Clinton Mailer Spells Beginning of Dirty Campaign

In the wake of John McCain's ascension as the presumptive GOP nominee, heightened scrutiny has attached to whether the continuing Democratic race will help or harm McCain's to-be rival.

If the Clinton-Obama race portrays both candidates as noble, responsible servants of the public trust, the continuing spotlight and free publicity could heighten their public exposure and bolster the eventual victor's poll numbers.

On the other hand, should the Democratic race turn into a mud-slinging, cut-throat fight to the death, both candidates may find their reputations tarnished and the winner's tactics may leave a bad taste in voter's mouths.

John McCain, of course, will be praying for the Dems to bear their teeth and let heads roll. And today, all indicators point to a bright and sunny day for john McCain.

Hillary Clinton has just proliferated a mailer via snail mail which FactCheck.org declares, "twists Obama's words and gives a false picture of his proposals." The mailer accuses Obama of 1) wanting "to raise Social Security taxes by a trillion dollars" (a "big distortion"), 2) having "no plan" for a moratorium on foreclosures (falsely deceiving) and 3) voting for "Dick Cheney's energy bill that gives huge tax breaks to oil companies (largely distorted).

While Clinton's letter seems unenlightening as to Obama's actual record, it sheds a great deal of light on Sen. Clinton, her character and the tenor we may expect from her campaign. John McCain is smiling.