There has been a lot of discussion recently about how the length of the primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could potentially harm the Democratic nominee. If negative campaign tactics continue to be used despite the fact that it is very likely Obama will be the nominee, then I believe these concerns might turnout to be true. That being said, there is a good chance that the extended primary will actually benefit the Democratic nominee.

Due to the fact that the Republican nominee was evident quite awhile ago, the media has been paying more attention to the primary on the Democratic side. This ultimately means that the media has also uncovered some potential scandals involving Obama. After his numbers taking a slight dip after the media began focusing on issues such as Rev. Jeremiah Wright, however, Obama's campaign has rebounded and continues to have electoral success. With this scandals in the past, he's now able to begin building his organization for the general election is has a better understanding of how the public might react to some of the attacks the Republicans will launch at him.

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The following is a letter I sent to Sen. Hillary Clinton on April 15 which some of my fellow bloggers encouraged me to post here for some discussion.

Dear Senator Hillary Clinton,

One of your presidential campaign staff’s chief strategists, Geoff Garin, recently sent out an email asking grassroots activists to respond with their opinions on the future of the Democratic presidential primaries. I am very pleased to see that your campaign is reaching out to the voters to see what they have to say. As a young Democrat who has helped with the campaigns for many progressive candidates, however, I have to admit that I am extremely disappointed in the negative tactics that you and your campaign team have decided to use in recent weeks. It is as a result of the implications your campaign’s tactics have had on the Democratic Party that I believe you should cease your negative campaign tactics or drop out of the race altogether.

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With the race for the Democratic nomination coming down to the wire, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign has most definitely been trying to increase Sen. Barack Obama’s negatives. According to an article published on ABC’s website, Clinton is now trying to associate Obama with George W. Bush in an obvious attempt to scare the Democratic base into thinking Obama would turn out just like the extremely unpopular president.

Now Hillary’s supporters will probably argue she has every right to make this comparison, but I think it’s important to remember that there are consequences to running such a negative campaign. Comparing a fellow Democrat to President Bush, for instance, should sound extremely familiar to Virginians — especially those who live in the 40th House of Delegates district.

I just got back from a luncheon at the Sheraton Premiere in Northern Virginia hosted by Delegates Brian Moran and Ward Armstrong which featured Senator John Edwards as the speaker. There was a sizable crowd present which included fellow bloggers Kenton Ngo from 750 Volts, Ben Tribbett from Not Larry Sabato, and 7 West’s Delegates Kris Amundson and Bob Brink (both of whom I was finally able to meet).

In addition to the 7 West team and Delegates Armstrong and Moran, I also had the opportunity to speak with Delegates Chuck Caputo and Dave Marsden and candidates Margi Vanderhye and Rex Simmons. Although I didn’t get the opportunity to speak with them, I also saw Delegates Adam Ebbin and Mark Sickles and Congressional Candidate Judy Feder in the crowd and heard rumors of a few other very important people being present.