DUMB SPIN.

Sometimes, I really wonder how dumb the Clinton campaign thinks we are.

To: Interested PartiesFrom: The Clinton CampaignDate: Friday, February 29, 2008RE: Obama Must-WinsThe media has anointed Barack Obama the presumptive nominee and he's playing the part.With an eleven state winning streak coming out of February, Senator Obama is riding a surge of momentum that has enabled him to pour unprecedented resources into Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.The Obama campaign and its allies are outspending us two to one in paid media and have sent more staff into the March 4 states. In fact, when all is totaled, Senator Obama and his allies have outspent Senator Clinton by a margin of $18.4 million to $9.2 million on advertising in the four states that are voting next Tuesday.Senator Obama has campaigned hard in these states. He has spent time meeting editorial boards, courting endorsers, holding rallies, and - of course - making speeches.If he cannot win all of these states with all this effort, there's a problem.Should Senator Obama fail to score decisive victories with all of the resources and effort he is bringing to bear, the message will be clear:Democrats, the majority of whom have favored Hillary in the primary contests held to date, have their doubts about Senator Obama and are having second thoughts about him as a prospective standard-bearer.

So if Obama doesn't outright win the states Clinton is favored in -- if he merely closes the gap -- Democrats are "having second thoughts about him." Who is this aimed at? Political reporters know it's dumb. Political junkies know it's dumb. Superdelegates aren't going to be taken in by it. What's the target audience? And why aren't they making better arguments? If I were the Clinton campaign, I'd be making serious hay out of the fact that, one way or the other, Clinton won Florida and Michigan, will probably win Ohio, and remains favored in Pennsylvania. In other words, Obama may do well in South Carolina and Wisconsin, but Clinton is preferred in the relevant swing states, the states Democrats will actually need to win the election, particularly now that Arizona's John McCain has shot the Interior West strategy to shit. But instead we get these silly press blasts abut how a loss in Ohio is an unexpected blow for Obama.Why is she paying these people?