Amazing to me that we Democrats have complained for the last 7 years, among other things, of the division created by the Bushecons. Putting the "reasons" of the divide aside, we all can agree that the divide in itself, was largely to blame for some of the issues we are facing today.
With that said, why would we as Democrats choose the most polarizing figure in our field as our Nominee? Is this going to be a "you screwed us, now we're screwing you" kind of nominee? Because thats what Hillary being our nominee would be. Another 4 years of divide.
We want to walk into office in Jan. 09 with a political divide ALREADY IN PLACE? Ask yourselves, is thats what best for AMERICA?
I believe the type of divide created by the Clinton administration was not good for AMERICA. I didnt personally care about his affair, but that divide hurt US as a country. When casting your vote, place the needs of this country first.

Actually, I agree with Shaheen's initial observations, and in light of the fact that Obama says he "did a little blow," I would like to know if he ever sold cocaine.
Wouldn't you?

I still have to roll my eyes at the idea that this wasn't planned. Him "stepping down" was probably the shakeup that has been in the air over at the Clinton camp. They elected to send him out for one last suicide charge at Obama.

He may be stepping down to protect his wife more than he is trying to protect Clinton.  I am sure hsi wife doesn't want hard feeling from the Obama supporters dogging her in her bid.

Pssssssssss Obama, I still have some of that go "stuff" left give me a call.

Nobody cared that there was evidence that George did cocaine and was a drunk----what is the difference now?

"issues that matter to America's families." Should have stopped right there clown. The rest just makes it about you and her which is typical of Liberals.

Obama took drugs ? When was the last time he used cocaine ? Has he had a recent drug test ?

I told you guys how offensive that comment was; the damage has been done already. The African American are outraged about the comment; I hope Hillary learn from her lesson.

This is an era of new media; the use of fear and mud sliding will not work. Americans are ready to take their government back from the old tactics. We want a leader that can be candid about our problems and lead a new generation of Americans.

I am glad Americans took Hillary Clinton head on. No more Karl Rove politics.

It's still the same cycle no matter who resigns.

1) Insult
2) Backtrack
3) Apologize
4) Resign

Only now, we've moved from a "county campaign chair" to a "Co-Chair of a State Campaign."  I don't understand what's going on here...whether the Hillary campaign wants us to feel sorry for them because their staff is so nutty or whether they want us to ignore it because "it didn't come from her!" (Yea, right!)

We all know what's really happening...somebody has to bring up these talking points and it's certainly not going to be her.  If she has to have a few sacrificial lambs along the way, so be it.

I've lost track...how many of these has the Hillary campaign had in the past few months?

I just wonder what would happen if somebody else - say, Biden - started to surge and overtook Obama/Edwards in the last couple weeks here.  Is her team going to trot out all the garbage from his past, too?  Racism allegations and such?  Stuff from his last presidential campaign?

The funny thing here is that you don't hear any of the other candidates chiming in about this in any substantial way.

Edwards, Biden, et. al. are just feeding her the rope to hang herself. No sense in altering the news cycle when it's not focused on you.

I think it is funny that Shaheen states that Clinton has run a "positive" campaign.  Two views on this.  Either she has had some negative aspects to her running, meaning her leadership has authorized.  If not, then she is not a very good manager because he people are conducting leaks or speaking to reporters without much guidance.  Either way, not very convincing for Hillary.

Shaheen is correct and shouldn't be criticized because the Obama campaign doesn't want to deal with his past right now. The Republicans will tear him to shreds starting with his drug use and lack of judgment in his youth to his name sounding like Osama and his ties to the Muslim religion. Obama might not want to deal with that now but he's going to be another Kerry. If they could make a Vietnam Vet look like a coward they can easily take down Obama. Vote Hillary.  

Maybe Hillary could learn a lesson from this experience and take responsibility for her actions??  Like apologizing for her vote to give Bush the ability to go to war against Iraq without reading the NIE!  That is the way to take responsibility.

another is stepping down. this has been repeatedly occuring from the clinton campaign. this is not coincidence in my mind. i think their is a subtle strategy to smear other candidates. this guy is a national figure in her capaign as well as a close friend of the clinton's. i just don't see this many people in the clinton truly being gone completely. in the public eye they may have resigned, but i think they are probaly very much active for her campaign out of the public eye. if she does win look for this person to resurface in some official capacity within government for the clinton's. look foe another campaign person to throw some smut and resign in a week.

just my opnion. doesn't mean i'm right.

Embarrassing for the Shaheens and Clinton...

Did the Ice Storm hit Hillary or something? I hears sounds of her cracking and falling down

Actually, I think this is good for Obama. First of all, he told of it in his book so the Republicans don't need Clinton's campaign to do their dirty work. Second, because once an issue is out there, it becomes old news or it least it will have dissipated by General Election time, if he's the candidate.

This is how you get away with "Swift-Boating", you just have the messenger step down and pretend that it had nothing to do with your campaign.  Not possible to believe as the Clinton campaign has been so orchestrated and controlled.  This was planned and Hillary was behind it.

Actually, I agree ...
J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 4:18 PM)

Actually, I don't think I've ever seen you not side against Obama.  Just an observation.  Do you honestly believe everything you write and the tone of which you write in?

She can't even control her own campaign!  A -CO-CHAIR- of her campaign!

Again, please, someone, anyone, can anyone say HOW Clinton is "ready to lead on day one"?

The media wants to make Obama the democratic candidate so that he can have his b**t kicked in the presidential and we can have 8 more years of republican in WH. If Obama thinks so little about washington insiders, why doesn't he run from outside after resigning his senate seat. If he is a senator, he is an insider.

Huffington Post Monday Morning Blog Predicted this attack - The attack came tuesday, The result....

Anyone else see the Frank Luntz (I don't care if he was on Fox or works primarily for Republicans - he is one of the best professionals in the business) post debate interview with the 29 undecided Iowa voters??

1. Obama and Edwards won
2. Hillary Lost support
3. Asked if allegation was fair or dirty politics - 100% all 29 raised their hands  "foul"  OOPS she did it again.  

Oh, give me a break.  Because he is black, you can't ask the extent of his involvement with drugs?  That's the biggest load of crap I have ever heard.  You can't play the race card when you choose, and then claim that race doesn't make a difference when it suits you.

I don't think that race factors into this AT ALL.  The bottom line, to me, is that he used a very dangerous and very addictive drug, and I think he should have to answer questions about it.  I would say the same of any of the other candidates had they admitted to using cocaine.  

Bill & Hillary Clinton are doing everything they can to sell themselves to the African American voter, especially in SC.  Don't they realize that unsubstanciated references to selling drugs is a smear that will anger many because they are stereotyping in the same manner as any other racist does.  I was a Hillary supporter; but, they just lost me.  I'm thinking that she is a gutter snipe.

I think that by not asking for Bill Shaheen to be fired Obama is showing a character trait that is a central part of his campaign. He seems to back up this belief of his that you need to govern the United States by consensus. By not going after and ending the political career of Shaheen, who is the most powerful of the Democratic establishment in New Hampshire (he has worked for every winner of the New Hampshire Democratic Primary since Carter, with the exception of Clinton in '92 who actually came in 2nd), is he showing that he is actually sincere about wanting to UNITE?

I don't know.  

I personally think McCain is going to surprise them all.

Classic old-school politics.  Shaheen is a hack.  Oz in Lisbon, you're right on the mark.  The editors at CNN, MSNBC, and particularly the Today Show should be embarassed for being played by such a rookie political trick.

The reason Shaheen did what he did is they're starting to hear that Barack may be more "electable."  

Why is that the case?  1) The ONLY thing that will rally Republicans next fall is if Hillary is on the ballot and (2) many Republicans and Independents are taking (and will take) a hard look at Obama, particularly if he's up against someone that continues to defend the debacle in Iraq.

Self-confession:  this is coming from a lifelong GOPer who just might vote Democratic, but only if its Barack.

I just heard Mark Penn on Hardball trying to defend the dirty politics of Hillary's campaign by comparing Obama's calling Hillary disingenuous to their claims that he sold drugs.  Are these people idiots?  Hillary's campaign is desperate and their actions just make them look petty and small.  I am a good Democrat but I don't think I can vote for Hillary if the is the nominee.

I think all Clinton is doing is innoculating Obama from later Republican attacks. I'd like for her to keep it up. Its helping the near-term objective of getting Obama the nomination, and its helping the long-term objective of winning the general election.

What's next, Senator Clinton? Phone calls to South Carolina voters about how Obama is rumored to have fathered two black children?

Dave,Tn
Again, you said nothing.

The Clinton's stooping to dirty tricks and smear tactics, when did this start?

Obama's my pick for the Dems and Ron Paul for the GOP.  Those are the only two that seem real.

With that said, why would we as Democrats choose the most polarizing figure in our field as our Nominee? Is this going to be a "you screwed us, now we're screwing you" kind of nominee? Because thats what Hillary being our nominee would be. Another 4 years of divide. "

Those are my reasons exactly. Why anyone would want to vote for someone who will not continue this fight against the Republicans is beyond me. Do you think McConnell would cave to say Hillary Clinton were she to veto a Republican passed bill? NO WAY AT ALL.

Hillary is polarizing? Wonderful! The ones who hate her are idiot Republicans who also still think Bush has been an amazing President. So, why work hand in hand with these bible thumping, bigoted, crony-causing, bullies? This is a battle that was started, by the Republicans.

In my mind Hillary should be a no-brainer. Republicans give in on nothing, so what do we do with our advantage? Elect Obama who wants to give in to their pathetic demands? By default, the nation would even improve under Obama - but we wouldn't prosper, because he'd be bargaining with the Republicans who would love to take anything at all imaginable away from the Democrats.

Clinton is impeached for lying about sex

Bush and Cheney are forgiven by the Democrats for lying about... oh I don't know Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Blackwater, Bin Laden, all to name just the very few.

Had Clinton done HALF of what Bush did, Clinton would have been found guilty of treason. Republicans are little ugly pittbulls that attack and maim, and they don't stop until they kill.

Hillary 08! The only person intelligent enough to stick it to the horrible people currently strangling everything about America's mystique.

Bad day for the Democrats all the way around.

Get used to it Democrats. There are going to be a lot more just like this one.

Oh, and GO HILLARY!!

Shaheen was not acting on his own.  the husband of the ex governor is not so stupid as to do this by himself knowing it could come back to bite him.
Especially in light of 3 chairpeople in Iowa having to resign in the face of the smear emails on Obama last week.  
Clintons campaign is collapsing fast unless she gets a grip

"Shaheen is correct and shouldn't be criticized because the Obama campaign doesn't want to deal with his past right now. The Republicans will tear him to shreds starting with his drug use and lack of judgment in his youth to his name sounding like Osama and his ties to the Muslim religion. Obama might not want to deal with that now but he's going to be another Kerry. If they could make a Vietnam Vet look like a coward they can easily take down Obama. Vote Hillary.  
WiseGirl, Ann Arbor, MI (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 4:36 PM)"

Never mind that John Kerry was a war vet who served with distinction and was discharged honorably, though right?  

The fact that Hillary is using the same slime covered tactics as the swiftboat liars is one (of many) reason why she will not get my primary vote under any circumstances and will get my general elections vote only grudgingly.  And that assumes she gets the nomination...

first read must be out to dinner or watching the latest news. the postings are as slow as cold molasses.

Heh. Thus does Democrat dingbatism rear its ugly head. Shaheen,in a sort of blame- the- car -for -the- wreck -instead -of -the -fact- that- I- was -drunk schtick,goes to laying immediate blame on the Republicans,for what they might do,who are instead largely sitting this one out,content for the moment to watch the entrail-eating inside of the donkey show. Hard to cull ''vast rightwing conspiricies''out of idiotic statements,made by Clintonistas,which are legion in their numbers,but there it is.

Mark Penn is toast - I predict he is fired over the weekend.  Did anyone else see his pathetic interview on Hardball - Edwards Campaign boss reached out and ripped his heart out for being a sleazebag.  

Penn went so far as to distinguish "Cocaine" in his answer defending the drug "COCAINE" mistake.  

This must be the transparency HRC is talking about.  She runs such a lousy Kindergarten Cop campaign that it is transparent that her people are lying.  

If you Clinton koolaide drinkers think this was a mistake by a high ranking State Co-Chairman who is in on all the conference calls - just watch how Mark Penn took the opportunity to respond to Chris Matthews comment about teenage "drug" use with "COCAINE".  You would have to be in Kindergarten to not see the motive of this sleazy campaing.  

Where can I invest $1000 in Commodities?

there is not one republican candidate that will win against edwards, obama or richardson. the republicans are going to rely on if a candidate is to liberal or skeletons in the closet.

with bush vetoing every domestic bill that comes across his desk the door has been opened for caution to be given to the trumpet sound of conservatism at it's extreme.

on the war we should have been in afghanistan at full force not iraq. iraq was a war started fraudently. for those of you folks that say barack wasn't there to vote against that war and the others that did were, think about this. when it wasn't popular to stand against going into iraq barack gave a speech that strongly advocated not going to war. he has not changed his stance. americans (the majority on both sides want out of iraq).

john edwards voted for the war and has since said it was the wrong decision. that is why i respect him. he learned.

hillary to this day will not say she was wrong based upon the informantion she received. john edwards had that same info. does anyone see any contrast here? she didn't learn.

the republicans can't afford to sling dirt at edwards, obama or richardson. they have to much dirt in their own closets.

if hillary can't sully these guys or come up with dirt then they can't. the clinton campaign machine is the best at this tactic. no republican machine can succeed with such a strategy. this is why they hate the clinton's. they used it to beat the gop. this was bill's special tactic against the gop.

they need hillary. they need someone with as much dirt as them. mitt, rudy and mccain are there viable candidates. mitt and rudy are mud (all kinds of skeletons). mccain will be done after n.h.(no money or enough support), thompson has no funding or enough interest. ron paul will not be allowed a valid chance as a republican because of drastic policy differences with the gop. huckabee will be lucky to have enough money to get out n.h. and if he does he will not have enough to get beyond s.c.

hillary winning the nomination will change all of that. the republicans will come to life and ban together for whoever is up there just to beat hillary. that is how the dem's will lose the presidency.

the fight and dislike goes back to bill and has been dormant. notice how it has been waking the gop up. imagine the ground swell to beat hillary if she wins. that is how you get another 4 to 8 yrs. of a gop president. they are banking on hillary to win.  

What Bill Shaheen said was not an attack but a matter of grave concern.  Obama SHOULD be vetted now.  His drug use in the past is a legitimate question if he's running on the strength of his judgement.  If Obama wishes to hide by attacking the messenger, then it only shows that he is not ready to be the Democratic nominee.  The Republicans will not shy away from this.  

The Clinton campaign has been too chivalrous about this, but it's a legitimate point.  The troubling part is not the drug use but his opinion of his foray into this illegal activity.  He says that the reason that he stopped was because it was a waste of his time.  Not that it is dangerous.  Not that it destroys your life.  Not that it destroys families.  Can you imagine this cavalier attitude not becoming a serious concern?

And the drug use is just the tip of the iceberg - there's his flip-flopping on major issues, there's his using questionable tactics to catch up in Iowa, there's his inexperience which was so glaring in the recently concluded debates.  

The debate showed how shallow his knowledge of the issues are - how he stammers when he's out of his depth, how he changes the topic.  It's quite obvious that the other candidates on the stage with the exception of Edwards have a better grasp of the issues.  It's embarrassing to watch.

The debate format was not helpful to Obama or Edwards.  Without the opportunity to attack, their inexperience and shallow grasp of the issues was all the more apparent.

Biden and Dodd shone and Clinton and Richardson was not far behind.  The format of the debate was really helpful in showing who's just bluster and who really has the experience.

This was a racist attack.  Did anyone ask Bill or George if they sold drug? No. What was Hillary doing while Bill was not inhaling?  What was she doing while Bill the first black president was banging black women (according to Andrew Young)?  Do you Hill supporters think that Bill has been totally faithful to Hillary since they left the WH?  The Republicans are foaming at the mouth ready to unless their dirty laundry. And now, even if Hill gets the nomination, she will not recieve any votes among blacks.  Forget all the south and Florida, Ohio too.

Travis from Louisville wrote: "Hillary is polarizing? Wonderful! The ones who hate her are idiot Republicans who also still think Bush has been an amazing President. So, why work hand in hand with these bible thumping, bigoted, crony-causing, bullies? This is a battle that was started, by the Republicans.

In my mind Hillary should be a no-brainer. Republicans give in on nothing, so what do we do with our advantage? Elect Obama who wants to give in to their pathetic demands?"

You may enjoy that Hilary is polarizing, but I do not.  I am in my mid-twenties.  Right now my nation is mired hopelessly in the Iraq war and has lost the respect of the world.  Right now my nation uses China as a banker and will make my generation pay for the deficits being racked up.  Right now my planet is melting.  So why should we work with the "bible-thumping bullies"?  Because they represent half of the country.  I'm very happy you're enjoying this low-grade civil war we have here.  I will be a part of this nation and part of this earth for the next fifty years, so I am not.  I am not familiar with Obama giving in to the Republicans' demands, as you say.  I know that Hilary has caved in with the Iraq war and use of force with Iran.  She says she knows how to fight, but I only remember her fighting for her own image.  Please reconsider your love for the hatefest that has gone on for the last fifteen years.  

I must be totally missing the point.  The fact that Barack is black doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he used drugs, in my opinion.  Why are blacks up in arms about this?  Also, Shaheen didn't say Hillary would be using this against him - he said it opens him up for Republican attacks, which it does!

I don't see that Shaheen or the Clinton campaign did anything wrong.

Clinton no way 'authorized' this? Depends on the meaning of authorized. I am sure the campaign discussed this matter before Shaheen opened his mouth. I'm sure there was a serious discussion of the value of such a statement, and I'm sure that it was decided that the damage done to Obama would outweigh that done to Clinton. And that's all that matters in this stinking political environment anyway, isn't it?

SOS.............Pick out someone to die.......... bring up OsamaBama's drug use, fire the poor bastard, Hillary looks great!!!!! Hmmmmmm, unanswereed question..... when was the last time, did he sell it , was he a dealer?.tell us..... Come on America get a grip.... Two spoiled brats........ I love it....... Thank "GOD", for McCain....

Mark Penn makes any respectable person squirm.  But, will he be fired this weekend?  No, of course not.  And what will that tell any discerning person about Hillary?  That she endorses the transparent slime Penn was trying to peddle on Hardball today.  If Hillary didn't approve of that style of politics, she'd get rid of him.  She does and so she won't.  

Hillary supporters, get a tape of the Penn interview with Matthews today and see if you still want to support a candidate who would have someone like that as one of her most senior strategist.

Abhorrent, vindictive, desperate, shameful, devious, condemnable... and typical for the Clintonian machine. Where was all of this serpentine behavior when HRC was leading in the polls, preparing for her inevitable coronation? This isn't a "revelation," this issue has been known about for years and in the news a few weeks ago when Obama shared the story with high school students. Was there a noticeable, lasting fallout or backlash on his drug usage after he did so? No. What does that suggest? That the story had no legs in the media, despite Romney being the only Republican to condemn Obama's admission. So if it had no legs a few weeks ago, it wasn't for HRC's campaign to try and raise it again. If the Republicans were going to use it then it should have been the Republicans who raised it. Is it a coincidence that everytime there's an issue with HRC's campaign being responsible for airing Obama slurs that the scandal gets regurgitated "unintentionally" in the media, allowing HRC to enjoy the subliminal "hit" on Obama while she gets to claim ignorance, condemns the actions of the culprits and dismisses them? HRC hasn't been falsely painted with "high negatives," it's just a part of who she is after years of battling alongside Bill in the political trenches, rightly or wrongly. For all of you HRC supporters, if you can't see now that a vote for HRC means revisiting and reliving the lies, scandals, divisive, secretive, and retributive nature of the last nearly 16 years, then you have truly allowed feverish passion to trump reason. We've been there and done that with that type of degrading, demoralizing, non-productive politics. How in all that is right and proper can we think that continuing that path in January 2009 is going to be in the best interest of our country?

Are we actually debating Obama's drug use during his teenage years??? Is that's what really important?? J. Merle, Carrie---do you really think Obama is using cocaine now???
I bet many of the people who have such a problem with Obama's drug use had no issue with Bill Clinton's "I didn't inhale" drug use.

Look, I was a HUGE Bill Clinton supporter, and going into last year, I was fairly content in knowing I'd be supporting Hillary in '08.  But then "my guy" jumped in--Obama--and I finally had the chance to support the person I that inspired me and who could heal this country--my generation's Kennedy perhaps.  He took him a while to find his stride--he certainly wasn't the polished politician Mrs. Clinton was.  The more and more I saw Hillary in action, the more I realized--everything people had said about her over the years was actually true--cold, calculating, dishonest when it benefited her, etc. (I had always given her the benefit of the doubt because of who her husband was).  We all know she was knocked off her high horse in the Philly debate and has been scrambling ever since.  Edwards sharp attacks definitely benefited Obama.  But I never would've guessed she would become SO incredibly desperate and petty (and willing to try to personally destroy a guy with such good character, a guy that may very well be the face of the party for years to come).  I can't tell much difference in her attack-strategy than what we've seen out of Bush/Rove the past several years.  She's WAY too involved in details to NOT know about the staffer jumping on the "Muslim plant" e-mail hoax (we expect that crap from the Limbaugh/Hannity types, not people in our own party).  Then came the Kindergarten "I want to be president" thing (good thing for her Jon Stewart isn't on the air right now, what a field day he could've had).  This might top them all--trying to bring up the drug stuff, something Obama has been refreshingly candid about, but something that might spook older folks who have just started to get to learn about who is he is.  No, no, my admiration for Bill Clinton isn't enough--I'm a RABID anti-Bush Democrat (albeit a moderate one, much like Bill was), but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will I vote for Hillary Clinton now.  I'M SO SICK of Rove politics, I'm not about to vote for someone who's going to keep them alive, regardless of the fact that have a "D" by their name.  We're all seeing Hillary's true colors--NOTHING will get in the way of her ambition to be president.  There are a few people over the years whose GREATNESS led them to be president, someone who can change the world.  Then there are others who simply want to be president to be GREAT.  

Voters in Iowa and America will understand that TEENAGERS make stupid mistakes. Barack owns up to his, he is human after all. Hillary would have us see her as the stepford candidate. I am wondering if that scroundrel Drew Peterson should take over Shaheen's job - he seems to already have the character assassination part of the job description down pat

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