By: E&P Staff A throwaway item in a Robert Novak online column inspired a strong reaction from Sen. Barack Obama today -- and then a putdown of Obama by a top campaign aide to Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Novak had suggested that Clinton was sitting on "scandalous" information on Obama but had not made it public. The columnist did not say what the info was or his source for this claim.
It opened: "Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party's presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it."
Rather than just let that sit out there and possibly fade away, Obama brought it center stage with a strong rebuttal. He said in a statement, ?The cause of change in this country will not be deterred or sidetracked by the old ?Swift boat? politics. The cause of moving America forward demands that we defeat it....
?I am prepared to stand up to that kind of politics, whether it's deployed by candidates in our party, in the other party or by any third party."
He called on Clinton to release the alleged information -- or renounce the whole thing. He added: ?She of all people, having complained so often about ?the politics of personal destruction,? should move quickly to either stand by or renounce these tactics.?
According to a story at Politico.com, Howard Wolfson, Clinton's campaign communications director, said she has "no idea" what the item is about. "Once again Sen. Obama is echoing Republican talking points, this time from Bob Novak," he said in an e-mailed statement, according to Politico.
"This is how Republicans work. A Republican-leaning journalist runs a blind item designed to set Democrats against one another. Experienced Democrats see this for what it is. Others get distracted and thrown off their games. Voters should be concerned about the readiness of any Democrat inexperienced enough to fall for this. There is only one campaign in this race that has actually engaged in the very practice that Sen. Obama is decrying, and it's his. We have no idea what Mr. Novak's item is about and reject it totally. Instead of pointing fingers at us, Sen. Obama should get back to the issues and focus on what this election is really about."
Politico also reported Obama campaign manager David Plouffe replied in a statement that Wolfson's comments represented the "Washington art of evasion and deflection." He asked: "Are 'agents' of their campaign spreading these rumors? And do they have 'scandalous' information that they are not releasing? Yes or no??
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