Did Clinton's plagiarism charge backfire?

Another primary, another instance of the Clinton campaign trying to use the "drop a bombshell the day before the primary" strategy. Monday's attack was arguably the worst - accusing Obama of "plagiarizing" a speech by his friend and supporter Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (who defended Obama and laughed off the plagiarism claim in an interview with ABC News).

In a column in The New Republic, David Kusnet, former speech writer for Bill Clinton, agreed that Obama's speech could not be considered plagiarism. Obama's double-digit Wisconsin win last night suggests that at best, the tactic failed to win Clinton any new support, and at worst, may have even bolstered voters' negative perceptions of her campaign's tone. By the end of the day Tuesday, a seemingly embarrassed Clinton was claiming that her campaign had not started the controversy, despite incontrovertible evidence in the form of a conference call and press release.

This is just the latest in a series of missteps by the Clinton campaign, and the overall mismanagement of her campaign seriously undermines her claim that she's the candidate with superior managerial and administrative experience. Joshua Green's must-read article "Inside the Clinton Shake-Up" provides a good overview of the Clinton campaign's financial and organization problems.

"Deval Patrick: I asked Obama to use my words" [Raw Story]
"Former Clinton Speechwriter Weighs In On Plagiarism-Gate" [The New Republic]
"Obama turns tables on Clinton" [Politico]
"Inside the Clinton Shake-Up" [The Atlantic Monthly]