Hillary in Arkansas
Hillary Clinton, seemingly on her efficient way to the Democratic presidential nomination, and very possibly the presidency, is said by the Arkansas Times blog to be scheduled to dip into Arkansas on Aug. 20 for fund-raising appearances in Fayetteville and Little Rock. I happened to overhear that, in Little Rock, very tentative planning is for her to appear in the afternoon at a $150-a-person "young professionals reception," and, that evening, at a traditional $1,000 affair at the swank home of her friend/decorator, Kaki Hockersmith, who, in 2009, might be re-redecorating the Oval Office, even if it galls Maureen Dowd. A cheap-ticket afternoon affair would be smart. You extend yourself to a nontraditional fund-raising group, younger folks without the big bucks. And you net a little money in the process. Hillary has been doing smart things lately. In these regards, I'll have a column Sunday about how some experts speaking at the Clinton School the other night seem to be thinking it'll be Hillary v. Romney (Romney!?), and, for my national column published Monday around here, an essay on how it seemed clear to me that Hillary cleaned Obama's and Edwards' clocks in a transcendent moment in the YouTube debate on CNN the other night. Either she is a better politician than I used to think, or she has gotten a darned sight better. Or both.