Obama's Week in Review

It's been one to remember. Here's a run-down:

* Samantha Power. The Bad: It does a campaign based on a new style of inclusive politics no good to have one of its advisers call the opponent a "monster." The Good: What is Power's gaffe compared to Howard Wolfson's comparison of Obama to Ken Starr?

* Susan Rice. The Bad: You can imagine the reaction in Obama HQ while watching one of its foreign-policy advisers admit that neither candidate was "ready to have that 3 am phone call."

* March 4. Losing is bad enough. But almost all talk of Obamamentum ended when the candidate couldn't pick off Clinton's core voting blocs, as he had done in Wisconsin, which is looking more and more like the exception to the rule. The Good: Wyoming and Mississippi. Knowing it will likely pick up two consecutive states is the campaign's silver lining to March 4.

* Rezko trial. The campaign saw this one coming, but the response from the candidate only made matters worse. Peppered by the media at a Monday press conference Obama walked out after taking just eight questions. Bad move. From the Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet to the Post's Dana Milbank, the wrath of the reporters was unleashed. (Side note: The Sun-Times' Steve Huntley has a good column on this today here.) The Good: There is no evidence (yet) that Obama is hiding anything about his relationship to Rezko that he hasn't already fessed-up to (i.e., the sweetheart housing deal). And with the trial almost guaranteeing that something is bound to come out, one would think the Obama campaign would want to control the story by admitting it first. Hasn't happened, which might mean there's no there there.

* NAFTA-gate. The Bad: The original CTV clip sped around the Web as fast as those celebrity paeans to Obama. But again it was the ham-handed response from the campaign -- first denials, then grudging acceptance -- which constituted the first real blunder by the Obama campaign. The Good: With Ohio behind him and reports that Clinton's people were also sending signals to the Canadians, NAFTA-gate might not have the legs to continue.

* It began a week ago today with the Clinton campaign's release of the "3 am" ad. It's always tough to gauge the effectiveness of any particular ad, and late deciders in the this campaign have consistently moved toward Clinton. But on the margins in Texas at least, where the fight was neck-and-neck, the ad might have made the difference. The Good: Clinton tax returns. The Obama campaign immediately made an issue of them the day after Texas and Ohio. Some suggest this is ruining the campaign's "purity." Please. Whatever purity existed was lost the minute the votes started getting counted and anyone who thinks that Obama can win this riding the white stallion is drinking some serious Kool-Aid.

It's not a wash. Despite holding on to his delegate lead, Obama has had his worst week to date. It'll be a measure of the candidate's strength and resolve how he deals with the setbacks.

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