Can they keep this up for a year? Listening to the charges and countercharges zing back and forth between the Obama and the Clinton campaign could almost make conservatives eagerly anticipate the year long pre-primary campaign.
It all started when Maureen Dowd quoted David Geffen, who has switched from being a big financial supporter of the Clintons to now shoveling money into Obama's campaign, as saying "everybody in politics lies," but Bill Clinton and Hillary "do it with such ease, it's troubling." All the lies that the Clintons had so obviously told in their careers hadn't bothered Geffen until Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich but refused to pardon Leonard Peltier, a man convicted of murdering two FBI agents, but whose trial many liberals have undertaken with the same fervor as they have police-killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal.
The two campaigns then proceeded to issue press releases and public comments all yesterday sniping at each other.
Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson released the following statement this morning: "While Senator Obama was denouncing slash and burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband.
"If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money.
"While Democrats should engage in a vigorous debate on the issues, there is no place in our party or our politics for the kind of personal insults made by Senator Obama's principal fundraiser."
Obama's team responded a few hours later. Communications director Robert Gibbs just released the following statement:
“We aren’t going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once one of their biggest supporters. It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom. It is also ironic that Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because he's black."
Geffen protested to Arianna Huffington today that he has no role in the Obama campaign beyond co-sponsoring his giant Hollywood fundraising event this week.
Meanwhile, all this brouhaha completely overshadowed the first Democratic debate forum of the season - a full year before people start voting. Just the sort of sniping that American voters all say they can't stand, but secretly enjoy.
So who got the better of this exchange? I'd say it has to be Obama. The last thing that Hillary Clinton wants is reminders of having rich donors sleeping over in the Lincoln bedroom and questionable pardons. That is not the part of the Clinton legacy she hopes to ride back to the White House. I've always thought that one of the biggest hurdles she has to face is fatigue with the whole Clinton drama. I can't believe that there are many people who want to go through all that again and Geffen served to remind people of what they may have forgotten. Sure Obama's campaign didn't come across as so above-it-all as he tries to portray himself, but this wasn't coming out of his mouth so it seems more like a fallout between the Clintons and one of their former Hollywood fat cat supporters.
Probably both campaigns are regretting that the political news story yesterday was all this bickering and they'll step back from such sniping.
All the rest of the Democratic candidates were quick to deplore such attacks and go all holier-than-thou.
What a shame - just when it was getting fun.
UPDATE:
The Anchoress ponders Hillary's tendency to send her surrogates out there to whine and demand that opponents return contributions whenever anyone says anything bad about her.
She wants to lead the nation, and the free world. And our troops. But let someone with a little disposable cash cast a disagreeable eye her way, and Hillary thrusts out her lip, plays the victim, calls them “mean” and demands that they pull back and let her win!
Hey - there is a tactic we haven’t tried! I wonder if we can defeat Islamofascism by labeling them “meanies” and making a moue.
Can you imagine if this woman had to endure one fiftieth of the personal and political nastiness and criticism heaped upon President Bush every day? If she can’t take a few shots from Geffen, she’s demonstrating just how weak she is. Indeed, no lion-heart is Hillary. There is no clanking when she walks.