Here is an interesting link to Robert Novak's latest column. If you haven't heard, here is the skinny. Novak recently broke a story that Hillary Clinton's campaign had scandalous information about Barak Obama, but was choosing not to release the information for the purposes of party harmony. I know, please keep the laughter to a minimum. Novak's not identifying his source. He only says that it is a "well-known" Democrat. And the specifics of the apparently scandalous info were not revealed to Novak.

Obama issued a rather harsh response directed at Clinton (so much for party harmony) and Hillary says that this is all dirty Republican tricks. That's right. The good Senator has fallen back on her favorite patsy...the vast right wing conspiracy.

So what do we do with this information? I'm certain that those who love Hillary will parrot her right-wing conspiracy rhetoric, and this opinion will be blurted before the facts actually emerge. Clinton supporters have never been known for their ability at independent thought. Obama will likely keep his defenses up. He is not one who will tolerate bullying from a political opponent. Edwards stand poised to potentially benefit if those two start slugging it out...God help us all.

As for me, I believe every word of Novak's report. Hillary is a politician I've studied quite a bit (it's a Sun Tsu thing). I've read several books by people who were close to her or held relatively high offices in the Clinton administration, and it's left me with a rather sour taste. To put it mildly, the Clintons are all about dirty politics. Hillary is known to hire private investigators to dig up dirt on her rivals, whether it's someone Bill has been intimate with or a political opponent. She has an army of dumpster divers constantly on stand by, and she is ruthless in utilizing them. They use intimidation and bully tactics against their opponents and there is no level too low for them to stoop. And they use others to do the dirty work. No, Bill and Hillary try to keep their sleeves clean. It's the PACs and other allies that do the mud slinging. So, I think Hillary probably DOES have something on Obama, but instead of breaking it herself, she leaks it through friendly channels knowing that it would eventually end up in Novak's lap. And to keep her sleeves clean, she blames the Republicans, and all her followers drink the kool-aid.

I also find it interesting that Obama recently admitted to using drugs as a teenager. Hmmm, was this an attempt to defuse something?

Make no mistake, this is only the beginning. I predict similar things in this campaign. Hillary has only just begun to fight and it will get heated if Obama wins Iowa and starts to threaten her ultimate ambition. And when the general election draws near, look out. She may have the debate skills of a chimp, and she may have a slippery grasp of the issues, but she is a genius at politics and she isn't afraid to sling the mud in her own special way.