If Hillary isn't quite getting out the long knives, let's just say she's oiling the scabbard. As we noted earlier, on this morning's "Today" Clinton drew an invidious comparison between herself and John Edwards, referring to him as "on the sidelines" while she's in "the arena."And after some persistent questioning by Diane Sawyer on today's Good Morning America, Hillary took a little swipe at her other major opponent, Barack Obama.
Sawyer: "Yesterday, talking about Senator Barack Obama, when asked specifically if he is qualified to be commander-in-chief, to be president, you didn't answer, you said 'I'm going to let the American people decide.' You know the office, you know him. Why not say?"
Hillary: "Well, you know, Diane, we have a terrific, talented group of people running for the nomination on our side and he certainly is one of them . . . [But] I think it is for the voters to determine."
Sawyer: "Did it imply you doubt it?"
Hillary: "I have no opinion one way or the other. We're all in this to demonstrate as clearly as we can that we're ready for the most important and difficult job in the world."
Clinton did manage to pat herself on the back: "I think I may have a bit of an inside track
in understanding just how difficult it is."
Note: Speaking of getting out the long knives, as I've noted, on last night's Hardball senior Hillary aide Howard Wolfson left little doubt that the campaign is conducting opposition research on its Dem opponents.
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
