ratbastid

Following Hillary into a negative campaign cycle will only hurt Obama. His power, his draw, EVERYTHING that makes him attractive as a candidate is that he stands above the fray and highlights it as the kind of old-school scorched-earth victory-at-any-cost political culture that he's out to change. And he's quit talking that way and it's a HUGE mistake.

ANYTHING Clinton says can be deflected simply by Obama saying, "Look, that's you going negative. That's you doing politics the old way, the way you and your husband became such huge champions of more than 15 years ago. It's time for something new in Washington, and I'm it. I'm not going to go negative on you, Hillary. No matter how hard you try to get me to, I'm not doing it. With a rising wave of American mandate at my back, I'm building a political culture based on understanding and respect, and I challenge you to do the same. And your failure to do that will only demonstrate your unwillingness or inability to rise above the past."

He's lost his way in the last couple weeks. He's forgotten the message that had him develop such a groundswell of support, and instead he got pulled into defending himself against attacks. The lure of old-school politics is strong! He's got to be stronger!