The White House Wanted Meek Out?

Jillian Bandes | November 01, 2010 5:23 PM

Politico claims that B.H.O. had something to do with the dramatic push to get Meek out of the Florida Senate race:

White House officials asked Bill Clinton’s camp if the former president would be willing to approach Meek about getting out of the Florida race as Crist, the Florida governor, was preparing to switch parties, two senior Democrats familiar with the conversation told POLITICO.

...that discussion went nowhere. Clinton’s aides responded that the former president wouldn't’t do it, for a variety of reasons, among them that he felt the candidate still had a path to victory, or at least deserved the chance to show he could forge one, a Democratic source familiar with the talks said.

Meek was a friend to Hillary Clinton during her failed presidential bid, and has been chummy with Bill since the 90's. It's reasonable to assume that camaraderie went out the window when Meek went public with the news that Clinton tried to cajole him out of the race. Clinton, of course, denies any involvement, but the question remains whether his hand was forced by Commander in Chief.

If that's the case, this entire ordeal represents a massive blunder for White House operatives. It's not surprising that O' would get involved -- we're used to those kinds of dirty White House politics. The public embarrassment from his failure to carry the plan out, however, is breathtaking.