Despicable

The ends justifies the means. Ask Richard Nixon.

Ask Hillary Clinton:



Barack Obama never goes for the cheap shot, never tries to create a story out of innuendo, never goes for the cheap shot. In contrast, Hillary's team doesn't really give a shit:

A lawyer in a predominantly Democratic suburb of Cleveland relates this tale to The Swamp on the day before the all-important Ohio primary:

So last night around dinner time, the phone rings. It’s the Hillary campaign–official number, per the caller ID. The woman on the other end asks me if Hillary can count on my support Tuesday. I say I have not decided.

She asks what would help me decide. I say, “Well . . . maybe she can make Bill her vice president.” She does not know how to take me, of course, but has to assume I am serious. “I don’t think she can do that.” “Bill will have a significant role in major decisions, though, won’t he?” I ask. “Oh, certainly he will be very involved. Do you like Bill?” “Very much.” I reply.

She then launches into a two-minute spiel on all the very specific initiatives and proposals Hillary has put forth on health care, the war in Iraq, etc., etc. At the end of her spiel, she says, “And we haven’t heard anything that specific from Osama bin Laden.”

I say, “You did not just say that.” She replies, “I’m sorry . . . just a slip of the tongue.” She then thanks me for my time and encourages me to vote for Hillary on Tuesday.

The lawyer says he was "stunned" and tells The Swamp the call originated from the Clinton campaign in Columbus.

Per Rachel Maddow, she acts like she's running for Republican Senator John McCain's VP slot:



The ends, it turns out, say, in Iraq, are always affected by the means. That's the message of The Wire. That's why, when Hillary says something as double-dealing as this:



...even I wonder whether I could vote for her in a general election.

And could she still win? Sure. If Obama were to lose three of the four states tomorrow, she'd have some sort of momentum, she'd have her claim. And she'd have done it by making the story all about her -- even in her most Machiavellian moments, playing the fear card just like a Cheney, just like a Nixon, to battle his hope.

It's getting hard to remember that all I want is for this entire election cycle to really be about him:



Not perfect but always straight with us?

I'll take it.