Obama versus Hillary: Landing The First Blows
It was bound to happen, sooner or later…
For those of us who won’t be casting a vote in the Democratic primaries, it is great fun to sit back and watch the Clinton campaign’s vexation with the Obama phenomenon boil to the surface. NRO’s Jim Geraghty agrees.
Hillary has been told for years that this nomination was hers for the asking…no heavy lifting required. Imagine her shock and dismay when the former State Senator from Illinois decided to actually give her a run for her money. The audacity (no pun intended) of that upstart Obama! …spoiling her coronation ceremony…dethroning her from her presumptive front runner status.
The Clinton campaign has become increasingly troubled by the viability of the Obama candidacy. His early quest for the nomination was treated with something bordering on disdain by die-hard Clinton supporters.
Not any more.
The presence of Obama in the primaries tarnishes Hillary’s splendor: he robs her candidacy of its novelty. She may be the first woman to accede to the presidency, but for others, he represents the first viable and credible African-American to pursue the quest. He has also been stealing the public relations oxygen in the room wherever he goes. This has left the Clinton Campaign, on many occasions, gasping for air.
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson’s over-the-top response to the recent unflattering comments by Hollywood mogul David Geffen were indicative of her campaign’s frustration with having to deal with someone who they had previously viewed as a nuisance. To have a former avid supporter morph into a fundraiser for the opposition was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
And, it’s not just the Hollywood liberals who are expressing second doubts about the Hillary candidacy. Other long-term and reliable Hillary backers are entertaining an Obama candidacy.
The Obama camp’s rejoinder to Wolfson’s petulant demand that he return funds raised on his behalf by Geffen by pointing out the Hollywood liberal’s previous Lincoln bedroom visits was simply delicious.
Clinton’s irascible and disproportionate attack on Obama was clearly a visible sign that he has become a thorn in her side.
In terms of keeping score of the Democratic primary internecine warfare, I would have to say at this point, advantage: Obama.
Beacon Street Journal
Friday, February 23, 2007
By Johnny K