Everyone Has Secrets, So Quit Bothering Hillary

Barack Obama and John Edwards have adopted a risky campaign strategy: Portray Hillary Clinton as no different from President Bush. Yes, it's official: They have gone negative.

Likening Clinton (D., N.Y.) to Bush -- in particular criticizing her for secrecy about her years as first lady -- is a stretch that could backfire. For starters, Democratic voters might not buy the idea that Clinton shares qualities with Bush. This approach also reinforces Republican talking points, which would be a tactical error.

Moreover, if the past is a guide to the future, both Edwards (D., N.C.) and Obama (D., Ill.) had better clear up questions about their own pasts before railing on Clinton's.

Clinton admitted yesterday that her most recent debate performance wasn't "her best." But a USA Today/Gallup poll released today shows it hasn't affected her position in the race.

After the debate, Obama announced his concerns about Clinton:

After the most secretive administration in memory, an administration that consistently misled the American people, we need a president who is going to be open and forthright. ... Her big answer on whether she would release the papers from her White House years was particularly troubling because she is running on her record as first lady as much as on her record as a senator.

I assume Obama is referring to incidents like the Bush administration's attempt to hide the involvement of big oil companies with Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force in 2001. Exxon Mobil(XOM), Conoco(COP), Shell(RDS.A) and BP(BP) all denied taking part in it, but four years later documents demonstrated they had. The administration used executive privilege to shield them from revealing the information.

I would think that if Clinton's history is meaningful, then so is Obama's. I pointed out in a previous article that Obama has had conflicts with the energy industry, as was evident when he voted for a pork-laden 2005 Energy bill. He similarly worked with lobbyists to help two foreign firms with offices in his district: NuFarm, an Australian chemical company, and Astellas Pharma, a Japanese drug company.