Running Against the Media

"Second, I don't think McCain is nearly as attractive a candidate as a lot of people think. Again, tick off the reasons: He's 71 years old. He's a dead-ender for the war. (Do you think 'a million years in Iraq' will play well with moderates in November?) A lot of his independent cred has been shredded over the past couple of years . . .

"Press ardor for McCain will likely diminish as his campaign becomes less open, as it's bound to do."

In a Wall Street Journal column, newly minted pundit Karl Rove does not sound like an Obama fan:

"The fourth and biggest reason why Mrs. Clinton won two nights ago is that, while Mr. Obama can draw on the deep doubts of many Democrats about Mrs. Clinton, he can't close out the argument. Mr. Obama is an inspiring figure playing a historical role, but that's not enough to push aside the former First Lady and senator from New York. She's an historic figure, too. When it comes to making the case against Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama comes across as a vitamin-starved Adlai Stevenson. His rhetoric, while eloquent and moving at times, has been too often light as air."

Has Bill hurt Hill on the trail? Andrew Sullivan, no Bubba fan, unloads on the former president:

"Bill Clinton has never been a classy person. But I think his conduct over the last couple of weeks is tacky even for him. Think about it for a minute. Here is a former president going out on the campaign trail in the early primaries and trashing one of his own party's greatest new talents. Can you recall any other president doing such a thing in an election campaign? The abuse he has heaped on Obama both tarnishes his former office and cheapens his role as an elder statesman in the Democratic party . . .

"It could be argued that an exception should be made because his wife is running. But that seems to me to compound the offense. Supporting your spouse is one thing; trashing his or her opponent from the powerful position as leader of his party is another. President George H.W. Bush supported his son in his campaigns but never came near the attacks that Clinton has unleashed."

Okay -- were these reporters at the same debate?

Washington Times: "Fred Thompson accused Mike Huckabee of being a threat to the Reagan Republican coalition, Mitt Romney said John McCain is ignoring the needs of Michigan voters, and Rudolph W. Giuliani said Mr. McCain isn't the only pro-Iraq-surge candidate."

Boston Globe: "Saving most of their criticism for the Democrats, six GOP candidates abandoned -- at least for the evening -- the critical language and sniping that characterized ad campaigns and debates in Iowa and New Hampshire. Instead, the six contenders at the debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., found large areas of agreement on foreign and domestic policy, and even managed to make a few kind personal comments to one another."

New York Times: "Fred D. Thompson tried to salvage his faltering presidential campaign at a debate Thursday night with a barrage of sharp attacks on the 'liberal' policies of Mike Huckabee, the fellow Southerner whom he clearly sees as a rival in the South Carolina primary."

Makes you wonder.