BartBlog

With only a few weeks to go before actual citizens get to decide who they want as president, it appears that the campaigns on both sides are swinging into the mud. You knew it was just a matter of time before attacks on policy became attacks on person. This is particularly highlight because candidates that thought things were going their way are now finding their way is a lonely one.

No where is this better illustrated than in the Clinton campaign. Senator Clinton was all but anointed the Democratic nominee when this campaign began in what seems like a decade ago, now finds herself behind Barak Obama in many key states and suddenly on the offensive.

Over the last few days the Clinton campaign has begun to make direct character attacks on Obama, something they hadn’t done until now. One such move came from Billy Shaheen, co-chair of Clinton’s New Hampshire operation. Shaheen was quoted this week as saying that Obama’s drug use would be a huge issue for him. Although Shaheen and Clinton may believe the issue is a problem up until now it hasn’t been. Obama has been upfront about his drug use as a teenager and how he overcame that time in his life. Instead of hiding it, he actually makes it a point to discuss how his life could have gone had he continued on a negative path. Now Clinton, whose own husband smoked but did not inhale (yeah okay) is attacking him for it.

While it is a desperate move by the Clinton campaign to use this kind of attack, it is more dangerous down the line. If the Democrats hammer each other with severely negative personal stuff it will only be used as ammunition by the GOP in November. While all campaigns have attacks, those that are personal are the ones that drive a campaign down. Democrats need to beware that one of them will be the nominee and that they need to save that kind of negative crap for the GOP in November.