Obama Camp May Turn To Negative Clinton History

The Washington Post reports this morning via an anonymous Democratic strategist that the Obama camp may seek to remind voters of the less impressive days of the Clinton administration:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's victory yesterday in Pennsylvania has only accentuated the quandary that Obama faces: Stay negative and he risks undermining the premise of his candidacy. Stay aloof and he underscores Clinton's argument that he will not be able to beat a "Republican attack machine" sure to greet him this summer....

With Obama clearly favored in North Carolina, even he has called Indiana the "tiebreaker," a state that adjoins Illinois but where Clinton voters hold sway in the working-class towns in the south. In the two weeks leading up to the Indiana primary, a Democratic strategist familiar with the Obama campaign said aides are likely to turn to the controversies of Bill Clinton's White House years -- Hillary Clinton's trading cattle futures, Whitewater and possibly impeachment.

Continue reading about Obama's Indiana primary strategy.

UPDATE: Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe has denied the report:

"We're not gonna do that," Plouffe said. "We have not talked about those issues in the campaign, and won't."

Comments

[KarenJW]

Thus far, the most negative comments from Senator Obama have been rebuttals to Hillary's unfounded allegations. Hillary is a desperate woman, a "privileged white" person responding to the reality that her entitlement to this presidency is but a myth, that her days in this race are numbered. It is imperative that Senator Obama take the high road and not succumb to the political ploys of past.

Hillary's actions define her. She represents the past and her peak has passed! McCain is simply prehistoric.

Senator Obama is the path to America's flourishing future!

[inwonderland]

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OBAMA GOING NEGATIVE AND STANDING UP FOR WHAT HE BELIEVES IN.

PLOUFFE BETTER GET WITH THE REALITY OF THE GROUND GAME BECOMING A FAIRY TALE.

I AM A LONGTIME OBAMA SUPPORTER BUT THIS LAYING BACK AND GETTING BEAT UP IS
LOOKING LIKE A DOORMAT MENTALITY NOT A GENTLEMAN'S STANCE.

DON'T MINIMIZE THE UNDERCUT THAT IS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PA PRIMARY.

THE MATH, THE MONEY, THE NUMBERS NOW WON'T COUNT IF OBAMA DOES NOT BEGIN TO COUNT HILLARY OUT BY PUNCHING THE LIGHT OUT OF HER TRIANGULATING AND NOW STRANGULATING CAMPAIGN.

YES, BARACK IS A DECENT, COOL AND CALM SOUL. HE CAN BE ALLL THAT AFTER HE FIGHTS HIS WAY INTO THE WHITE HOUSE.

IF ANY CANDIDATE CAN BE TOUGH, PROACTIVE, STAND UP FIRM AND CLEAR AND REMAIN
DECENT, IT IS BARACK OBAMA.

THE TIME IS NOW.

[barackaide]

easy on th caps lock, man.

barack the man doesn't have to sling those truths about himself. his surrogates or surrogate surrogates can do that and should. turn about is fair play and they can just say that, hey, get used to it. we're doing you a favor by offering a tune up match before the GE. just returning the favor.

[ann1]

It's unfortunate but Sen Obama's hands are tied. The media has all but announced they want Hillary to win. The republicans have teamed up with her. When an enemy befriends an enemy it's because they have a common enemy. We need to continue to support Sen Obama and cry foul every chance we get. Don't get discouraged that's what they want us to do.

[Daisy1111]

Really? The media I watch says Obama should win.

[Ourrias]

Why shouldn't he?

Why has Hillary been the only one slinging mud so far in this campaign?

Turanabout it fair play - bring it on, Barack! Bring on the parade of horribles out of the Clinton closet!

[VFH]

That closet door opened wide years ago. Let's see his parade of horribles.

[IndependentPAVoter]

AMEN!!!! She brought it on her self. Knock her out Barack

[cramos]

OBAMA is no Saint....h­e is desperate!!!

Bring it on>>>>>>>>>>>BAR

Lots of BS still left in your closet>>>>­>>>>OOOOPS Closet?

[IndependentPAVoter]

Trust me if Obama has dirt Clinton and the GOP have used every CIA connection they have to dig it up. Funny how Americans complain complain complain but when someone offers something different real change we tear them down in anyway we can. For all the crap we talk about them Canada is looking better and better everyday.

[deweshk]

Dump whatever it takes on the head of Billary. Bring back the disgraceful 90's of the Clinton presidency, from Arkansas to the WH. From Paula Jones to Lewinsky to all the .... gates. Bring it, bring it, and bring them all ! ! ! I cant wait to savor these. Geeez !

[NelsonR]

Being nice in politics is neither sensible or pragmatic.

The nature of the beast which does equates to the definition and new word which is "Clintonian" and equaling to immoral behavior while power is the end game. This way when you see a person of low moral character you can say, He/She is quite "Clintonian".

Barrack must attack the Clinton's for their past crony behavior. Even Bills brother sold pardons while Bill frolicked with the Monica's of the world. Hillary knew all about it but it mattered not, her philosophy, "Screw em" as she said about Southerners. Now this immoral corruption of politics gone bad is gloating of the fact she is getting closer to destroying both the future of America and the Democratic party if the CLINTON name is not highlighted. Clinton's, Benedict Arnold, Enron all conceptually correct and related.

[laksa]

Why not? He should also borrow a page from Carl Rove. If superdelegates is looking at Obama and asking why can't he close the deal, the answer is he has not been as negative as Hillary. All these wait and see and let every vote count theory is not good, it will only hurt the party. Because, Obama at this point to proof electability would need to be like Clinton. Gloves off and hit hard. Well, end result - broken party.

[eXcommunicate]

America deserves what we vote for. 4 years from now Pennsylvanians will wake even more impoverished than ever and wonder why McHillary "ain't doin' nuthin' bout them GAYz".

[IndependentPAVoter]

I know but at least I can say I tried.

[coolrepublica]

Well if Monica and White Water start popping up, we know who to call and ask some question.

[escapee]

The Clinton's?

[patch61]

dont be surprised if obama brings this up on a negative ad to the tv they can not do anything else better but to whin like alittle children it makes them feel better after asking for the white uneducated blue collar people to vote for them they go and put us down that we turned bitter and go to religion and guns, i feel very hopeful that sen.hillar­y clinton will become our next president and i believe that the media as put down and obama and campigan has called us white women of america uneducated and that is a insult this is a note that just to let you know media to stop calling the people who vote for sen.hillar­y clinton uneduated you all have ahalf pint brain. vote for sen. hillary clinton she will be the best person to be president.­....

[Hallucinocynic]

Boy, I couldn't have said it better, myself.

[thinbluetorpedo]

The problem is that she would need to steal the nomination. Obama has already won it. Do the math. She is despicable. She is giving the advantage to McCain, with the help from folks like you.

[Tennwoman]

Actually, it isn't the Obama campaign who has called "white women of america uneducated­." Rather, it has been the media reporting of exit polls taken after each primary. It is a fact that people with less education tend to vote for Clinton. I've no idea why, but it is so. After reading your post, I have to say that the exit polls seem to be pretty accurate.

[VFH]

Actually patch61 sounds rather savvy, speaking of exit polls.

[IndependentPAVoter]

If you lived where I live you'd know why. Where im live uneducated = poor, poor= bitter, bitter= antisemitic now of course this doesnt apply to all her but it does apply to most. Let me give you an example, a radio station actually put the following statement on air today:

Host: I heard Bush and Mccain are buying traps.
Co-Host: Why?
Host: Because a coon and a beaver are trying to get in the white-house.


This joke has been flying around out here, of course when they say it to me they make it like their outraged, but I know they were laughing when I wasnt there. Thats the attitude here its sad but true.

[escapee]

Should Hillary be given the nomination by the S.D., the repukes aren't going to ignore the Clinton (Bill and Hill) scandals. Might as well go through now.

[discolapin]

If you don't like being called uneducated perhaps you should think about breaking your post into readable sentences, instaed of posting one long run-on sentence. Just a thought.

[brainlego]

Olbermann: Hillary's imperial presidency:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXZBlT0N-B8

[adzeman]

I applaud smearing her. She is destroying the party. Dump buckets of chickenshit on her if that will make the mad cow go away.

[Busterdawg]

Hey, another personal attacked on Hillary allowed by the HuffPo filled with profane and mildly misogynistic invective. Fancy that.

[realitybase]

She IS destroying the party. Brought it down to the gutter wiith republican tactics, even Rovian. No, we should be better than that.

That's why I support Obama. He has been remarkedly restrained when he could NAIL her on so many counts. I hope he doesn't go to the gutter for the taunting of the "gutter fighter."

I hope.

[sandiaview]

I am sick and tired of that "picking on a girl thing". Hillary is an old broad. She swigs liquor like a man and her eyes are looking like Barbara Bush's eyes - bug-like and scary. I guess that's her punishment for going Republican and gives a new meaning to winning ugly!

[VFH]

Are you an example of the kind of people that support Obama???????? Sure looks bad for the future of the country if he wins. Even less reason to vote for him if you are representative of his supporters.

[stepintothelight]

Actually in my eyes ... a bucket of that dumped on her would be an improvement!!

[notsoyoungNY]

While it's true that Obama is damned if he do and damned if he doesn't, he does need to step his game up and continue to ignore her in a way that you would an annoying child, all the while going after McCain/Bush (we all know it would just be a continuation of current agenda). I like the idea of moveon taking the lead in reminding the world about the scandal plagued couple.

McCain is too happy to have the endorsement to mess it up now to go in another direction than the current one. But realisticly, all of them would have to do what they're told by their contributors (Bankers and Corporations). If not, the alternative isn't very pleasant. They'll be killed, set up and ran out of politics or jailed. All of their dirty dealings will be given up and their families embarrassed, to say the least.

This has been the way things are done in politics since the beginning of this system, but especially since coming to America. Lincoln wouldn't let the banks finance the war and he paid the ultimate price. Here's an interesting story, a little scarey, but it is what it is :-)

http://www.auburnjournal.com/detail/82043.html

[karmax]

I HOPE HE DOES....SH­E CAN HANDLE IT BIG TIME....GO FOR IT BAMEEEE...­...SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS!!!

[DinSea]

"We're not gonna do that..."
WHY THE HECK NOT???

Clinton scandals are an important part of the historical record. If Obama is comparing styles, this should be a crucial part of the discussion. It is never a balanced conversation when you omit the criminal and amoral activities of the Clintons starting at the beginning of their ambition together. They have perfected the "white collar mafia" tactics of casting a massive net over politicians and media which implement such methods of intimidation, coercion, fear, blackmail, and best of all - perceived "FAVORS" which came through the course of carrying out the duties of their own positions.

If Obama does not address some of the Clinton corruption and what it has done to our political process and our country, then they must get surrogates to do the dirty work.

Clintons are dirty. They live dirty, they work dirty, they play dirty. You cannot fight them without getting really, really, dirty. Nice guys will not defeat the Clintons. We are upsetting the balance of good vs. evil here - Obama is betting that the balance of good will tip the scales. I hope he's right.

Maybe I'm just venting sadness & disappointment that he did not pull off a landslide yesterday. This election is wearing me out.

[readerK]

DinSea: I'm sorry that your disappointment at Obama's inability to "pull off a landslide yesterday" in PA has made you so bitter. Your frustration is so profound that you forgot that for six long years, the Clintons were microscopically investigated from head to toe, at a cost of almost $70 million. But, ultimately, they were adjudged to be as guiltless as you and I. All the scandals of which the Obama campaign is reportedly about to remind us were looked into. And so, as a former constitutional lecturer at a university, Obama must know that he has a duty to respect the Independent Prosecutor's Report on the Clintons as fully as he obviously respects the U. S. Constitution.

As regards negative campaigning, Obama has not been a saint. You may remember that starting from the first debate in Philadelphia last October -- the one conducted by Tim Russert and Brian Williams -- Obama attacked Clinton from every angle, and Clinton never registered a complaint; nor did you, nor Obama's supporters, nor I. If you asked Norman Hsu, he would tell you that Obama has not run a clean campaign. Search www.latimes.com for "Hsu and Obama" to get stories about Hsu's claim that the politician who promised "hope and change" played some dirty tricks in the entire blow-up of the scandal about campaign contributions.

Hillary is crude in her attacks, and she leaves her fingerprints all over. Obama is silky smooth in his attacks, and leaves no fingerprints. ReaderK.

[Trinidad707]

Step 1. Shine light on the fact that the Rezko/Obama problem is really big, and he is on trial right now for government fraud , and the shady land

deal where the monies Rezko used were loaned to him by Auchi...a former Saddam Hussein aide

Step 2. Point Out that Louis Farrakhan was the former owner of Obama's home, Obama met Farrakhan through Rev Wright

Step 3. Point out that 5 days after the PA primary their will be a fundraiser by Obama that Rev Wright will speak at

Step 4. POint out how Obama won the elections for state senator , and how he sytematically eliminated people so he would have no running mates

Step 5. Point out all the years Obama did nothing in the state senate until his last year, and that his ethics bill he touts was claimed in Rezko trial as

a bill "Just for show"
If Barack campaign plays dirty so can Hillarycampaign

[stepintothelight]

You do realize that the Clintons have taken more money from Rezco. You want a November surprise???

[Conservateur]

link please

[Kingbreaker]

Step 6. Step away from the Kool aid and breathe.

Step 7. Look up the actual facts and ignore the bullshit trolls.

[fungeezer]

Your story is distorted to the max.
Step 1 - Bring it out, and it will be after he testifies. For now, he is remaining quiet, before he testifies.

Step 2 - Gee, wasn't there a video of Gov. Rendell, the Clinton supporter praising Louis Farrakhan? Doesn't that equal guilt by association?

Step 3 - So what? Wasn't Rev. Wright a loyal American soldier, who served his country in the Marines and as a Navy Corpsman?

Step 4 - Go ahead and try. This one I have to see.

Step 5 - I think introducing 802 bills in the Illinois Senate counts for something, don't you?

Let's take it one step further. Which national candidate did William Ayers support and even hold a fund raiser for?

[VFH]

Ah, so refreshing to read a post by someone who obviously checks into different sources for information.

And let's add that during the last debate that Obama gave Clinton the one finger salute, but you won't find the MSM making a big deal about it. I think that they edited some of that out. Think I saw the clip on Dan Riehl's political blog site.

[missjabez]

Obama did not flip HRC off. I do, every time I see her on the TV screen.

[IndependentPAVoter]

Are you kidding me?? Do you know we are talking about the Clintons??? They have more dirt than Bush you better watch it your candidates negatives vastly outway her positives especially when most of her positives are empty promises( Her healthcare plan for example is the same one she's been pushing since she was 1st lady it will never pass too many pol's are against it and you definately wont find 1 repub voting yes to it). I would slow your attacks on the good Senator from Illinios if he attacks once and gives us the green light we will bury Hillary with her own words I have tons of ammo myself cant imagine what Barack has.