Obama's Cleavage Envy

Even though Barack Obama exposed his chest months before Hillary Clinton gave the world a peek at hers, Hillary was the one that successfully manipulated her chest for fundraising.

Then of course came the YouTube debate and Hillary's charge that Obama is naive when it comes to foreign policy and dealing with foreign leaders.

The loser of the Cleavage Wars is determined to win the Battle of the Doves in Hawks' Clothing.

Obama has thrown down the gauntlet.

He declared that he would be willing to invade Pakistan. He's almost daring Iron Lady Hillary to top that.

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists even without local permission if warranted — an attempt to show strength when his chief rival has described his foreign policy skills as naive.

The Illinois senator warned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that he must do more to shut down terrorist operations in his country and evict foreign fighters under an Obama presidency, or Pakistan will risk a U.S. troop invasion and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.

"Let me make this clear," Obama said in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaida leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will."

Obama's speech comes the week after his rivalry with New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton erupted into a public fight over their diplomatic intentions.

Obama said he would be willing to meet leaders of rogue states like Cuba, North Korea and Iran without conditions, an idea that Clinton criticized as irresponsible and naive. Obama responded by using the same words to describe Clinton's vote to authorize the Iraq war and called her "Bush-Cheney lite."

Obama needs to settle down before he implodes like Howard Dean.

Obama's vow to go into Pakistan was a prepared statement. It wasn't an off-the-cuff remark. There was premeditation about considering a Pakistan invasion.

This effort to be tougher on terrorists and more serious than Hillary isn't working.

He's simply offering Hillary more fodder to mock him. He's proving her point that he's naive.

Obama and John Edwards should realize that Hillary has the most testosterone among the Democrat presidential field. They can't touch her in that department.

And although she's less feminine and sensitive than Obama and Edwards, she is technically a woman. Even Obama's endorsement from Oprah isn't enough to counter the reality of chromosomes.

Among Democrats, the fact is Hillary is emerging as the best man for the job.

Events of the past weeks have solidified Hillary's position as the front runner. I don't see any upsets. I think the nomination is hers.

These Hillary/Obama wars could be a problem down the road if Hillary wants to tap Obama as her running mate. If she keeps berating Obama's judgment and experience, such a move would make an Obama selection appear to be a choice made on the color of his skin rather than his abilities.

A certain degree of confrontation between primary candidates is expected and acceptable; but this is getting to be a bit too much bad blood for Hillary and Obama to be a convincing team.