In the Fruit Aisle with Magic Johnson and the Clintons

Clinton aides often complain that their candidate faces tougher scrutiny than the rest. Not so on Tuesday morning.


With both her husband and basketball great Magic Johnson at her side during a frenzied stop at the Hy-Vee grocery store, Hillary Clinton finally got the question she had been waiting for: Did she feel she had hit her stride during recent stops?


"You mean I got my groove back?" Clinton said, letting loose with her trademark cackle. "I feel great, you know, I love campaigning. I like getting out and meeting with people and this is the time when Iowans start making up their minds. So there's an intensity and a sense of seriousness that is palpable." Clinton said she could "sense the momentum" -- the favorite buzzword among the candidates in the final stretch, but one that Clinton especially needs to convey after many weeks of unfavorable news that just began to turn around over the weekend.
Still, it was her husband who drew the largest scrum at the Hy-Vee.


Clinton campaign aides tried to rein in the press during one of the more chaotic events of the season, as all three mega-stars wandered through fruit aisles. Former Pres. Clinton made his way behind the deli counter, then emerged and stopped in front of the banana section to hold a mini press conference. Adding to the spectacle, on top of numerous local news crews, was a correspondent from Entertainment Tonight who shot a stand-up in the middle of the fruit section describing the moment as "a little chaos on the campaign trail."


Former president Clinton remained undeterred. Asked about Sen. Joe Lieberman's decision to endorse Sen. John McCain, Clinton said he was not surprised because both men have made the Iraq war their raison d'etre. Then, as his wife took photographs with some high school students, the majority of the press corps crowded around the former president.


Asked what he and his wife did when, on a night such as Monday, they have ordinary "human time" alone together, Clinton said they are often so tired they just sleep. He and Johnson are spending the day on Tuesday campaigning in Iowa. "The most difficult part of this," Clinton said, is that often the "most efficient use" of his and his wife's time requires them to campaign apart.
"But Christmas is coming up," Clinton said. "I'm going to go home for a half day and make sure we've got it organized."


And what of Magic (Earvin) Johnson? What brought him to a local grocery chain before 9 am on a Tuesday?


More to the point, why was he supporting Clinton? And not Sen. Barack Obama?
"Only 30 years of experience right here," Johnson said, signaling to Clinton, who stood by his side in the sit-down eating area of the Hy-Vee. He stayed diligently on-message, repeating the campaign talking points. "I think this country right now needs a leader with experience because this is not going to be an easy job," Johnson said. After the event, Clinton drove out to the Des Moines airport to board her "Hill-a-copter," the whimsical mode of transportation she has chosen for the final drive of the caucus race. Her husband, Johnson and several aides boarded a much larger private jet and headed off in separate directions in order to blanket the state.