Stick With the Issues

A new book out this week purports to reveal the truth about Hillary Clinton (search).

The book, by former New York Times and Newsweek journalist Ed Klein, rocketed literally overnight to No. 1 on Amazon.com's sales list.

Whatever the truth or untruth about the senator from New York — and a lot of it is unsourced rumor and gossip — there is a bigger issue to be considered. The Clintons used their enemies to their own advantage when they were in the White House. More than one commentator correctly noted that the invective and shrill nature of the Clinton-haters solidified their liberal base and caused a lot of moderates to have sympathy for them.

Former Clinton aide and now critic Dick Morris wrote this for The Hill newspaper this week: "The recent charges in Ed Klein's book to the effect that she is a closet homosexual or that bill raped her and that this act triggered Chelsea's conception are as crazy as the list that was circulating around of the 20 or so people the Clintons allegedly had killed."

People who oppose a Hillary Clinton presidency had better stick with the issues and get out of the mud. She is vulnerable on the issues. The mudslingers are vulnerable if they choose the low road. If Senator Clinton can position herself as a victim of mean-spirited misogynists, she might win enough swing votes to put her in the white house.

So while some people salivate over the salacious stuff in this book, they'd better keep their eyes on their objective. If they want to defeat Senator Clinton, they won't do it with mud, but with better ideas.

And that's Column One for this week.

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