We should give a flying f *** who's more likable!

I hate the way the campaigns of the candidates are moving to their own drummers, dreaming up ways to attack the primary opponent from the same party without any consideration whether it will hurt their own candidate in the short run, or the eventual Democratic candidate in the long run.

When I say “dreaming up,” I mean it. Some progressive bloggers in the Hillary camp said Obama was being dismissive or arrogant when he said, during the “likability” interchange in New Hampshire on Monday, “”You’re likeable enough, Hillary.” I saw it, and I think that’s ridiculous. As I saw it, it was a joke basically between the two of them, although one shared with the other candidates, too. Almost anyone who actually meets her says Hillary is very warm and likable. I’ve always said that anyone who’s still close to her high school buddies is OK by me. Hillary had just joked that her “feelings are hurt” when the questioner raised the issue whether she is as likable as Obama. To me, Obama was saying, “Well, I’m running against you, so everybody knows I’m not going to admit how terrific I really think you are, and as long as I'm getting this free gift I'll run with (as you would), but you and I both know you are just as likable as I’m supposed to be. Besides that, it’s really stupid that we have to deal with stuff like this from a press that couldn’t spot a real issue five inches away.” I thought the “enough” meant “enough that we shouldn’t have to be dealing with silly stuff like this at all.”

On the other hand, I did think the Edwards immediate reaction to Hillary’s so-called “tears” – the President needs to be “tough” – was a genuine cheap shot – and really stupid, too.