The skirmishing over Samantha Power continued on an Obama campaign conference call moments ago, with the action shifting over to this recent interview with Power about Obama's commitment to withdrawing from Iraq.
In that interview, Power said the following about Obama's future approach to withdrawal from Iraq: "He will, of course, not rely on some plan that he’s crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. Senator." As Ben Smith notes, she seemed to be expressing "a lack of confidence that Obama will be able to carry through" his withdrawal plan.
Asked about the comments on the call, Plouffe argued that Obama's commitment to pulling out of Iraq was "rock solid." He also pointed out that Retired General Jack Kean, who is close to Hillary, had recently characterized Hillary's approach to Iraq as follows:
"I have no doubts whatsoever that if she were president in January '09 she would not act irresponsibly and issue orders to conduct an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, regardless of the consequences, and squander the gains that have been made."
The parallel isn't perfect, but Plouffe's push-back nonetheless seems fair here -- the larger point is that both candidates, for obvious reasons, want to preserve some wiggle room for themselves on Iraq.
Separately, it's worth noting that the Obama camp was mostly on defense on the call, suggesting that the 3 A.M ad and Hillary's continued bludgeoning of Obama for his alleged lack of "commander in chief" cred has left the Obama camp scrambling to turn the narrative around.
Plouffe did go on offense on her tax returns, blasting her as "one of the most secretive pols in America today." But it's hard to imagine that this sort of thing will be enough to parry the current Clinton assault, which isn't showing any signs of letting up.
Then again, big victories in Wyoming and Mississippi could abruptly change the story-line, and beyone that, Obama's pledge delegate lead may well prove insurmountable, in which case whatever damage Obama takes from Hillary's "commander in chief" assault will ultimately prove inconsequential.