NYT, pg1: Obama Camp Sees Fine Line in Hitting Back: "That’s why people want something different."

[DeepModem Mom]

Obama Camp Sees Fine Line in Hitting Back
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: March 8, 2008

CASPER, Wyo. — Since opening his presidential bid 14 months ago, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has answered many questions about his candidacy. Can he turn inspiration into votes? Yes. Can he raise money? Yes. Can his organization compete with the political muscle of one of the best-known families in Democratic politics? Yes. But after his defeats this week at the hands of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, there is frustration and anger among his supporters, advisers and contributors about the Clinton campaign’s attacks on him — and still-unresolved tension about how far he can go in striking back without sacrificing his claim to be practicing a new brand of politics.

The conflict was given new life on Friday when Samantha Power, a close friend and a senior foreign policy adviser to Mr. Obama, resigned after referring to Mrs. Clinton, of New York, as “a monster.”...

Mr. Obama, who did not publicly acknowledge Ms. Power’s comment when he arrived here Friday on the eve of the Democratic caucuses in Wyoming, privately admonished members of his staff to avoid being drawn into an unnecessary negative back-and-forth with rivals. Asked about the incident by a reporter at a campaign stop here, he said he had not “been drawn into a knife fight.”

Yet after losing in Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas — following days of being pummeled — advisers to Mr. Obama conceded they had to take a sharper tack as the Democratic nominating fight slogs forward in a delegate-by-delegate battle. While still calibrating how to challenge Mrs. Clinton, advisers to Mr. Obama seemed to settle on an approach by seizing on her delay in releasing income tax returns and the slow pace at which papers from the Clinton White House are being made public. The Obama campaign manager, David Plouffe, told reporters that Mrs. Clinton was “one of the most secretive politicians in America today.”

The Clinton campaign has, since Bill Clinton ran for president, mastered the art of the “war room.” And this week, suddenly smelling blood, it seemed on full alert. On Friday alone, Mrs. Clinton and her aides held forth with telephone calls and news conferences hitting Mr. Obama on Iraq, Ms. Power and trade. Even as they counterpunched, Mr. Obama’s aides cast themselves as reluctant participants in the brawl. “There are people that will always do politics as usual better than we will,” said Robert Gibbs, the communications director for Mr. Obama. “That’s why people want something different.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/us/politics/08adviser.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

[thepurpose]

1. I wonder why Obama's camp feels restrained and Clinton's doesn't.

[Gore1FL]

3. She is in "kitchen sink" desperation mode

Her attacks are turning people of in the long term, no matter what they accomplish in the short term.

Besides wedging people away from her, she is also using up everything in the arsenal. In seven weeks, all her attacks will be old news.

Obama is doing the right thing. It worked in the past to get him where he is. If he is the one elevating the debate to the things people want to talk about while dismissing her attacks in the manner in which he has for the most part done, she looks less presidential, and he still gets to run his style of campaign.

[C_U_L8R]

2. there's a big difference between fighting hard and fighting dirty

Obama doesn't need to lie like a Clinton to win.
He just needs to knock em out of the ring
with clean punishing body blows.
And the best weapon against a Clinton
is the truth. They can't take it.
Keep doing what you're doing 'Bama.
Keep turning up the heat.

[thepurpose]

6. You are 100% correct. But fighting fair is not what the MSM wants and that's who drives all

this bullshit in the first place. If they would call each side on this shit and tell them they won't print or broadcast the bullshit they wouldn't do it. Instead what we have is all the talking heads running to the megaphone to repeat it.

[C_U_L8R]

8. yeah, that was pretty slimey

[Smelting Pot]

4. Excellent Article!

In my opinion, the Obama campaign is better served by using the Clinton attacks to illuminate the differences between them. For every attack that comes their way, they need to reinforce the "politics as usual" meme as it applies to Hillary's campaign and advisors. In fact, they can even use it to point out the ties between Mark Penn and the McCain campaign. Turn your enemies "strengths" - Hillary's a "fighter" - into a weakness - Hillary is "lashing out" and will do anything to win. Although some here think that is an admirable trait, they are definitely in the minority among Democrats as shown by the numerous articles surfacing decrying Hillary's tactics of late.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Excellent post, Smelting Pot -- welcome to DU!!!

[Smelting Pot]

7. Thanks! nt