Another forward from James Forman

An old friend of mine, on this email list, sent me this column with a note saying "I don't think I've ever forwarded a Wall Street Journal op-ed, but there's a first time for everything . . . ."  That about sums it up.  The column writer has credibility, being a former defender of Clinton's position that doing a few hours of legal work as part of a fraudulent deal during Whitewater was de minimus and not blameworthy.  Yet Clinton, who has long (and accurately) challenged the right for pursuing baseless charges for political gain, has now turned around and is doing exactly the same thing against Obama.  This piece lays out the facts and exposes the hypocrisy.  In South Carolina we saw that her and Bill's distortions of Obama's record backfired; hopefully this will too.  I've bolded the money quotes below.

P.S. I've gotten a bunch of emails back in the last 48 hours from folks on this list saying that you are forwarding these pieces along, and some Clinton, Edwards, and Kucinich supporters and undecideds are becoming Obamans.  Glad to hear it.  Keep up the pressure.  About 20% of folks decide in the last day or 2, so there is still time for reason, good arguments and passion to carry the day.

Here's the key excerpt from the WSJ Op Ed:

No one who has ever practiced law, let alone Mrs. Clinton, could argue, with a clear conscience, that these five hours on behalf of a church group that partnered with a man who at a later point in time would be alleged to be a scoundrel equated to knowingly representing a Chicago slumlord. Yet she could not resist leveling the accusation.

I suggest that this provides a window into Mrs. Clinton's character because notwithstanding the enormous suffering she had to endure when accused of wrongful conduct in her representation of Madison Guaranty -- a representation that appears to have been no more than a routine business transaction -- she is willing to behave no differently than did her Whitewater accusers if she can gain politically. She appears to have learned no lessons from the Starr investigation.

Mrs. Clinton's willingness to ignore the truth for short-term political advantage is exactly what breeds the partisanship that's paralyzed Washington for too many years, and the cynicism felt by so many Americans, especially the young. Getting ahead by any means possible is the strategy. Once elected, the candidate falsely believes that he or she will be able to set things right and govern differently. All that was said in the campaign is rationalized -- it will be forgiven and forgotten as part of the hyperbole of the election process.

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COMMENTARY

Hillary's Smear Campaign

By MICHAEL ZELDIN
January 31, 2008

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120173880879730385.html

Beginning with the South Carolina debate, and continuing as an applause line in many stump speeches thereafter, Hillary Clinton has accused Barack Obama of representing an inner-city slum lord while practicing law in Chicago. Of all people, Sen. Clinton should know better.