What follows is Saul Alinki's "Rules For Radicals." Alinski was the subject of Hillary's controversial thesis paper at Wellesley College.
There are plenty of "rules" and you can see she is using them against Obama in her campaign.
Who is Saul Alinsky? Click Here...
Saul Alinsky's rules of power tactics, excerpted from his 1971 book "Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals"
1. Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
Well here the enemy is the voter. Because Clinton is trying to prove that she has more "experience" than Obama, though I'd argue it just isn't true. Count his years in the state senate and he has held political office longer than Clinton.
2. Never go outside the experience of your people.
This is shown in a couple of things. One, Hillary's "people" are white women and blue collar voters. She has played up the "woman" angle and the race angle which is an issue more within the blue collar crowd than the more educated groups.
3. Whenever possible go outside the experience of the enemy.
Once again, Clinton's "I have experience" argument. Obama (the enemy) does not.
4. Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
She can attack him negatively but if he attacks her negative she asks "What happened to the new politics of hope?" Thereby trying to turn Obama's advantage, (new, fresh, honest not petty or a mudslinger) into a disadvantage.
5. Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.
She's ridiculed his speaking style. Ridiculed him in debates (she got booed at least once). Ridiculed his credentials.
6. A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.
Racists enjoy a racial attack, and Clinton has her surrogates (Geraldine Ferraro) making these for her.
7. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
Every other day we see a different Hillary.
8. Keep the pressure on.
Since the Bill Clinton's comparison of Obama to Jesse Jackson, they have not let America forget "he's BLACK!"
9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
The threat of Barack going negative on Hillary may just be more terrifying than if he did it. At this point things have become so contentious between the two it may actually pay dividends, but there would be the initial hit he would have to take.
10. Maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.
See #8 above.
11. If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside.
Her negative campaigning is moving forward, because despite the public's assertion that they don't like it, they respond to it. See Ohio and keep and eye on Pennsylvania.
12. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
She keeps attacking, with the hope of making Obama so unattractive that she becomes the only alternative.
13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.
She has tried to freeze Obama using attacks. They have been personal and polarizing in that they have taken Obama off his positive message and put him on the defense.
So there you have it. You can find the full article on Hillary's hidden thesis (though now released, but if she becomes president they'll lock it up again!) here: MSNBC Clinton Thesis Article
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