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Vote Obama and Die
the politics of personal beclowning
By streiff Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | fearmongering | Hillary! | Incompetence — Comments (14) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
That, says the Washington Post's Fifth Column of One™ Dana Milbank, is the theme of the new and reinvigorated Hillary! campaign.
On the call with Wolfson and Lewis, Jane Hamsher from the liberal blog Firedoglake pointed out that Clinton's phone-ringing ad was "reinforcing the be-afraid-all-the-time Republican campaign theme." And if that's the argument, she added, "isn't John McCain ultimately the winner?"
Whether he is or not, Clinton looked as if she'd borrowed a page from the Bush White House at her Westin meeting. Against a backdrop of six U.S. flags and several of the flag officers who support her, she raised the specter of terrorism and suggested that her opponent could endanger American lives.
She began with a statement about Thursday's explosion in Times Square. This, she said, served as a reminder that "it is imperative to remain vigilant as we continue to face threats at home and abroad."
That led, in a seamless but unseemly way, to Obama. "Often, when lives are on the line and a decision must be made, experience counts for everything," she said. "In this election, we need a nominee who can pass the commander-in-chief test . . . and keep our families safe."
It was a variation on the Republican theme in recent elections that Democrats mocked as "vote Democratic and die." This time, it's "vote Obama and die."
"It is imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate that we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold," she said. "I believe that I have done that, certainly Senator McCain has done that, and you'll have to ask Senator Obama with respect to his candidacy."
I've watched a few presidential primaries play out, but I have to say this is the first one in which I've heard one candidate unfavorably compare their primary opponent's qualifications to those of their general election opponent. It is a counterintuitive strategy, at least, on the part of Hillary!. Her experience at handling those 3am calls would seem to be no more profound than those of any of the other slew of women who found themselves in Bill Clinton's bed at that hour of the morning. Personally I don't find Hillary!'s résumé to be any more stellar than that of Barack Obama and in the area of national security the salient difference between the two is that Obama has studiously chosen to avoid difficult votes (or even holding difficult hearings before his subcommittee) while Hillary!'s votes all reek of cynical opportunism. I'm not convinced that either upon receiving that 3am call will do much more than roll over and show their belly.
Again, Dana Milbank:
"Senator, there's been a lot of talk about the 3 a.m. phone calls," one of the television reporters accurately pointed out. "Certainly your husband must have gotten some in his presidency. Can you talk about your role?"
"Obviously," the candidate answered, "I was there for a lot of phone calls at different times of the day and night, and I have a very clear idea of what it takes to be prepared and ready to not only answer the phone but then to make the decisions."
Sorry to break in on this party line, but here's an important announcement for Democrats: You are doing John McCain's work for him. While the presumptive Republican nominee rests, the two remaining Democratic candidates are working as hard as they can to make each other appear unfit to lead.
Bingo. Pass the popcorn, and while you're up can you get me another Red Stripe?
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Vote Obama and Die 14 Comments (0 topical, 14 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Dana Milbank is a hack.
by St. Louis Conservative
This is a perfect example of MSM journalists giving strategic advice to Democrats while masquerading as an objective reporter.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
Hillary bases her experience claim on Bill's admin, and
by streetwise
Bill, to the limited extent he let 3AM phone calls interrupt his bedroom antics, tended to make the wrong decisions: sure, bomb the aspirin factory, let Bin Laden get away, and what's a Chinese embassy among friend when we're giving them all our high-tech secrets?
Ugh!
Red Stripe---Hooray Beer!
by smagar
What a great advertising motto for a product.
streiff, once again you show yourself to be a man of refinement. Have another cold Jamaican one for me.
"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)
Bill got a lot of phone calls
by johnt
and then went back to sleep. But Hillary was there, not in the same room, but at least somewhere in the WH. Experience is everything. One must know when to ignore things, when to cut and run, when to eviscerate our Armed Forces and blather about peace dividends, when not to pursue the murderers guilty of the USS Cole bombing, to ignore Osama Bin Laden, to treat the first WTC attack as a felony instead of a terrorist act, when to blame the Oklahoma City atrocity on conservative talk radio, when at a golf tournament, to ignore an Air Force colonel begging for orders to launch a pre-arranged attack.
Experience counts, but not as much as universal health care and tax increases, and selling missile launch technology to the Chinese. And of course, cheap and empty talk.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
Bill's 3 AM phone calls weren't about national security
by civil truth
They were bed checks from Hillary. That's how she knows so much about 3 AM phone calls.
5x5 - Thank You!
by Shaggy Dog
What is this bizzaro world we are living in where Hillary has National Security Cred? Can someone explain it to me?
Has anyone asked her what she- or let's give the benefit of the doubt- by extension her husband has done to justify confidence in how they would react to a national security crisis.
Johnt- you only touch the tip of the iceberg with first WTC bombing and the Cole non-response.
You forget:
The criminally and willfully negligent handling of the Somali operation that resulted in blackhawk down.
Desert Fox- Saddam's a bad guy and he's not cooperating with UN inspectors, so let's bomb him for a few days just enough to p*** him off, and then forget about him.
Response to Iraqi assassination plot on Bush 41- "let's blow up an empty building in the middle of the night"
Khobar towers- can't be bothered to determine responsibilty, because then we might actually have to do something about it.
Kenya/Tanzania embassy bombings response- we really showed those Afghani camel tents and Sudanese baby formula factories who not to mess with.
I guess Kosovo is the big foreign policy accomplishment? Well as long as all of our future wars can be fought from 40,000 ft then we should be ok with Pres. Hillary.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
Tax Returns, Secret Documents, and Pardons
by Spartan4Life
Obama better start sharpening his knives or he is going to get pummeled into the ground. I think Hillary smells a little blood.
Any advisor who is telling him to try the high road will stand by and watch him get the stuffing smacked out of him. He needs to get back to what was working for him a couple of months ago and that is reminding people how corrupt the Clintons are. He started to get into trouble when he began taking this high road early victory lap.
Also, this will be funny when she tries to make him Veep after telling us he's not qualified, LOL.
John McCain will not need to make any commercails
by ConservativePartyNow
He just needs to run the current Dem Primary ones and he should do fine.
Another Red Stripe man!
by BlackRepub
Good for you steiff, I knew there was a reason I alwasy liked you-although I persaonlly have really been into Fat Tire's lately.
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.Let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."-Barry Goldwater
McCain/Rudy 08-kill the terrorists and punch the hippies.
Vedi Napoli e poi mori.
by Marcus Traianus
I like that version better, plus it's much more scenic.
Is she kidding that Times Square displays the reason we should be vigilant? Some dopey amateur anarchist buys an ammo box off ebay, hops on his Schwinn, peddles to Times Square, lights the fuse with his Zippo and runs. That's what Hillary! believes is the 21st Century threat? Some sub-human, intellectually deformed loser that probably posts on Kos?
Honestly, by the time this battlefield smoke clears there will be enough ridiculous material to fill volumes; for Hillary! it will be "Memories of the Village Idiot" and Obama "Reflections of a Failed Socialist Tope".
"Nec Aspera Terrent"
bene ambula et redambula
Contributor to The Minority Report
Hillary's 3 AM phone call did the job
by septembergurl
on Obama, but also raised the same question of Hillary. According to Rasmussen, 25% think Obama should answer the phone and 25% think Hillary should.
42% think John McCain should.
Hillary's strategy of
by ss396
Hillary's strategy of comparing Obama unfavorably to McCain is not counter-intuitive at all. By pretending that she has already won the nomination, she can create the perception that she already has it. Assume that the press goes along with this (since they are starting to get tired of Obama), and pretty soon Obama will be complaining that the press is giving him no coverage. Bingo: she's in the spotlight under a fawning press in time for the convention.
Regarding her experience, I doubt that she and Bill were sharing much of anything for the last several years of her White House occupancy. She needs to shave about 4 years off of her "35 years" claim. But even if she was there for all of the important and not-so-important stuff, well, so were Bill's biographers. Does that qualify them for the Presidency? How about her biographers?
We keep going on about the destructive nature of the Dem primary process, and it truly is a good show. But the show will end one day (August 28), and then the real fury will be unleashed. With all their antics grabbing headlines now, when is McCain planning to hog the spotlight? News about him nowadays is almost an afterthought. Oh sure, he gets a lot of blog-talk, but most Americans still tune in to the MSM and coverage about him there just barely rises to the level of 'dutiful' around primary time. With Huckabee out, the press has even less reason to cover him.
When I see John McCain I still keep thinking "Bob Dole." I know that that is heretical, but I have not yet seen sufficient cause to think otherwise.
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Recent comments
To go a little further: I
by Han PritcherNever
by Neil StevensHow is this a brave thing to do ?
by JoliphantNo. I do not. I believe
by Han PritcherI agree entirely. The
by Han PritcherDarn laptop mousepad mishap.
by jonlesterInteresting from a strategy perspective
by JoliphantBut you had plenty of time to prepare for this, heh
by Neil StevensEqual as in one man, one vote, as a citizen.
by jonlesterI think a true ideologue
by FlagstaffGREETINGS BLESSED FRIEND DAVID
by Neil StevensI credit Obama with two things he's done well.
by jonlesterVery true. However, neither
by Han PritcherYou've known it'd be one of two people since S.C. (nt)
by Neil StevensPast and recent experience with Progressive:
by jonlesterI'm not sure this is a switch-and-bait
by civil truthThat's fair. Remember,
by Han Pritcher
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get your job site
at simplyhired.com
An unending flood of money. I heard an estimate that this election might cost a billion dollars. Its starting to look like the primaries will cost on that order alone.
It just doesn't stop and neither do they. Al I can say is congrats to our party for the way we handled things.
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777