Media treats Hillary like a Republican

Wall Street Journal Editorial:

Now Hillary Clinton knows how Republicans feel. Usually, GOP candidates have to overcome media disdain and establishment calls to declare defeat and get out of the race. This time she's the target of the collective liberal swoon for Barack Obama. But after her victory yesterday in Ohio and a nailbiter in Texas, we see little reason that the New York Senator shouldn't fight on.

That wouldn't please the Democratic panjandrums who desperately want a nominee now that John McCain has wrapped up the Republican race. The party superdelegates who were all for Mrs. Clinton when she was "inevitable" are now hoping she'll drop out and spare them a painful decision. A herd of them -- they prefer the camouflage of numbers -- have reportedly even been plotting to break together for the Illinois orator.

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Perhaps most important, according to the exit polls, she was able to expose a significant vulnerability that Mr. Obama would have against Mr. McCain -- his lack of experience on national security. She made that a major theme of the campaign's final days, running a much-noted TV spot about a President needing to answer the phone at 3 a.m. Mr. Obama turned that into a retort about Mrs. Clinton's bad "judgment" in voting for the Iraq war, which resonated with antiwar voters.

But Mrs. Clinton seems to have won the larger argument, as voters in Ohio said she would make a better Commander in Chief by 57% to 40%. If even Democrats have their doubts about Mr. Obama's national security credentials, he'll have an even harder task persuading independents in November against the Arizona war veteran.

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While many Democrats complain that Clinton staying in the race weakens Obama for the fall campaign, what it really does is point out his weaknesses now rather than when it is too late. He can either come up with a compelling argument to meet those attacks are lose now rather than later.

The media and the Democrats do him no favor by ignoring his flaws and hoping the Republicans want notice. Whether it was Willie Horton in 1988 (first noted by Al Gore) or the Swift Vets in 2004, the issues were there all along and ignoring them during the primary was a mistake the Democrats made. This year it could be Rezco and his Iraqi/Saddam money connection. Democrats better look at these issues now.