Campaign Roundup

It was politics as usual this week -- staffing gaffes and shrill insinuations -- with a few surprises -- a beleaguered Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton making a comeback.

On Tuesday, Barack Obama won Vermont, then broke his twelve-state winning streak. Afterwards, Obama aide Samantha Power slipped up and told The Scotsman her real opinion of Hillary Clinton: "She is a monster, too --- that is off the record --- she is stooping to anything." She apologized to Clinton and resigned Friday morning.

Susan Rice, Obama senior foreign policy adviser, handed John McCain another great soundbite, saying neither Clinton nor Obama is ready for that famous 3:00 AM phone call. When Obama tried to get tough on Clinton's tax returns, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson compared him to Ken Starr.

Can Obama survive? He's stuck because if plays muddy politics as usual, he undermines the entire basis for his campaign. (See David Brooks and The Weekly Standard.)

Clinton had something to crow about this Tuesday when she won Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island. How did Clinton stage a comeback? Some say it's demographics: Her core groups (women, Latinos) came through. Other entertain the hypothesis that Rush Limbaugh Republicans handed her a Texas victory. (Tom Bevan with Real Clear Politics calls it a "close call.") Or maybe she's just tougher. Bob Herbert says, "If there is one thing the Clinton crowd knows how to do, it's provoke." Gail Collins echoes this: "While Barack may understand the audacity of hope, only Hillary really gets the audacity of audacity."

John McCain clinched the GOP nomination and showed up late for his photo-op with former opponent and now-unpopular President Bush. The endorsement of anti-Catholic John Hagee still haunts McCain, although God-o-Meter says Hagee has less clout than the media gives him. According to Crosswalk.com's exit poll analysis, McCain is still not attracting evangelicals, but Crunchy Con's Rod Dreher notes that more Texas evangelicals chose McCain over Huckabee.

Now that McCain has muscled Mike Huckabee out of the race, what's next for Huckabee? He hasn't ruled out a vice-presidential slot. God's Politics' Jim Wallis says Huckabee's candidacy is a sign that "the monologue of the Religious Right has ended and the evangelical agenda has broadened." Others say he's the new, "kinder, gentler" face of the Religious Right.