Telegraph: Ferraro Backing Clinton

From the Telegraph in London comes this article.

The first woman to run on a US presidential ticket has promised her friend Hillary Clinton that she will help her fight Republican "dirty tricks" in the race for the White House.

I can say with much confidence that right now, the GOP is not even thinking about coming out strong against Hillary. And why should they? There are many within the left-wing base of the Democratic Party that are not pleased with Sen. Clinton's "front-runner" status.

What's to stop them from pulling out all stops to derail her nomination?

Let's read on:

Her expectations of a dirty fight are mirrored in the camps of Sen Clinton's opponents. They say that the New York senator's own "war room" staff have already collected extensive background files on her rivals, ready to go "negative" as the battle for 2008 heats up.

So, to those of you that have a hard time believing that there are no Democratic dirty tricks planned, think again. And while you are at it, notice that the article says (emphasis mine), "the New York senator's own "war room" staff have already collected extensive background files on her rivals". It doesn't say just GOP rivals. It says" rivals", plain and simple.

So knowing this, you must also understand that for those of you that are not in her corner, Hillary is taking this race very seriously. Many heavy donating backers are taking her seriously too. Today, her campaign declared they had raised $36 million, $10 million of it coming from the NY Senate campaign. As of this writing, Obama has not released his totals. And John Edwards, the only other serious candidate (though ever so mildly), reportedly raked in $14 million. Many may be thinking that Edwards can be expected to go up a little next quarter, due to the sympathy support. I think it's possible.

If you are in her camp, here's another fly for your ointment. What if Obama and Edwards can muster up enough support between the two of them and team up against Hillary to shut her out of the nomination? Do you think the sparks could fly then? I think saying that, would be an understatement. At this point, I would be seriously inclined to bet that way (if they can win enough support combined, to thwart her bid). Point is, it may get real damned dirty, real damned quick, given the right conditions.

Look, $36 million can pay lots of people to do a lot of searching. Lot's of skeletons can come out of the closet, if lots of people are looking for them. Something is just bound to pop up. Lot's of dirt will be thrown (probably by proxy), because Hillary is ever so determined. She has been savoring and relishing the idea of being the first woman president for a very long time. Because of this, I do not believe she will go down softly at all. And bringing Ferraro into the fold as the CEO of the campaign's "dirty tricks committee", only demonstrates with more certainty that she doesn't intend to lose this race, without a brutal fight against anyone that gets in her way.

With that kind of determination, coupled with the construction of the well-funded of machine she has, she may have to dig into her deep pockets earlier than expected. What Obama and Edwards have to be willing to do is take her on, vigorously (and like her, by proxy). Then, they have to be willing to suffer the wrath of those named in this article, plus those she can recruit from this point forward. They must think real hard here. Do they have anything they don't want out? Are they as squeaky clean as they would like us all to believe?

More importantly is the question: Are they ready to fight dirty back, when she strikes first? She's already shown what kind of things can just magically appear. How's this for a warning shot?

(It's a long time until the voting begins, lots can happen between now and then. So, my advice is to get ready for the ride.)