Hillary and Surreptitious Press Slips Against Obama

Sometimes I just fall in love all over again with politics, or thinking about it. Of course, like any relationship, it has its ups and downs. For me, the parts I hate about politics are the planted questions and denials we catch too often. For me, as of late, there is one act trending too frequently to date, to consider any other options.

A classic example is of Bob Kerrey’s endorsement of Hillary, which was good for Hillary and speaks well for her, as Bob Kerrey is the kind of Senator I like. Of course, Kerrey’s statements about Obama were well placed attempts at trying to dissuade Middle Americans from liking him:

“Kerrey continued, "It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims and I think that experience is a big deal." He added, "He's got a whale of a lot more intellectual talent than I've got as well."” (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/16/kerrey_for_clinton.html)

It was a nice compliment, but it does indeed highlight something about Obama; they are guessing that Nascar Dads and Soccer Moms might find those points a little discouraging. The fact that contextually it was planted in a Hillary endorsement seems uncannily odd to me. It’s as though in the midst of Democratic Party Establishment meetings, read: DLC, they are saying, “we need to support Hillary, because we owe her. Obama is a shining star, so we cannot attack him, we move Hillary up by highlighting disadvantages he might see in the General, wherein we want Hillary to be.”

Another example is the well placed coming out of a Hillary office manager saying the following:

“Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman of Clinton’s front-runner campaign, raised the issue during an interview with The Washington Post, posted on washingtonpost.com. Clinton’s campaign did not have an immediate comment. Shaheen, an attorney and veteran organizer, said much of Obama’s background is unknown and could be a problem in November 2008 if he is the Democratic nominee. He said the Republicans would work hard to discover new aspects of Obama’s admittedly spotty youth.” (http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/693699,obdrugs121207.article)

Again, this is a similar trend, too similar that I think there is some underlying strategy promulgated by Clinton’s campaign to surreptitiously attack Obama. It’s very “Primary Colors.” I say that because Clinton fired the second guy and Kerrey’s comments were “complimentary,” but in both instances the sound-bites and bullet points one sees from these two comments will see something in a flash that looks dissuading about Obama. Essentially, it is a strategy used by the Clinton Campaign predicated on the media medium used today, and the way headlines read. With that, it allows her to continue to take the high road, and not come off as attacking Obama, but it jabs at parts of Obama that ultimately aren’t a big deal in the right context. Out of context, in headlines, these things look immediately damaging. It’s yet one more reason the thinking man, me, doesn’t like Hillary or her campaign on a personal level. It’s caddy surreptitious garbage, that if she were a true front-runner with spiritual momentum, she wouldn’t need. It’s just ugly.