DebatablePolitics.com

Well today Wisconsin voters get to decide whether or not they feel politics as usual will win or not. The Clinton campaign has unleashed a full frontal assault in the old style slash and burn politics. Obama, doing as all politicians seem to do, including Clinton, lifted a few lines from a supporters speech. Obviously not the best idea while under the Clinton microscope.

This reminds me of Jason Alexander on Bill Maher many years ago when he said the Republicans can make something out of nothing. Plagiarism is a hefty charge and deals with stealing anothers intellectual property and presenting it as your own. I suppose in a court of law this could be argued from the Clinton perspective, however, Deval Patrick himself, the originator of the phrases in question, has stated that he and Barack swap elements of their speeches all of the time and that the phrasing Obama used was discussed as a counter to the tired empty rhetoric charges of the Clinton campaign.

All this dust up really reveals is the slash and burn politics of the past 16 years that the Clintons use. The same old gotcha politics the Republicans have been playing for the last 14 years. Clinton supporters will say things like 'politics is a contact sport,' or even, 'gow up, we live in the real world'. They are right, this is what was successful across the political landscape for the past 16 years. One of the major themes Obama is trying to make is that we do not have to accept that method, we don't have to tear our opponents down to win a political fight.

The irony of all this is that the Clinton campaign has been parroting some of Barack Obama's speech routinely. She was up on stage chanting, 'yes we will' which is a direct rip off of Obama. I have heard the same theme music at the opening of her events. She has made the same arguments for change and of course the press' favorite, 'I'm fired up and ready to go,' which was an Obama standard from the outset. it takes a certain amount of chutzpah knowing all of this for the Clinton campaign to level these charges against Obama that is for certain.

Wisconsin weighs in today with their primary election. The polls are all over the map, the demographics can be viewed as suiting each candidate. This night more than any so far is an indicator of whether the Clinton supporters are right and scorched earth politics are acceptable and is still the way to win an election or whether that sad narrative will be repudiated by the voters in Wisonsin.

I know the trail will only get rougher after tonite either way, and the Republicans have no compunction on tearing down their opposition, I just believe that what our country needs right now is a different way. That is what Barack Obama is offering voters in this election.