The first shot across the bough occurred nearly a year ago, in a much-publicized but untrue article in Insight magazine.  The information it purported was already making its rounds on the internet via emails.  The target:  Barack Obama.  The charge:  that he is some sort of Manchurian Candidate, an Islamic fundamentalist posing as a liberal Christian, just waiting to get into the White House so he can begin the Islamification of the United States.

Rather than accept the story at face value, the Associated Press and CNN decided to do some actual reporting, determining that the story was pure paranoia:  there was no evidence that Obama is a Muslim, and he did not in fact attend a madrassa as claimed.  Insight magazine was duped.  Either cynicism or realism prompted me to think at the time that the boomlet had the Clinton Machine's fingerprints all over it, using the paranoid right-wing magazine as "useful idiots".  It was brilliant:  get a negative view of Obama out there (even being proved wrong, those little morsels of doubt are hard to eradicate completely), and discredit a right-wing publication at the same time.

Now the Clinton Machine is at it again.  A new Robert Novak column claims that the Hillary campaign is making it known in Democratic circles that they have some pretty explosive and scandalous information about Senator Obama.  Mind you, they aren't willing to use it, but those evil Republicans might, and they just wanted everyone to know so they can make the "right" decision in the Democratic primaries.

Of course, the campaign is denying the accusations, blaming them on the so-called "vast right-wing conspiracy" that was obviously so successful in preventing two Bill Clinton presidencies, two successful Hillary Clinton senate elections, and has Sen. Clinton leading the pack for the Democratic nomination (and the odds-on favorite to be the next President).  Bob Novak, they claim, is simply fronting false information, and Sen. Obama is showing his inexperience by rising to the bait.

A problem with this spin is that Novak has covered Washington for 50 years and his integrity is not questioned.  Yes, he has an ideological agenda, but he has numerous contacts in both parties, and he consistently breaks news based on information he gets on deep background (typically he has information from a "senior" staffer, administration official, or campaign consultant).

Another problem with the Clinton spin is that the Clintons have a reputation for doing just this sort of thing — would anyone actually be surprised if Novak's story were proved to be true?  To the Clintons, politics is war, and anyone caught in the crossfire is simply collateral damage.  Get in their way, and you'd better be prepared.

Back in January, I predicted that as the election drew closer, if Obama was seeming like too much of a threat we'd see something like this again.  Over the weekend, new polls suggest that Obama has pulled even with Clinton in Iowa; on Monday comes this revelation for Novak.  Coincidence?  I think not.  It is "Game ON" in the race for the Democratic nomination.  Senator Obama had best be ready for the coming storm.