I first saw the report of the “Sexist Heckling” of Hillary over at Powerline, which shows a picture of the heckler that strongly suggests the incident had to be staged, or at least accommodated, by the Clinton Campaign.

Why do I conclude that?

1. The sign is within 20 feet of Clinton at the front of the stage.
2. Clinton staffers asked that the lights be brought up to allow the sign to be seen, presumably by Clinton but helpfully by the media present.
3. Clinton is ready with three separate riffs off the sign, the last the topper that brings a standing ovation.
4. Clinton is desperate to reverse her fortunes in New Hampshire.
5. Clinton needs to find some traction vis-à-vis Obama, especially if she can counteract the historical significance of his victim/minority status with Democrat core constituencies. The “Experience” spin is dragging her down the same hole as Obama, and her Establishment creds get pounded by all the talk of “Change” this year.

Dear Lord, will that woman never allow natural circumstances take their course, or will she always want to orchestrate her opportunities? Has she no trust whatever in the inherent rightness of her positions or the rightful imperative of her causes?

She needs to prop up some faux cavemen, just to set up an entirely scripted barn raiser “As I think has just been abundantly demonstrated, I am also running to break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling.”

Think about the kind of political planning that leads to these kinds of stunts.

“I really want to slam home that I’m breaking through a glass ceiling.”

“The highest,” adds a fawning aide, “The hardest,” adds another.

“Oh, if I could find an opportunity to say that, ‘I’m running to break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling.’”

“But what about the ceiling for Obama?” another aide, one not long for the campaign, tentatively suggests, “isn’t that more of a struggle for him?”

“We’ve got to set it up as male sexism versus feminism kind of thing,” frets a political consultant.

“I know, we’ll get some guy up playing bumpkin, holding a huge sign saying something like ‘better barefoot and pregnant,’” offers a loyalist.

“No, that plays on the whole age thing,” warns a staff member, likewise not long for the campaign.

“Better, ‘stay in the kitchen’,” declares an awestruck volunteer.

“No,” the political consultant advises, “that reminds people that Senator Clinton doesn’t bake cookies.”

“I’ve got it! ‘Iron My Shirt.’” This one comes from The Man. He knows all too well about what happens when one might suggest a little ironing before an important appearance.

“Yeah, that’s it. Let the guy make a big scene, we’ll tip off security not to yank him out, let him hang out long enough to make sure we get coverage, then Hill hits them with the zinger:

‘As I think has just been abundantly demonstrated, I am also running to break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling.’”

“Political genius,” all agree.

Also noted at Memeorandum, with links to Hot Air, Michael McAuliff at Daily News, Fausta's Blog, Michelle Malkin, Mary Katharine Ham, Gateway Pundit, and Outside The Beltway.

From McAuliff comes information about the “protesters,” and some additional info courtesy of Hot Air:

Nick Gemelli, who is 21, and born at least a decade after “iron my shirts” was an anti-women’s rights slogan, didn’t have much of a rationale. “I just don’t think a woman should be President,” he said.

He couldn’t really say why, but he agreed that he was a health care voter, as the sticker on his carrying case implied. The “Hillary for President” sticker was a bit more of a puzzle.

He said he had just been given both and peeled them off. He said he had no connection to any campaign.

At least he got some attention. His friend — a la Bart Simpson — said his name was Hugh Jas, but The Mouth later learned that his real name is Adolfo Gonzalez Jr.

Update: Adolfo apparently has a MySpace page that says he is a Republican who doesn’t do drugs or have a girlfriend, and calls himself “Captain Fun.” He did seem to enjoy himself more than Nick.

Update: These guys are radio show jokers. There’s a good rundown on Hotair.

Here’s the ident from Hot Air:

Update: An eagle-eyed tipster notes that Adolfo Gonzales Jr., one of the guys named in the Daily News story, shares a name with an assistant producer of the Toucher and Rich Show in Boston, which seems to specialize in stunts.

Were the jokesters put up by the Clinton Campaign or sympathizers? A little too pat from the Political Mafia run by the Clintons. That we even suspect the plant suggests the Campaign is fully capable of such artifice.