HILLARY’S OPPONENTS CAUGHT IN A BIND

Hillary Clinton’s opponents, eager to make up the ground between their candidacies and hers’ in most national polls face a basic problem: The Democratic primary voters will not tolerate negatives. So partisan is the division in the country as the 2008 election approaches that Democrats resent it when members of their own party speak ill of Hillary. So how are Obama and Edwards to make up lost ground? They can’t throw negatives. Hillary has coopted their position on Iraq by reversing her previous commitments and voting for a date certain to withdraw and to cut off funding. Neither of Hillary’s major opponents have a handle to use in defeating her. And that’s why she will probably win the nomination.