Tag: Hillary Clinton

The Myth of the Straight Talking Pol

Booman writes:

Which gets straight to the problem with so many Democratic nominees. Was Michael Dukakis a tough guy? Could you believe Bill Clinton? Which Al Gore was going to show up to which debate? Where did John Kerry stand on the war? As Terence Samuel notes, this is not the kind of image that we need in our next nominee.

Hillary has worked hard to project an image of toughness, but she hasn't mastered it at all, the art of creating trust. . . . [S]he isn't really all that tough and, more importantly, she isn't trustworthy. She doesn't project trustworthiness. . . .

What nonsense. There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton is perceived as tough. Indeed, that is one thing the “castrating bitch” GOP meme has accomplished. But she has been attacked as untrustworthy. The funny thing is Booman notes that no Dem GE Presidential candidate seems to have figured out how to be viewed as trustworthy. But he thinks Clinton is the problem. What myopia! Bob Somerby has covered this extensively and it is amazing that Booman does not seem to know about it:

P]onder this statement by the New York Post’s Charlie Hurt. The boys were discussing Saint Rudy:

HURT (11/6/07): You know, because [Giuliani] is such a gun-slinger, and because he is such a straight-talker, people believe him . . .

Giuliani’s endless, howling misstatements are becoming the stuff of legend—but to Hurt, he’s still a “straight-talker.” But then, Time’s Mike Allen had stated this view roughly one minute before:

ALLEN: . . . It turns out they like his gun-slinging, straight-shooting swagger, that he comes across—he will answer a question, he will say, “No way, no how.” People like that.

To Allen, he’s a “straight-shooter.” . . .

All week, Clinton’s “evasiveness” and “double-talk” have been trashed on Hardball—like Gore’s lies and Kerry’s flip-flops before her. But Giuliani is still a “straight-talker!” There is absolutely nothing on earth that will keep these lads from their Group Tales.

Apparently, Booman knows nothing of this. And let me be clear about something, there are no straight talking pols. Never have been, never will be. Not George Washington. Not Abraham Lincoln. Not FDR. My gawd, are we so far gone in our naivete about this? Don't believe me. Well, watch this:

We need to stop putting these folks on pedestals. And understand that pols are vessels for political interests. Best fight for your own political views to be adopted by the pols you can choose from.  For pols, it's hard to be a saint in the city.

Ron Paul and the Democrats We Deserve

So, yesterday, Republican Ron Paul raised $4.07 million, in a Guy Fawkes Day fundraising stunt.  That is more money than any other Republican has raised in a single day, although it falls short of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s biggest single day take.

Dr. Paul is a candidate whose campaign has caused no shortage of consternation, both among us here on the political left, as well as in Republican circles.  Dr. Paul is, after all, a nut.  He’s an unapologetic isolationist, a goldbug, a religious fundamentalist, and a possible to probable racist.  He polls at under 5% in nearly every poll.

So why is this person who most Americans had never heard of a year ago outraising nearly all Republican contenders and most Democrats, without any support from major lobbys or corporations, and drawing adoring crowds nearly everywhere he goes?

A Nugget of Hope?

———————

First off, lay off the Al Gore bashing, if you would be so kind. Sure, the guy would most likely be the best President of the whole Current crop. But he’s paid his dues. He’s already run the gauntlet many times in his life. Don’t forget he lost to a Clinton once before in a primary. He knows what he’s up against. If he chooses not to run, he’s earned some peace. Let’s not ruin it for the guy.

That said, there’s a very good chance we’ll end up with another President Clinton Elect pretty much exactly one year from — right now. Oh yes, it’s certainly possible she’ll be beat, either in the primary or the general. But today, she’s the odds-on favorite. And (unfortunately) sometimes the favorite actually wins.

Just ask the Boston Red Sox.

Barack Obama is ready to take on the enemy!

Senator Barack Obama has finally decided to forcefully take on the enemy!

Bush?

“I think you reserve impeachment for grave, grave breaches, and intentional breaches of the president’s authority,” he said.

USA Today

As opposed to the trivial breaches committed by Bush.

The war?

The leading Democratic White House hopefuls conceded Wednesday night they cannot guarantee to pull all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of the next presidential term in 2013.

I think it’s hard to project four years from now,” said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the opening moments of a campaign debate in the nation’s first primary state.

CNN

Maybe for someone who is not ready to lead.

FISA?

Obama said only that “if the bill comes to the Senate floor in its current form, he would support a filibuster of it” — a transparent hedge given that it is virtually certain that the bill (being marked up this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee) will not come to the floor in its “current form.” That makes Obama’s statement virtually worthless, filled — as intended — with plenty of room for him to vote for amnesty if and when the Senate votes on it.

Glenn Greenwald

Following in Dodd’s footsteps, but not following all the way.

Bigots?

“First, Pastor McClurkin believes and has stated things about sexual orientation that are deeply hurtful and offensive to many Americans, most especially to gay Americans. This cannot and should not be denied.

At the same time, a great many African Americans share Pastor McClurkin’s beliefs. This also cannot be ignored.

Finally, we believe that the only way for these two sides to find common ground is to do so together.”

Huffington Post

Common ground? With bigots?

Well, okay- not those enemies. This enemy…

My (gloomy) Prediction

I have a prediction to make.  I truly hope I’m wrong, but this is my fear.  I just wanted to write it down.

  • Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination to run for President.
  • She will campaign vigorously.
  • About a month or two before the election very damaging information will “surface” in which Hillary is purported to have done something Wrong.
  • Republicans will gain a lot of poll numbers because of this.

    My crystal ball becomes foggy from here on.  Will she win?  Will she be convicted of a crime?

    This is very gloomy I know and I hope I’m not bringing anyone down.  But take the case of Norman Hsu.  Larry Craig was outed on August 8th; Norman Hsu “decided” to turn himself in on August 31th.  Just coincidence?  Very convenient timing for the R’s, don’t you think.  Just when they need a distraction one comes out of the mists to help them (try to) divert attention from them and focus it on Hillary. 

    Well that’s all folks.  As I said I just wanted to write this down.  I don’t like feeling gloomy, and I hope I haven’t made anyone else gloomy, but this is a big fear I have.  I’ve never seen this idea anywhere and I want to be on record.

    Thank You.

  • Everybody Loves Hillary!

    In presidential primary politics, money is the reward for good behavior. If a candidate does or says something people can get behind, something people can believe in, then he or she will be rewarded by campaign contributions. I think this a simple concept to understand.

    Senator Hillary Clinton has had amazing success fund raising and her $50 Million Cash-on-Hand: $35M Primary, $15M General.

    Proof positive that Everybody Loves Hillary.

    NSA Program Conceived Under Clinton

    The project was described in the ATT sales division documents as calling for the construction of a facility to store and retain data gathered by the NSA from its domestic and foreign intelligence operations but was to be in actuality a duplicate ATT Network Operations Center for the use and possession of the NSA that would give the NSA direct, unlimited, unrestricted and unfettered access to all call information and internet and digital traffic on ATT’s long distance network. […]

      The NSA program was initially conceived at least one year prior to 2001 but had been called off; it was reinstated within 11 days of the entry into office of defendant George W. Bush.

    http://blog.wired.co…

    Ruthless women

    I wake up in the mornings now and realize that two of the most powerful political figures in my life share my gender.  Something I’ve waited a long time to witness.  Let’s make one thing perfectly clear though; women are not the kinder gentler sex!  We have not cornered the market on combining common sense with integrity, and we do not overflow with loving kindness, and decency is an exercise at times.  We probably won’t save the world without help.

    The Clintons and Gores: Not So Peaceful Coexistence

    crossposted at Daily Kos and Truth & Progress

    Bill Clinton is the consummate politician.  The man remains wildly popular with many constituencies in the Democratic Party.  Some even remember his presidency fondly, given the nightmare of what has followed him.  With his wife Senator Hillary Clinton seeking to become the 2008 Democratic nominee, Bill is enthusiastically campaigning for her. 

    Will someone new emerge to challenge Hillary in 2008?  This from the New York Times blog ‘The Caucus’

    But perhaps the biggest takeaway from it all is a meta-story – that Vanity Fair‘s editor, Graydon Carter, apparently seemed to think that Al Gore was going to jump into the ’08 race sometime soon.

    Mr. Gore could still enter the race, of course.  But this is the second major Vanity Fair piece this fall that attempts to dig deep into Goreworld.; the first piece assessed the media’s coverage of Mr. Gore during the 2000 campaign, reminding readers of the Vice President’s press problems way back when and ruminating on how he would fare with the Fourth Estate if he were to run again.

    The Top Tier on the Near-term Future of Geopolitics: I Got Nothin’.

    Clinton:

    I really can’t say what we’ll inherit.  Sure, I spent 8 years in the White House with Bill, but I wasn’t really paying attention to geopoliltics and shit.  And that was a while ago, anyway.  Besides, my head is full of rocks.  You saw my vote on the AUMF.  That Iran vote was pretty mindless, too.  [Cackling noises].

    On Freedom

    We can talk all we want about freedom and opportunity, about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but what does all that mean to a mother or father who can’t take a sick child to the doctor?

    That, my fellow Democrats, is our frontrunner for our party’s nomination for President of the United States, Sen. Hillary Clinton.  Sen. Clinton made that statement in presenting her plan for health care reform which, like that of former Sen. John Edwards, would compel all Americans to enroll in a health insurance program.  Citizens would have an option of many private insurance options, or a public option similar to Medicare.  Tax credits would ensure that no American is forced to pay more than a certain percentage of their income on health insurance.

    “I mean, she’s a woman. Why would I not vote for a woman?”

    “Well, I hope you’d vote for the best candidate, regardless of gender or race.”

    “She is the best candidate. She’s smart, she knows how to play the game, she has visibility, she’s been through shit and survived, she’s someone who would have made it on her own, without her connection to her husband. I really believe that – she’s made me believe that.”

    “What do you think about what many liberals are saying, the ones who write on the blogs I frequent? That she’s a corporatist, that she takes lobbyist money, that she’s beholden to big money?”

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