The hits just keep a-coming

by Don Wheeler

With their candidate's Iowa campaign sinking like a stone in Clear Lake, Hillary Clinton's surrogates and affiliates continue a nonstop barrage of often questionable attacks on Barack Obama. Pointing at a Kindergartner's desire to be President, dropping hints about past cocaine use, references to Mr. Obama's middle name being significant are all pretty below the belt stuff.

But in a slight return on the strategy of triangulation, the campaign figured out a way to tar John Edwards with their own criticism of Mr. Obama's health care strategy.

Here are some excerpts from a recently released mailer from AFSCME:

Obama proposes leaving 15 million Americans uninsured.

Barack Obama spends a lot of time promising bold leadership. He claims his health care plan covers everyone, but his proposal does not match his words.

Instead, Obama took the timid way out, offering yet another band-aid solution.

John Edwards has said "as many as 15 million Americans would be without coverage" [Sioux City Journal, November 30, 2007] under Obama's plan.

Timid leadership won't change Washington.

Band-aid solutions won't solve health care.

An Iowa blogger who received the piece mused, "This mailer interests me for a few reasons. Although AFSCME supports Hillary, the mailer says nothing about her health care plan or why it's better than Obama's.

On the contrary, the piece quotes Edwards criticizing Obama's plan. Is this intended to boost support for Edwards (as opposed to Obama) among the anybody-but-Hillary voters?

Or is it intended to make Iowans who may not like negativity believe Edwards is behind this piece attacking Obama?"


Check the link below to read the blogger's full summary of the piece she received from AFSCME:

http://mydd.com/story/2007/12/19/192446/08

Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Harball picked up on this story as well. He and his guests (Ed Schultz, in particular) had a lot to say about it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22349148#22348253

No matter what is actually happening, these recent stories certainly make it look as though the Clinton campaign is in full panic mode. With Obama's strength in New Hampshire, many Clinton supporters wouldn't mind terribly if John Edwards wins Iowa - which is a pretty strong possibility. In any case, that race looks more and more like an Edwards v. Obama contest.

Clinton supporters should be careful what they wish for, though. Since John Edwards is an attractive guy, people often overlook what tough person he is. Imagine losing your son suddenly at age 16. Imagine the love of your life suffering from cancer, seemingly cured...then you get the news it is untreatable and terminal. Imagine marching into courts representing people who were wronged, but have no voice unless it's yours. Imagine further that even though you are the underdog in each case - generally you win.

And what about this. Imagine taking on an incumbent Republican Senator in North Carolina - handpicked and fully backed by the Jesse Helms political machine - and beating him. It wasn't even all that close.

John Edwards has all this and more. He has a great organization and supporters who believe in him in a way I haven't seen before.

It's almost curtain time.