The Clinton camp believes that Obama and Edwards have gotten a free ride for the past month or so. Clinton's lieutenants and supporters note that while her campaign's attacks on Obama have been roundly criticized, it was Obama who joined Edwards in attacking Clinton first, at little cost.
This has forced the Clinton campaign to move aggressively on its own to raise a slew of questions about Obama's past. But some of these efforts backfired and suggested a campaign in panic. That was especially true of a statement by a Clinton operative about Obama's openly confessed drug use in his youth and the campaign's invocation of Obama's kindergarten jottings to show he had always harbored presidential ambitions.
Nonetheless, the Clinton campaign has had to continue to sow doubts about Obama. Former president Bill Clinton used "The Charlie Rose Show" on Friday to ask if Democrats were willing to "roll the dice" on a candidate with Obama's brief Washington experience. Earlier in the day, Hillary Clinton had said that with her candidacy, "There are no surprises."
Clinton's endorsement last weekend by the Des Moines Register was an important break because the paper echoed her closing argument.
Clinton, the Register concluded, was the candidate "best prepared to confront the enormous challenges the nation faces." Obama, it said, was "more inspirational," but "with his relative inexperience, it's hard to feel as confident he could accomplish the daunting agenda that lies ahead." Clinton hopes the endorsement will mark the campaign's next, and last, turning point.
The danger to Clinton, despite her lead in the national polls, is that a loss in Iowa on Jan. 3 could easily cascade into losses in New Hampshire on Jan. 8 and in South Carolina on Jan. 26. And while the Clinton camp would welcome an Edwards victory in Iowa as an alternative to an Obama win, it's now possible that Edwards could drive Clinton into third place.
Hillary Clinton's demanding task is to keep doubts about Obama high in the minds of Iowa voters while finding the dash of inspiration that has so far eluded her campaign. Achieving both objectives at the same time will be the greatest challenge of her political life.
postchat@aol.com
washingtonpost.com |
