Thursday, November 08, 2007

BARACK OBAMA, JOHN EDWARDS, HILLARY CLINTON

Is Edwards Going Negative In Order to Help Obama?

Fascinating, fun to talk about, but improbable and evidence-free theory of the day:

Only six months ago advisor Joe Trippi joined the Edwards campaign, and the argument could be made this new pitbull strategy for Edwards has at least a little to do with Trippi's presence. In 2004 Trippi worked for then-frontrunner Howard Dean, who engaged in a bloody battle with Dick Gephardt while John Kerry slipped past the both of them. According to Alegre's source close to Dean, Trippi couldn't stand Edwards in '04, thought he was a doubletalker who could never win. This source speaks for a lot of campaign observers who are wondering right now why Edwards would dare go so nasty in a state that abhors negative campaigns, reflected in his recent slide.

Here's the catch: Trippi is close friends with Obama advisor David Axlerod. The theory goes something like this: Axlerod and Trippi decide Edwards can't possibly win, so Axlerod sends Trippi to Edwards' campaign to put on a full-blown attack, and like a suicide bomber, Edwards blows up his own campaign, dragging Hillary down in the process with a rallying cry of "Hillary Must Not Win."

In other words, we're headed to a recasting of the 2004 Iowa Democratic primary, with Hillary Clinton playing the role of Howard Dean, John Edwards playing the role of Dick Gephardt, and Barack Obama in the role of John Kerry. Edwards attacks Clinton, both get hurt by the mudslinging, "murder-suicide" as they called the Gephardt-Dean fight, and Obama rises by keeping his hands clean.

It would be a lot of fun if the world worked this way. And indeed, Trippi had said he was out of presidential campaigns after 2004. But his reputation would plummet below Shrum levels if it was ever proven that he used his candidate as a sacrificial lamb to help another campaign.

11/08 01:28 PMShare