Hillary: Live And Let Die

Yesterday I talked about how Clinton's surrogates were pressing the attack on Obama over being "snubbed" for Veep and McSame's boys and the Village Idiots were following suit.

Today as the convention opens the attacks from Clinton surrogates are officially getting worse. Howard Wolfson brings the Big Dog into the fight.

There is still work to do on the Bill Clinton front. He feels like the Obama campaign ran against and systematically dismissed his administration's accomplishments. And he feels like he was painted as a racist during the primary process.

Senator Obama would go a long way towards healing these wounds if he were to specifically praise the accomplishments of the Clinton presidency in a line or two during his speech on Thursday. That should be painless---he isn't running against the Clinton legacy anymore, and it would probably be a good idea to remind voters that the last time Democrats were in charge of the White House, we had peace and prosperity. Similarly, he could thank President Clinton for all of the work he did throughout his life to bridge the divides in our country. This is a cause near and dear to the president's heart.

President Clinton has his part to play as well. He needs to offer a strong argument in favor of Barack Obama's candidacy on Wednesday night, and remind everyone why he is one of the most gifted campaigners in our generation between now and November.

What both Clintons say about Senator Obama--and what Senator Obama says about both of them during this week--can go a long way towards tamping down whatever disunity still exists between the two camps and their supporters. And more importantly, it will encourage Senator Clinton's supporters to vote for Senator Obama.

The Clinton versus Obama storyline is irresistible to the press corps--and the McCain campaign. It is incumbent on both sides in Denver to do what they can to tamp that down.

Of course, it hasn't occured to Wolfson in the least that his column (in The New Republic no less) is feeding the press corps and McCain exactly what they want to hear, and he's saying that the fault lies not with the Clintons but with Obama.

Obama hurt the Big Dog's feelings. Bill's not a racist, Obama needs to take that back and soon or the message is clear: Hillary voters won't back him. The Clintons have chosen Live And Let Die.

The Clinton camp continues to officially deny the story, but they are saying and doing nothing to contain Clinton insiders from spreading tales that the Clintons are secretly pissed at Obama.

The irony of Howard Wolfson saying that both camps need to "tamp down" the fight he himself is goading on is rich indeed. But this has been par for the course since the announcement of Biden this weekend. The press is indeed "eating it up".

As Democrats arrived here Sunday for a convention intended to promote party unity, mistrust and resentments continued to boil among top associates of presumptive nominee Barack Obama and his defeated rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

One flashpoint is the assigned speech topic for former president Bill Clinton, who is scheduled to speak Wednesday night, when the convention theme is "Securing America's Future." The night's speakers will argue that Obama would be a more effective commander in chief than his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

The former president is disappointed, associates said, because he is eager to speak about the economy and more broadly about Democratic ideas -- emphasizing the contrast between the Bush years and his own record in the 1990s.

This is an especially sore point for Bill Clinton, people close to him say, because among many grievances he has about the campaign Obama waged against his wife is a belief that the candidate poor-mouthed the political and policy successes of his two terms.

Some senior Democrats close to Obama, meanwhile, made clear in not-for-attribution comments that they were equally irked at the Clinton operation. Nearly three months after Hillary Clinton conceded defeat in the nomination contest, these Obama partisans complained, her team continues to act like she and Bill Clinton hold leverage.

Make no mistake, the Village will make sure the message from Denver is all about Bill and Hillary, not Obama's positive message. The Clinton camp is doing nothing...NOTHING...to stop the damage here that will continue long after the last balloon drops in Denver.

The Village too is quick to blame Obama for the rift as well, and goes straight back to the whole nature of the Obama camp being uppity and presumptuous. "How DARE that boy go after Bill!"

The Clintons are playing us for fools. Plan 2012 is in full effect right now, and unless Obama stands up to the Clintons and calls them out, he will lose in November. The neglect to round up Clinton surrogates and to stop the "voters on behalf of Hillary" on the attack is a conscious choice on the part of Bill and Hillary. They could stop them if they wanted to. They refuse to do so at every turn, proclaiming only unity.

They will continue to proclaim unity right up until McSame ends up in the White House. Then the campaign for 2012 begins in earnest as the Clinton folks turn on Obama like a pack of animals.

When will Obama call the Clintons out, before or after America is saddled with a McSame presidency?

Cross posted at BooMan Tribune.