UPDATE x2: From a friend, “It just occurred to me that today is the day that the Rezko trial is supposed to start [must check that -- today IS the day, but I think it may have been delayed, also interesting]. It’s at least likely that their campaign put that out, and threw a huge tantrum to a) distract from Hillary [and her major foreign policy address today] and the issues of healthcare and trade, b) distract cables from covering Rezko. Because, you know, if it’s a slow news day, they may run a lot of Rezko. But now, the beast has been fed, and is happy.” - SusanUnPC x2

25/2008
Statement by Maggie Williams, Campaign Manager

“Enough.

“If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him [BELOW THE FOLD] wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely.

“This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry.

“We will not be distracted.”

Right on, Maggie. Do you remember this photo in the New York Times following Bhutto’s tragic assassination? And remember the reprehensible attack from Obama/Deval Patrick media/messager provider David Axelrod following Bhutto’s murder?

Obama Campaign In Disarray? Making Political Hay Out of Bhutto Assassination?
By SusanUnPC on December 27, 2007 at 4:28 PM in Clinton, Obama, Pakistan

It’s hard to believe that Barack Obama’s campaign could be in such disarray that its campaign manager, David Axelrod, would use the tragic, horrific assassination of Benazir Bhutto to take, as CNN’s anchor just said, a “swipe” at Sen. Clinton. Writes Taylor Marsh, “The Obama campaign is in a panic. Mr. Axelrod’s reprehensible statement is meant to deflect the spotlight and rescue his candidate, because as people think about the implications of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination one thing comes to mind and it isn’t the leadership experience of Barack Obama.”

Taylor quotes The Page, which reports, “David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s top strategist, told reporters after the speech that Clinton will not benefit from a renewed conversation about foreign policy in the wake of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in Pakistan.” Clinton will not benefit? Is Axelrod so desperate he’d make a swipe like that right after Bhutto’s assassination?

In stark and relievingly somber contrast, the New York Times blog posted this new story at 1pm ET, “Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Bhutto” … READ ALL.

Then there’s what Obama goons are doing to civil rights hero John Lewis for his support of Hillary Clinton and for, so far, refusing to switch despite undue pressure:

John Lewis no longer groovy? Hutchins to oppose him
Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 02:54 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Rev. Markel Hutchins will announce today that he’s going to oppose Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta in the Democratic primary this July, saying the civil rights icon who has represented the city in Congress for two decades is un-hip.

Hutchins, who calls himself the “next generation civil rights activist,” will make his announcement at 5:30 p.m. …

Hutchins, 30, is pitching his campaign as a generational changing of the guard and himself as the youthful face of the Hip-Hop generation, with which, he said, Lewis is out of touch. The race, he said, is a choice between “the generation that started the movement to the one poised to continue it.” …

Repug-nant behavior.

Oh, and that photo that’s causing the dust-up? Drudge, who else, has it:

NOTE that Drudge constantly links to pro-Obama stories, and to anti-Clinton stories. He got the memo from Karl et al. that they want to face Obama in the fall, and he’s only too happy to oblige — including the false smear that this came from the Clinton campaign.

NOT A SINGLE pro-Hillary blogger I know would EVER post this. It is unfair to Obama, and meritless. As Maggie Williams pointed out, this is what politicians do when they visit other countries.

Even Politico.com has now admitted that they just “assumed” it came from Clinton’s campaign. If Politico had BOTHERED to check, they’d know that this was circulating all over the rightwing blogs all weekend. Memeorandum.com had a link to all the blog stories on it — all of them rightwing blogs / none of them Clinton blogs.

And please remember that it is Obama’s campaign that tried to make political hay out of attacking Hillary Clinton on the Bhutto assassination.

And it is Obama’s campaign that is strong-arming Black Caucus members, including the civil rights hero John Lewis.