Hollywood Drama: Clinton Counters “Vicious” Obama Attack, Defends Husband

ABC News’ Ed O’Keefe Reports: The 2008 campaign for the White House went Hollywood Tuesday night and the script is getting a little more dramatic. 

According to the New York Times, mega media mogul David Geffen, best known as the founder of Geffen Records and one-third of the Dreamworks trio including director Steven Speilberg and his-’Shrek’-ness David Katzenberg, blasted the Clinton camp, taking pointed shots at both Senator Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Reportedly, Geffen, an Obama supporter who co-hosted a fundraiser for the political wunderkind Tuesday, said, "Everybody in politics lies, but (the Clintons) do it with such ease, it’s troubling."

Geffen was a strong supporter of Clintons, reportedly raising $18 million for them in past years and was twice a guest in the Lincoln Bedroom

Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson responded sharply Wednesday morning, e-mailing a statement "demanding that Obama disavow personal attacks" and asserting, "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."

Wolfson continued, "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," adding that there is "no place in our party or our politics for the kind of personal insults made by Senator Obama’s principal fundraiser."

Under the header, "Obama’s Big Screen Test," the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd wrote, "The Dreamworks co-chairman calls the former president "a reckless guy" who "gave his enemies a lot of ammunition to hurt him and to distract the country."

Geffen also said, "Obama is inspirational, and he’s not from the Bush royal family or the Clinton royal family. Americans are dying every day in Iraq. And I’m tired of hearing James Carville on television."

You can read the full op-ed (subscription required) here.

The Note predicts the Geffen quotes will be the talk of the Coasts Wednesday, anticipating a classic three-part explanation of Geffen’s alleged remarks from the Obama camp: (1) He didn’t say those things. (2) It was off the record. (3) He was taken out of context.