“When talking to Clintonites in recent days, I’ve noticed that they’ve come to despise Obama. I suppose that may be natural in the final weeks of a competitive campaign when much is at stake. But these people don’t need any prompting in private conversations to decry Obama as a dishonest poser. They’re not spinning for strategic purposes. They truly believe it. And other Democrats in Washington report encountering the same when speaking with Clinton campaign people. ‘They really, really hate Obama,’ one Democratic operative unaffiliated with any campaign, tells me. ‘They can’t stand him. They talk about him as if he’s worse than Bush.’ What do they hate about him? After all, there aren’t a lot of deep policy differences between the two, and he hasn’t gone for the jugular during the campaign. ‘It’s his presumptuousness,’ this operative says. ‘That he thinks he can deny her the nomination. Who is he to try to do that?’ You mean, he’s, uh, uppity? ‘Yes.’ A senior House Democratic aide notes, ‘The Clinton people are going nuts in how much they hate him. But the problem is their narrative has gone beyond the plausible.’…

“Clinton is playing with fire. In explaining to reporters that she will be tougher on Obama, she said, ‘Now the fun part starts.’ That was tasteless. It’s a remark that certainly can–and will be–used against her. And some Democratic voters might worry that the comment reveals too much desire for (political) blood.

“In politics, there can be a thin line between tough and mean.”