Clinton and Obama debate tonight in Philadelphia.
Against a backdrop of Hillary's chances slowly shrinking and her all-out assault on Bittergate, it's reasonable to predict a lively encounter. Her motives may be pure, but her actions so far are consistent with a philosophy of "If it's not me, let it be McCain." The rationale, of course, is her belief that Obama would lose, so she has to destroy him to save the party.
There is, on the other hand, a pattern in which -- whatever is going on in the campaign -- a debate is the worst, most uncomfortable format in which to attack. Ads can do it, surrogates, can do it, but don't do it yourself with millions of people watching. Here's a pretty good analysis of the stakes from a political writer in San Francisco:
"Although past one-on-one debates between the New York and Illinois senators have been virtual lovefests, the terrain is different this time because Clinton is running out of room. Many political observers believe she must put the pedal down hard tonight if she hopes to convince all-important superdelegates that she alone has the muscle to take the Democratic fight on to the general election.
" 'It has been an enjoyable primary season,' laughed Sacramento-based GOP strategist Rob Stutzman on Tuesday on the recent developments that have had Obama and Clinton pouring on the vitriol in the last week. Between the brouhaha over the 'bitter' comments from Obama in San Francisco and the beer-and-gun-loving displays by Clinton as they have courted Pennsylvania voters, Stutzman notes, the Democratic presidential contest is 'becoming the political equivalent of Vietnam. At some point, one of them catches a helicopter off the roof, but it's not clear who it will be - and how it will happen.' "