Samantha Power, who campaigned for Barack Obama in Charleston, has left the campaign in the aftermath of an interview with a Scotish paper where she referred to Hillary Clinton as a “monster.”

I don’t think it would surprise anyone that this kind of animosity between the two campaigns is rampant. There are folks who would support either during the general election, but it seems the venom really comes out with those closest to the candidate.

A Pulitzer Prize winner, Power was a strong speaker for Obama and told the City Paper at the time of her visit that she had every intention of staying on with the administration after the election (and, actually seemed a little surprised that we’d ask). While she may not be on the campaign trail, it wouldn’t be surprising if Power continued to advise Obama privately in regards to foreign affairs.

UPDATE: I actual felt a little bad and thought twice about my “rampant” comment until I read that I wasn’t the only reporter getting that vibe.

I speak daily with aides, senior and junior, from both Clinton and Obama campaigns, and I can say, without revealing confidences, that the level of personal antipathy they express, the level of complete distrust, is extreme and in many ways alarming.


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