PHILADELPHIA, Pa – The U.S. Presidential elections is turning very sour these days by lies overstretched and peddled as truth. With the choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as running mate, and with the flurry of absolutely negative ads, Republican John McCain is garnering attention and votes. Democrat Hillary Clinton should actively pitch in to quell the Republican storm.

It all started in the historic run-up between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Clinton won in many states, particularly the big ones like New York and California. Obama, through calm rhetoric and promises of change, swept other smaller states and got more superdelegate votes.

The result could have been the first woman to ever run for President; but it turned out to be the first Afro-American candidate to be nominated by a major political party. Pundits wrote that loyal Hillary Clinton voters would either stay at home or vote for the Republicans. But the two patched things up during the Democrat National Convention.

Then all of a sudden, like the ferocious Hurricane Ike that swept across Texas, the political game abruptly changed. McCain chose little known governor Sarah Palin, sparking intrigue, media coverage and interest. Palin is a good-looking, gun-supporting, abortion-opposing and controversy-riddled candidate who immediately pulled up the support base of the “old candidate” McCain. They call it the Palin Effect.

The Palin Effect is so strong in the U.S. that it has attracted many Hillary Clinton supporters. There are dolls of her likeness with three different dress styles being hawked in the streets. The hip and trendy Sarah Palin glasses are currently out of stock in major department stores. Her movie star face is plastered on conservative newsmagazines and tabloids. Just behind Obama, she is the best new American political star.

To complement the sweeping Palin Effect, McCain and his campaign team devised another formula, which it never dared try in 2000 (versus then Gov. George W. Bush for the Republican nomination). It is the tried-and-tested gutter politics. Embracing him as the star of the campaign, they pictured Obama merely as a star and nothing else.

But they didn’t stop there – the Republican campaign recently ran two very incendiary and untruthful ads. The first involved Obama allegedly calling Palin a pig with lipstick, which is untrue. In a campaign stump, Obama called McCain’s economic plan “more of the same” Bush economic policies, comparing it to putting lipstick on a pig. This lipstick on a pig expression is so common that McCain himself used it publicly once before. Now the ad portrays Obama as criticizing and victimizing Palin.

The second ad alleges that Obama supported a bill in the Illinois Senate that sought to teach kindergarten sex education. It overstretched the so-called truth by insisting that Obama wanted to teach kindergarten kids about sex even before they could read. The ad didn’t say that the bill was intended mostly to repel sexual predators.

Clearly, these two political ads were untruthful, degenerative, perverse, and should never have been run in the first place. U.S. media derided them as shameless lies. They are hallmarks of gutter politics, something McCain was never known for. Call it unfair, but it’s working somewhat. Moreover, these absolutely negative ads further train Obama to respond appropriately to impropriety. Surely Obama can handle it.

But there’s one thing he can’t handle – Sarah Palin and her overpowering effect. He can’t hit her directly as it may offend white female voters who have gravitated to her. Doing so can create a damsel-in-distress spectacle that the Republicans are praying for. The Obama campaign is certainly confused as to what to do with her and her surging star power.

Meanwhile Palin generates controversy after controversy and continuously attacks Obama. She may already have convinced some people, turning the tide in favor of McCain. Some polls claim that McCain already has a 2 to 3 percentage edge over the first Afro-American Democratic candidate.

Hillary’s own star power

Here now lies the greatest challenge to Hillary Clinton. She must wisely use her own star power–the famous Clinton Factor–not necessarily to save Obama but to put a brake on the Palin Effect. Palin is now seen to be pacifying Hillary Clinton by saying that Obama may have regretted not choosing her as vice president, even if she said months earlier that Clinton was whining over pro-Obama media coverage.

Hillary Clinton need not be a ferocious attack dog on Sarah Palin. The latter clearly doesn’t deserve that despite her many untruthful statements and self-victimization. But Clinton should step up her campaign duties in addressing the anti-Obama and anti-Democrat political ads, the untruths peddled by McCain, and even Palin’s accusations.

Clinton must reemerge after being dormant for sometime and reclaim her place on center stage. She should be more open and vocal about her support for the Democratic ticket. She must use her legendary star power to relegate Palin to where the latter truly belongs: a star in her own right, but not the true female political star.

Certainly Clinton can just sit back and see what will happen next. She’s not obligated to campaign everyday or work very hard for Obama. Critics might point out that she can relax now and if McCain wins, she can then run for President in 2012. She can do almost nothing to counter the McCain surge and the Palin Effect.

But that’s not part of the Clinton legacy. Sitting back as observers is not the trademark of the Clintons. Doing nothing in the face of the McCain-Palin tandem tearing into the Democrat lead is simply un-Clintonesque.

Obama is understandably frozen in any and all attempts to foil the Palin Effect. He might be seen as an angry black man if he goes all out against her. It needs someone like Hillary Clinton to counter Sarah Palin and slow down her momentum. Clinton has officially been a familiar and trusted political face since 1992 while Palin has been a media charmer for all of two weeks.

Clearly, Obama needs Clinton, perhaps not to run as vice president but as a strategic foil to the McCain-Palin ticket. People would be very interested in knowing what Clinton has to say to or about Palin and her instant popularity, together with all the mess and intrigue the latter has brought with her.

Palin’s husband was recently subpoenaed by the Alaska legislature on charges he conspired with his governor-wife in firing a State Trooper who refused to fire another trooper whom the couple requested to be removed–also known as the Troopergate scandal.

If Hillary Clinton reenters the media spotlight and fends off Palin’s charming yet accusative offense, the Democrats can regain their lead and take charge of this election. Absent Clinton, Obama will be left defenseless on Palin but strong on McCain. It will then be a toss-up if Clinton voters will switch to McCain.

If Clinton goes into the offensive against Palin, what can the latter really do? Clash with Clinton? That seems highly unlikely, given her lack of depth and knowledge. Palin can never compete with Clinton because the Palin Effect can’t rival the Clinton Factor.

It’s true that the Democratic ticket would have been more formidable with an Obama-Clinton ticket. In fact, had Obama chose Hillary Clinton, McCain may not have chosen the young Palin and might have picked a senior Republican Senator. But that is water under the bridge.

Politicking and claims of Obama’s inexperience aside, Hillary Clinton’s campaign efforts for Obama are more direly needed now than ever before. It is unpredictable how long and how far the popularity of Palin will reach. Clinton should act now before it’s too late.

The author is a US/Japan-trained and educated Philippine lawyer with a Master of Laws degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Certificate of Business from Wharton. Send comments to carlo.osi@gmail.com or through http://eastofturtleisland.blogspot.com/