Hillary, Obama, and drugs

It ain't pretty out there.

Just a day after Hillary Clinton's communication director declared that the campaign would not raise the issue of Barack Obama's acknowledged cocaine use, her New Hampshire co-chair, Billy Shaheen, warned that Republicans will capitalize on Obama's drug history if he wins the Democratic nomination.

"The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight," Shaheen told the Washington Post, "and one of the things they're certainly going to jump on is his drug use."

In the Washington Post interview published Dec. 12, Shaheen said Obama's own willingness to discuss his past drug use would "open the door" for the GOP: "It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'....There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."

Then again, Obama isn't beyond going negative either. All campaigns do it, and Obama's has been no exception. Still, Camp Hillary has to realize that there are skeletons in everybody's closet, and it's only a matter of time before Obama hits back. Then again, maybe he won't, and maybe that's what Hillary's campaign is counting on. By the time Obama gets dirty, the fight may be over (then again, judging by the polls, he may win anyway).