Imus’s loss is Hillary’s Gain?

I checked in on Hillary’s campaign Web site today and found a huge picture of the Rutger’s women’s basketball team.

It turns out Hillary is personally inviting all of us to send a message of support to the team. Users are asked to fill out a form and send a ”message of respect to the Scarlet Nights.”

Importantly, they are also invited to check a box to receive regular updates on Hillary’s campaign. Ah, so now it’s clear why the campaign is so concerned. Turns out this is a great way to tap into the anger over Imus to build support for the campaign.

But it’s hard to argue with the strategy, especially since she is only using the contact information if people volunteer to receive additional updates.

This is different from a recent flap with the Edwards campaign, in which people who sent well wishes to Elizabeth Edwards were promptly sent a fund-raising solicitation. Talk about poor taste.  

Still, I can’t help but be a little turned off by this latest Hillary tactic. Where do the messages actually end up? It just seems too obvious that this simply a blatant way to take advantage of the incident. Are they really concerned about the Rutgers women? And is sending a note via Hillary Clinton’s campaign site the best way to express outrage over Imus’s remarks? 

No.