorable rating has dropped 13 percentage points since February, to 45 percent, while Obama’s favorable rating is 52 percent – the same as John Edwards’ – with only a 30 percent unfavorable rating.

"So Clinton is lavishing more attention on groups like women, whom she considers her natural constituencies,” Time reports.

During most of her tenure in the Senate Hillary has avoided using her husband for back-up. But that has changed too. Hillary also plans to have husband Bill hit the campaign and fund-raising trails more often.

Both Clintons are using the fear factor to ward off growing support for Obama. Time says the power couple are telling potential contributors that the U.S. could very likely experience a 9/11-scale terrorist attack during the next administration, and Hillary – because of her experience as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee – is the candidate best suited to handle such a crisis.

But the Clinton campaign has no plans to go on a direct offensive against Obama any time soon, Time notes, because that "could further boost her negatives and create an opening for Edwards.”