Should Obama have hit Clinton harder during the campaign?

[onetwo]

...because it is utterly ridiculous that an HRC supporter (Repub undercover troll?) could try to pin Obama with guilt by association. When they trot out the Quartet -- Wright, Ayers, Rezko, and Et Cetera (they always throw in the last one as if the real list is a mile long), I simply have to roll my eyes. Apparently, some really think she's clean. Clearly, certain people have bought the idea that Hillary has been "fully vetted" and fail to realize that a similar list of her own could potentially fill up a 1600x1200 computer screen at 8pt font. And, ironically, those exact same guys would make her list, too.

I just found that to be one of the more annoying parts of following the race. Bring on June 11th :)

[anonymous171]

1. They hate him anyway. She would've gotten out of the way a lot faster too.

[onetwo]

2. Yep. She would've been pushed aside much quicker had he run...

...an effective surrogate slime campaign (don't know how Bill could complain about this since it barely happened). But we're all glad that he was able to pull it out while sticking to the high road.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

3. You should sign up with Obama as a consultant.

They could use your genius over there.

[onetwo]

4. Aww, come on, I'm just getting it all out since we're within 36 hours. ;)

[A-Schwarzenegger]

7. Let it out, onetwo.

:hi:

[cliffordu]

5. Nope - he should really ridicule her now, though, you know, hammer and tongs....

[goletian]

6. no, hillary was divisive enough for the both of them.

my first instinct would be to say yes, but after thinking about it, i know he played it smart. he knows what hes doin.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. He did fine. He mostly kept out of the gutter.

And let Clinton play out her kitchen sink option until there was nothing left to throw. Keep in mind that he had won the pledged delegate race after super tuesday - the contest was effectively over. There was nothing to be gained by getting down in the mud and wrestling with Clinton. And Obama is demonstrating that he knows how to fight hard when fighting hard is the right option. He is going straight after McCain's vulnerabilities and not letting the bullshit media system frame the debate in their terms.

[CakeGrrl]

9. No, the high road is, was, and will be good for him in the long run

As bad as the negativity was against him during the primaries, it would have been worse if he'd actually pushed back against Hillary's negatives, even though he could have.

I think a lot of his appeal came from the fact that he was more about what he could do rather than what Hillary couldn't do. I believe people like to gravitate toward the positive, even if they can't put their finger on why they're drawn to someone.

That tack works on me. I spoke with a few salesmen who bid on a home improvement job for me. The one that got the job simply came over, said "Here's what we can do for you", and that was that. One competitor MIGHT have given me an additional feature or two for a very comparable price, but he put me off when he tried to scare me away from the other contractors.

[niceypoo]

11. Bush made the same claims in 00 and 04 ...

Claiming to be above the fray while his supporters ran a campaign of character assasination.
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/08/28/moore_rove_swift_boat/index.html">Smear Artist

[CakeGrrl]

28. So let's get this right...you compare Obama to Bush tactics, but can only cite BUSH

Where are the charges against Obama?

Where did he ever swiftboat Hillary?

By the way, who is the one who touted Karl Rove's analysis as sound data?

[niceypoo]

10. Obama had his supporters doing his dirty work for him...

Obama supporters ran the most vitriolic smear campaign in Democratic history, all in his name, while he pretended to be 'above the fray' doing nothing to stop it. This is exactly what Bush did in 00 and 04.

"Aug 28, 2004 | The Bush campaign claims no connections to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and their mission against John Kerry. It's just one big happy coincidence. Those Republicans just have all the luck."

"As he was rebuilding the Republican Party in Texas, Rove developed a template for smearing opponents. The goal was to have his candidates hover above the fray while urging their opponents to concentrate on issues, thereby constantly putting them in a position of having to play defense and deny unfounded accusations. Eventually, the Rove client, according to the script, would step out to demand an end to the ugliness. Of course, Rove wrote the narrative of these plans in such a way that calling for a truce would not occur until the damage had already been done to his opposition."

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/08/28/moore_rove_swift_boat/index.html">Smear Artist

[JVS]

12. Yes.

[Evergreen Emerald]

13. How much harder could he hit them? He called them "Racist!"

You can't hit much harder than that.

[PM7nj]

14. Oh really? Do you have a quote or audio

of Obama calling anyone racist?

I'll be waiting.....

[Evergreen Emerald]

15. YOu don't remember SC? You don't remember the debate in which

he admitted that his campaign is sending e-mails to the press about how the Clintons are "Racists!" You don't remember his campaign using "Racism!" shouts at legitimate criticisms?

It has not been that long of a season that you don't remember that stuff. "Links please" is the intellectually lazy way out of a conversation.

[PM7nj]

18. No. I don't.

Please prove me wrong.

[Evergreen Emerald]

19. Hmmm...

I suggest you educate yourself. I have no inclination to have a conversation with someone who either does not know--or pretends not to know--the facts of the campaign.

[LisaM]

23. He admitted it on "Meet the Press"

I think his stealth campaign of personal destruction worked fine for him. Open attacks wouldn't have fooled his supporters as well.

I have yet to hear a single person say that they believe, deep down, that the Clintons are racist - or to offer an apology for the way they were framed as such.

I think Obama's campaign was as negative, or more so, than Hillary's. And I don't know a single Obama supporter who will admit it. They prefer the blinders.

[DevonRex]

30. Linky? Transcript? Back it up with facts if you can. nt

[LisaM]

31. I have posted, MANY TIMES, the link to the four-page memo

on how to frame many remarks made by the Clintons or their supporters as racist. I'm not going to do it again. It's available from the Huffington Post. That memo was later referenced on MTP. You are welcome to look it up. I (and others) have posted this many times. I think there are people who don't or won't believe it, and others who have swallowed the fallacy that the Clintons are racist. If you believe that deep down in your heart, fine. Obama is the candidate for you. But to deny that his campaign knowingly destroyed Hillary Clinton's reputation is naive.

[Evergreen Emerald]

32. It is kind of funny when you think about it

They just keep saying "link" "link" even tho they have read the "links" numerous times (and actually saw the FACTS when they occurred, and still they call Clinton's campaign "reprehensible" and Obama a saint.

Akin to shouting lalalalalalalalinklinklink with eyes closed and ears covered to avoid reality.

[TahitiNut]

17. Please provide a link to a reputable source quoting Obama calling the Clinton racists.

I won't hold my breath. :eyes:

[Evergreen Emerald]

20. Seriously you guys have such short memories

He--through his campaign used race to divide and conquer. His surrogates got on national television and called the Clintons racist for any legitimate criticism of Obama (fairy tale, MLK, etc). You don't remember? Seriously? Do you not remember Obama admitting that his campaign was sending e-mails to the press calling Clintons racist? Seriously you don't remember?

Hey, but I will bet you remember the part when the media said Clinton Lied about a woman who was sent away from a hospital, and the SHOUTS of LIAR about Clinton on the media as well as DU. Those turned out to be false. Do you remember that?

[TahitiNut]

21. Yadayadayada ... you made a simple declarative sentence.

You said, "He called them 'Racist!'"

All I'm asking you to do is give ONE reputable citation where "He" (Obama) called "them" (Clintons) "Racist!"

I didn't ask for your opinion of me. I didn't ask for insults. I didn't ask for a bunch of bullshit.

I made a simple, civil request and all I'm hearing in return is mealy-mouthed vomit.

[BlooInBloo]

27. Link to Obama saying that please?

[DevonRex]

29. Link it or stop posting this BS. nt

[ecstatic]

16. You would think he did based on the reactions of her surrogates!

:crazy:

[AtomicKitten]

22. I doubt it would have mattered: Clinton people didn't notice that he was gracious and respectful.

But, in the bigger schemes, Obama did the right thing not going ugly on a fellow Democrat. Clinton coming at Obama like a Karl Rove Democrat was a huge mistake on a number of levels, and that will be exploited by the GOP in a big way.

[Forkboy]

24. He won, so apparently he didn't have to.

:shrug:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

25. He couldn't.

Then he'd be framed as the angry black guy beating up on the white woman.

Not to mention it would run against his general style of politics.

[DanTex]

26. I hear you, but no.

He won. He didn't have to go negative. It was a smart move.

A lot of the really dirty stuff Hillary pulled was after March, when the race was effectively over. So he didn't need to get down in the gutter with her. He may have lost a couple of votes, but the nomination was never in jeopardy.

Moreover, despite the fact that his attacks on Hillary were extremely mild, a lot of Hillary supporters are still upset about the "destructive negative campaign" that Obama ran. Just imagine if he had actually hit Hillary hard.

The fact that he stayed above the fray will make it much easier to get Hillary supporters on board. IMO, he played it perfectly.