If the politics of personal destruction is the new arsenal of our democracy, its most formidable weapon must be guilt by association. From former Weather Underground member William Ayers to Tony Rezko to Rev. Wright, no stones have been left unturned by Hillary Clinton and her campaign operatives in their constant search for muck on Barack Obama.

Of all the Clinton dung beetles, none plays any dirtier than James Carville. As the architect (along with George Stephanopoulos) of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential bid, Carville became renowned for his charming reminder to campaign staff, "It's the economy, stupid."

The ragin' Cajun turned up again this week as another Clinton launched her new campaign strategy. The slogan this time: "It's Hillary's male reproductive organs, stupid."

Only a week ago, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley asserted "this lady right here makes Rocky Balboa look like a pansy." The next day, Paul Gibson, the president of a steelworkers union local in Indiana, introduced Clinton by saying it's "going to take an individual with testicular fortitude" to solve the nation's problems.

No longer the champion of female equality, Hillary now promotes male superiority as the nation's poster girl for penis envy. Hoping to reach more rubes per dollar, her campaign's obsession with the old kibbles 'n' bits is aimed at touting her toughness while avoiding the elitist intellectualism of "Me, Tarzan. Obama, Jane."

Carville added his own sleazy spin to the gender blender in the most direct terms yet. "If she gave him one of her cojones, they'd both have two," he told Newsweek. This latest vulgarity adds to Carville's long history of hatchet jobs on the Clintons' enemies and skeptics.

It was Carville who called Bill Richardson the "Judas" of superdelegates after his pre-Easter endorsement of Obama. “Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic,” he said.

When Paula Jones revealed her taped conversation with Bill Clinton, Carville rushed to discredit the "bimbo eruption" with an elitist attack on poor white women that makes Obama's "bitter" comment seem tame by comparison. "Drag a $100 bill through a trailer camp and there's no telling what you will find," he said.

There is something unholy about Carville and the ease with which he carves up the adversaries of his master and mistress. His devotion to Bill and Hillary seems dictated not so much by loyalty as by an eternal pact signed in blood. To see him enraged is to witness his face twisted into the countenance of a gargoyle, betraying pure spite and a whiff of chromosome damage. He is the hound that guards the gates for Bill Clinton and his wife.

For a candidate who says she would have walked out of Obama's church, Hillary has no plausible explanation for why she consorts with those who practice the politics of personal destruction. In addition to regularly taking political communion with Carville, Hillary has been quick to sing the shrill hymns of Karl Rove. She still relies on advice from guru Mark Penn, the collection plate passed by Geraldine Ferraro and the deceptive bulletins of Sidney Blumenthal.

It may be too late for Clinton to banish the soul-forfeiting politics that Carville exemplifies. She is caught in a web of ambitions worthy of Faust.  It has been said the devil cannot enter unless you invite him in. Getting him to leave is pure hell.