Opinion: Clintons pull Magic out of their hats

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Bill Clinton typically generates a fair amount of his own star power as he promotes his wife’s presidential hopes. But Tuesday in Iowa, the wattage surrounding him should grow even more intense -- he’ll be joined on the trail by one of the most charismatic athletes of the last few decades, Magic Johnson.

The L.A. Laker great-turned-business magnate is slated to appear with the ex-president and sing the praises of Hillary Clinton at events in Waterloo and Davenport (not exactly Magic’s usual haunts, but in politics, sacrifices must be made). It’s part of this week’s flood-the-zone strategy by the Clinton campaign: either the candidate or her surrogates will cover all of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Some members of the Clinton troupe are high-powered, like the Bill/Magic duo; others are friends from Hillary’s childhood days in Illinois.

The campaign schedule doesn’t call for the Clintons to cross paths Tuesday, but we wouldn’t be surprised if somehow they work something else (just to boost the storyline a bit).

-- Don Frederick