Legal Commentary

Hillary to Step Up Campaigning for Obama

By Jeralyn

Hillary Clinton's advisers tell the New York Times she will increase her campaigning for the Obama/Biden ticket. One reason: McCain's choice of Sarah Palin and Palin's co-opting of her campaign theme.

Mrs. Clinton’s friends said she was galled that Ms. Palin might try to capitalize on a movement that Mrs. Clinton, of New York, built among women in the primaries....Guy Cecil, the former political director of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, said it was “insulting” for Republicans to compare Ms. Palin to Mrs. Clinton.

Hillary's advisers have no problem making the inexperience argument against Palin: [More...]

Mr. Cecil said he believed that the McCain-Palin ticket might initially intrigue some Clinton supporters, but that they would ultimately choose Mr. Obama.

“It is insulting to compare Hillary’s lifetime of service and her commitment to progressive causes with that of a novice, right-wing governor,” Mr. Cecil said.

Good for Cecil. I think the Dems need to take off the kid gloves and go after Palin with all that they've got on her record and her lack of a record, as well her position on issues. Palin has zero national experience and 60 days on the campaign trail isn't enough time for Americans to have confidence that she's learned how the country runs, let alone how to run it.

Barack Obama may have been in a similar place 17 months ago, but since then, he's been briefed by experts daily on every facet of government and had his knowledge tested through more than a dozen debates. No matter how quick a study Palin is, she can't catch up in 60 days, not on the economy, foreign policy, national security, the justice system, health care. She's too big a risk for the number two position.

The radicial right and evangelicals will support her and continue to argue Barack Obama is unexperienced. That argument no longer flies and Obama should take it on, not ignore it.

My suggestion: Deploy Hillary immediately to Pennsylvania, Ohio and to Michigan and Florida. Let her make the argument that a woman is great on the ticket, but only if it's the right woman -- one who can step in and be ready to lead on day one if need be.

The RNC keeps airing the commercial of Hillary's statement during the campaign that McCain and she are ready to lead and Obama just gave a speech in 2002. She is in a great position now to get out there and say why that's no longer true.

She can also hit home the point that Palin is wrong on the issues and, like McCain, would undo years of social progress in this country, endanger all that Dems have been fighting for and economically and militarily give us four more years of what we got with the Bush Adminstration: war and recession.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 01, 2008 (boomark / email).