Hillary hit by fresh defection

Hillary Clinton's faltering campaign suffered a further blow yesterday when the man who masterminded her husband Bill's successful 1992 bid for the presidency came out for her rival Barack Obama.

David Wilhelm (pictured), who now works as a venture capitalist, said that Obama could give Democrats a greater opportunity to push their ideals than they had under Bill Clinton, and described the 2008 race as a "change election".

Wilhelm oversaw the Clinton 'dream team' of political operators such as James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, and was the authority on electoral college strategy - something Hillary may be in eminent need of.

As Alexander Cockburn noted yesterday on The First Post, Democrats’ super-delegates, long-regarded as 'Hillary' voters due to the Clintons' closeness with the party machine, may swap over to her rival if his popular lead continues to strengthen.

The Clinton campaign is now focussing its efforts on the delegate-rich states of Ohio and Texas after having lost eight straight primaries to Obama. But the Clinton team also recognises the strength of Obama's strategy in picking up smaller states to retain momentum. Clinton offices are being opened in late-voting states such as Kentucky.

FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 14, 2008