by Les Zsoldos

Created on: February 23, 2008   Last Updated: March 19, 2008

Many expected Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination easily. She was the choice of many prominent figures within the Democratic party, the wife of a popular ex-president, and an experienced politician. In addition, she had a a very capable campaign team and strong support from a wide range of voters. Even so, she managed to lose her lead. What happened?

The first sign of trouble was Iowa where she lost to Barack Obama. His promise to change Washington clearly captivated a number of voters. Despite the predictions of many pollsters, she won in New Hampshire, but at that point, it was clear that she would not have an easy road to the nomination.

A number of incidents contributed to her fall from first place. The allegation that her staff planted questions at town hall meetings put her on the defensive. Also a detriment to her campaign was an incident which took place during a campaign stop in Iowa. She argued with a man who asked her to explain her recent vote to call the Iranian army a terrorist organization. The man wanted to know why he should support her candidacy because according to him, she did not appear to have learned any lesson from her vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq. She nervously explained that her vote regarding Iran would lay the foundation for diplomacy and sanctions to pressure the Iranian government to renounce terrorist activities. However, she then accused him of being a plant who had been sent by her opponents to ask the question. He denied the accusation and assured her it was the result of his own research. The incident made Hillary Clinton look uncomfortable with tough questions and far less charismatic than Barack Obama. Though she apologized, the damage had been done.

South Carolina was a critical moment in the campaign. Hillary Clinton's husband Bill Clinton was so prominent that he appeared to overshadow her. During a debate, Barack Obama made many laugh when he told her that he sometimes did not know who he was running against. Bill Clinton upset a number of voters when he commented that Barack Obama's opposition to the war in Iraq was a fairy tale.

Another controversial comment he made was that Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary because black voters voted for him. Though black voters did vote in very large numbers for Barack Obama, at that point Hillary Clinton still had considerable support in the black community. After her husband's comments, though, many of her black supporters abandoned her. They viewed

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