Candidates upping the offense strategy

They think being on the offense works. Okay, they’re offensive.

With a new poll showing her losing ground in the Iowa caucus race, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) mounted a new, more aggressive attack against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Sunday, raising direct questions about his character, challenging his integrity and forecasting a sharp debate over those subjects in the days ahead.

Clinton has hammered Obama recently over his health-care proposal, arguing that he is misleading voters because it omits millions of people and would not lower costs. But Sunday, in a dramatic shift, she made it clear that her goal is to challenge Obama not just on policy but also on one of his strongest selling points: his reputation for honesty.

It’s nasty, but getting nastier.

While the temperature in Iowa may have dipped into the teens over the weekend, things are getting pretty hot between the Democratic rivals and in fact, between the Republican rivals, too.

The campaign of Barack Obama today announced a direct counterpoint to criticisms by Senator Hillary Clinton and her campaign that seemed almost nonstop yesterday…Mr. Obama’s campaign has set up an entirely new Web site, “hillary attacks,” for its own rapid response.

Negative campaigning feeds the media, and the media feed…..who?

Mainstream Americans, the ones who buy the news papers and tune into the TV and radio shows and vote, need to run our own campaign. Write letters to the editor of your newspapers. Keep them brief and to the point. Send polite but clearly stated emails to the websites of candidates and media outlets, and tell them the questions you want asked and answered. No dodging, no talking points, no attacks or criticisms.

We want truth and integrity in media, and honor and leadership in government. (Dear Santa…)

Oh yes, and that, too. Stop messing with Santa Claus.