Obama On The Attack

Here is a Clinton campaign memo arguing that it's Barack Obama who is trafficking in the negative in the final stretch.

Reading today's news clips, it does seem as if the Obama campaign is in danger of dipping down to the level it claims Hillary Clinton is on.

Still, one person's attack politics may be another's version of the politics of hope.

I know that the Obama campaign has profited from the perception that Clinton is the aggressor and has been the aggressor and will launch "unfair" negative attacks. But at some point, doesn't the attempt to recreate and enhance that perception artifically mean that the perception (eg -- Clinton is the negative campaigner) is not as organic as it seems?

In any event, the distinction between the type of politics that Obama decries and the type of politics that he practices is not always evident.

From: Howard Wolfson, Communications Director

To: Interested Parties

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008

Re: Obama Campaign On The Attack In Last Weekend Of Pennsylvania Primary

A major theme of Sen. Obama on the stump is that Hillary Clinton is running a negative campaign based on "slash and burn politics" and that he represents a break from that kind of politics. In fact, in just the last 48-hours, Sen. Obama has flooded airwaves, radio, phone lines and mailboxes with negative and false attacks against Hillary. This unprecedented barrage coincides with a weak debate performance and Sen. Obama's slide in the daily Gallup poll.

1. In the most outrageous attack of the campaign, Obama surrogates held a conference call attacking Hillary's character, claiming she did not have the "moral authority" to lay a wreath on the Tomb on the Unknown Soldier. [Link ]

2. Launched a television ad featuring false, negative attacks on Hillary's health care plan. [Link ]

3. Distributed negative mail about Hillary's trade positions, complete with citations even Sen. Obama has acknowledged have been debunked. [Link ]

4. Flooded voters with robocalls saying Hillary will "say anything" to win.