Frankly, It's Shameful by E.J. Dionne, Jr.

[babylonsister]

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=3f1c46a6-a691-4084-b04f-10880727e928

Frankly, It's Shameful by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, working hard to elect John McCain.
Post Date Tuesday, April 15, 2008

snip//

At one level, who can blame Hillary Clinton for going after Obama's mistake? Her campaign looked set to collapse, if not in Pennsylvania then shortly thereafter. Of course she capitalized on his error by accusing him of being elitist.

But something doesn't parse when a Wellesley and Yale Law School graduate whose family made $109 million since 2001 relentlessly assails a former community organizer for elitism. (McCain enthusiastically dittoed the charge Monday.) It's also disappointing that Clinton, whose husband bravely battled the National Rifle Association over a ban on assault weapons, now presents herself as a Second Amendment hero.

And not contenting herself with bashing Obama, she denigrated the last two Democratic presidential nominees, John Kerry and Al Gore, at Sunday night's CNN forum on faith.

Oh, yes, they were "very good men and men of faith." But conferring her blessing upon the crude stereotypes peddled relentlessly by Republican consultants, she then asserted that "large segments of the electorate concluded that they did not really understand or relate to or, frankly, respect their ways of life."

That "frankly" is the most appalling word in the whole sentence. And never mind that Al Gore ran 360,000 votes ahead of Senate candidate Clinton when both were on New York's ballot in the 2000 election.

It has been sickening over the years to watch Republicans, who always rally to the aid of the country's wealthiest citizens, successfully cast themselves as pork-rind-eating, NASCAR-watching, gun-toting populists. To have the current White House occupant (Yale, Harvard Business School, son of a president) run as a good old boy should have been the final straw.

But here are the two remaining Democratic candidates, Obama by speaking carelessly and Clinton by piling on shamelessly, doing all they can to make it easy for Republicans to pretend one more time that they are the salt of the earth.

[maxsolomon]

1. Clinton has consistently used GOP framing

Obama has tried to transcend it, but it is a truly difficult task when the ground has been so thoroughly salted by the GOP's think tank minions & the ELITE of your own party won't help.

[Inuca]

2. Dionne is correct

both when he says that Obama was careless (he was, but difficult for me at least to blame him much, who on earth can be 100% "perfect" 24/7?), in his criticism of Clinton and her shameless pandering and opportunism, and in pointing out how the republicans have successfully taken advantage of these issues in the past and unfortunately may do so again with Clinton's oh so welcome help.

I watched the CNN forum and cringed at Clinton's comments. But I had not noticed the FRANKLY, which is indeed appalling. WIth one single word she aligns herself with all the unjustified nastiness spewed about Gore and Kerry. In other words, and as far as she knows, they indeed do not understand nor respect regular people's way of life. Appalling indeed. Along the same lines, I heard again this morning the part of the speech yesterday in Pittsburgh where she was mildly booed, and noticed how after commenting about Obama's elitism and lack of understanding, and saying that America does not need such a president, she moves right into saying that we have had enough of this for the last 8 years, etc., in other words drawing a parallel, if not simply equating, between Obama and the current occupant of the WH. How much these subliminal touches are being noticed or have an effect, I have no idea, but once again Dionne was damn right, APPALLING is the word.

[AlinPA]

3. I agree with you, totally. I have spoken with about a dozen Democrats (PA)

and they all seem to line up with what you posted here.

[Inuca]

5. Since you are in PA

speak with MANY more, please :-).

[AlinPA]

4. Rec'd. Thanks

[housewolf]

6. Hillary Clinton's words belie the facts that

1. Gore actually won the popular vote

2. Kerry lost by a very slim margin

3. Bill Clinton himself never won a majority of the popular vote; he won a plurality because the vote was split 3 ways

She's demeaning herself and the entire Democratic Party.

[otohara]

7. When Barack Plays Psychoanalyst

he's an out-of-touch elitist, but when Hillary says garbage like this about Gore & Kerry "large segments of the electorate concluded that they really did not understand or relate to frankly respect their ways of life" The press looks the other way.

President McCain is inevitable Hillary, not you!