I wonder if Bob Novak's claim that Clintonites were recently ready to dig dirt on Obama was true

[antiimperialist]

I mean, now my perpective changes after learning that a well placed Iowa leader in the Clinton camp spread the ugly dirty rumor about Obama attending some sort of evil muslim school in Indonesia. What do you think guys?
Let's not forget that Mark Penn, chief of Clinton's campaign, is so dishonest that his Penn and Schoen polling company told the world that Hugo Chavez would lose the 2004 referendum by twenty-something points, yet he ended up winning by that same margin.
He obviously cooked the poll for his buddies from the opposition.

Comments please.

[1corona4u]

1. Nah....

I think, if they have anything, at all, they would wait and pull it out right.....about Jan 1st, 2009.....

[fightthegoodfightnow]

2. BOB NOVAK?

.........spin it on a record backwards and you've got George Bush.

Might as well be satan himself (Karl Rove) speaking.

Give me a break.

[Radical Activist]

3. They found out about that scandalous paper he wrote in kindergarten

where he said he wanted be President. I can't believe they put that on their website. How hilariously ridiculous.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/12/clinton-digs-in.html

Start telling kindergarteners to watch what they write because it might be used against them if they run for President one day!

[Bucky]

5. Right. The story isn't that an American kid wanted to be president one day.

The story is that Clinton's people fucking dug up his kindergarten and third grade essays. I believe them that it was intended as a tongue in cheek gesture. What bothers me is that no one there had the judgment or perception to realize how creepy the whole business would come off.

[Radical Activist]

6. The problem is that

the rest of the press release looked perfectly serious. If it was a joke they should have at least done it separately. I don't know what they expected by trying to mix jokes and serious attacks together in one statement. Stupid.

[Adelante]

9. I don't think it was tongue in cheek at all

They had to make up that part when it all went thud. You're right about the creepy.

[MethuenProgressive]

4. You are passing along an anti-Clinton rumor from the Obama camp.

my perpective changes after learning that a well placed Iowa leader in the Clinton camp spread the ugly dirty rumor about Obama attending some sort of evil muslim school in Indonesia.

The chain email was *forwarded* to a Clinton staffer, who condemned it.
http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/12/heres_the_obama_smearmail_sent_out_by_the_county_chair_volunteering_for_hillary.php#more

Ben Smith notes that one of the people on the chain of this email is a Clinton staffer named Ryan Callanan, who received the email on November 21. It's unclear what level Callanan occupies or what exactly this means.

Late Update: It turns out that Callanan, the Clinton staffer who was on the email chain, also condemned the smear email:

I’ve gotten this forward before. It’s racist and ignorant. I can’t believe that people believe this stuff.

The entire email has been posted on Democratic Underground several times, including today by an Obama supporter. Are we, is that supporter, guilty of "spreading the ugly dirty rumor"?

[Bucky]

7. Let me defend dirt digging.

By another name, it is opposition research. I expect a competant campaign to do this. It is insane not to look into the record and past and character of your opponent. The test of character comes with what info you release on your opponent. But there's nothing wrong with doing oppo research. There's something dreadfully naive about any candidate who refuses to do so. I'd consider it a disqualifier.

Now how far back you should go is another question. Third grade essays are not worth noting. Revealing that you dug around through some kid's third grade papers is borderline stalky. When I was in 3rd grade me and my buddy Milton drew comic books and I hope to God that never comes to light should I run for office. In fact, knowing Milton is out there waiting to testify against me, I know that I must forevermroe lurk in the shadows of society....

[Adelante]

8. I find it hard to be overly outraged

This is an email that's been sent around the globe to maybe a million people and posted blogs all over. It's bad that a story like this comes out, embarrassing for the Clinton campaign and an offense to Obama, but it's not clear to me that this is a campaign op, there's no evidence of that, and the campaign acted quickly to mop it up. Just yesterday the Clinton campaign was howling over an Obama caller who was overbearing in New Hampshire phone call. The plain fact of the matter is these things happen in everybody's campaign, whether it comes out or it doesn't. We as Democrats need to hold our fire for when it matters. It would matter a great deal if there was a coordinated campaign project to widely distribute these disgusting emails. But it was one dumb bunny who sent something she shouldn't have to a few people she knew and a staff person who received it and dismissed it. I'm an Obama supporter. I would have hated receiving it, if I had, but I don't think I would have had my hair on fire, disgusting as it is to me, since it's been around for most of this campaign year and because primaries are a dirty business, anyhow.

[Bitwit1234]

10. J. C. give it a rest....bring this site back to what it used to be and

not just a damn place to bash Hillary...people that post here now that never posted before just because they found it was a place to bash bash bash...

[Windy]

11. Hey if all they got on him is an essay in kindergarten then that speaks well for him....

And by publishing that tripe, the clinton campaign just made it clear that there is no salacious dirt out there to "get" when it comes to Obama.

[Reno.Muse]

12. well, I got some crap yesterday on here for giving my impression on this very thing

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3793967&mesg_id=3793967

[ClarkUSA]

13. I have no doubt that it is true, knowing how sleezy Mark Penn and Chris Lehane are.

Consider that neither Clinton has ever said Novak was lying, for example. And the campaign issued two non-denial denials until they finally issued a blanket
denial. And now this "Barack Hussein Obama Is A Muslim" swiftboating email smear, which just happened to resurface in a new untraceable form just after
Clinton's disastrous parsing performance during the Philly debate and Obama's rising trendlines. Such a coincidence. Not.