Barack Attack on Hillary Obama's Way of Showing He's Tough Enough to be President

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

NewsBusters' mission is that of exposing and combating liberal bias, and that's what I spend the great majority of my time here doing. But I hope our readers -- and my editors -- will indulge me when I offer a bit of personal analysis here.

The outbreak of nastiness between the Obama and Hillary camps -- initiated by comments made by Obama supporter David Geffen and quoted by Maureen Dowd in her column today -- is stunning. For the Obama camp to come out this early -- and this hard -- against Hillary has taken the political world by storm.

For those who didn't catch it, David Geffen -- certified member of the liberal Hollywood elite, billionaire producer and co-founder of DreamWorks, and former avid and generous Clinton supporter and donor turned major Barack backer -- told Dowd:

• "I don’t think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is — and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? — can bring the country together."
• “I don’t think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person, [in terms of his personal proclivities] . . . I think [Republicans] believe she’s the easiest to defeat.”
• Most damning was this: "Everybody in politics lies, but they [Bill and Hillary] do it with such ease, it’s troubling.”

Hillary's campaign called on Obama to repudiate Geffen and return the money he's raised on Barack's behalf. But far from backing down, Obama's campaign unleashed this: ""We aren’t going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once one of their biggest supporters. It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom."

Ouch. For good measure, Obama himself took this shot at Hillary today: " "It is also ironic that Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because ’he's black.’"

Double ouch.

So just what is going on here? Part of it is just the typical tactic of a challenger, Obama, trying to dent the aura of invincibility of front-runner Hillary. Nothing unusual there. But I would say there's something more interesting at work. Obama has staked out a strong anti-war position. He flaunts the fact that he opposed the war from the beginning in 2002 when Hillary and most other Dems were voting for it. And he wants us to get out now. Not bad politics for a guy running in Dem primaries. However, even though many Americans are disillusioned with the the situation in Iraq, they still recognize that the war against terror is the most important issue confronting our country. They are not going to vote for a president who they don't think has the toughness to take on America's most fearsome enemies.

That puts Obama in a tough spot. It's fine right now, politically speaking, to be a dove when it comes to Iraq. But if Americans become convinced that Obama is not merely against the war in Iraq, but is inherently soft, he will never be the next president. What's a Barack to do? He has to find some way of proving his toughness. So why not take on what is widely acknowledged to be the toughest political operation around -- the Clinton campaign machine?

I can already hear the cries on the left: "he's equating Hillary with Osama Bin Laden!" No, I'm not at all. I'm simply saying that Obama feels the need to pick a fight to establish his macho bona fides. Taking on Hillary and her establishment serves the dual purpose of taking the sheen off the front-runner, while demonstrating that Barack Obama has the gumption required of a Commander-in-Chief. And I think that explains, in important part, why Obama has gotten so tough, so early.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Big-Barack-Attack ping to Today show list.

[BenLurkin]

Hey -- it's the Empty Suit versus Old Crusty!

[Miss Didi]

Compliments of Rush:

[xcamel]

She's both.

[unkus]

Very good-Thank you.

[Pox]

Tough? Not a chance that cream puff little coward could pull off that impossible illusion.

B. Hussein Obama is a doofus of the first order of buffoons, and the last adjective I could possibly imagine being attached to him is 'tough'.

[Argus]

They are not going to vote for a president who they don't think has the toughness to take on America's most fearsome enemies.

And America has no more fearsome enemy than Hillary Rodham Clinton.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

My pleasure -- glad you liked it.

For those who might be unaware, the author Finkelstein = me, your friendly fellow FReeper, governsleast.

[nopardons]

Yes, it is....LOL

[gridlock]

I can already hear the cries on the left: "he's equating Hillary with Osama Bin Laden!" No, I'm not at all.

Of course not. Osama bin Laden, in his wildest dreams, could not imagine having the opportunity to do the kind of damage to this country that Hillary! will be willing, and able, to do.

[frankjr]

Barack Hussein Osama tough enough??? LOL. I doubt that a gay islamofascist could be described as "tough".

[jveritas]

It is more like the Meanest One attacked Obama. Our side should be really going after Hillary Clinton and all the democrats but the Nastiest One should be exposed the most for her meanness, nastiness, arrogance, socialism, leftism, liberalism, unpatriotsim, etc...

[EternalVigilance]

Oh Lord. Somebody stake out Fort Marcy Park with a video camera.

[Txsleuth]

Wolfson was on with Sissy Chrissy....and he was coming down hard on Obama....but, when Chrissy asked him if Hilly felt that way, Wolfson said he was speaking for the "Clinton campaign, not necessarily Hillary"...

Chrissy tried to pin him down how he could do THAT..and Wolfson just kept repeating it.

Chris kept asking him why Hillary went after OBAMA, when it was Geffen that said that stuff in Dowd's column...THAT was when Wolfson went after Obama..and Chris was trying to "make sure" that it was HILLARY that was going after Obama, instead of Geffen.

I think both of them have very thin skin...and could be at each other's throats for months without the other candidates having to do any of the heavy lifting.

[Vinnie]

It was Barack supporters attacking not 'the man'.

All he has to do is say or not anything.
Hardly an attack.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I'm no Obama fan. His moderate demeanor aside, his politics are straight-down-the-line liberal. But why is it necessary for people here to call every political opponent gay? Where is your evidence? The guy is married with children. I haven't heard anything to suggest he's gay. Why do you do this?

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I caught that, and give Matthews credit -- he did go after Wolfson hard.

[infidel29]

With teeth like those Hillary should be afraid.