Clinton On Offense Against Obama Surge

With late polls showing Barack Obama opening up a sizeable lead in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton shook up her campaign yesterday, setting a more aggressive course and drafting the new message herself, the Washington Post reports. The campaign will hammer home an action vs. rhetoric theme, but won't roll out negative ads, aiming to undermine Obama "without going nuclear,"  Politico says.

“You can’t launch a negative ad and expect that it’s going to be effective over a three-day period,” a strategist close to the campaign told Politico. “And the blowback could be significant.” Hillary will focus on the distinction she rolled out in the debate Saturday night: "This election is about the difference between talk and action, between rhetoric and reality," she said at a stop last night. "If we're going to talk about change, let's talk about who's produced change." (More Hillary Clinton stories.)