I had the pleasure of meeting a Huffington Post regular at the CGI conference last week - I was very impressed with Dave Johnson and I wish I'd discovered his writing on Huffington Post earlier.   He really seems to know his stuff.  HillaryHub posted a link to something he and a colleague posted on Oct. 3rd and I think this points to a few of the reasons Hillary's been so successful in her campaign thus far.  It also points to how hard Hillary's been working, and with every hand she shakes and with every voter who actually LOOKS AT HER RECORD, she wins folks over one at a time.

HILLARY CLINTON: Mission Accomplished

For the past three decades, the right wing has employed a powerful strategy of "$ell and $mear." They insist on being the gatekeepers to public opinion and have developed a powerful machine that tells us who to like - and who to hate.

snip

This is Senator Clinton's primary challenge. Because since this strategy has been deployed, no one, not one single politician, has been in the eye of the machine longer than Senator Clinton. For almost 15 years, Americans have been bombarded with smears and negative commentary about her. Virtually every aspect of her life, personal and political, from her hairstyle to private decisions she made within her marriage, has been criticized.

snip

She and her staff rolled up their sleeves and went to work. One voter at a time, one appearance at a time, one county, one district, one state. And what happened in New York State was a pretty good precursor to what is happening nationally.

snip

Grudgingly, we hear from senior people in other campaigns that they are impressed at how hard she works, how good her team is, how they keep working all day, every day.

They're right. She's top in the polls and in the fundraising race not because of some unforeseeable chain of events; she's there because she understood the reality of her situation and she has outworked everyone else.

If she is our nominee, it will because of two core factors.

She didn't attempt to smash the negative perception as much as she shattered it softly and slowly -- one person at a time.

She, and her team, have worked hard, and smart.

I can't add much to this write-up except to say that here, on the ground in Maryland it's almost as if it's October 2008 - not 2007.  We all see how hard Hillary and her staff are working to win over hearts & minds and that attitude is contagious.  We wear our buttons proudly every time we leave the house and if someone asks us about Hillary we can't wait to talk her up with our neighbors, friends & family (even strangers!).  We hold house parties and go to parades & local festivals to sign up other volunteers, sell buttons & t-shirts and pass out stickers & literature.  And we write on blogs like this because we're passionate about our candidate.

Clark & Wilson are convinced - we're convinced - and others will be too.

As many of you know, Hillary won re-election to her Senate seat by winning over 67% of the voters in New York last year.  She would have won without the margin of victory in the city and took 36 of the 40 counties won by Bush in 2004.  A lot of republicans and independents voted for her and that's a testament to how hard she worked to get her message out and meet people one on one.

This strategy continues to work to her advantage today.  ABC News just posted an article in which they examine her dramatic gains in support among male voters.

HILLARY CLNITON'S MAN APPEAL

An ABC/Washington Post poll released Oct. 3 shows that 48 percent of Democratic men -- a rise from 29 percent at the beginning of September -- support her presidential bid.

snip

But her surge in popularity among Democratic men raises the question: Why now?

Mark Halperin, ABC News political analyst and editor-at-large for Time Magazine, suggests that her gender doesn't matter.

"Men shopping for a Democratic presidential candidate are looking for someone tough, someone smart and someone who can get the White House back from the Republicans," Halperin said. "Hillary Clinton right now looks the strongest on those fronts. The fact that she is a she does not seem to matter much for many men."

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile says Clinton "keeps looking more and more presidential."

snip

"I think she's the best choice," said Buddy Milstead, a 70-year-old retired independent voter from Rustin, La.

(emphasis mine - sorry for the liberal use of the word "snip" there fellas!)

Check out the linked videos off the top-right of this article - especially her interview re "evil & bad men" - priceless!  They've also got a link to her speech before the Carnegie Institution for Science yesterday.

Lastly, I think it's important to mention a new Gallup Poll that was just released today.  

Gallup Poll

PRINCETON, NJ -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, who currently leads the Democratic race for the 2008 presidential nomination by more than 20 percentage points in a USA Today/Gallup poll, is also chosen by Democrats (including Democratic-leaning independents) as the candidate best able to handle many national issues. In fact, according to the latest Gallup Panel survey, Democrats perceive Clinton as the best prepared of the top three Democratic contenders to handle 13 of 17 different challenges that could face the next president.

snip

                                           Clinton    Obama   Edwards
    %    %    %
Being commander-in-chief of the military      38    28    28
Energy and the environment                    43      23       26
Healing political divisions in the country    34    37    23
Taxes                                            48    25    20
The economy                                  60    16    19
Immigration                                    39    31    18
Reforming the way the government in Washington works    38    37    18
Healthcare                                    65    14    17
Terrorism                                    49    26    17
The situation in Iraq                            47    31    17
Crime                                            43    31    17
Inspiring Americans                            34    44    17
Education                                    58    21    16
Relations with other countries                    54    28    14
Gay marriage                                    51    19    13
Abortion                                    61    14    11
Race relations                                   30    58    8
Average                                            47    28    18

These numbers aren't flukes or outliers folks.  She's consistently performed strong in poll after poll after poll and her numbers are climbing with each new poll that's released.  Now I know at the end of the day the only polls that count are the ones held on primary & election day, but as a Hillary supporter, I'm encouraged by how strong a campaign she's been running.

Hillary's gaining ground on all levels - I'm even seeing an increase in support for her here on this site since I started writing about her campaign in June.  And I'm convinced that it's due in large part to people cutting through the hype - looking at her record and her proposals - and maybe even meeting her at her many campaign appearances or seeing how well she performs in the debates.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - take a look at her voting record, who's endorsing her (Clark, Wilson, Unions and people like us), and what she's proposing... because the more you know about Hillary Clinton - the more impressed your going to be.

You may even find yourself writing diaries like this one some day ;o)