Lynn Sweet: Obama Opens New Line of Attack on Clinton

CHICAGO---White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), using a question about health care, injected a new element in going after chief rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)--that she does not have the personality to pass universal health care. Obama then offers himself as a contrast; someone who can "inspire" people to get things done. He did not use the word consensus but this is what he is talking about.

It's not exactly a major confrontation. Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) was much sharper in drawing distinctions and going after Clinton. But it's clear Obama is opening a new front as he appeals to Independents and Republicans to come into the Democratic primary.

After the debate, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe sent out a statement where he talked about Obama as the candidate of consensus. An Obama campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, sent out a research memo recapping the abundance of criticism Clinton received for her failed health care effort in 1993 and 1994. Health care covereage is the dominant domestic issue in the primary.

Here's how Obama bored into Clinton. All the leading Dems have health plans on the table. They are more alike than they are different. Obama said the issue is not who has the plans but "It has to do with who can inspire and mobilize the American people to get it done and open up the process. If it was lonely for Hillary, part of the reason it was lonely, Hillary, was because you closed the door to a lot of potential allies in that process. At that time, 80 percent of Americans already wanted universal health care, but they didn't feel like they were let into the process. "

Plouffe statement....“Tonight, Barack Obama offered a commanding debate performance where he showed that while he may not have the experience Washington likes, he has the experience America needs right now – the ability to bring people together, stand up to the special interests, and tell the truth to the American people on the major issues facing America, from Iraq to Social Security. He’ll approach major challenges like health care reform the same way he’s approached every challenge he’s faced through two decades of public service – with an open, transparent process that brings people of differing views together to build a real consensus for change,” said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe


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