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By Kevin Holtsberry Posted in 2008 | 2008 Democratic Primary | Hillary Clinton — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Posted first at the Stop Her Now blog.

Did she really say that? Well, not exactly. But her choice of imagery showed a remarkable tin ear given the historical connections:

At the union hall in Gary, she grew so animated in describing the plight of old-line industrial workers that she described them in language from the oft-repeated poem, attributed to the German pastor Martin Niemöller, about the victims of Nazism. “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist,” goes the version inscribed on a wall at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. After coming for the trade unionists, it continues, “they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew.”

In Mrs. Clinton’s version, she intoned: “They came for the steel companies and nobody said anything. They came for the auto companies and nobody said anything. They came for the office companies, people who did white-collar service jobs, and no one said anything. And they came for the professional jobs that could be outsourced, and nobody said anything.”

“So this is not just about steel,” she finished.

Except that the Democrats have done practically nothing but spout nonsense about outsourcing for years. So her description is not only in bad taste but not really true.

As the article notes, Hillary is now campaigning on giving voters everything they want:

Since the race started, Mrs. Clinton has cycled through several political personas: the battle-tested White House veteran, the fighter, the girl — her word — tougher than any boy. Now she is the Dream Boss: the one who will give you a job and provide health insurance, but also understand just how hard you work and the mundane details of what you do. Mrs. Clinton has a reputation as an effective listener, and she is finally putting that skill to full use in her appearances, showing her audiences how closely she tracks their concerns.

“Most people get a lot of meaning in their life from the work that they do,” she said in the interview. “People want to be seen, they want to be appreciated, they want to be acknowledged.”

Anyone who thinks that politicians really understand them and can provide meaning for the lives are in for a depressing revelation in the immediate future. I hate to break it to Hillary fans but the dream world she describes on the stump is not on its way; and she couldn't deliver it even if she were elected.