The Clinton Campaign Goes Schizophrenic

As if the Hillary Clinton campaign's financial profligacy --- over $100 million pissed away, including fees for (incompetent) consultants and pollsters at 3-4 times the rate of Barack Obama's, $11,000 on pizza and $1,200 on donuts in January, $25,000 on rooms at the Bellagio, $5000 on rooms at the Las Vegas Four Seasons, with no investment in any of the caucus states or any primary or caucus since Feb. 5 --- weren't enough, there is a civil war in Hillaryland.

On one side is Mark Penn, the gelatinous mass astride Burson-Marsteller, the giant PR firm that represents the lawless, murderous Christianist mercenary outfit Blackwater. It was Penn who pioneered Hillary Clinton's flawless "inevitability" strategy, and once Clinton turned out to be evitable, decided that the "insult 40 states strategy" was a winner. Now that the campaign is on its last legs, Penn is urging an epic temper tantrum, to be fuelled by a McCarthyite portrayal of Obama as a fellow-traveler of the Weathermen terrorists. (Not that the Clintonites endorse attacking Obama with this information, mind you; they're just concerned about what will happen when Republicans get a hold of it. This from a candidate who almost certainly knew of, and personally benefited from, her husband's pardon of unrepentant FALN terrorists. Never mind, Republicans would never make hay of that.)

On the other side is Mandy Grunwald, head of media relations for the campaign, who, at least according to press accounts, has some conception of Hillary Clinton's and the Democratic party's best interests in mind, and is pushing for a positive campaign that will preserve her client's stature and give the Democrats an optimal chance to win the general election.

As March 4 approaches, the gap in Ohio closes, and Obama appears to have already reached parity or better in Texas, the Penn-Grunwald civil war is now being waged inside Hillary Clinton's own brain. Behold as Hillary expresses her feeling of honor at sharing a stage with Barack Obama, then (dishonestly) smears Obama as a Karl Rove acolyte within 48 hours: