Tony Blankley points out:

(Obama) might have been formidable in a lightning campaign of three or four months, but in a long ground war of attrition — bet on Hillary’s massive institutional strengths. Just one recent example is her purchase of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack’s support for the crucial Iowa caucuses. In one swoop, she has not only bought his endorsement, but the use of his formidable state machine — which is vital in the hand-to-hand combat of a caucus state.

She could buy that not only because she has the money — but because if a Democratic politician is looking for a place in the presumed next Democratic administration — the smart money is on Hillary. There will doubtless be more Vilsacks falling into her ample lap in the coming months. Every little bit helps in a war of attrition.

Vilsak endorsed Clinton on Monday. The AP has a bit of background.

Iowavoice blog doesn’t agree Vilsack’s support is significant:

A major political coup??? Who the hell wrote this article? I don’t usually find QC Times writers to be political shills, but this is way overboard. It’s a political coup to get Tom “I dropped out because I can’t even win my own state’s caucus” Vilsack? Honestly, who bloody cares? Horribly, this isn’t the dumbest thing said in the article:

Vilsack and his wife, Christie, planned to make the endorsement on Monday when the New York senator will be in the state, the officials said. In 2004, Christie Vilsack backed Democratic Sen. John Kerry, support that helped the eventual nominee win the Iowa caucuses.

I wonder if Clinton will be able to snag Howard Dean’s wife’s endorsement? I mean, Hillary is a small-state ex-governor’s wife who would have the endorsement of two more small-state ex-governor’s wives! Unstoppable! Pffffft. It would be a stretch to say Vilsack’s endorsement helps anybody. It’s quite beyond a stretch to state unequivocally that Vilsack’s wife’s endorsement helped John Kerry win the Iowa caucuses.

But Iowa Progress blog thinks Clinton will get some logistical help:

Clinton still has only hired a barebones Iowa staff and the ties between Vilsack and Clinton are close enough that there was some speculation that Vilsack’s candidacy was merely a Clinton stalking horse. It would seem a good match that many former Vilsack staffers would migrate to Clinton’s campaign. Tom Vilsack had a strong Iowa field operation, Hillary Clinton needs one. As high level ex-Vilsack staffers move over, they’ll bring some lower level field operatives with them. It would give Clinton a head start for building the strong ground game needed to win the caucuses and help her grab a healthy chunk of Tom Vilsack’s 1,159 committed supporters.

Iowa Progress links a Hotline post listing some of the key players that might be available to help the Clinton campaign.

UPDATE:

NewsMax reports:

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to help (former presidential)candidate Tom Vilsack, who endorsed her on Monday, as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000.

Clinton spokesman Mark Daley said he was uncertain how Clinton would go about raising money for Vilsack, but he conceded that at some point, she would have to contact her supporters. “Someone in her shop is going to have to reach out,” Daley said.

Vilsack and his wife, Christie, endorsed Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination at an Iowa news conference on Monday. Daley said there was no connection between the fundraising and the endorsement.

You may recall DP post Hillary Does Business, which noted that:

The press reported on Tuesday that Sen. Hillary Clinton had scored a coup in the presidential race by winning the endorsement of a key black political leader in South Carolina, state Sen. Darrell Jackson.

Now it has come to light that just days earlier, Clinton’s campaign reached a deal to pay Jackson’s consulting firm $10,000 a month through the 2008 elections – a deal worth more than $200,000.

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