It's offfical: Hillary's campaign is going negative

[Capn Sunshine]

Mark Penn, campaign genius , thinks that their problem wasn't a suck ground game but that they just weren't http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/01/on-second-thoug.html">hard enough on Obama. Can't wait to see the shit start flying. Wait, the flying monkeys landed here last week. They are just getting their validation now.

It's this form of campaigning that Penn and his cohorts are known for. As I predicted.
Offer still open, Penn. I'll show you how to win. I'll even throw in a giant hint for free:
Going negative doesn't help in NH.

[HeraldSquare212]

1. More like, their attempts to be hard on Obama failed or backfired nt

It wasn't because they were nice, it was because they were incompetent.

[iconocrastic]

2. Negative is as negative does

What is HRC if not the embodiment of negative forces?

[Bullet1987]

4. That's really their only weapon left

They don't have the time to mount a comeback the way Clinton did because of the schedule.

[dailykoff]

3. Going?

:shrug:

[K Gardner]

35. It should read: Hillary Campaign STILL going Negative :-)

[Demeter]

5. They've Been Negative For Weeks--and This Was the Result

What they mean is they're concentrating on Obama, leaving Edwards free of interference! It's all good.

[Azathoth]

6. Now the "really fun" part begins

And the Clinton people wonder why "change" is such an important theme this election cycle.

[Cameron27]

7. Who's writing this crap,

he cites two Clinton campaigners as providing Novak with the smear on Obama. I haven't seen anyone, anywhere prove that was true. I don't trust this blog.

[elixir]

15. When I heard the name Novak I tuned out. Hello? Plamegate.

There's no credibility to a campaign managers comments taken out of context. Penn said they had to focus on Obama. What did you expect him to say? Obama's the competition, it's certainly not John Edwards. Also keep in mind that Obama has been bashing Clinton just as much.

Notice how I didn't reference race or gender.

[question everything]

8. Perhaps, if others were more negative on Kerry in 2004

he would have been better prepared for the Swift boaters and won.

So many are going negative on Clinton and on Edwards, why should Obama be spared? Because everyone bends backwards, afraid that any negative comment on him would be labeled as "racist?"

[iconocrastic]

12. Typical Clinton smear

So you're not going to criticize Barak because you're afraid of being called racist?

That's just too cute.

And then saying HRC will strengthen the process by being hostile.

And then implying that attacks on her are unfair.

You people are in the dark.

Literally.

[karynnj]

26. Kerry was prepared - the sbvt was a media condoned attack

Before August, the media and the world at large, had:

- the ability to see over 100 pages of Kerry's Naval records, including fitness reports that entirely covered the interval he was in the service. Many written by SBVT, all uniformly glowing.

- Knowledge that on the Nixon tapes, it can be heard they investigated Kerry and found that he was a clean cut war hero. this was 2 years after the fact, when it would be far easier to get information than 35 years later.

- The medals were given by the Navy and they acknowlged they gave them. The summary that Senator Kerry had of his service that had been on his Senate site and was then on his campaign site was written by the Navy at the Senator's request in the 1980s.

- Brinkley, who wrote Tour of Duty is an academic historian who interviewed more than 100 people. Kerry had no editorial control over the book.

- All the men on the boat for any medals backed Kerry 100%.

The SBVT had hit twice in the spring and the primary campaign had defeated them.

Please give me an example where the vaunted "war room" refuted a smear better?

[jefferson_dem]

9. Obama's ready for the Clinton slime machine.

"I think the attacks will define their candidacy," Obama strategist David Axelrod said this morning. "When you have to resort to those tactics, that begins to define your campaign. It's one more way in which you have a very hard time standing up and saying you're the candidate of change."

Obama, of course, lays claim to that sunny point of view. And he suggested in an interview this week that he can handle the heat.

"I come from Chicago, man," he told the Tribune's John McCormick

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/

[Sulawesi]

10. she has no choice...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3950765">My view on things....

[BenDavid]

11. truth in negatives do work. negatives against obama will work

[Quixote1818]

23. They work when they come from the opposite party but not from inside the party

In almost every case in the past 4 years where a Democrat has gone negative against another Democrat they lost or both candidates lost. They were talking about this on Air America this morning.

[David Zephyr]

13. Mark Penn is going to go negative? That's the only thing he has ever known to do.

Mark Penn is a creep. He has sullied HIllary's name and has already damaged her chances of being the nominee.

[iconocrastic]

14. BS. Hillary hired him

Two peas in a pod.

Blame Penn?

Hey, look at the candidate herself.

LOL.

Clueless.

[elixir]

19. LOL ... clueless

[David Zephyr]

27. Thank you so much for informing me that Hillary had hired Mark Penn. Wow! You are a genius.

My post was self-evident in its criticism of Hillary, too.

Nuance isn't your strong point, is it?

Clueless? No more than you are just dimwitted.

Oh, I forgot: LOL.

[iconocrastic]

34. Having a bad day?

Your post was evident of the typical manner of HRC casting blame everywhere but where it belongs. Your response to mine was simple pettineess. Self-evident isn't an expression you should use until you appreciate its meaning.

HRC supporters are typically in a foul mood. But sour and surly don't win elections.

Maybe that's something the greatness of your intellect won't stoop to recognize.

Have a nice day.

[Perry Logan]

16. It's sheer chuzpa for Obama people to talk about negative campaigning!

I came to DU and was promptly grossed out by the Obama supporters. Nothing has changed.

[Sulawesi]

22. Can you give me a link to an uplifting post of yours? It seems like hit and run all the time.

Hillary people are all over Obama, both sides do this...stop with the self-righteous victim talk.

[Perry Logan]

25. Check out my Journal, which has plenty of uplifting stuff, as well as the best in one-liners.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Perry%20Logan

[XemaSab]

31. There's a big difference between supporters going negative

and the candidate going negative.

[Elidor]

17. An interesting bit from the Booman Tribune

Part of Team Clinton's problem is that they can't lay a glove on Obama. People don't care about his foreign policy experience and they aren't all they impressed with Hillary's resume. Team Clinton can't attack his character or it boomerangs on them. There's no significant policy differences to work with. And Clinton was, and is, wrong on the war in Iraq. Game over. What can they even use to cause division? Nothing. They are limited to asking people to like and trust Hillary more than they like and trust Barack. How do you think that is going to work out?

http://www.boomantribune.com/

On the other hand, BooMan thinks Clinton is toast. I think that's very premature, but he may be right that she doesn't have much to work with over the next few days in NH. The "I'm ready" line already sounds pretty thin. But we all know she'll come out swinging. Whether getting nasty will help her or hurt her, I can't say. For all the talk of people not liking negative campaigning, it's often been very successful.

[BeyondGeography]

18. It's a great way for the Clintons to go out; trying to tear down the hope and future of the party

shows you it was always about them first and foremost.

PS: It won't work.

[malta blue]

20. So insinuating that he dealt drugs in the past was not negative?

Negative campaigns rarely work - especially in New England.

[Forkboy]

24. Ironically, Hillary's campaign has most reminded me of Kerry Healey's in Mass.

Right down to race card being played. Healey was going to lose anyways, but she cemented that loss by her excessive negativity, and Clinton's campaign seems determined to travel that same path.

[dailykoff]

21. playing the Sistah Souljah card really helped in Iowa.

This will work alright -- it'll get the WalMart lawyer out of the race.

[Hardrada]

30. LOL!

[indimuse]

28. The MEDIA WASN"T!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!:smoke:

[Renew Deal]

29. "She's fully vetted, fully tested. And I don't think that process has occurred with Barack Obama.''

I was talking about this a few weeks ago. This is an incredibly poor argument for electability. The argument is "You know how bad I am. You don't know how bad the other guy MIGHT be." It's a net negative argument for Hillary.

[MethuenProgressive]

32. It's about time she responded to Obama's dirty tricks, attacks and smears.

He's been getting a pass for too long.

[loveangelc]

33. wow, they really haven't learned. I thought they would do it but hoped they wouldn't.

how does she do this without looking desperate??? i have no idea.