The increasingly nasty and personal mud wrestling between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama exhibited in Myrtle Beach, S.C. is reminiscent of Bush’s sleazy radio ads against Senator John McCain prior to the South Carolina primary in 2000, falsely accusing McCain of opposing federal funds for breast cancer research – one of the lowest blows in Republican Party’s history.
Obama complained during the debate: “When Senator Clinton says – or President Clinton says – that I wasn’t opposed to the war from the start or says it’s a ‘fairy tale’ that I opposed the war, that is simply not true,” adding “I can’t tell who I am running against sometimes.” More and more, Obama’s quiet dignity makes the Clintons look like clumsy muggers. And supporters of both campaigns concede that the level of bitterness and personal animosity between the two has become almost impossible to reverse, reports the Financial Times,
Longtime political consultant Dick Morris wrote this week in the NY Post: “In the days before Iowa and leading up to New Hampshire, Hillary… took shots for misusing Bill’s record and trying to adopt it as her own….Now they’re hitting Bill instead.” Morris adds that this may be fine with the Clinton strategists: “Bill wants to suck up all the oxygen in the room and dominate the coverage of the Democratic contest,” thus keeping Obama off the front page.
But real people have serious problems and are seeking real life answers and feel that they are being cheated by the cheap, dirty-tricks campaigning of the Clintons. Hillary must have had some warnings about the mood of voters to her continuous barrage of insults to her opponent because she stopped long enough to smell some coffee and predicted January 22 that the U.S. was heading for a long, deep recession and said her campaign would now focus almost entirely on the economy.
Such a statement is not rocket science. All of the candidates are now quite aware that people are frightened to death by a plunging stock market and how it jeopardizes their retirement savings; the market value of their homes; the cost of gas and heating; etc. People want answers to their economic and health care concerns – not an abusive name-calling pseudo-debate that is insulting to voters both in South Carolina and elsewhere.
The Clintons’ decision to attack Obama so harshly obviously stems from fear of his growing support, confirmed by a private poll that Hillary is losing momentum. She appears to have already conceded her chances in the upcoming South Carolina primary to travel to California, New York and Arizona.
Clinton’s cynical “just politics” debating style is very risky not only in South Carolina with its huge proportion of blacks among Democratic voters but in the major primaries coming up on February 5. American voters are desperately searching for a new president with character and maturity.
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Comments
I can tell you that myself, some friends and family have gotten turned off by the Clinton's behaviour to do anything to win and will not vote for her if she gets the Democratic nomimnee. Their behavior and distortions like at Meet the Press in which Hilalry said: "Sen. Obama's chief strategist accuses me of playing a role in Benazir Bhutto's assassination.'' When in actuality David Axelrod never made such an accusation. He said former Prime Minister Bhutto's death will ''call into issue the judgment'' of ''taking the eye off the ball and making the wrong judgment in going into Iraq.'' and their recent attempt in voter suppresion in Nevada has shown a lot of people another side to them we did not know existed and it does not look pretty. In their quest for power at all costs, they have split the party -- there is a deep divide.
They seem more like Karl-Rove Republicans than Democrats it is a shame to see their moral demise!
Posted by: bacaangel
| January 24, 2008 7:51 AM
I completely agree on how reprehensible the Clinton campaign has been this last month, but I don't think we know if it is a net positive or negative. I still read a remarkable number of quotes who say they are excited about the two-for-one possibility. Is the Bill strategy hurting among the non-wealthy and non-educated Democratic base? Particularly those who don't follow the politics day-to-day (or minute-to-minute).
I just don't think we know.
Posted by: Greg | January 24, 2008 10:33 AM
Obama and his surrogates need to stop going on TV and whining about how the Clinton's are a bunch of meanies! It makes Obama look weak and unprepared for the office he seeks.
What does he think he was getting into, a quilting bee?
No doubt, the Clinton's have the best punch and counter-punch in contemporary politics. And while there may be some "Democratic Party Leaders" who are reaching for the smelling salts, it's only because they haven't seen a successful Democratic Presidential campaign since 1996, and forgot what one looks like.
Democrats take note: this is how Presidential campaigns are won!
As a Democrat who desperately wants a Democrat back in the White House, the Clinton's muscle-flexing gives me every confidence that they actually know what it takes to win one of these things. After all, there is a reason why the Clintons are the only Democrats to win the White House twice since FDR.
Finally, that Obama finds himself so easily thrown off his game by a little bit of friendly fire from the Clintons tells me that he will be eviscerated by the balls out business end of the GOP attack machine.
Posted by: JoeCHI
| January 24, 2008 11:36 AM
Mr. Obama is not averse to "throwing elbows" as he told a reporter in an interview when he reminded folks that he was from Chicago politics. Although I would prefer for the primary to be more civil, it is not going to happen. In fact this is like a Sunday School picnic compared to what whoever gets the nomination will have to face in November.
I am happy that Sen. Obama has stopped complaining. It was beginning to sound like whining. Politics is a body contact sport where you either win or go home. In order for him to govern he has to win. Neither he nor HRC makes the rules. Hopefully,one day they can change them but this will not be anytime soon.
Folks are complaining about WJC being in the middle of campaining without mentioning that all the spouses have been in the middle of campaigning. Elizabeth Edwards took potshots at both Obama and HRC and those got twominutes in the news cycle. This campaign is historical in many ways, including the fact that WJC was a former president. A new set of rules are being written as they go.
By November evrything will be back to normal as the nominee faces the Republicans. I will gladly support whoever wins the primary; as a matter of fact, I wish they would run together on the same ticket.
Posted by: Pauline | January 24, 2008 2:43 PM
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