Kiddie Time in Politics

An Attack, From the Candidates Mouth - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog: "Asked if Mr. Obama had a character problem, Mrs. Clinton first said it was up for voters to determine, but then added: “It’s beginning to look a lot like that – it really is, where we can’t get a straight answer on health care, where somebody runs on ethics and not taking money from certain people is found to have at least skirted if not violated F.E.C. rules and to use lobbyists and Pac money to do so. You’re going to have ask the Obama campaign, but I have said for months that I would much rather be attacking Republicans and attacking problems of our country because ultimately that’s what I want to do as president. “But I have been for months on the receiving end of rather consistent attacks – well now the fun part starts,” Mrs. Clinton said, punctuating the word “fun.” “We’re into the last month, and we’re going to start drawing the contrasts, because I want every Iowans to have accurate information when they make their decisions.” We’re about to take off from Cedar Rapids so an Obama campaign statement will have to wait. But here’s what Mr. Obama had to say earlier about Clinton campaign attacks on him: “I think that folks from some of the other campaigns are reading the polls and starting to get stressed and issuing a whole range of outlandish accusations,” he said at a Des Moines news conference."

CNN.com - CNN Political Ticker Reich: Clinton lacks ‘conviction about anything’ «: "Bill Clinton's former Secretary of Labor issued a blistering criticism of the former president's wife on Monday, accusing her of 'not telling the truth' on Social Security and taking marching orders from her top pollster. Reich, who has not endorsed a candidate but has written glowingly of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in recent months, ripped Hillary Clinton for saying Sunday that Iowa voters will have a choice 'between someone who talks the talk, and somebody who's walked the walk.' 'I don’t get it,' Reich wrote on his blog. 'If there’s anyone in the race whose history shows unique courage and character, it's Barack Obama. HRC’s campaign, by contrast, is singularly lacking in conviction about anything. Her pollster, Mark Penn, has advised her to take no bold positions and continuously seek the political center, which is exactly what she’s been doing.'"

Today, on CBS, Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson called for Obama to shut down his Hopefund PAC, which, according to news accounts, has distributed a large chunk of contributions to politicians from early nominating states. "There's a lot that voters don't know about Barack Obama," he said. "And one thing they don't know -- we found out this week –- is that he has been using and operating a so-called leadership PAC, in apparent contravention of campaign finance laws, taking in money from lobbyists despite the fact he said he doesn't take money from lobbyists, taking in money from lobbyists and giving money out to candidates in New Hampshire and Iowa to support his presidential campaign."

'Now the fun part starts' in Iowa -- chicagotribune.com: "Obama's kindergarten essay To rebut Obama's comments that he was not running 'to fulfill some long-held plans' to be president, the Clinton campaign cited an AP interview with Obama's kindergarten teacher, who remembered he wrote an essay entitled, 'I Want to Become President.' Asked by reporters Monday if he had any response to Clinton's latest attacks, Obama said, 'No,' paused, then added, 'It's silly season. I understand she's been quoting my kindergarten teacher in Indonesia.'"