During the early fall panic period, when Barack Obama supporters worried Hillary Clinton was leaving him in the dust, those who argued he should be more aggressive clashed with those who argued that scrapping would trip him up. He was the candidate who had written and spoken at great length about a new kind of politics. To really take on Clinton, he would have to raise questions about her honesty and candor, because that's where voters see her as weak. But that would double the risk of taking a swing, since such attacks can seem personal and voters don't like that, particularly in Iowa where Obama has been closest to catching Clinton in the polls.
