Both Clintons Take The Low Road

Clinton must be getting scared of the strength that Obama has shown in the primaries and caucuses that have been held so far. I say that because both she and her husband have started to resort to "attack politics". Now I have nothing against attack politics, as long as the attacker sticks to the truth and doesn't try to mislead voters. The Clintons have not done that.

On the campaign trail, Bill Clinton has gotten in trouble by labeling Obama's opposition to the Iraq War as a "fairytale". That's not just untrue, it's patently ridiculous. It's a matter of record that Obama has opposed the Iraq War since before the ill-fated Bush invasion of that country.

Mr. Clinton tried to backtrack on some radio shows and say he was just referring to Obama voting to fund the war in recent votes. If that's really what he's referring to, then both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama are guilty of that. In fact, ALL of the Democrats in the U.S. Congress should be ashamed of themselves for failing to cut off funds for the Iraq War.

Bill Clinton also accused Obama of admiring Ronald Reagan and his policies. Hillary Clinton followed this up at last night's debate by accusing Obama of admiring Republican policies. Neither charge is true. Barack Obama has never said he admired Ronald Reagan or agreed with Republican policies.

Obama did say that Reagan had brought many Americans together, including many Democrats, to create a unified coalition. That is undeniable. Obama said he would like to build the same kind of unified coalition behind a liberal vision. I hope some Democrat can do this, because if you can't appeal to folks outside the party, then you can't get elected.

If the Clinton's want to engage in attack politics, that is their right. But they need to stick to the truth or they will find themselves losing votes. Sen. Clinton found a little of that backlash last night when she was booed by the audience after accusing Obama of representing a "slum lord" while a practicing attorney, and of not taking responsibility for his past votes. It was untrue and below the belt, and the audience knew it.

Clinton has also accused Obama of violating the Democrats' pledge not to campaign in Florida. It seems like a strange accusation since Clinton has three fundraisers in Florida this week. In truth, Obama did not violate the pledge. What he did was run an advertisement on a national network (CNN). It is silly for the Clinton campaign to consider this a violation since there was no way the ad could be blacked out in a single state.

I don't doubt that Clinton has opposed many Republican policies. I just think it's sad that she's embraced their campaign tactics.