Clinton's Hand In Cookie Jar On Obama Smear

By Cernig

Dear Mrs. Clinton,

When you're caught with your hand in the cookie jar, don't try to blame the dog. The dog will turn and bite you.

AP:

Hillary Rodham Clinton says reporters, not her campaign, uncovered evidence of Democratic rival Barack Obama sharing speech lines with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

She made the claim Tuesday despite the fact her campaign posted video clips on YouTube illustrating similarities in the speeches and has suggested in several instances that the shared lines amount to plagiarism.

Any suggestion that the story had a life of its own, apart from the Clinton campaign, is disingenuous.

The Politico:

Under fire for uncredited echoes of another candidate’s speeches, the Obama campaign sought Tuesday evening to turn the tables on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) by highlighting her clearly false claim that her campaign had not fueled the controversy.

Clinton, in remarks to the ABC affiliate in Honolulu that were reported by the Chicago Tribune, asserted: “Look, it’s not us making this charge. It’s the media.”

But on Monday, the Clinton campaign announced a conference call “to discuss a recent speech delivered by Sen. Obama” and included a YouTube link that showed Obama remarks side by side with similar comments by his friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

The HuffPo's Ari Melber:

Hillary Clinton flatly denied that her campaign was attacking Barack Obama for using the words of another politician, telling reporters on Tuesday that her campaign had not made the charge.

...Obama Campaign spokseman Bill Burton shot back on Tuesday evening. "Senator Clinton knows full well that her campaign held a conference call with reporters to fan these flames and the fact that she suggested her campaign had nothing to do with it is exactly the kind of evasive tactic voters are rejecting," he said in a statement.

Clinton's claim is demonstrably false. Her campaign has aggressively and openly pushed the plagiarism attack, including a national conference call by senior campaign aides on Monday. Her aides also circulated a YouTube clip comparing footage of Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick.

Initially, Clinton operatives apparently did attempt to conceal their involvement.

Hells, even I figured out pretty quickly who was behind this one.

Obama has enough holes in his campaign to exploit - fairly - without trumping up such tosh. But backpedalling on what was obviously a smear attempt just makes you look even more sleazily guilty. If you're looking for an explanation of tonights result in Wisconsin, perhaps you should look no further.

Regards, Cernig