The Hit-Job Mentality

"The conventional wisdom in this primary campaign has always been that the Iraq War was Hillary's Achilles Heel. As is often the case, the conventional wisdom was wrong: As long as the Democratic race was focused on foreign policy and terrorism, Hillary's asset of experience went a long way.

"Over the past month, however, the campaign terrain has changed. As the economy has worsened and efforts on the ground in Iraq have seemed to improve, the Democratic candidates have stopped talking about the war so much and have focused on domestic concerns.

"This shift negates Obama's weaknesses -- and the Clinton campaign should know it. After all, one of the main things that enabled Bill Clinton to get elected in 1992 against a far more experienced incumbent is that with the end of the Cold War, foreign policy experience no longer counted for nearly as much. But apparently, the Clinton people have forgotten it. Their goal must now be to shift part of the campaign dialogue back to foreign affairs and the war on terrorism, while still sounding optimistic.

"It may not necessarily be what Democrats want to hear. But as long as the issues of foreign policy and terrorism remain in the background of the Democratic campaign, it's Obama who will benefit."

But Hillary gets at least a small boost from this Des Moines Register endorsement, arguing that she had far more experience than Obama. Though I remember the editorial page editor telling me it might not have the same impact as on John Edwards four years ago because Hillary is so well known.

McCain also gets the Register's nod, along with endorsements from the Boston Globe (which also backed Obama), Manchester Union Leader and Portsmouth Herald. Looks like he's the media's candidate once again.

Ever notice how the media give upbeat notices to candidates who are rising in the polls? The L.A. Times ("Obama Is Hitting His Stride in Iowa") and New York Times ("Obama Showing New Confidence With Iowa Sprint") are classic examples of that. Would he be showing new confidence if he was slipping in the polls, even if he was doing and saying all the same things?

Newsweek reminds us that John Edwards is still in the hunt in Iowa with a cover story. This will look very good if Edwards wins the caucuses and be forgotten if he doesn't.

The magazine also says that Hillary's hubby is in fact playing a larger role in her effort:

"Managing the Bill factor is even trickier. According to aides who declined to be named speaking about the campaign's inner workings, the former president is a free agent within Hillary's organization, and he knows her -- and political strategy -- better than anyone on her staff. It was Bill, aides say, who crafted and delivered her new slogan of the week: that Hillary was 'an agent of change.' Bill's reach in the operation includes tweaking press releases, calling senior Hillary staffers and campaigning on his own in Iowa. Aides say there is no tension between him and her staff, even when their advice is displaced by his."

From the moment the Obama-drugs flap began, I wondered who would care, since Bill Clinton and Al Gore had both acknowledged experimenting (and George Bush had a drinking problem well into adulthood). Now Dick Polman says it's "worth remembering that Bill Clinton admitted to marijuana use in 1992 (doing it in his classic fashion, claiming that he 'didn't inhale,' and that he only did it outside America's territorial waters), and I don't seem to recall that his youthful experiences doomed him at election time.

"If the Republicans couldn't invoke drugs as a 'dirty trick' nearly 16 years ago, I doubt they'd succeed in 2008, particularly when the prevailing political winds appear to be against them. And the Hillary people are savvy enough to know this. But, apparently, the Hillary people are not savvy enough to realize that when they impugn a rival in this fashion, they risk further alienating those Democratic voters who are fed up with polarized politicking. Or perhaps the Hillary people, hard-wired for combat, simply can't help themselves."