By Dick Morris

If we could peer inside the White House or the Hillary Campaign Bunker these days, we would likely see advisors, spin-doctors, and handlers running for cover.

The Clintons are loose!

It's clear from the increasingly shrill and hysterical tone of their recent matched set twin speeches that they are becoming unhinged as they watch Hillary sink slowly behind Lazio and Gore drop further below Bush. Panicked, they are likely disregarding cooler advisors and are plunging directly into the fray with all four fists punching and all four feet kicking.

Gone is the tradition of discreet silence during the other party's convention that Clinton observed while pretending to enjoy his "vacation" at Jackson Hole, Wyoming during the 1996 GOP convention. Gone is the desire to preserve Clinton's "presidentiality" and Hillary's independence of her husband. Gone is both patience and perspective.

President Clinton's sarcastic treatment of Governor Bush will do little to hurt W's ratings but will savage Clinton's. Coming off the Dr. Jeckyl of his statesmanlike efforts at Middle East peace, he shows us his Mr. Hyde aspect as he attacks the GOP nominee personally and harshly.

Hillary Clinton, for her part, is mimicking her husband's shrill tone in attacking her daily shrieking about Lazio and the GOP even as the nation is warmed and inspired by the gracious likes of General Powell and Laura Bush.

Hello! It is not wise to be the naysayer at the party. Let the GOP have its fun, pocket its gains, and do its thing. The Clintons need to let the Republicans have the first week of August. They can own the rest of the month.

Most important in this Clinton madness is its clear indication that when Hillary gets in trouble, Bill can't handle it. Instead of being the cooler, wiser influence using his experience and ballast to prevent lurching and disaster, he just adds his complaints to the cacophony of panic. As the going gets tougher during the fall months, this tendency could sink both of the Clintons.

Hillary's gut political judgment is always the same: go for the jugular even when it's self-destructive. Bill's usually is a cooler head. But now, he seems to have given her his proxy and is joining her in hysterical combat. It's wrong politically, wrong stylistically, and wrong strategically.

Could it be that Clinton is not thinking with his head, but is trying to show Hillary his loyalty after letting her down so badly in the Lewinsky affair?

It could be, indeed.

In the meantime, the mission for Lazio remains the same: answer, answer, and answer. When Hillary runs an ad, as she's now doing, bashing the GOP nominee for his 1995 budget votes, Rick needs to come back with votes showing his commitment to Medicare, Social Security, and education. Never go to bed with a negative ad unanswered.