Obama’s is on the Horns of a Dilemma: He must destroy Clinton to save his candidacy

[Sensitivity]

To restore the hope of his candidacy Obama must do what his is most loath to do – destroy a fellow democrat. But he must. Winning a few more states that "don't count" will not redress the harm to the chances of success a McCain that has been done by Hillary's destructive rhetoric. He must now treat her not as “a friend” as an enemy .

It realy is destroy or be destroyed.

If Hillary Clinton remains credible her daily validation of basic line of Republican attack – that the nation would be at grave risk with an Obama Presidency – will destroy his own general election viability. Hillary is doing to Obama exactly what the swift-boat liars did to John Kerry, but potentially with greater effect since she is a leader of Obama’s own party.

The claim by Hillary supporters that these attacks just “good vetting” is a lie. This vetting –by-smear does not compare in any way to attacks that the Enemy could launch because the critique of an enemy does not have the credibility of devastating “testimonial” from someone who professes to be “honored, so honored” to be your colleague and “friend.”

Hillary has broken what Gary Hart call the “final rule.” Obama must now either acquiesce to Hillary’s “gracious” offer of a V.P. role on her ticket, or begin a campaign to totally destroy her credibility with the American people.

Hillary has become a mortal enemy. The time is now to “let loose the dogs of war.”

[BumRushDaShow]

1. The DNC

can shut this all down right now. It's time for them to get on it.

[SoFlaJet]

3. yea where ARE the party "elders"

where IS Richardson, Edwards, Gore, and Biden? Why haven't they come out and endorsed democratic politics instead of the Clinton RW tactics and talking points as evidenced last night on Real Time by Terry McCauliffe?

[K Gardner]

8. It wasn't just McAwful, also memeing the same sludge yesterday were

Wes Clark, Lanny Davis, Hillary Rosen and Hillary herself. They're out in force and won't be stopped.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[SoFlaJet]

11. man Lanny Davis is the fucking WHINYEST

of the hillshills going and Hillary Rosen and the blonde lady on Hardball are just as nauseating

[DJ13]

12. where ARE the party "elders"

I get the feeling the Democratic elders are as resolute in their desire to keep our party together as the House Democrats are in holding Bush responsible for his actions.

The Clintons are like Republicans, they bully those without spines to get what they want.

[SoFlaJet]

15. It IS becoming more and more apparent

but the good news is more people are waking up to what a lot of us have been saying here ever since she started losing-that all she cares about is herself-NOT the democratic party and that she would rather have a republican in the WH in 2009 if it can't be her

[TwilightGardener]

22. Wow, your last sentence is so, so true.

[niceypoo]

51. You whine about Hillarys 'Right wing' tactics....

But you ignore the fact that Obama is doing exactly what Bush did in 2000 and 2004, pretending to be above the fray while his supporters, backed by the media, have a blanket party on his rivals, all in his name. It is classic Rove. Dont believe me? Listen to Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller or listen to Olberman...all of whom have taken the obsessive compulsive Clinton hating baton from the right. The left wing media has turned the Democratic party into a sewer in Obamas name.

But of course you could also just hear it from Rove himself...

Rove, Smear Artist

"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."

[MagsDem]

61. Not endorsing a guy who looks voters in the eye and lies

They know he is full of shit. He isn't being endorsed by other other candidates for a reason. They know him.

[keep_it_real]

2. I agree: “let loose the dogs of war.”

[jody]

4. If BO destroys Hillary, he commits political suicide. n/t

[krawhitham]

19. then get the 527s to do it n/t

[K Gardner]

5. Does anyone have a post left? This article just posted on

Buzzflash and is very good.. broaches some of the same topics, also talks about how HRC has betrayed progressive ideals. Someone should post it

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/editorblog/060

[Catherina]

14. I'll do it

My first thread

[Catherina]

21. Here's the link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[rwheeler31]

6. She is destroying herself.

[Sulawesi]

7. What are you talking about? She is verging on irrelevant!

[gulliver]

9. The presumption being that he could "let loose the dogs of war..."

We still don't know whether Obama is "positive" by choice or necessity. Not to put too fine a point on it, but is Obama peaceful or toothless? If Obama lets loose the dogs of war (or even just a couple of "dogs of watch"), I'll be impressed. As a Hillary supporter, I see two candidates whining and complaining a lot, but only one candidate being aggressive. The other is depending on the media and a throng of vocal supporters to do "his" fighting.

[TwilightGardener]

24. Your "aggressive" is other people's "unscrupulous asshole I'll never vote for".

[gulliver]

31. Fringies who stomp out of the room are good riddance...

...I want someone who will fight. I don't expect the race not to hurt. I don't care if the proceedings scare away a few of the squeamish. The race is PG-13.

[TwilightGardener]

33. Fringies? I'm closer to Ben Nelson than Dennis Kucinich. Nice try, trying

to define Obama supporters. My fear is not that Hillary won't win. My fear is that she'll be the Democratic Bush. I don't want her anywhere near the WH. I think she's unprincipled and unstable.

[gulliver]

36. I'll rest my case. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

38. All righty, then.

[enki23]

10. as someone who prefers barack obama, i still disagree.

he's sold himself as a package that just doesn't include blatant dirty politics. to start that now would be to do significant damage to the image his campaign has worked so hard to project. to win that way would not only damage the party (as it arguably has been while hillary's campaign has been engaging in it), but it could also severely damage his own eventual general election campaign.

[monmouth]

13. Maybe Ted Kennedy could hand over his personal "archive" on the Clinton(s)..n/t

[galaxy21]

16. I agree with whoever said Hillary is destroying herself

Barack just needs to stand back and let it happen.

[galaxy21]

17. I agree with whoever said Hillary is destroying herself

Barack just needs to stand back and let it happen.

[galaxy21]

18. I agree with whoever said Hillary is destroying herself

Barack just needs to stand back and let it happen.

[1776Forever]

30. Sweet!

And you know he does have one - She better watch out - There is so much out there on her and Bill! Let alone the trial coming up in Oct. 08, Paul v. Clinton.

[ecdab]

20. The higher road has worked well for Obama,

let him point out what his opponent is doing and move on. Hillary would love for Obama to join her in a negative campaign - Obama has already shown that Hillary can not beat him in a positive campaign. Why would he want to play by her rules now that his victory is at hand? Hillary is all but done, and she is burning out what little hope she has by creating the perception that she would prefer to see McCain in the oval office if she can not sit in it herself. Obama needs to keep his cool and play his game by his rules, and I think he will do just that. The only thing Hillary can destroy at this point is her own image - and I really hope she doesn't, she really has done some good things in her time and can still do many more good things.

[Avalux]

23. I disagree. Obama needs to continue his message otherwise he loses.

So many people who have never been interested before or who have been disenchanted have come out to support Obama. If he goes negative, he will lose these people. I don't think he needs to do anything except maintain and pretend Hillary is nothing more than an annoying little gnat.

[TwilightGardener]

27. I think he can take some punches at her and be OK--there is a myth

developing that she fights and he doesn't. He doesn't have to wallow in mud to take her on in a sharper way. Just has to be careful not to trigger any "sexist" backlash, which of course she'll cry and scream about at the slightest provocation.

[Avalux]

29. Possibly but he needs to be clever.

He is in a tough spot because whatever he does she'll play the victim card.

[against all enemies]

25. Then he should do it. She must be stopped before she destroys again.

[PetraPooh]

26. NOT AT ALL, She is so effectively destroying herself, he can just continue to be cool.

[XemaSab]

28. Letting loose the dogs of war....

While the goddess Artemis was bathing, Aktaion snuck up on her and spied on her.

In revenge, she turned him into a deer, and he was torn apart by his own dogs.

Obama needs to turn Hillary into a deer, and let her own dogs tear her apart.

[istopforcookies]

46. Invoking a myth?

:giggle:

Not working.

Try again.

[BadgerKid]

32. BO has awakened the grassroots

for the first time in 40 years. His own playing cleanly is part of that. (If others independent of BO want to fight HRC on their own, that's fine.) It shows that special interests have infiltrated both the Dem and Rep parties. If BO still gets taken down, he will quite possibly grow even stronger.

[Sensitivity]

41. There is such a thing as "righteous indignation," "holy fury" " the wrath of God"

The truth will destroy her, but ithas to be launched like a javelin to the heart.

[karynnj]

34. Thoughtful post and why Democrats who support HRC need to speak to her about this

Reading "Hillary is doing to Obama exactly what the swift-boat liars did to John Kerry, but potentially with greater effect since she is a leader of Obama’s own party." One thing that made the SBVT the more painful to Kerry was that he genuinely cared for veterans and had fought for them for decades. Here, it is even more personal - if that is possible One of Obama's first political activities was a huge outreach to register votes in Chicago - something that benefited our 1992 nominee.

I do think there is a third alternative to the ones you mention. That is for enough people in the Democratic party -- especially those supporting HRC to make it clear that there is a line that could lose her their superdelegate vote. She needs to be told that this bad behavior will be punished not rewarded. I think she should have crossed almost everyone's line by now.

[Vinca]

35. He needs to have clean hands . . . just like Hillary.

Learn from the master when it comes to sliming a competitor.

[Not the Only One]

37. No, he doesn't

His candidacy doesn't need saving, first of all. Hillary's does. She's the one losing badly.

Second, Hillary's all bark and no bite. She can bark pretty damn loudly and it is quite annoying, but she can't win this race except to steal it.

Obama just needs to hold fire until she actually tries to steal it. Then, he can destroy her. He needs to just be patient.

[Beregond2]

39. Destroy

She's destroying herself. All he has to do is wait.

[Sensitivity]

58. only in the minds of the active and the educated democrats

[EVDebs]

40. No wonder Hillary (and Bill) are faves of the offense department

"Fallon is not the first CENTCOM commander to rein in aggressive White House policy toward the Middle East. In late 1997, according to Dana Priest's book, The Mission, the Bill Clinton White House wanted CENTCOM commander Gen. Anthony Zinni to order his pilots to provoke a military confrontation with Iraq in the no-fly zone by deliberately drawing fire from Iraqi planes."

http://www.antiwar.com/porter/?articleid=12483

[Voice for Peace]

42. Despite the minor impact of her negative attacks on the OH & TX voters

the results in those states were not different from what the Obama campaign
projected in early February.

If he attacks her, undecided voters may feel sorry for her and
vote for her at the last minute.

I'm agreeing with posters who suggest she is destroying herself; however
he needs also to stay on top of what she's doing, illuminate it for what
it is: ie, beneath us all, and not very presidential.

[Sensitivity]

54. Enormous Impact on Obama's electability vs McCain

In the world of pres politics where moving a poll 2 percent decides the race, the impact has be like a tsunami.

[Voice for Peace]

57. Then it will come down to a contest between fear & hope. I'm going to put my

money on a message of change, and hope, and the resonance Obama has with many from all sides who are sick of business as usual.

[TheZug]

43. Really he just needs to ridicule her, make her look small. Not hard.

Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.

Rules for Radicals

http://www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook/rules.html

[Sensitivity]

45. she has to be made to look as ridiculous and despicable as she is

[MojoMojoMojo]

44. New Kind of Politics?Thats how Obama has won every previous Election

Heres what I mean.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[KAZ]

49. WhackjobWhackjobWhackjob

[blogslut]

47. Obama doesn't have to do anything

Hillary Clinton is destroying herself. She played a good hand badly. If she keeps playing she risks losing everything.

[KAZ]

48. Exactly. Including her senate seat.

[cooolandrew]

50. Seems he is doing just great in this clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6ItzF78vbM&feature=user

Mail the link as far and as wide as possible.

[anonymous171]

52. He needs to make her experience work against her.

Make her appear to be the corrupt insider rather than the experienced stateswoman she makes herself out to be. Show her face along with Nixon, and George W. Bush, "Experience matters?" Then roll to Obama's picture along with JFK, Lincoln and Bill Clinton. "Obama, a new vision for America" Or something like that.

[donheld]

53. Hillary doesn't need any help destroying herself

She's doing that all by herself.

[Skidmore]

55. NOT.

He doesn't have to lift a finger. Hillary and her boneheaded campaign staff are doing a fine job of destroying her on their own. Bottom line is that it was hers to lose, and she lost it.

[bigtree]

56. he's been trying all along. I think he's weak.

[cooolandrew]

59. He must only tell the truth every time she says anything bad get all his surrogates to say tax retur

Tax returns. Video link here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3qOi_l1RGY

[NMMatt]

60. I agree - but let the surrogates do it

If Kerry, Kennedy and Durbin started "vetting" Clinton it would allow him to get back on message and appear above the fray at the same time exposing the Clintons for who they are - dishonest, corrupt, power mad, party destroying megalomaniacs.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

62. I dont think so

Obama will end up with more elected delegates and probably more national votes its almost a lock at this point (even if Hillary pulls 60% in pa). If he stays above the mud slinging that will only be another feather in his cap and quite frankly if he can survive what Hillary is throwing at him I dont see the GOP being any more trouble to him..