There's a great episode of the 1950's TV comedy show "I Love Lucy," where Lucy has to tell the absolute truth in order to win a bet.

Lucy's comments about other people are thought to be hysterical until husband Ricky and the Mertzes find themselves on the receiving end of her full-strength honesty.

Bill and Hillary Clinton apparently wish they could be as frank when it comes to Senator Barack Obama.

They believe that Obama's likely victory is a "disaster-in-waiting," write John Harris and Jim Vande Hei in Politco.com's "What Clinton Wishes She Could Say."

Democrats have swooned over Obama's speeches, Harris and Vande Hei write, and the press has held back on his weaknesses.

The Clintons are certain that Democrats are again heading toward a defeat in November if Obama is the candidate, according to Harris and Vande Hei. They won't say it because no one wants to hear it.

But there is nervousness out there.

Obama has problems in big states stemming from issues with Jews, working-class whites, and Hispanics. It could mean serious losses in key states like Florida, Texas, and Ohio in the general election.

And one of the biggest mistakes Democrats made in the past two elections was underestimating the Republicans' political message machine. Talking points were delivered from conservative talk radio to conservative pulpits with amazing synergy.

Then consider how the "Swift Boat" ads turned Senator John Kerry's military service record upside down. There's no reason to assume McCain's supporters will be any less aggressive.

Obama will be portrayed as the poster boy for the left wing, and if that doesn't work, the Republicans will link him to Reverend Wright and Minister Farrakhan - names that make many Americans uncomfortable.

All of this is not to say that Clinton doesn't come with her own baggage. It is mountainous.

But it has been dragged out so many times that most of us tune it out.

Obama is another story.

Many Americans wrongly believe he is a Muslim, and they are concerned about his patriotism because he doesn't wear a flag pin on his lapel.

Minor things indeed, but just the kind of threads Republicans will use to sew him a straight jacket.