* It all stated over the weekend when Bob Novak's Sunday column
began with the following:
Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic
circles that she has scandalous information about her principal
opponent for the party's presidential nomination, Sen. Barack
Obama, but has decided not to use it. The nature of the alleged
scandal was not disclosed.
* Yikes! This is the best of all worlds. A major, major columnist
alleging skullduggery by the campaign of Hillary Clinton having
unearthed (but holding onto) double secret, but way scandalous,
info against Barack Obama.
* The Obama campaign responded the Novak report was "devoid of any
facts, but heavy on innuendo and insinuation" and called on the
Clinton campaign to affirmatively deny that any such info existed.
* Reuters reported:
The Clinton campaign denied the accusation, saying Obama's reaction
to the vaguely worded column by Robert Novak played into Republican
hands and showed the Illinois senator's lack of political savvy.
* But, Obama suggested that was a pretty lame denial in a press
conference on Saturday when he said:
Look, the Clinton campaign didn't come out and deny it initially.
Sen. Clinton's campaign, after three iterations of it, said they do
not engage in these practices and they don't have any information
that is scandalous, as was referred to in the Novak column.
* Taking that "three iterations" business as the shot that it was,
the Clinton campaign responded:
"Senator Obama knows that our campaign responded instantly with a
clear denial. Senator Obama is manufacturing an issue to distract
voters from a disastrous debate performance that revealed that his
health care plan doesn't cover every American."
* Oh, yes. That would be it. The old Health Care Coverage Dodge was
at play here.
* Here's what's really at play. As we discussed here last week
Hillary, Barack and John (Edwards - but John is such a pedestrian
first name in a campaign which includes, in addition to the afore
mentioned Hillary and Barack, a Willard, a Dennis, a Rudolph, a
Duncan, and a Freddie) are now tied in the polling running up to
the Iowa caucuses to be held on January 3, 2008.
* Hillary and Obama have raised enormous amounts of money and it
appears Clinton has spent more than Obama has.
* One of the worst things which can happen in politics is to have
lost a close election only to find there was a lot of money left
in the bank.
* Obama understands he needs to beat expectations in Iowa or the
only thing standing between Hillary and the nomination will be
Bert Parks singing "Here she is, Ms. America."
* It is not outside the realm of possibility that it was
anti-Hillary forces within the Democratic party which have been
spreading gossip about Obama with the specific purpose of putting
the Clinton campaign on the defensive.
* Just as it is possible that allies of the Romney campaign have
been making those anti-Mormon push-poll phone calls in Iowa and
New Hampshire specifically to create this syllogism:
-- A push-poll speaking ill of Mormons is a bad thing.
-- Mitt Romney is a Mormon.
-- Ergo, speaking ill of Mitt Romney is a bad thing.
* Politics at this level is not for the faint of heart.
* Let's get back to the Democrats eating their own: Last week, after
a dreadful debate performance, Hillary's campaign allowed as how
it was all those mean boys ganging up on the only girl.
* To my finely tuned ear for conspiracy, it appears that Obama
campaign is tacitly alleging the White Clintons are spreading
rumors about the only Black candidate in the campaign, thus
feeding into the worst of any remaining racial biases in American
politics.
* Robert Novak is known to have been incorrect in his analysis of
the facts before him; but no one in this town has ever shown him
to have invented an item.
* Someone fed Novak that business about the Clintons having dirt on
Obama. Novak has proven he won't give up a source, but it bears
public discussion as to which campaign is helped and which is hurt
by such blind allegations.
* And you thought a thirty-second negative ad was the worst the
system had to offer.