To me, Clintonism can be defined as soulless, calculating, win-at-any-cost politics. Even if Obama weren't a truly fantastic candidate, I would probably support him if only to reject Clintonism, which I view as no better than McCain.
It seems that Obama's campaign knows that Hillary's #1 political tactic in her career has been playing the victim. Right or wrong, that tactic has galvanized many behind her and was unquestionably successful in her 2000 Senate run, and even in her tenure as First Lady.
Overall, I've been very happy with Obama's campaign, and I think the decision to "lay off" Hillary was a good one. It disarmed her of her victim tactic, and forced her to go on the attack, which perhaps has hurt her further with African-American voters.
Thing is, the Clinton campaign has been so downright frightening that I am now frustrated to see them get away with lie after lie, and rather than being called out for it, Obama is questioned for not being "tough" enough.
There was a story in The Chicago Tribune today questioning just this. One very telling quote came from Hillary, when asked about her Bosnia sniper lie:
"Well, Tom, I can tell you that I may be a lot of things, but I'm not dumb. And I wrote about going to Bosnia in my book in 2004. I laid it all out there. And you're right. On a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And, you know, I'm embarrassed by it. I have apologized for it. I've said it was a mistake ... I have talked about this and written about it. And then, unfortunately, on a few occasions I was not as accurate as I have been in the past ... And I have said that, you know, it just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth."
This is a very smart (in fact, too smart) answer that at the same time accepts blame while not admitting the lie. Further, as the Tribune points out, this couldn't be used as a soundbite because at no time does she actually confess to telling a lie.
Hillary's unwillingness (or inability?) to give a frank answer to a question and instead resort to Clinton-style spinning and talking points is, in a nutshell, the problem with her candidacy. She represents the same corporate governance -- dishonesty, spin, corruption, and her campaign is a reflection of how she would govern.
I suppose the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage is fitting, since Obama IS winning, and might very well bury her on May 6. But I sure would love to see him land a few zings of his own.