Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton — appearing today at an event to tout her support among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders — has signaled the start of an unusually early and aggressive competition for ethnic voters who will wield increasing clout in 2008.

[snip]

Clinton’s strategy dramatizes how “in the Democratic primary, the ethnic vote is going to be very important, particularly in a close race,” said pollster Mark Baldassare, director of the Public Policy Institute of California.

(Read More)

Hillary is good with the ideas, but scary with the execution. She’s obviously wise to court the Asian vote, but given her ridiculous “[The House of Representatives] has been run like a plantation, and you know what I’m talking about” quote (and rehearsed body language) at her 2007 MLK speech, I boggle at what she’ll come up with at her other ethnically targeted speeches.