This isn’t helpful:

Hillary Clinton told reporters that both she and the presumtive Republican nominee John McCain offer the experience to be ready to tackle any crisis facing the country under their watch, but Barack Obama simply offers more rhetoric. "I think you’ll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say," she said. "He’s never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002."

Nothing makes me crazier than people who whine because the other candidate said something mean about their candidate. I don’t mind hardball politics at all, and there’s a certain ruthlessness about the Clintons that I admire. Nice guys finish last.

But building up St. McCain before the general isn’t hardball — it’s really dumb. It’s damaging to the Democratic brand and it’s damaging to the Democrats’ chances in the fall if Obama wins. But perhaps most importantly, it’s damaging to Hillary’s candidacy if she’s the nominee because St. McCain has a lot more experience than she does. In short, nothing good comes of this for anyone, except St. McCain and the GOP. It was dumb when Michelle Obama said she had to "think about" supporting Hillary. It’s dumb now.

Stoller calls it a "bad strategic move" and I think that’s being kind.

Why Democrats don’t understand the need to protect their own brand continues to baffle me.