Paul Mirengoff dubbed Samantha Power’s current jaunt through Europe “the book tour from hell” even before she inconveniently divulged her deep thoughts about Ms. Hillary. Now both Power and the Obama campaign are apologizing for Power’s old-fashioned “gaffe,” defined by Michael Kinsley as “what happens when the spin breaks down.
At the same time, however, the Clinton campaign likened Obama to Ken Starr. In elite Democratic circles, of course, “Ken Starr” is a synonym for “monster.” What justifies such harsh rhetoric, reporters asked the Clinton campaign:
Asked to elaborate, Clinton’s campaign pointed to a string of criticisms from Team Obama over issues including the release of her White House-era records and her tax returns, the Whitewater scandal during the 1990s, and a flap over trading on cattle futures in the 1970s.
This from the campaign that brought us Obama’s kindergarten essay. Ms. Hillary herself stayed above the fray:
Clinton demurred when asked by reporters about the Starr reference, saying, “I’m not going to respond to that.”
On this point, however, Ms. Hillary was nevertheless akin to the monstrous Dean Starr:
Aides to Starr, now the dean of the law school at Pepperdine University in California, transferred calls to the school’s public-relations office, where officials declined comment.
The Obama campaign staunchly denied their man’s similarity to Dean Starr, even though it might be expected to have some retrospective sympathy for him now:
Obama spokesman Bill Burton slammed back hard, saying, “It is absurd that after weeks of badgering the media to ‘vet’ Sen. Obama, the Clinton campaign believes that they should be held to an entirely different standard.
“We don’t believe that expecting candidates for the presidency to disclose their tax returns somehow constitutes Ken Starr tactics, but the kind of transparency and accountability that Americans are looking for and that’s been missing in Washington for far too long.
Like the Clinton campaign, the Obama campaign plays to Democratic voters who are lost in space.
PAUL adds: I’m not sure how well Obama would handle that 3:00 a.m. call. But I’m sure he’d handle it better if he lets Samantha Power sleep.
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