The Observer spoke with Lane Bailey, of the West Virginia for Hillary Steering Committee. Bailey grew up in West Virginia, and for 12 years was Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s chief of staff.
OBSERVER: You worked for Sen. Rockefeller for many years. How do you feel about him endorsing Sen. Obama?
BAILEY: [Laughs.] I consider him one of my closest friends on the planet. Lots of Democrats have arrived at different conclusions, and that is okay. It’s the nature of the process.
OBSEVER: Both Obama and Clinton have been criticized by Al Gore for not calling for a moratorium on new construction of coal power plants until “clean coal” has become commercially viable.
BAILEY: Clinton is a strong supporter of clean coal technology. We won’t meet our minimum energy needs if we sign up for a moratorium. We need a coal-based transition to a sustainable energy policy.
OBSERVER: What do you say to people who are turned off by Sen. Clinton, who are looking for a new type of politics?
DAILEY: I understand the appeal of Barack Obama. His appeal is to the heart and the soul. You have to give him tremendous credit for the way he has people believing he can bring a new spirit and attitude to bring people together. It’s not that I dismiss that. The problem is the reality of Washington and reality of governing today in this democracy. It requires a fighter, someone who will stand up and take on, and not just provide rhetoric, which makes everybody feel good, but who will win against entrenched interests. They won’t disappear the day Obama wins. If that person looks shrill or negative, whatever the comments are about Mrs. Clinton, that is the way it is.
OBSERVER: Negative campaigning is an unavoidable consequence of being a fighter?
BAILEY: Yes, if you are a fighter you come off as a fighter. The Hillary Clinton I know is a warm, charming, interesting, caring person. And she is also a fighter, and she is a woman who is a fighter. Honestly, I think that is one of the dynamics here that works against her.
OBSERVER: What do you mean by that?
DAILEY: Women who are fighters tend to come across as less caring and less warm than other women, or than the expectations of women, in this country, and that can work against her.
OBSERVER: Is misogyny at play here?
DAILEY: Yeah. I think women are perceived differently when they are tough and strong than men are, and that’s unfair. But all of that aside, looking at these two candidates head to head, and looking at what we face as a nation, I want a fighter, someone who is relentless, someone who is smart, somebody engaged, somebody who knows West Virginia. And that’s Hillary Clinton.
OBSERVER: The delegate count does not look good for Clinton. Can she realistically win?
BAILEY: Neither candidate will reach the delegate magic number needed at the end of the primary process. It will come down to super-delegates and some resolution of Michigan and Florida. We don’t buy the argument that the race is over. West Virginia has not voted; Kentucky has not voted. Puerto Rico has not voted. If we were going through a purely mathematical process we would have had a national election. That is not how the convention is set up; that is not how we select the nominee for president.
OBSERVER: What is Clinton’s plan for West Virginia?
BAILEY: The campaign is gearing up in West Virginia. In April a state headquarters was opened in Charleston, and each county has teams on the ground. The campaign will be holding events in the Eastern Panhandle in the run up to the primaries.
OBSERVER: How is Clinton connecting to West Virginia issues?
BAILEY: What attracted me to Hillary Clinton, even when she was in the White House, was her empathy for and understanding of complex issues that are important to West Virginia, like coal, veterans, and jobs. I can guarantee that she has been to West Virginia more times than any of the other candidates.
