Today's Quote: Divisive politics

Clinton campaign staffers have apparently distributed a 2006 photo of Barack Obama in traditional Somali clothes when he was on a trip in northern Kenya. (Available here) Of course, we know photos like this feed into the racist misconceptions about Obama's background. Via Politico, here is the response from Obama campaign manager, David Plouffe:

“On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election. This is part of a disturbing pattern that led her county chairs to resign in Iowa, her campaign chairman to resign in New Hampshire, and it’s exactly the kind of divisive politics that turns away Americans of all parties and diminishes respect for America in the world," said Plouffe.

It does indicate how low the Clinton campaign may go this next week as we approach the Texas and Ohio contests on March 4. Clearly, the Clinton campaign is no longer worried about damaging Obama in such a way that may dramatically hinder him in the general election.

This latest controversy started when someone form the Clinton campaign emailed the photo to the Drudge Report. The fact that the Clinton people are using Drudge as a dissemination tool may further irritate Democrats who often see the website as the lowest of the lows. Ironically, it was Drudge who broke some of the initial allegations of the Lewinsky scandal.