Obama Camp`s Harmony vs. Hillary Camp`s Experience

Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama, who have been running a neck-and-neck battle for the Democratic Party nomination, are backed by a number of seasoned campaign strategists covering various issues, such as campaign strategies, fund raising, campaign pledges and policies.

The top campaign managers of the two candidates can be depicted as loyalists who have shared their political fate from the beginning of their political career. Given this, they are regarded as a preliminary cabinet that will later fill government posts.

▽ Obama camp versus Hillary camp

Obama was sworn in on January 4, 2005 as a U.S. senator from Illinois and his camp is said to be run by veteran campaigners.

Obama’s senate chief of staff, Pete Rouse, worked as a chief secretary for former Senator Tom Daschle and is considered one of the most influential Democratic aides with more than three decades of political career. Steve Hildebrand, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, has also worked for more than two decades as a campaign strategist, since 1986.

Obama’s finance director, Julianna Smoot, is a leading professional fundraiser for the Democratic Party. Smoot was declared "MVP for the first fundraising quarter" due to her success in raising money for the Obama presidential campaign: 140 million dollars, so far. Previously, she served as finance director for John Edwards’s senate race in 1998 and was finance director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2006.

The Hillary camp has a number of political experts brought on to coordinate the campaign’s activities from the former Clinton administration. Female strategists make up a relatively high number on the team.

Maggie Williams, who served as Hillary’s chief of staff during Clinton administration, and Hillary’s senate chief of staff, Tamera Luzzatto, are the campaign managers for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Laurie Rubiner, who worked as a legislative assistant to late Sen. John Chafee for a decade, is the legislative director for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. She mapped out the senator’s concrete health insurance program.

Clinton’s chief spokesman is Howard Wolfson, who has served as executive director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in 2001 and 2002 and as a senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee during the 2004 presidential campaign.

▽ Fierce battles for voters by camp strategists

David Axelrod and Mark Penn rank near the top of the “Inner Circles of Obama and Hillary” as top strategists. They are both 53-years-old, but have quite different personality.

Penn has tried to highlight the image of Hillary as an experienced leader who will lead a stable presidency if elected as president. He is known to be a pragmatist with calm personality.

He became famous when he successfully established a polling database on voter trends during the 1977 New York mayoral election. He also contributed to former President Clinton’s reelection in 1996, with a campaign strategy called, "Soccer Moms," which played a crucial role in Clinton’s campaign.

Axelrod has led the Obama camp, which put forth “reform’ and “hope” as Obama’s campaign promises. He was a political columnist for the Chicago Tribune and is described as the most powerful political consultant who idealism.

He is regarded as sincere and earnest and tries to respond to even foreign press reporters as much as possible.

▽ Powerful foreign diplomacy and security aides

One of those in charge of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy is former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who served as the first female to hold that post. She graduated the same university as Hillary, Wellesley College, and acts as an informal aide on diplomatic issues.

Richard Holbrooke, former United States ambassador to the United Nations, is believed to be a leading contender for Secretary of State if Hillary wins the presidential election. Former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger and Strobe Talbot, president of the Brookings Institution, also actively support Hillary.

In contrast, Obama camp is led by former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake. He is currently a faculty member at Georgetown University and is known for his gentle appearance but firm diplomatic style.

Obama’s foreign policy adviser, Susan Rice, is a former assistant secretary of state for African affairs under the Clinton administration. She has advised Obama on issues such as AIDS elimination and trade promotion with Africa.

triplets@donga.com