Posted by Jed Lewison on Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 11:26 AM Pacific

Clinton spinners probably aren't too happy with Ben Smith today

Some highlights:

  • Ben was disappointed with the questions asked during the debate. "I agree with a lot of the critics that Wright-pin-Ayers wasn't a balanced line of questions, and that it was odd not to hear anything about Mark Penn, Colombia, or Bill Clinton, and that the policy issues surfaced late."
  • He notes that Clinton thought the questions were just fine.
  • Now that Clinton has unloaded the kitchen sink, expectations for her are higher than they were before. If she doesn't win big, it will be seen as a victory for Obama.
  • Ben avoids tying Ayers and 9/11: In this post, he refers to Ayers comments as having been made in 2001, a far more accurate way of saying it than the inflammatory "9/11" construction used by both Clinton and Stephanopolous. (Ayers' comments were made before 9/11 -- they weren't published until 9/11, but the paper was physically printed before the WTC attacks.)Hints that Clinton's "elitism" attack on San Francisco is a bit hypocritical, and may be backfiring there.
  • To the extent that there has been any delegate movement of late, it's been towards Obama.
  • Obama is winning endorsements from former Clinton allies (Robert Reich) as well as Bloomberg-style moderates (Boren and Nunn).
  • McCain is struggling to defend not releasing his wife's tax returns.

It's true that Ben's blog has been the hub of some pretty tough attacks on Barack Obama -- but there is a difference between reporting Clinton's attacks and supporting them, and Ben's role is as a reporter, not attacker. He can't ignore something that Clinton operatives define as a central tenet of their campaign simply because it is offensive.

Clinton spinners probably aren't too happy with Ben Smith today

Some highlights:

  • Ben was disappointed with the questions asked during the debate. "I agree with a lot of the critics that Wright-pin-Ayers wasn't a balanced line of questions, and that it was odd not to hear anything about Mark Penn, Colombia, or Bill Clinton, and that the policy issues surfaced late."
  • He notes that Clinton thought the questions were just fine.
  • Now that Clinton has unloaded the kitchen sink, expectations for her are higher than they were before. If she doesn't win big, it will be seen as a victory for Obama.
  • Ben avoids tying Ayers and 9/11: In this post, he refers to Ayers comments as having been made in 2001, a far more accurate way of saying it than the inflammatory "9/11" construction used by both Clinton and Stephanopolous. (Ayers' comments were made before 9/11 -- they weren't published until 9/11, but the paper was physically printed before the WTC attacks.)Hints that Clinton's "elitism" attack on San Francisco is a bit hypocritical, and may be backfiring there.
  • To the extent that there has been any delegate movement of late, it's been towards Obama.
  • Obama is winning endorsements from former Clinton allies (Robert Reich) as well as Bloomberg-style moderates (Boren and Nunn).
  • McCain is struggling to defend not releasing his wife's tax returns.

It's true that Ben's blog has been the hub of some pretty tough attacks on Barack Obama -- but there is a difference between reporting Clinton's attacks and supporting them, and Ben's role is as a reporter, not attacker. He can't ignore something that Clinton operatives define as a central tenet of their campaign simply because it is offensive.

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