Spotlight: Hit Back Hard

Today's Hotline Spotlight:

Three recent stories have worked their way up the media food-chain to cause big Dem headaches. They say a lot about how news is made these days. But they also should instruct WH '08ers as they prepare rapid-response shops.

-- Pelosi's plane: Only last p.m. did Pelosi give her side of this story, which moved from Drudge into the mainstream 2/7 (and first made Hotline, 2/5). She said her "criticism" of the Iraq war (and her gender?) caused the Pentagon leaks. Regardless of its merits, the damage is done; "Pelosi One" fits the GOP caricature and will surely become a standard attack line.

-- Edwards bloggers: Bloggers hate paralysis, and candidates who hire full-time bloggers have to deal with a paper trail. This a.m., Edwards stood behind Marcotte and McEwen, but what took so long?

-- Pelosi and Edwards could learn from Obama's response to the new-media firestorm he faced on the madrassa rumors. Obamaland looked paralyzed ... for about 1/2 a news cycle, but then became the victim. Aided by a story that fell apart, they still hit back hard. Speed trumps accuracy, particularly for the candidate getting attacked.