Essential Estrogen

Iowa politicos don't need holiday decorations on street light poles in order to know it's December.

Today, following a poll in the Des Moines Register that gave Illinois Sen. Barack Obama a six point up-swing to over take his competitors for the first time in the Democratic field, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton continued her earlier attacks on Obama's health care plan. This time, however, the New Yorker took it a step further by suggesting what goes around in politics comes around and, when questioned, that Iowa voters who pay attention might discover Obama has a character flaw.

"It's beginning to look a lot like that, when we can't get a straight answer on health care, where somebody runs on ethics and not taking money from certain people is found to have at least skirted if not violated [Federal Election Commission] rules and to use lobbyists and [Political Action Committee] money to do so," she said. "... I have said for months that I would much rather be attacking Republicans and attacking problems in our country."

"I have been for months on the receiving end of rather consistent attacks," she added, "well, now the fun part starts. We're into the last month and we're going to start drawing contrasts because I want every Iowan to have accurate information when they make their decisions."

Obama was quick to launch his own weapons in this battle of words via press release following the Cedar Rapids Clinton event: "This presidential campaign isn't about attacking people for fun, it's about solving people's problems, like ending the war and creating a universal health care system. Washington insiders might think throwing mud is fun, but the American people are looking for leadership that can unite this country around a common purpose, and that's what I'll continue to offer in this campaign."

Clinton had been scheduled to appear in Cedar Rapids to push a caucus "buddy" program, an effort to pair 20,000 Iowans to caucus for her. Just 30 minutes prior to the campaign stop, the Clinton campaign issued a press release that accused Obama of "rewriting history" when he said at his own campaign stop in the state that he had "not been planning to run for president for however number of years some of the other candidates have been planning for."

The release cites articles from four separate news organizations as proof that Obama has done the exact opposite -- including a news article that detailed the candidate's third grade essay entitled, "I Want to Be a President."

"Senator Obama's comment today is fundamentally at odds with what his teachers, family, classmates and staff have said about his plans to run for president," said Clinton spokesman Phil Singer. "Senator Obama's campaign rhetoric is getting in the way of his reality."

Obama's Iowa press spokesman, Tommy Vietor, struck back with sarcasm: "I'm sure tomorrow they'll attack him for being a flip-flopper because he told his second grade teacher he wanted to be an astronaut."

An earlier press release -- distributed at roughly 11:30 a.m. -- repeated a call by Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson on "Meet the Press" this morning that Obama shut down a PAC.

Wolfson faced off against Obama strategist David Axelrod on the news show this morning, saying: "There's a lot that voters don't know about Barack Obama. And one thing they don't know -- we found out this week -- is that he has been using and operating a so-called leadership PAC, in apparent contravention of campaign finance laws, taking in money from lobbyists despite the fact that he said he doesn't take money from lobbyists, taking in money from lobbyists and giving money out to candidates in New Hampshire and Iowa to support his presidential campaign. Senator Clinton does not have such a PAC."

Wolfson went on to describe the money as a "slush fund" and to call on the Senator to shut it down. The Clinton campaign has made the question available on YouTube.

Federal Election Commission law prevents a candidate's campaign from using leadership PAC monies to directly benefit the campaign. Clinton has charged that Obama's fund -- Hopefund -- has given 68 percent of its political donations to officials in early states.

The heated exchange between the two candidates came to a head late last week when the Clinton campaign strongly suggested that the Obama campaign remove its television ad in New Hampshire that focused on health care, stating that it was inaccurate.

"I am writing concerning a false advertisement you are currently airing, in which Sen. Obama claims that his health care plan would 'cover everyone,'" Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle wrote in a letter to David Plouffe, Obama campaign manager. "Your advertisement not only contradicts the judgment of health care experts, but public statements by your campaign and your candidate. Senator Obama has pledged to put 'honesty first' in this campaign. In that spirit I respectfully request that you stop running this ad which is misleading voters in New Hampshire."