Another poignant email from Hillary Clinton just landed in my inbox:
Dear Friend,
With 14 days to go until the people of Pennsylvania vote, the Obama campaign has decided to go all-out. They're trying to end the race for the White House with an unyielding media blitz. Right now, we're being outspent 4-1 on Pennsylvania television.
So now, here's what we have to ask ourselves: Have we come this far in our history-making contest for the Democratic nomination only to see the race decided not by the quality of our ideas but by the size of our opponent's media budget?
Not a chance -- not if you and I have anything to say about it. And, believe me, we do. Any contribution you make, even as little as $5, can make a difference. If you've never given online, now is the time.
Don't let a sea of Obama ads overwhelm our powerful message in Pennsylvania. Contribute now. ...
And so on.
I still can't wrap my mind around this bizarre political terrain in which the Clintons are the struggling strivers being menaced by another Dem's fundraising/media juggernaut. And I have to think that, while strategically shrewd, this kind of underdog plea must sting the pride of Hillary money man Terry McAullife. The Macker has long reveled in his role as the party's most shameless and most successful money-grubber. For his candidate to be basing her fund-raising efforts on the notion that McAuliffe's crew is being stomped by a bunch of upstarts cannot sit well.
--Michelle Cottle