Dancing the edge with the Obama people

How do you blunt the idea that your candidate is more wounded?

Introduce the other candidate's filth in a completely deniable way.

In the two weeks leading up to the Indiana primary, a Democratic strategist familiar with the Obama campaign said aides are likely to turn to the controversies of Bill Clinton's White House years -- Hillary Clinton's trading cattle futures, Whitewater and possibly impeachment.

Then, of course, you go on the record and deny that you plan to talk about it.

This is very similar, although far smaller and better controlled, to the way the Clinton people tried to raise Obama's drug use way back before NH.

To my mind, because this is small, I think it's likely intended for Dem insiders and superdelegates to imply that Obama hasn't thrown all the punches he could have and that a Clinton candidacy could take alot more attacks than it has so far.

Later: Obama surrogate Sen. Claire McCaskill is less subtle.

"But, frankly, they keep throwing nails in front of the bus," she continued. "And as voters are considering whether or not some of the controversies around Barack Obama will be an issue in November, people do need to remember, there will be controversies about the Clintons that will also be an issue in November. And I think that's what we hope superdelegates also focus on."

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