How to slime an opponent while apologizing for sliming them

Wow, the Clintons are good. No, I mean it, really good. A day after apologizing for bringing up Obama's admitted drug use, and two days after raising it in an interview, the Clinton campaign has used the "C" word(cocaine) in continuing the issue while appearing to take it off the table.

While having the New Hampshire primary co-chair resign over the interview which brought up the issue, the national campaign manager cited a specific drug in vowing not to bring up drug use. This brought up memories to the Ol' Coach of the famous Governor Thompson denial in the Illinois governor's re-election campaign versus Adlai Stevenson III. It was an amazing piece of work.

Frankly, Big Jim Thompson seemingly wasn't in danger of losing his bid for re-election, but the name of Adlai Stevenson has special meaning in Illinois and he was taking no chances that the son of the famous two-time presidential candidate could unseat him. Stevenson had stated in a press conference that Thompson was treating him as if he were a wimp. In denying that he had called Stevenson a "wimp", Thompson used the phrase "wimp" several times in the press conference while vowing to personally eschew the moniker when referring to his opponent. It became such a popular sound bite that the label stuck to Stevenson. Buttons were issued (I have one) saying, "Don't be a wimp, vote Republican", and Thompson won in a squeaker. How different might things have been had Stevenson not handed Thompson that stick to beat him with?

By vowing not to use the term, Thompson had put the label in the thought of every member of the electorate. By appearing to reject negative campaigning, he had made the negative concept a permanent image of his opponent. But this time it likely will backfire on Hillary. Her negatives are huge for a candidate aspiring to national office. The vast majority of the public already have an image of the former First Lady firmly ensconced in their minds and even the craven attempt at a softer image (having daughter Chelsea and her mother campaigning!) in Iowa for her is unlikely to succeed. If anything, the attempt to recast her public image is so transparent as it is likely to backfire on her.

Americans like to have a kind image of their presidents. There is no question that the nation's voters have strongly divergent images of the present occupant of the Oval Office, but those that support him believe that they have several reasons to like him personally. Even Hillary's most ardent supporters find her problematic...but they see her as their best chance for a Democrat to retake the White House...and they still retain strong personal love and affection for her husband, the 42nd president of the United States.

With the war in Iraq becoming less of a campaign issue in 2008 and the economy and domestic issues retaking the center stage as is true for most US elections, the battlefield should remain friendly ground for the Democrats. But if Hillary ends up NOT being their choice for a candidate, will October 2008 still look as hopeful to the party of Jefferson and Jackson if a first-term Senator? Will they do better with a former Vice-Presidential candidate who had problems getting re-elected senator in his home state?

In the end, it may come down to how likable the Republican candidate is. More on how that donnybrook is shaping up in the next few days. In a gradual upturn to their benefit, President Bush has been quietly winning battles and taking some big negatives issues for the pachyderm party off of the hot plate.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes focused on former President Clinton's efforts to save his wife's flagging candidacy. While there is plenty of time for team Clinton to turn things around, time is getting short...and people's mental images of each candidate are getting set in stone as the time for primary voting draws near.