HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton Read Online Free Page A

Clintons’ multimillion-dollar Washington house, nestled among foreign embassies and a stone’s throw from the sprawling vice president’s residence. At the party, Altmire asked Hillary a pretty simple question: You’re way behind. What’s your path to victory? “You all are superdelegates,” she told the group, “and the purpose of superdelegates is to make up your mind and make a decision that might be contrary to what the voters have decided.” That didn’t make much sense to Altmire; nor did it appear to sway many of his colleagues.
    On St. Patrick’s Day, Obama visited a community college in Altmire’s district and invited the congressman to join him. Like a football recruit at a major Division I university, Altmire was given a window into what it was like to hang out with the cool crowd. Accompanied by David Axelrod, he watched Obama deliver the speech, give a press conference, and sit for an interview with Gwen Ifill of PBS.
    Then he clambered into the senator’s SUV for a ride to Pittsburgh International Airport. Avoiding the primary elephant in their midst, Obama and Altmire talked about their daughters, who are about the same age. When they got to the airport, Obama signaled to his security detail to get out of the car and leave the two pols alone in the back of the SUV.
    “I’m going to win this election,” Obama said bluntly. “I’m going to be your president, and I want you to be on our team.… You don’t have to commit right now, but I want your support.”
    Altmire said he was in a tough spot, with Clinton on the vergeof winning his district by a big number. Obama reiterated his confidence and his desire to get Altmire on board, and then he signaled for a Secret Service officer to open the door so he could go to his plane.
    But Altmire still had something to say. He wanted Obama to know that they had made a connection, and he blurted out his good wishes for Obama’s upcoming speech on race in Philadelphia. “Hey, Senator, I know tomorrow is a very important day for you. Good luck,” Altmire said.
    Obama turned to the officer to signal that the door should be closed again. He leaned over toward Altmire with a look of determination on his face, brow furrowed, eyes squinted. “We’re going to be fine,” he said. “They told me I wasn’t going to be able to beat Hillary Clinton, and I’m going to beat both Clintons.… This is just one more hurdle. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
    The difference between the two campaigns struck Altmire as remarkable: while Hillary was begging for help, Obama didn’t need it. As Obama delivered his speech on race the next day, Altmire thought, for the first time, “This guy is special. There’s something about this guy that’s just different than anyone else.” It was Obama, not Clinton, whom he would endorse if he were pushed into that corner. Though he didn’t tell anyone yet, Altmire had made up his mind—he wanted Obama to win. He felt as if he were actually doing Hillary a favor by keeping his thoughts to himself. In Hillaryland, he would soon be regarded as an opportunist because he had extracted so much face time from the Clintons—and then as an outright traitor.
    In April, Altmire got word that Bill wanted to talk to him again. The congressman told Hillary’s team that the two men could travel together between events at venues about an hour apart, a ride that Hillary’s aides would later recall as another delicious plum they had given an ungrateful backbencher. Altmire got the full backstage and onstage treatment from the former president. Bill praised him in his speech at the first event, then put his hand on the congressman’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, classic Clinton moves for conveying intimacy to an audience. When the event wrapped up, Altmire got in the car. Bill followed, cell phone to his ear, making it clearthat he was talking to Hillary. In the SUV, Altmire gave the former president his now-practiced spiel