Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama and Bill Clinton announced plans to campaign in the Valley this week, moves that underscore the importance both Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns are placing on Arizona.

Arizona will conduct its presidential preference election Feb. 5, one of two dozen states that will stage primary elections and caucuses on Super Duper Tuesday.Obama is set to headline a rally Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, at 1826 W. McDowell Road, in Phoenix. The former home of the Phoenix Suns accommodates 14,870 spectators.

The doors are scheduled to open at 3:30 p.m., though the exact time of Obama’s appearance has yet to be set. The senator for Illionois is slated to speak at a rally in Colorado, another Super Duper Tuesday state, earlier in the day.Obama last appeared in Arizona at Arizona State University in Tempe on Oct. 19. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton campaign officials confirmed that former President Bill Clinton will campaign for his wife in the Valley on Thursday, the specific time and location have yet to be confirmed.

Bill Clinton will follow the public appearance with a private fund-raiser at the home of former state Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson later in the evening.

Hilliary Clinton appeared for an overflow crowd at a high school in Laveen last week and spoke to Arizona reporters in a conference call today, Jan. 28. Hillary Clinton had a 6 percentage point lead against Obama in the lastest statewide poll in Arizona, but Obama is gaining… 

Bill Clinton and Jim Pederson in 2006

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign announced the formation of a state steering committee, a panel of nearly 50 political, business and community leaders on Wednesday.

State campaign co-chairwoman Mary Rose Wilcox also said the campaign will open a Tucson office this week. Clinton already has an office in Phoenix. She said the campaign also is expanding its door-to-door campaign and phone banking operations.

The state’s presidential preference election is Feb. 5, one 22 states that will conduct their elections or caucuses on the day that has been dubbed Super Duper Tuesday.

Clinton steering committee member Jim Pederson said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do in terms of our direct mail and our phones. Hopefully, we’ll have a slice of TV coming in here.”

Pederson, a shopping center developer, ran an unsuccessful campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Kyl in 2006. Bill Clinton made two appearances in Arizona to support Pederson’s bid.

Wilcox, a Maricopa County Supervisor, said she expects Hillary Clinton to campaign in Arizona sometime later this month.

She said the campaign got a boost last week when Gov. Janet Napolitano endorsed Hillary Clinton’s opponent Barack Obama last week. “It’s energized our campaign. I think people were so surprised. Now we’re getting people coming in saying, ‘I’m coming in because I want her to win. The governor supported somebody else, but I’m supporting her because I want her to win.’”

Fellow steering committee member and state Rep. Robert Meza said Clinton campaign leaders will be happy to welcome Napolitano aboard as soon as Clinton secures the Democratic nomination.

For more about Clinton’s and Obama’s efforts in Arizona, check out a longer article I wrote for the Tribune a few days ago.

Jon Kyl (as seen in Time magazine)

Sen. Jon Kyl has had something of a love/hate regard for a short Time magazine article that appeared on April 14, 2006. Rightly or wrongly, that three-paragraph piece has gone a long way toward defining his entire 21-year political career.

In fairness, it should be pointed out that Kyl himself is largely responsible for the article’s stature. It labeled him one of the “10 best” senators in the country, and Kyl repeated that line relentlessly in advertising during his multi-million-dollar re-election campaign against Jim Pederson last year.

Of course, the “10 best” line sits fine with him. But other lines in that article continue to irk him more than a year later. For example, the article also called him “The Operator” in reference to his mostly uncredited behind-the-scenes work in shaping legislation. In reference to immigration policy, Time commented, “Watch for Kyl to play a pivotal role – if not the most conspicuous one.”

Kyl argues that he never actively avoided the media’s glare during his time in the House and Senate. It just worked out that way. He told me he’s comfortable with the idea of becoming more of a high-profile public figure if he’s confirmed as the new Senate minority whip next week as expected. At a minimum, he will become a regular guest on the Sunday morning talking head TV shows and a sought-after interview for nightly newscasts.

Kyl said, “I have never avoided the media, but I’ve never sought it, either. I find I can be most affective if I’m just doing my job and not worrying about the publicity, so that’s the way I’ve tried to do my job. But of necessity, the job I have now, as conference chairman, is a position about messaging. It’s about meeting with the media and conveying the Republican message, so naturally, I’ve been out front a little bit more. And the position of whip or assistant leader, is likewise higher profile, so I’ll be, of necessity, a little bit higher profile, but it’s not something I necessarily sought.”

Kyl said, “None of the positions that I’ve had were the results of some grand plan. The opportunities presented themselves and they seemed like the right thing to do at the time. And in leadership, if you perform well, your colleagues turn to you naturally when other leadership positions open.”

And, um, a little personal recommendation here: Don’t even get Kyl started on the line in that same Time article that called him an “ultraconservative.”

Bill Clinton and Jim Pederson

It’s payback time for former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson. The shopping center developer and several members of his family each have donated $2,300 to the presidential campaigns of Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

“They both helped me out considerably in my Senate race, so I owe them both,” Pederson told me.

Hillary Clinton hosted a fundraiser for Pederson in Washington, D.C., and former President Bill Clinton campaigned for Pederson in Arizona during his 2006 campaign against Republican incumbent Jon Kyl. Obama also appeared at a rally for Pederson and other Democrats.

Pederson said, “Gosh, I’ll never forget, on Election Day last year, I was out working one of the polling lines and one of our people came up and said, ‘Bill Clinton is on the phone with a talk-show radio host in Tucson promoting our campaign!’ I said, ‘You’re kidding. How can we tap into that?’ He said, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ Then five minutes later, he said, ‘Bill Clinton is on KTAR up here!’ Unsolicited, he went out and called up every talk show on radio in Arizona on Election Day promoting our campaign.”

He said, “And Barack coming out here and helping me out, those are the kind of favors that really mean a lot. And so, you know, I have an allegiance to both of them.”

In the world of politics, that means writing checks. Pederson also has been raising money for Reps. Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords for their 2008 re-election campaigns, but he has no plans to run for public office himself – at least this time around.

“There’s not too much happening on a statewide basis next year, but 2010 is going to be a big year. We’ll see what happens,” he said.

In 2010, Republican Sen. John McCain will be up for re-election to the Senate if he doesn’t win the presidency first. If McCain wins the White House, his Senate successor will have to stand for re-election anyway. Then depending on circumstances, Republican Rep. John Shadegg may have an interest in the Senate, which would open his House seat, if Shadegg gets past his own 2006 House re-election. And who knows who will be running for re-election in the seat now held by Republican Rep. Rick Renzi? Plus, the governor’s seat will be open in 2010.

Barack Obama

Details of presidential candidate Barack Obama’s first big campaign event in Arizona are in: He’ll headline a rally at Hayden Lawn, on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus at 10 a.m. Friday. Admission is free.

It will be interesting to see if he draws the devoted crowds he drew during the fall when he appeared at a rally in Tempe for Democratics Harry Mitchell, who sought (and won) a U.S. House seat; and Jim Pederson, who sought (and lost) a U.S. Senate seat.

Obama certainly was the flavor of the day in the fall. Frequently what happens during elections though is that the longer an election goes, the more reasons voters find to not like candidates.

Obama also will appear at a fund-raiser luncheon at the Wyndham Phoenix hotel, at 50 E. Adams St., in Phoenix, at 12:30 p.m. Friday. That one’s not free. The suggested donation is $500 each. VIP admission is $2,300 each.

Barack Obama

The last time Barack Obama made a public appearance in Arizona, he came to support the 2006 campaigns of Democratic candidates Harry Mitchell for the U.S. House and Jim Pederson for the U.S. Senate.

The Arizona guys got a fair amount of applause, of course. But the politician from Illinois received the loudest and most enthusiastic response that day outside Tempe City Hall. It was a regular love-in. And Obama wasn’t even a presidential candidate at the time.

He’s scheduled to return to the Valley for more campaign appearances on Friday, Oct. 19. This time, it will be for his own campaign, though.

He’s set for a fundraiser luncheon at the Wyndham Phoenix hotel, at 50 E. Adams St., in Phoenix, starting at 12:30 p.m. The requested contribution for tickets is $500 a person. VIP tickets are $2,300 each. Information is available at asmith@barackobama.com and (310) 277-2008.

Obama’s campaign aides also are trying to put together a rally earlier in the day. No details on that yet, though.