They're known as the "Penn Papers".
Essentially - they are a sheaf of e-mails and documents that purportedly expose a handful of "dirty tricks" - conjured up by Pollster Mark Penn to cast a shadow of uncertainty over Barack Obama's "roots" and dissuade American voters from supporting the young political upstart in the 2000 Presidential Race.
Although newspaper reports note that Hillary Clinton passed on a handful of the calculated plots to derail the Senator from Illinois, one "plum" idea appealed to the Senator. So, she plucked it up - polished if off - and offered it up to the public as her own.
Based on the memo Penn submitted to her office - Hillary made it a point to emphasize in her speeches on the campaign trail that she was born in - "the middle of America, to the middle class, in the middle of the last century.
For good reason.
In a March 2007 memo, Penn theorized that it would be smart strategy to make an issue of the - "diverse multicultural upbringing" - of Obama.
Because Obama spent part of his childhood in Indonesia before returning to Hawaii, Penn conjectured,
"It is not possible to imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and his values."
Without a scrap of shame he argued,
"Obama's roots to basic American values and culture are at best limited."
So, Clinton deftly weaved the theme into her speeches.
For the most part, Americans were unaware they were being cleverly seduced.
Penn went so far as to urge Hillary to use - "fiery language" - that Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. was inclined to facilitate in his sermons to rile the congregation up.
And, he stridently recommended Hillary use the term "American" a lot to subtly infer a contrast with Obama.
"Let's explicitly own American in our programs, speeches, and values. He doesn't."
Imagine, the gall of the man!
Fortunately, Penn's over-the-top suggestions were rejected.
Now that the startling machinations of a campaign team have been revealed, can any American truly believe a politician in the future when they allege shame-faced that an inappropriate remark just "slipped out" or was simply a silly "misspeak" without mean-spirited intention?
Hillary, 'ya made a big boo-boo. You should have "shredded" the documents.
Although Clinton is essentially out of the race, political analysts note the information is particularly damaging to Hillary and Bill, at this juncture.
After all, slick Willy and wily Hillary are both slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this month.
The "Penn Papers" are a sore reminder of hard-ball tactics - and gross errors-in-judgement (and slip-ups) - that cost Senator Clinton the ticket in the upcoming November election.
Hillary should have paid attention to an old proverb,
"The pen(n) is mightier than the sword."
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