I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream

Tom Hayden outdoes himself with his attack on Hillary in The Nation. (I do like the title: "Why Hillary Makes My Wife Scream"--I bet a bunch of readers will check in just to hear some pillow talk about Jane Fonda.) Hayden, like many Obama supporters, thinks Hillary should stop trying so hard to win. Doesn't she see Obama is a unifier, so shut up and agree with him already.

He hates how Hillary's minions are attacking Obama (as opposed to the glory days when they were doing righteous work attacking Ken Starr). He notes "Because they circle the wagons so tightly, they don't recognize how identical, self-reinforcing and out-of-touch they are." I wouldn't touch that line with an ironic ten-foot pole.

Hayden seems most angry that Obama's being attacked for his assocation with radical elements such as Bill Ayers and the Reverend Wright. He notes Hillary's background with leftist causes in the 60s and 70s, so how can she fault Obama for these associations?

There's an obvious problem with the argument. Those days are way back in Hillary's past and she has at least a reasonable claim, based on her record, that she's not quite as far left as she once was. Meanwhile, Obama's recently had, or even still has, long-time close relationships with unrepentant radicals. It's at least worth discussing, as much as Obama supporters would love for it to be out of bounds. (And guilt by association is not the issue--we judge a politician by her ideas, and trying to find out who she supports and has supported can be relevant.)

In addition, Hayden wants to have it both ways. He thinks Hillary should be proud of what she's done--"All these were honorable words and associations in my mind"--but then he doesn't want Obama to be tied to any such "honorable" associations as long as they may hurt him politically.

And no piece in The Nation would be complete without a little paranoia:

It is abundantly clear that the Clintons, working with FOX News and manipulating old Clinton staffers like George Stephanopoulos, are trying, at least unconsciously, to so damage Barack Obama that he will be perceived as "unelectable" to Democratic superdelegates.

(His slippery language allows you to think the Clintons are working directly with Fox, though he never quite says it.) So when the media finally ask Obama a few (seemingly) tough questions about issues people are talking about, it's a conspiracy.

At the bottom of the piece is this message: "If you like this article, consider making a donation to The Nation." I wasted five minutes reading this piece--can you send me something for my time?