Full Throttle
message to Obama's pit crew: it's time to floor it
2008-03-10
By Monroe Anderson

Barack Obama's landslide victory in lily-white Wyoming this weekend didn't seem to count. The national media was preoccupied with Hillary Clinton's big comeback in Texas and Ohio. It was marveling at how effective Camp Clinton's kitchen sink strategy had slowed, if not stopped, Obama's steadfast march to the party nomination. And it was wondering aloud if the gentleman has a glass jaw.

It's time for Obama to slip some brass knuckles under his satin gloves. While he can't afford to be seen as the big bad black guy smacking around the little old lady, he's got to put her in check.
   
For the past two weeks, the Clinton campaign has hit the Illinois senator hard and often–throwing anything and everything it can to do damage. Within a 10-day period, a photograph of Obama in a turban and traditional Somalian garb–taken during his visit to Kenya, his father's homeland in 2006–was emailed to the Drudge Report; a misleading Canadian memo on the North American Free Trade Agreement was red-flagged; a gotcha moment about Minister Louis Farrakhan during the Ohio debate was attempted;  Tony Rezko, a political wheeler dealer on trial for in Illinois for corruption, who is a former Obama fund raiser; the 3:00 a.m. negative wake-up call ad questioning Obama's readiness to lead the free world; and Hillary inability to say flat out that Barack is a Christian; Clinton's apparent reverence for John McCain, sniping that she and the Republican had a record while the Illinoisan had a speech.
   
Barack's push back has already begun. He has called on the Clintons to release their income tax returns. He has challenged them to also release their White House papers so that all can see what participation Hillary actually had in policymaking during Bill's eight years. And he has questioned her the 35 years of experience claim–and answered it too.
    
"What exactly is this foreign policy experience," he asked mockingly. "Was she negotiating treaties? Was she handling crises? The answer is no."
   
But he needs to stop just jabbing. After a flurry of body blows last month to the Billary attack in the Palmetto State, there was a sudden and dramatic pull back with the Clinton campaign making a fast retreat to civility. Another Obama roundhouse is overdue to remind Sen. Clinton that if anyone's going to be hurt in this contest, he won't be the last.
   
Then again, it may not.
   
Behind closed doors, Bill and Hillary may have decided that it's better to bleed Barack so badly that when he wins the party's nomination, he'll be far too wounded to defeat John McCain in November. As the loser in a year with all the stars lining up for a Democratic victory, Obama will turn into the year 2000 Al Gore–and Hillary will be able to resume her mantle as the Inevitable One in 2012 against a 75-year-old President McCain.
   
The scorched earth tact has got to be a worst-case scenario for the Clintons, but it may manifest should it become apparent that the kitchen sink strategy is clearly not working as the April 22 Pennsylvania primary gets closer.
   
For now, as part of throwing everything–the sink, the tub and the toilet–at Obama, the Clintons are putting it out there that the former First Lady might be willing to make the front-runner for the Democratic party's presidential nomination her vice presidential running mate.
   
Is this supposed to dim the passion and participation of African American voters, who make up 70 percent of the Democratic voters in Mississippi, in Tuesday's primary? And do the Clintons actually think black folks are that simple-minded?   
   
Wyoming was a reminder that Obama has won more U.S. states and territories–25 so far and counting.  He also leads Clinton, depending on whose count, by 100-150 dedicated delegates. Out of 26 million votes cast, right now Obama has a 600,000 popular vote lead.  An ABC/The Washington Post Poll released the day after Hillary's bounce back found that in the general election Obama would beat McCain 52-40 percent while Clinton would beat the Republican standard bearer 50-44 percent. The latest Newsweek Magazine poll, released Sunday, has him ahead of Clinton 46-45 percent.
   
In the numbers game, Obama matters.

Monroe Anderson is an award-winning journalist who penned op-ed columns for both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. He is a regular contributor to Ebonyjet.com. Follow his blog at http://www.monroeanderson.typepad.com/