Senator Barack Obama’s presidential effort is hauling in a boatload of cash, but his credibility is sinking fast as the rookie politician continues to blame staffers for various transgressions related to competency and judgment.

For example, Obama called the ‘Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)’ memo “a screw-up on the part of our research staff” (Des Moines Register).

He “blamed his campaign staff for crafting” the memo and “distanced himself from” their actions (Washington Times).

The Chicago Sun-Times reports, “This is the third time Obama has blamed staff for mistakes.”

Obama should either fire staffers for “screw ups” or stand by them. There’s no middle ground, and Obama has now exhibited a pattern of taking the worst possible stance when inevitable errors occur: failing to be accountable.

Cash may be king in campaigns, but so is credibility. Obama has a credibility problem that is growing by the day.

The interesting Ben Smith article in Politico this morning reporting on Hillary Clinton’s new auxilliary website, HillaryHub.com, contains plenty of valid points and analysis in regard to how the internet is impacting the dissemination of news from campaigns.

Smith reports, “Not long ago, a campaign had a couple of options for getting out word of a big endorsement: a press release to political reporters, or maybe a calculated leak to a big local paper. But Wednesday morning, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign broke the news of Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg’s endorsement on a new website the campaign runs, HillaryHub.com. The campaign later e-mailed reporters suggesting they check the site.

“HillaryHub isn’t a typical campaign site,” Smith continues. “With a simple, three-column look, occasionally edgy headlines and links to a blend of videos, reports from newspapers and blogs and campaign memos, it’s a news aggregator on the model of the Drudge Report. The difference, of course, is that the stories are chosen to depict Clinton favorably and to tweak her critics.”

But despite the validity of the technology trend, and the key point made that breaking campaign news on a candidate’s website ensures control of content, there’s some reported hokum as well from GOP internet/web consultant Patrick Ruffini, who broadly proclaims, “The days of leaking strategically to The New York Times to get a story out are over. When everyone from a reporter to a voter has access to a website like (HillaryHub) — reporters are going to report it anyway, if it’s newsworthy — what they’re doing, and it’s smart, is to get it out on their own terms.”

True, but the days of “leaking strategically to the NYT to get a story out are over”?… Not by a long shot.

One sees more and more of these overzealous observations every day from the campaign web/internet consultants going just a bit overboard in their rush to throw the MSM over the side.

Watching Carl Bernstein discuss with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer his new book about Hillary Clinton, “A Woman in Charge,” the discussion this morning was solely a rehash of past foibles, mistakes and indulgences on the part of the Clintons.

When one hears the name “Betsy Wright” bandied about — and all of her twenty plus
years of Clinton machinations rehashed, as was the case with Blitzer, it’s time to zone out of that discussion. It’s basically background noise.

It also doesn’t really appear the new book by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta has broken much new ground either, and their gig on Meet the Press today was dullsville. Gerth is a helluva reporter, but this book seems ro be just a means of capitalizing financially on Hillary’s run for President. Why not?

The Clinton campaign has described these books as “A big yawn”… That’s pretty much the case.

On a 1-10 damage scale, it’s barely a one.

Per the Des Moines Register, Rudy Giuliani will skip the Ames straw poll in August, but still compete in the Iowa caucus. While blowing off the circus-like Ames event, Giuliani manager Mike DuHaime said ‘We are 100 percent committed to winning the Iowa caucuses. We’re going to take the resources that would have been spent in the straw poll and we’re going to dedicate all of them toward organizing for the January caucuses.”

Not bad: setting rock bottom expectations in IA caucus from bowing out of the straw poll while being able to stay underground and possibly exceed the expectations bar. Easily the best of any possible position Giuliani and his people could have chosen.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Register article, as pointed out by NBC First Read: “Giuliani’s decision could dampen interest in the event as a true early test of strength in the Republican field.”

This opens a door for Fred Thompson to follow and also opt out of the straw poll — thus helping both to survive a weak showing on caucus night, and providing the opportunity to exceed the low bar. On the flip side, after so much discussion of the “lazy” Fred, there will be great pressure on him to show some fire and compete in the straw poll. Not competing drives the lazy narrative. key decision for Thompson ahead.

Regardless, this has been a good two days for Giuliani.

Just a sidenote from the CNN debate this evening and the subsequent commentary: Mike Murphy should get more airtime and Amy Holmes far less. Murphy knows the biz as well as anyone and has been a player at the presidential and major statewide level for years. He’s inciteful, honest, objective and funny — the GOP equivalent of Paul Begala, easily the best analyst on the Dem side.

A Mike Murphy-Paul Begala duo is the best analytical team on television, and CNN should pair these two as often as possible.

Amy Holmes? She’s actually quite articulate, but being former Tennessee Senator Bill Frist’s “speechwriter” for a short period of time is no real qualification to talk politics with real pros like Murphy and Begala. She seems like a nice person, but give her the hook.

Despite the fact AZ Senator John McCain did not do bad at the CNN debate in Manchester, NH this evening — in fact, he did OK — it was simply that Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani did better, and for different reasons.

Romney, right at the outset, handled the McCain immigration charge of having no plan excellently. Moreover, he was solid the entire evening and looked great doing so. His answer on abortion flip fliopping and Mormonism were also superb. Romney gets an A.

The fact Rudy Giuliani was even close to Romney’s performance tonite shows just how good the Mayor did in terms of presentation skills, was good at the give and take, was funny and, here’s a big one: he smiled a lot. Consequently, he appeared confident and provided the best answer to abortion thus far, in this viewer’s opinion. Good answer on Scotter Libby also. Rudy earns a solid B+.

McCain, while earnest and generally effective, still didn’t come close to dealing with all the downsides associated with supporting the immigration package. But who could? he’s out there on a limb. McCain has to take the issue head-on and should get credit for doing so. McCain gets a solid B.

Like the CNN Dem debate, in which Hillary, Edwards and Obama showed why they’re in the the top tier, this debate showed why Romney, Rudy and McCain are the top tier. They’re just qualitatively head and shoulders above the also rans.

From the second tier, Brownback did well tonite — not great, but certainly his best performance so far.

One observation that must be noted: the audience applause when Tancredo dissed Bush.

The instant react: Despite the fact Hillary Clinton and John Edwards both advanced their own causes at CNN’s debate tonite at St. Anselm’s College in Manchester, NH, Barack Obama probably came out the best.

Obama “won” in this viewer’s opinion because he projected so much more gravitas than in the last major debate, in which Hillary Clinton’s personna, professionalism and bigger time experience dwarfed the Illinois Senator.

Overall, this was just one more example of Hillary, Edwards and Obama demonstrating why they’re the top tier. All three walk away with a good performance, but Obama showed more than just flash tonite. It wasn’t just his confident overall presentation, he looked more at ease doing so; as the camera is already good to him, a solid, confident appearance takes him even farther in this important context of stagecraft and optics.