Trench warfare

Lately Sen. Hillary Clinton, with her plagiarism charges against Sen. Barack Obama and her dark 3 a.m. phone call advertisement, has reminded us how conniving the Clintons can be. With her wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island, she has also reminded us how good the Clintons are at getting what they want, even when the odds are against them. \nFor the first time anyone reading this can probably remember, even the Indiana primary might be important. As a result, both candidates have taken to the trenches. Expect a string of endless potshots between now and the Pennsylvania primary. \nSince Iowa, the two Democratic candidates have straddled a precarious line and have tried not to take certain criticisms (i.e. those that can be related to race) too far. I have always been hesitant to bring up this issue in this election, but it seems Clinton is acquiescing to racial criticism of Obama. She once again runs the risk of letting the wrong issues go too far. \nThis isn’t just about Geraldine Ferraro’s comments that seemed to suggest Obama’s success was the result of some kind of racial affirmative action – that he was “very lucky to be who he is”. It goes back to rumors started by her aides that Obama is a “closet Muslim”. I am still waiting for either Clinton or Obama to ask why it would be such a big deal to be a Muslim, anyway.\nObama is also in trouble because of comments his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, made. Clinton has shown no inclination of pointing out the obvious. Even though Wright’s rant about how blacks should sing “‘God Damn America’ instead of ‘God Bless America’” is neither productive nor intellectually sound, it is not born out of an inherent anti-patriotism but rather out of real racial wounds. \nThere may be plenty of reasons to be skeptical of Obama; he has little experience in the federal government, he has a tendency to spout off populist rhetoric and his foreign policy is often curiously vague. But Obama’s race, as well as the religion of his grandfather and questions about his patriotism, are the worst reasons to oppose the man. \nI suspect that Clinton is aware that comments from Ferraro and her husband that remind voters that Obama is black and had Muslim ancestors alienate voters she has already lost. But this could lure the marginal amount of voters who question Obama’s loyalties.\nI have long been sympathetic of Clinton’s candidacy, but she needs to take a firmer stance on comments that slander Obama’s racial or religious identity. I probably do not need to elaborate on the consequences of an Obama loss that can in any way be connected back to his race.\nClinton probably needs to stay away from negativity at this point. If nothing else, she could remember that Bill Clinton’s racial comments in South Carolina probably had a lot to do with Sen. Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama.