OBAMARAMA

We’ve refrained from saying much about Sen. Clinton on this site. In theory at least, it doesn’t make much sense to go after other Democrats, when the ultimate goal is taking back the White House from wrong-headed Republicanism. Additionally, negative remarks about other Democrats don’t jibe especially well with the overall theme of the Obama movement, which is rooted in optimism and unity.

But if we’ve learned anything from the last two presidential races, it’s that you let pointed attacks go unanswered at your own peril, no matter from what quarter they come. Some things demand redress, and the Clinton campaign’s recent behavior falls into that category.

Make no mistake, Sen. Clinton has pulled out the long knives, and she is coming for Sen. Obama. Behind in South Carolina, she sees him coming into Feb. 5, with its 22 primaries, riding a surge of momentum and holding a lead in the delegate count, and her desperation is palpable.

It’s the only explanation: her desperation pushed her into awkwardly attacking Sen. Obama’s reasonable statements about Ronald Reagan’s transformational presidency (not good transformational, mind you). It compelled her husband to exchange his robes of established statesmanship for the tawdry garb of political debasement, with all the distortions and trickery that go with it. Her desperation even drove her to invoke the debunked and toothless Rezko smear during Monday’s debate.

I don’t think it will work. Sen. Obama was not always concise in his rejection of her smears last night, but he had plenty of powerful moments that put her desperation squarely in the spotlight. Here’s a personal favorite:

If Sen. Obama’s campaign is about anything, it’s about having faith in people’s desire to move past the politics of desperation. In South Carolina, where The State just endorsed Obama for President, it’s looking like that faith is well-placed. Fighting the good fight up to and through February 5th is the only way to prove it for sure.