Clinton's man in California a pro at digging up dirt

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has turned to Averell "Ace" Smith -- who earned his stripes as one of the nation's most feared political opposition researchers -- to steer her campaign in California.

Smith, 48, is genteel, soft-spoken and bespectacled -- but also is the epitome of a take-no-prisoners political operative who has built a reputation as a dogged researcher and, more recently, a winning California campaign manager, political allies and opponents agree.

"I've seen him walk into a room, and the opposition candidate will literally start mumbling," said former Democratic strategist Clint Reilly, who has run campaigns for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and former Democratic state Treasurer Kathleen Brown and has worked with Smith. "They're just totally terrified with his presence."

Smith, 48, surprised California political veterans by jumping from the role of top political researcher to the role of campaign manager during Antonio Villaraigosa's successful 2005 run for mayor of Los Angeles against then-incumbent James Hahn.

Good luck to Barack Obama and his Tony Resko problem.