by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright December 16, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

inking in the polls, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) found a new use for her husband, former President Bill Clinton: Attack dog. Turning negative, strategists advised the 60-year-old former First Lady to hit Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Il.) Achilles heel, his relative youth and inexperience. Bill told PBS's Charlie Rose that voters picking someone with so little experience would be “rolling the dice,” unclear whether he alluded to Barack's fitness for president or his ability to win a general election. With so much discontent with President George W. Bush, most experts expect any Democratic nominee to win the general election. Despite Mr. Clinton's concerns, polls have consistently showed that Obama runs better against any GOP opponent than Hillary. Polls also indicate the Ms. Clinton, who carries a 49% disapproval rating, would be a divisive, polarizing figure.

    During Clinton's eight years, the country became so polarized that both parties in Congress were in virtual gridlock, something independent H. Ross Perot emphasized in his 1992 and 1996 runs for president. Mr. Clinton's hubris helped fuel the rise of right-wing talk radio, pioneered by Rush Limbaugh, still the nation's most popular radio broadcaster. Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, its sordid secrecy and 24/7 reporting helped spawn the Fox News Network, whose hosts cut their teeth gossiping about the president's shenanigans. Both he and Hillary blamed the right's obsession with his lurid activities as evidence, as Hillary charged, of a “vast right wing conspiracy.” By the time Clinton left office in 2001, the public was so jaded with his personal monkey business they called it “Clinton fatigue.” Vice President Al Gore found out the hard way losing the presidency.

    Now Obama faces one of the most experienced and nasty political machines ever assembled, well aware of what's at stake in winning the Iowa caucuses. Hillary's chief fund-raiser and campaign chairman Terry McCauliffe cut his teeth during the Clinton years as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. During his tenure, he invested $100,000 with Global Crossing founder Gary Winnick, dumping his shares and earning $18 million, before the company went bankrupt in 2002. Former president George H. W. Bush also turned Winnick's 50,000 share speaking stipend into a whopping $4.5 million. When former Sen. and presidential candidate John Edwards (D-N.C.) talks about “corporate” Democrats and Republicans that's what he's talking about. Losing Iowa would strip Hillary's veneer of inevitability heading only five short days later into the New Hampshire primary.

    Losing Iowa would no doubt propel Obama to almost certain victory in New Hampshire and beyond, in effect, derailing the Clinton machine. Hillary prays her husband Bill still has clout with caucus goers. “When is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the Senate before he started running,” said Clinton, hammering away at Obama's inexperience. How many senators, or others for that matter, with massive experience have failed to win the nomination? Experience is the least important factor in winning the presidency. All the collective GOP experience of four presidents before Bush-43 resulted in some of the most costly mistakes in the nation's history. “The same old experience is irrelevant,” said Obama, quoting former President Clinton while running in 1992 against the far more experience President George H.W. Bush.

   Attacking Obama is the best free X-ray into Clinton campaign's internal polling showing that she's faltering in Iowa. “The notion that there is a particular kind of experience that he has had or his wife has had that is more relevant, I would dispute. I believe that I have the experience that the country needs right now,” said Obama, actually reminding voters that judgment and wisdom trump experience. Forty-years of collective GOP experience caused costly miscalculations in Iraq. Instead of comparing resumes tit-for-tat, voters look for leadership: Energy, warmth, optimism and common sense. Obama has already been savaged by the Clinton campaign for his past enrollment in a Muslim elementary school while living in Jakarta, Indonesia and his courageous 1995 autobiography “Dreams From My Father” where he shared youthful mistakes. All's fair now in the waning days before Iowa votes.

    Hillary accused her colleagues of slinging mud when they wanted clear answers to tough campaign questions, like whether to end the war in Iraq or issue driver licenses to undocumented workers. Hammering away at the “experience” issue is a better tactic than dredging up high school indiscretions. Barack's experience editing Harvard's Law Review, his community organizing in Chicago, his elected service in the Illinois legislature and his current work in the U.S. Senate prepare him to take the nation's highest office. With all the divisiveness and bitter history between Democrats and the GOP, voters seek a fresh start, rallying behind someone capable of unifying the country. It's not “rolling the dice,” as former President Clinton said, to predict that Hillary would be a lightening rod for more division. When Iowans cast their votes, they'll pick leadership over experience.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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