By Mitchel Olszak
Hillary Clinton made an interesting comment in her April 16 debate with Barack Obama.
Arguing that Obama will be aggressively targeted by Republicans should he win the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton said, “I’ve been in this arena for a long time. I have a lot of baggage and every body has rummaged through it for years.”
The implication: Clinton can’t be hurt any more than she already has. Her life is an open book and any damage has already been done.
Guess again. Clinton doesn’t have baggage; she’s a walking suitcase factory.
During this campaign, after she found herself trailing Obama, Clinton resorted to attack mode. Obama was linked to everything from his ranting minister to the fact the candidate doesn’t wear American flag pins on his lapel.
(I don’t wear lapel pins, either. In fact, I see very few of them. Are we all suspect?)
Clinton and her campaign justified these attacks on Obama with the claim he would face the same — and worse — from Republicans in the fall. In other words, if he can’t stand Clinton’s heat, he needs to get out of the political kitchen.
There is legitimacy to this view. Primaries are intended to test candidates for weaknesses. The survivor is theoretically best able to represent the party in the general election.
What’s not legitimate is the notion that Clinton has nothing to worry about in this regard. Rest assured the Republicans will come at her full force should she win the nomination.
The Clinton campaign suggests Obama has similarly resorted to personal attacks during this primary battle. But I haven’t heard Obama or his supporters bring up Whitewater, Vince Foster, commodities trading, questionable pardons or Bill’s inability to keep his pants zipped.
And that doesn’t even begin to address what she would face for her support of abortion and gun control.
Clinton indeed paid a price for the imaginative telling of her bullet-riddled visit to Bosnia, but that was her own fault. What she’s endured in this primary pales in comparison to what the GOP has cooked up for her.
Consider what’s happening now in North Carolina, where Republicans are running anti-Obama ads. Why would they do that? Why work to create an advantage for Clinton?
Could it be the GOP sees her as the Democrat it is most likely to defeat?
Negativity is a common practice in campaigns. Undermining the opposition is a tactic that works. It erodes support because the public buys into it.
And perhaps the negativity is deserved. If a candidate holds views or backs positions that voters disagree with, that’s perfectly acceptable campaign fodder. Those running for office should not be allowed to present themselves as something they are not.
But when the discussion turns to the presence or absence of lapel pins, voters should be sensible enough to realize they are being jerked around.
So long as people fall for this stuff, it will continue. And it won’t be limited to Democrats. John McCain can expect to be grilled over his involvement with the Keating Five, his desire to be in Iraq for 100 years and his admission of economic ignorance.
Plus, it won’t surprise me if there are allegations McCain collaborated with the enemy while being held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. After what happened to John Kerry and his three Purple Hearts in 2004, nothing is off limits.
Enjoy the campaign.
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