The Clintons vs. Obama

Jonathan Alter reported in Newsweek that Senator Edward Kennedy and Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman and former Clinton aide, have heatedly told Bill “that he needs to change his tone and stop attacking Senator Barack Obama.”

In the Myrtle Beach debate Monday night, Obama was fed up with being double-teamed by the Clintons. He finally used attack lines that his strategists had urged him to use against Hillary for months. “It was as though all the e-mails were backed up,” said one.

When Hillary tried once more to take Obama’s remarks about Ronald Reagan out of context, making it seem as though Obama had praised Reagan’s policies, he turned sarcastic about getting two distortionists for the price of one.

“I can’t tell who I’m running against sometimes,” he snapped at Hillary, obviously entrapped and psyched-out by the Clinton duo.

On a conference call with reporters yesterday morning, Obama did not back off from his more aggressive, if defensive, stance. The Clintons, he said “spent the last month attacking me in ways that are not accurate. At some point, it’s important for me to answer.” Recalling that Hillary had called mixing it up the “fun” part of politics, he said: “I don’t think it’s the fun part to fudge the truth.”

Bill has merged with his wife totally now, talking about “we” and “us.” “I never did anything major without discussing it with her,” he told a crowd here. “We’ve been having this conversation since we first met in 1971, and I don’t think we’ll stop now.” He suggested as First Lad that “I can help to sell the domestic program.”

Click here to continue reading "Two Against One" by Maureen Dowd.

There has been a lot of talk lately on The Clintons running as one, or of Bill stepping in to fight for Hillary. Many have concluded it is unfair and such tactics should be avoided. Others have pointed out it is sad that Hillary, a possible candidate for being the first woman president, must look to her husband in order to achieve such a position. Here are my thoughts on the matter:

The Clintons have always been a duo when it comes to politics. Hillary was influential in Bill's campaign and presidency, so why wouldn't Bill be influential in hers? Also, even if you don't like The Clintons one will have a hard time arguing that they are not political savvy. They know how to run a campaign and win. (Of course, this is not to say Hillary will win in 2008. Things are very much so up in the air.)

My second thought is: Obama needs to stop whining. "They are picking on me!" is not going to win over voters or establish his credibility. If he can't handle The Clintons picking on him then he should probably just stay at home and pen another novel rather than running for president. Or, he could always wait a few years and establish a political record and then run for president... Just a thought.

If you have time I recommend reading The Onion's take on this issue.