In boxing when one man starts wandering around the ring, wildly windmilling his arms hoping to land a punch on something, anything resembling the other boxer, he’s pronounced out on his feet.

In politics that’s called a 5-point plan of attack.

From the The New York Times Clinton Campaign Starts 5-Point Attack on Obama

After denouncing Mr. Obama over the weekend for an anti-Clinton flier about the Nafta trade treaty, and then sarcastically portraying his message of hope Sunday as naïve, Mrs. Clinton delivered a blistering speech on Monday that compared Mr. Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience to that of the candidate George W. Bush.

The attack on Sen. Obama’s foreign policy expertise was apparently said with a straight face. We are to infer it was Sen. Clinton’s overwhelming foreign policy experience which led her to vote to authorize the Iraq War without reading the intelligence. She is still defending that vote as the right thing to do, albeit with convoluted arguments that don’t really pertain to the subject matter at all.

The Clinton campaign has previously resorted to using negative, even racist attacks. There was the memorable assessment Bill Clinton provided of Barack Obama’s win in South Carolina:

Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in ‘84 and ‘88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here.
January 26, 2008

Because apparently winning South Carolina presidential primaries is just something black people do, like that infernal hip-hop we keep hearing about.

Now the Clinton campaign is making those attacks part of their regular arsenal. This weekend saw her campaign spread a photo of Obama in Somalian garb as a way to reinforce that Obama is indeed of African heritage… and some Africans are Muslims, and some Muslims are terrorists… and they’re all brown people in robes JUST LIKE Obama in this photo.

This was on the heels of the ridiculous plagiarism charge and the ever present background noise of securing the most super delegates and seating Michigan and Florida delegates in an attempt to subvert the popular vote should she lose.

Now there is news that Hillary surrogates are starting a 527 before the Ohio and Texas primaries with the express purpose of attacking Obama. From The Atlantic :

They’re canvassing Clinton donors for pledges of up to $100,000 in the hope of raising at least $10M by the end of next week. The money will be placed in the account of a political committee organized under section 527 of the tax code.

One wonders if this is the best thing for her and the party. By all accounts this race is unwinnable for her on her merits. She is not only losing by a staggering 16% nationally according to CBS/New York Times:

Obama 54% (+13)
Clinton 38% (-3)

She is now behind in Texas and her lead is evaporating in Ohio .

If the best she can produce in the next few weeks are gutter level comments appealing to the worst in her countrymen, then it is time for her to step aside. The people have spoken and Obama’s national lead is growing daily. Sen. Clinton should save herself the embarrassment and Sen Obama the distraction by allowing him to move on to the national race against Sen. Jon McCain.

It is time for someone in Sen. Clinton’s campaign to throw in the towel and save her from herself. If only campaigning was as humane as boxing.