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Dropping Oppo, 2

December 11, 2007 7:45 AM

Political Punch has gotten a copy of the new anti-Obama literature about health care policy that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, is dropping in New Hampshire.

See the positive side of the flier pertaining to her HERE which promises "HEALTH CARE FOR EVERY AMERICAN" and says "HILLARY CLINTON. THE ONLY CANDIDATE READY TO LEAD."

(Really? No one else is ready to lead? No one? John McCain isn't ready to lead? Joe Biden and Chris Dodd?)

… And see the negative side pertaining to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, HERE where you will see highlighted: "incompleteness … wouldn't cover everyone … wrong on policy … weakness … make him sound like Rudy Giuliani …"

Clinton started going negative a few weeks ago when her poll numbers started faltering and after her "politics of pile-on" victimology went over as well as New Coke.  So she started going after Obama's character.

Now her target is Obama's character and leadership as seen through the health care debate.

You may quibble with the substance of the debate, and as we've covered in this blog, there are questions to ask both of Clinton and Obama when it comes to their claims about their plans.

What many will clearly find very interesting is the fact that almost all the attacks on Obama from the Clinton lit are from New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

Krugman has gone after Obama's proposals on health care and Social Security rather pointedly…

And in response Obama's campaign has gone so far as to FACT CHECK him.

This has not endeared some in the liberal blogosphere such as Ezra Klein who wrote, "When I argued that the (Obama) campaign should take the gloves off, I really didn't expect their target, in this document and in the health care fight more generally, would be progressivism. What in hell is going on over there?"

I dunno, but Hillary sure likes it. She's plastering Krugman all over the Granite state!

I wonder if Obama will respond with lit garnished with quotes from Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich?

-- jpt

December 11, 2007 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (35)

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It's logical Clinton would go negative given that she is dropping in most polls... The latest survey from South Carolina has her down in that state for the first time in weeks:

Posted by: Daniel | Dec 11, 2007 1:44:51 PM

James Danley: If the Democrats' record is so bad for minorities, why is it, then, that these "minorities" contine to vote for Democrats in overwhelming numbers (roughly 90% of African-American voters cast their votes for Gore and Kerry over Bush)and why is it that there is not even one African-American Republican in Congress? You wouldn't actually suggest that these "minorities" are being fooled by the Democratic Party, are you?

Posted by: DKNY | Dec 11, 2007 1:35:11 PM

Hardly some big oppo drop. It is the same thing she has been saying publically.

Posted by: Dickie Flatts | Dec 11, 2007 1:19:15 PM

hklm21, you wrote: "It's mind boggling that people/sheep are so desperate to be 'lead' that they refuse to accept reality and live in complete denial about the two of them." I concur.

But apologies for borrowing your sentence to augment my earlier comment. I, personally, would expand that from "the two of them" to the entire Democratic Party. Too many "people/sheep" do want to be lead. They want government to be the answer for all of their needs. That way they don't have to take responsibility for, and control of, their own lives.

Posted by: James Danley | Dec 11, 2007 12:09:31 PM

If Hillary was such a 'strong woman' and 'leader', she wouldn't be so dependent on Bill. Without him, she doesn't have a leg to stand on, and crumbles when asked questions.
The scariest part of the two of them is that they are a completely phony 'couple'. They fought like cats and dogs in the White House and she took her anger out on staff constantly.
He has absolutely no respect for her, except for the fact that she is now in the spotlight. They are truly disgusting.
It's mind boggling that people/sheep are so desperate to be 'lead' that they refuse to accept reality and live in complete denial about the two of them.

And I am a woman. Hillary makes my skin crawl. She's a nasty person, treats people (cops, staff, bodyguards) with no respect, and can't control her emotions but is quick to play the victim.

Posted by: hklm21 | Dec 11, 2007 11:13:52 AM

Kennedy, you wrote: "She (Sen. Clinton) has a long long record or public service helping children and minorities." And it's all rhetoric! The Democratic Party has an even longer history of public record of "helping" children and minorities. The Democrats had nearly 60 years of control of both Houses of Congress, often times with very large majorities and with occasional control of the White House. For even longer the Democrats have had huge majorities in most of the large city governments. YET the children and minorities continued to struggle. Many of these large cities have failing schools and dismal dropout rates, especially among minorities. The Democrats are just talkers. And they do TALK a great game. They want to raise taxes so they can throw money at failed policies. That way they can have their cake and eat it too. They LOOK like they are doing something, yet the problem doesn't have to get solved so they can keep the issue alive for the next election. This has been going on for decades.

Posted by: James Danley | Dec 11, 2007 10:56:59 AM

Health care?? As if! Check how much money Hillary and Obama have gotten from the "healthcare" industry. Mandating healthcare does not provide it, in case you have bitten that tidbit. United Health care is the biggest criminal organization in the USA and will be a headliner in Clinton's healthcare mandate. Phooey!!

Posted by: Angel | Dec 11, 2007 10:40:42 AM

Kennedy,

Voting for Hillary just because she's a woman?

I am also a woman, and I was a Hillary supporter. It would be wonderful to see a woman in the WH. But, as I've watched her, she and her husband are the one's who have brought shame to this election. Her debate performances were sub par as she refused to answer questions. Then, at the slightest criticism about her votes and policies, she spun out of control: pile-on sexism, good-ol-boys club, the tip flap, ridiculous criticisms of Obama (character, crimes, kindergarten?), more experience (not!), experience trumping judgment (not!), imitating Obama (Streisand vs. Oprah, Powell vs. Obama's foreign policy, being president of the "United States", candidate for "Change"). I loved the Clinton years, but Hillary is not Bill. I'm not sure who is advising her, but the campaign has sunk. Even people in her campaign have acknowledged that they've learned they can't run against Dems as if they were Repubs. I've been first surprised, then shocked, angry, and now I am resolutely against the Hillary machine.

But, a campaign is just that, it needs substance in the candidate. I started looking at Obama. He has depth of experience and success is admirable. He has served as Senator of the United States; served in the Illinois State Senate; and served the Chigago suburbs as a community organizer. He was a Professor of Constitutional Law at University of Chicago. He has a law degree from Harvard, where he was the editor of the Harvard Law Review, a very distinguished position. He has a degree in foreign policy from Columbia University.

Please, demonstrate that women are capable of really understanding the issues and judging the candidates. If you do that, and still decide on Hillary, fine. But, please, don't vote for her just because she is a woman. If you vote based on her record, you will be demonstrating that women have finally succeeded in being treated equally.

Posted by: Kiku | Dec 11, 2007 10:37:49 AM

So now we've seen opposition research from Obama and Clinton. What's Edwards putting out there? He's the one more than the others trying to claim he's now running a 100% positive campaign.

Posted by: Mike | Dec 11, 2007 10:00:53 AM

Evidently nobody told Hillary's supporters that her "politics of pile-on" narrative was backfiring, but her campaign staff has moved on to increasingly desperate tactics. The good news is nobody can accuse her of being mistaken for a Republican amid the attacks her campaign has mounted on her fellow Democrats. (Wait... is that so?) The bad news is it smacks of old-school campaigning at a time that the energized progressive voters have embraced the notion of "change."

Rove must be cackling with glee.

Posted by: Lefty | Dec 11, 2007 9:24:24 AM

Hillary is right to criticize Obama's incomplete health plan, which would not provide univeral coverage.

Posted by: DaveD | Dec 11, 2007 9:13:39 AM

Kennedy: Clinton voted for authorizing the use of force, which provided the foundation for "THIS USELESS BUSH/CHANEY [sic] WAR." To the extent that courageous women were sent to fight this war, Clinton (along with all others who voted with her) bears a portion of the blame.

Posted by: DKNY | Dec 11, 2007 8:58:47 AM


........... THIS USELESS BUSH/CHANEY WAR!

Hillary is part of it. U C Kennedy ?!

Posted by: TGH | Dec 11, 2007 8:55:10 AM

hehe your "(Really? No one else is ready to lead? No one? John McCain isn't ready to lead? Joe Biden and Chris Dodd?)" cracked me up. if she or any other politician thinks in that line, then they should fold their run for presidency and sit at home and watch baseball :). ofcourse each of them believe they can do the job best. and thats why they are runing for presidency. am I right here or am I stretching?

Posted by: chris | Dec 11, 2007 8:14:21 AM

Its time the media stopped the unbiased reporting for the Clinton campaign! Does Oprah own CNN or MSNBC? Clinton HAD to fight back, or you would be reporting she was weak. Give her a break!

Hillary has been attacked since this started by ALL the candidates running, democrat and republican, and has continued to be a strong, intelligent, completely capable leader with compassion and conviction, she makes me glad to be a woman! I’m ashamed of obama and Edwards for damaging their own party, is why Huckabee is gaining. All this playing with oprah will put a republican in the White House for certain. WOMAN OF AMERICA, THIS IS OUR TIME! STAND UP AND BE COUNTED, THERE IS NO LIMITS. Let the media say what they will about Clinton, it’s solely because she is a strong woman and that scares men like obama and Edwards. My dear grandmother is 86 and my youngest daughter is 10, both are extremely excited that a woman can be President of this great country. My daughter asks why a woman has never been elected before, because men didn’t allow it. I urge all women to really look at the issues and this country and vote for Clinton. Keep in mind all media outlets are selling papers and trying to attract viewers, they love nothing more than candidates going after each other, when WE THE VOTER do not like it at all, I still believe that any of the democrats running are good candidates, I truly feel Clinton’s connections and clout with foreign countries is what we need ASAP. I do not feel confident that oprahbama biased support of obama will help him. We already see voters joking and billing it as the oprahbama show. She completely overshadowed him. She spoke well this weekend, but he failed to impress or add anything. That’s not good for this country. Oprahs is not the woman running for president, to help this country…its CLINTON. Give her the chance ladies! She has a long long record or public service helping children and minorities. Stick together and let’s make history for our mothers and daughters and ALL THE COURAGOUS WOMAN SENT TO THIS USELESS BUSH/CHANEY WAR!

Posted by: Kennedy | Dec 11, 2007 8:06:38 AM

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