Instead of going after Clinton's tax returns, Obama should attack Hillary on her inconsistency on withdrawal from Iraq.  The candidate started to win me over when he had the guts to run, in a $250,000 spot in the middle of the single most testosterone-laden annual event in the world, the Super Bowl, an ad which flashed upon the screen "Getting us out of Iraq."  His string of victories in red states after such a bold, unambiguous statement to the most pumped-up white male audience imaginable told me this was a man of courage, and that America was ready to pull its sons from hell.  

It's clear why the Republicans want Hillary: Her record of statements on Iraq make her perfect for a repeat of the "I was for the war before I was against it" that was used to such devastating effect against John Kerry. The minor modification will be "I was before withdrawal before I was against it."

In 2005, in an echo of a recent Bush statement, she said immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake.  Then she said Bush's pledge to stay "until the job is done" was also a mistake.  So where does she fall?  Obviously she wants to withdraw not right away, but somewhere short of having the job "done."  Great.  Republican strategists are drooling for this ad and, if Obama is the nominee will feel like wolves within reaching distance of 20 pounds of raw elk meat watching it yanked away.

Helen Thomas reports:

On Tuesday, June 19, Clinton told a union audience that she favored keeping some troops in Iraq "to protect our interests" there after a major pullout. But the following day, she told an activist anti-war gathering that she wants U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq...declaring: "We're going to end the war in Iraq and finally bring our troops home."

Jason Easley:

Just when you think that possibly Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has done something to clarify her position on the war in Iraq, she turns around and has a day like she did on Wednesday. Clinton said originally that she would support an amendment that would have established a withdrawal deadline for the U.S. troops in Iraq, but by then she told reporters that she would not support the amendment, but in the end, she ended up voting for the amendment anyway. At first, Clinton was asked if she favored the troop withdrawal legislation before the Senate. She said, "I'm not going to speculate on what I'm going to be voting on in the future. I voted in favor of cloture to have a debate."

Later in the day, she changed her mind and said, "I support the underlying bill. That's what this vote on cloture was all about." He vague answers and mind changing are starting to leave even her fellow Democrats a little confused. A campaign spokesperson for Sen. Chris Dodd said, "We're as confused as anyone on Senator Clinton's position. Frankly, it's hard to know whether it's indecision, miscommunication or simple word games and political gamesmanship we're dealing with.

The issue of Hillary's tax returns and other housekeeping problems should be raised, but not by Obama.  As Hillary's campaign well understands, these kinds of attacks are the job of henchmen.  It is unfortunate that the the Clinton campaign has chosen to go highly negative against Obama, with the possible result that not only will Clinton be unable to beat McCain, but a damaged Obama won't either.  

Go to ObaMO.org!