Grins and Grenades
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3990023/
Showtime: The system was supposed to produce a quick outcome. But
these are the Democrats, after all. How the dogfight is heating up—and
why it just might last 'til spring.
By Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff
Jan. 26 issue - To be a successful "oppo guy"—an opposition researcher
for a presidential candidate—you need to know how to play defense as
well as offense. In the Democrats' increasingly vicious race, Chris
Lehane, Wesley Clark's oppo guy, is state of the art, a Harvard Law
School alum with a sharp mind and tongue. He knows how to play it both
ways. He's spent months in attack mode, serving as a one-man tip sheet
for reporters examining the shortcomings of Howard Dean, especially
the former Vermont governor's refusal to release all of his official
records. But last week Lehane hunkered down. Preparing for close
scrutiny of his man in New Hampshire, where a tight race was shaping
up, Lehane opened a "reading room" in Manchester and packed it with
stacks of the retired general's military, tax and lobbying records.
"Contrast that with what Dean has done—or hasn't done—by way of full
disclosure," Lehane crowed.
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