Clinton Touts Leadership, but Her Campaign Lacks It

If voters judged the Democratic candidates by the standard Hillary Clinton has been promoting—competent leadership—her own performance at the helm of her campaign isn't making her case, write Jim VandeHei and David Paul Kuhn in Politico. While Clinton’s had two major staff shakeups, major money problems, and a constant message crisis, Barack Obama has led what one Hillary supporter calls “one of the best-run presidential campaigns in the last 20 years.”

Clinton misunderstood caucus organizing, put all her eggs in Super Tuesday’s basket, and misjudged Obama, while the Chicagoan has handled all his hurdles with aplomb, and managed to keep his campaign staff conflict-free. There are always going to be campaign gaffes, one uncommitted superdelegate notes; the question is how they're handled. "It’s fair to say that Sen. Obama has handled problems better than Sen. Clinton,” he adds. (More Barack Obama stories.)