... And Then There's Hillary

[filkertom]

Oy.

If you haven't heard what made basically the entire blogosphere lose it on Friday, this diary at Daily Kos has pretty much the whole foofrah. (Except for the truly sick addendum from Faux Noise.) You can also go here for a less video-intensive page.

I am quite sure that Sen. Clinton did not consciously mean to suggest that she's hanging around hoping that Obama will be shot.

But.

As Keith Olbermann points out in his explosive Special Comment from Friday night, this is merely the latest in a long string of bizarre and dangerous statements from Clinton or her camp.

This is not the "judgment" that I want to see exercised during that mythical 3:00 a.m. call.

And, for the very first time, I waver.

If Hillary Clinton is the Dem nominee for president, I don't know for sure that I'd vote for her.

That is what you are doing to our party, Senator Clinton. Please, please stop.

Comments

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

It's not poor judgement, any more than Al Gore was a liar (he actually was one the rare honest pols)--she's just getting smeared.

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

If it wasn't poor judgement, then it was a deliberate choice to suggest that she was sticking around in case Obama was assassinated. If it wasn't poor judgement, then she knew perfectly well how her words would be taken.

I'm sorry, but there's simply no context in which her RFK observations look good.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

"I really look forward to the day when I don't get up in the morning and find my formerly favorite blogs littered with so many stupid posts attempting to twist statements by Hillary Clinton into Proof of Evil. [...]

"And, for the record, HRC was talking about nominating races that ended in June, as she clearly emphasizes that word in the clip. And she picked the two June races that were most memorable for her. Now, if you can't figure out why the '68 and '92 races were particularly memorable for Hillary Clinton, you should consider the possibility that your prejudices are clouding your judgment."--* (http://sideshow.me.uk/smay08.htm#05261251)

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

You cannot argue the inappropriateness of what she said. It was irresponsible and obscene to mention the assassination of RFK, especially given the news about Senator Kennedy.

Keith was absolutely right on with his commentary.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

I just did argue it--sorry.

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

OK; correction: You cannot argue the inappropriateness of what she said and be taken seriously by rational people.

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

Considering that the reference to the 1992 race was an out-and-out LIE (that race ended in March, not June), it seems to me that maybe it isn't the Obama camp whose judgement is being clouded by prejudice.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Admiral, has your memory always been perfect?

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

As I noted elsethread, this one isn't disputed.

[danceswithlife]

I might have forgiven her if she made the comment *once*. And if she then apologized to Obama. But she has said the same thing at least twice, hinted at the same thing several other times. It feels damn intentional to me, and thus, unforgivable. If she's the candidate I will vote for her, but I believe if Obama is the candidate he provide the same surprises and upsets he's provided so far, and that he has a chance of winning.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

I'm not even sure she'd seem particularly bad if the press weren't out looking to highlight every error. And of course Obama has a good chance, and more than a good chance--he's a great orator, and the Republicans have shot themselves in the foot while arranging for a lot of other deaths. But one of the things I worry about is the attitude I've seen from some of the strongest partisans of both candidates, that they won't unify behind the eventual nominee. This is going to be a hard-fought election, and the Republicans are going to try every dirty trick in the book, and they will be doing everything they can to widen the splits in the Democratic Party that Obama and Clinton have created.

[danceswithlife]

I agree on the need for unification. But I would note that even if the press were not *possibly* highlighting this, it seems likely that Obama's staff is following everything said by Clinton about Obama, even if it doesn't get press in a national forum. Obama is no fool. I believe he knows he's risking his life by running, and I admire his courage (and hope he's wearing a vest). Clinton may be risking her life as well, but Obama is not (to my knowledge) saying similar things about her. For a colleague (even if she is a competitor) to hint that she's hoping to take advantage of his possible death or disability is, I think, reprehensible whether done publicly or privately. I've preferred Obama for a long time, but as Clinton shows more of her political colors I'm more and more appalled and concerned about what she will do if she is elected.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Obama's campaign is apparently not only following, but reportedly delivering copies to the political press (http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/clinton-defends-rfk-remarks/). Avedon Carol, who keeps fairly good track of such things (http://www.haloscan.com/comments/avedon/05261251/#289360), says they're running about even. My impression--and Avedon is a more careful monitor of such things than I am, so you might take her word first--is that Obama prefers to let his campaign to do most of the mudslinging, but mudslinging from Obama's side there is.

[danceswithlife]

Mudslinging from Obama or his campaign that says he will take advantage of Hillary being disabled or killed by an assassin? Mudslinging from Obama or his people that is publicly sexist? If anyone has such they should send it to Olbermann, and I would love to see the links as well. The bit of the webpage you listed didn't give specifics that I could see.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

She didn't say that nor, from what I have seen, did she not imply that. As far as I can tell, the mention of assassination was only that--a mention with no threat intended or implied. It was perhaps not a smart thing to say, but it wasn't a threat. If you want a few more-specific examples of the Obama campaign's conduct, drop me a note; I won't carry anyone's mud in public.