An anonymous attack by a Clinton advisor on John McCain in the New York Times today has triggered what may be the sharpest exchange so far between the 2008 frontrunners.
This line, from Maureen Dowd’s column today , drew an outraged response from McCain’s side:
Privately, Hillary’s camp was not overly upset by the McCain swipe because it suspected he was doing the bidding of the White House and that he ended up, as one adviser put it, “looking similar to the way he did on those captive tapes from Hanoi, where he recited the names of his crew mates.”
Either this is a slip, or it’s a signal from Clinton-land that the “McCain is crazy” whisper campaign — which worked quite well for Bush in 2000 — is being revived. Or both.
Asked about the line, McCain advisor John Weaver responded:
“I never expected the Clintons or their allies to know much about Vietnam. But [it] is disappointing to see one of her spokespeople purposefully lie about John’s war record and time in a Hanoi prison camp. There was no such tape recording; though he did once give up the starting lineup of the Green Bay Packers while under extreme duress. Senator Clinton’s spokesperson does a disservice to all who were there and served so bravely and honorably.”
UPDATE: Clinton’s (actual) spokesman Howard Wolfson says, “These comments are reprehensible and they in no way reflect Senator Clinton’s feelings.” Clinton called McCain this morning about the comment.