Rapid Response, Meet Rapid Response

Howard Wolfson responded quickly this morning to a Maureen Dowd column in which Barack Obama's finance chair David Geffen ripped Hillary Clinton as over-ambitious and dishonest.

From Wolfson:

"While Senator Obama was denouncing slash and burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband.

"If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money."

Now, in response to the response, here's a statement from Obama communications director Robert Gibbs:

"We aren't going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once one of their biggest supporters. It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom. It is also ironic that Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because 'he's black.'"

Yikes.

--Jason Horowitz