The Clintons not only never know when to quit; they also never realize when they've gone too far--and that has been the Achilles heel that has tripped 'em up every time.
[snip]
When The First Black President begins to complain before the South Carolina primary that race is going to hand the victory to a REAL potential black president--he is warned, not just by Clinton campaign insiders and civil right leaders, but by the old lion himself, Ted Kennedy, to back off.  He says, NEVER!  LET'S FIGHT! and does not back off.

[snip]

Then, when the Kitchen Sink Strategy was cooked up behind closed doors of the Clinton campaign to throw anything and everything they could think of at the charismatic young candidate in order to bring him down; they started with theatrics--whining that "the media" was unfairly attacking her and going easy on him and then turning around and shaking his hand and kissing up all in one night; raging in front of the cameras in a fire-engine red suit about a two-months' old campaign mailout as though it were a brand-new outrage the next day; sarcastically mocking him--and by extension, his supporters--on the next; accusing him of sleazy real estate deals (hmmm) the next; making wild accusations that Obama was "imitating Ken Starr" the next; leaking a scurrilous (though innocent) photo of him in a head turban the next; and unveiling a McCain supporter's purloined YouTube ad the next couple of days before the primaries that was deliberately designed to frighten people in the best tradition of Karl Rove--to "scare up votes" as Obama put it.

Finally, Hillary winds up her happy-warrior week by telling 60 Minutes that, no, Obama was not a Muslim..."as far as I know."

Bull's eye.

And it was working.  This Kitchen Sink Strategy.

Newspaper and network newsies, thus scolded by mama and Saturday Night Live, didn't want to get into trouble again, so they worked to prove how very fair they were by dumping scores of stories designed to cast doubt on Obama, from articles about his Chicago church, to articles about the Rezko real estate deal, to articles examining what he had--and had not--accomplished in state government (even if they did quote mostly Republican colleagues)--and in the U.S. Senate, to more tiresome examinations as to whether or not he really COULD be a Muslim, to whether or not he was tough enough to beat Hillary--let alone answer the red phone at three a.m., to snotty op-eds about all those crazy fainting fans (which never mentioned that those same supporters had probably been standing in line or on their feet at a rally for hours, and that the room gets hot with thousands of people in it, and that they don't sell concessions, so you don't eat until it's all over, but whatever.  We're aaaaallllll "Obamamaniacs.")

[snip]

And then, because she is a Clinton, she had to go too far.  

And she didn't just do it once--she did it three times in a row, in full view of reporters--because she was so sure of herself that, when in fighting mode, you just keep on fighting even when you're winning.  You don't let up until your opponent is not just down, but DEAD.

Problem with that is that, even in bare-knuckled street fighting, there are always at least one or two rules.

And in politics, if there is one rule and one rule only when it comes to the presidential race, it is this:  YOU DON'T GIVE THE OTHER PARTY AMMUNITION TO USE AGAINST YOUR OPPONENT IF THAT OPPONENT HAPPENS TO WIN THE NOMINATION.

Because the bottom line is not personal ambition.  The bottom line is that Democrats wind up in the White House.  Not Republicans.  So you pull up short, for the sake of the party and the nation--if you are anybody but a Clinton.

It's a very simple rule, really.  And even if it didn't exist, most people with any sense of character and honor wouldn't cross over that line anyway.  The stakes are just too high, not just for our party, but for our country.

But when Hillary smells blood in the water, she's going to slice through the water for the kill.

That's only about a third of what's posted.  It's a really good post, but this is the gist.

Blogging While Brown Convention Atlanta, GA July 25-27, 2008