"Bill Clinton ... Well, He Just Puts Everything On The Table. Read It."

[Pirate Smile]

Bill Clinton ... Well, He Just Puts Everything On The Table. Read It.
14 Dec 2007 11:28 pm

In a hard-changing interview with Charlie Rose tonight, Bill Clinton said Americans who are prepared to choose someone with less experience, are prepared to "roll the dice" about the future of America. "It's less predictable, isn't it? When is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service before he's running?"

"What do you want to do -- whether you think it matters that, I mean, in theory, no experience matters," Clinton said. "In theory, we could find someone who is a gifted television commentators and let them run. They'd have only one year less experience in national politics..."

And Clinton said the notion that experience led the politicians to sanction the Iraq War is "absurd."

"That's like saying that because 100% of the malpractice cases are committed by doctors, the next time I need surgery, I'll get a chef or a plumber to do it."

Towards the end of the interview, Rose indicated that Clinton's staff was asking producers in his show's control room to get them to have Rose end the interview.

And Clinton said: "Somebody will parse this interview..." to take his quotes out of context. "It is stupid... I think we are fortunate in having people..I think the relevant question from me is, who will be the best president who has a proven record of making change in the lives of other people."

They may parse his body language. Toward the end of the interview, his hands began to shake and his face reddened as he discussed the political thicket his wife finds herself in.

Please read this rough transcription of Clinton's take on why his wife isn't doing well in Iowa and New Hampshire.

"Really, really interesting, that I've heard Sen. Obama a dozen times making some fairly derisive comment about Hillary...saying, you know, she had a decades old plan to be president...repeating this total canard that...totally fabricated account from an anti-Hillary book...as if it was something bad that he didn't have a decades-long president...so on their website they put reports that he had been planning to run for president...and they put this thing when he was in kindergarten that he planned to run for president..but the Obama people got the press on their side..."

Rose asked Clinton whether he was nervous about the state of the campaign.

"Well, no. Let me back up. In January, when on New Years Day, she said she was finally going to try and do this... I said I'll make you a prediction...allt he press will say you will coast to the nomination....I think you will have a difficult time getting nominated, and if you are nominated, you'll win the general election handily........you'll have to run in Iowa, which is the single most difficult state...but Sen. Edwards has a well-earned, huge cadre of support in Iowa because he's worked it for seven years...Sen. Obama is next door, that matters.

Rose: "You think that's the reason for the polls...""

Clinton: "On Edwards, there is no doubt...So, look I've done this before. When I lost in New Hampshire to Paul Tsongas, I lost the first 10 miles next to the Massachusetts border. I carried everything from 10 miles north up to the Canadian border. There are thousands of Illinois students in Iowa colleges...who have never caucused before.....he's been to 75 counties, she's been to 50..so my view of this is that I never thought she had a big lead in Iowa...the Iowa people have been really fair to her...they've listened to her and they've given her a chance, and she might win there...and it is astonishing...from the beginning of this race, she had a lead in 36 of 38 states...and not having good luck...what has really happened...what i have been frustrated about has nothing to do with her campaign...the challenges in the polls in the moments will be overcome..I can feel in Iowa, it depends on what people think the answer is...in New Hampshire...the Republicans have been attacking her in all the debates...those attacks affect independent voters...she is not in a position to answer back what the Republicans are doing in the primary...that has not been good..."

"In Iowa, nobody wants to go negative on television, so really it's a war underneath the radar screen and it has more to do with how the press interprets it than anything else...what broke her momentum there was the extraordinary attention given to her not very great answer on the driver's licenses....the press should have a common set of standards..."

"He is great, Edwards is really good..."

"It's a miracle she's got a chance to win."

Richardson, Biden, Dodd are ready to be president, Clinton says.

"Obama has got great skills. It depends on what the American people think is more important.... have somebody who is very his very nature a compelling, very attractive, highly intelligent, visible symbol of transformation, or is it more ... to have someone who would also symbolize change...but who has done a significant number of things to change other people's lives."

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/12/bill_clinton_well_he_just_puts_1.php#comments

One Comment from that thread re one of Bill's arguments

And Clinton said the notion that experience led the politicians to sanction the Iraq War is "absurd."

"That's like saying that because 100% of the malpractice cases are committed by doctors, the next time I need surgery, I'll get a chef or a plumber to do it."

I can't believe he said this with a straight face. He's completely misrepresenting Obama's point here. If I know a doctor has 25 years of experience, but she has committed malpractice treating a sympton similar to mine, then I'm not going to THAT DOCTOR; I'd rather have a young, but competent doctor than an experienced one who's committed malpractice. The whole chef thing is just disingenous bullsh*t.

[madrchsod]

1. lincoln and obama had roughly the same amount of "experience"

and both made political blunders that cost them early in their political careers. how did lincoln turn out?

[denem]

2. Lincoln founded the Republicans, ended up shot dead,

and took half a million Americans with him. Lincoln's stature cannot diminish the appalling military mistakes of the Civil War, and the under cooked party he left behind.

[BeyondGeography]

4. Lincoln sucked, in other words

once you dispense with that little saving the Union thing.

[denem]

6. Lincoln was an all tine great President

My comment was about inexperience - his inexperience, particularly on military matters.

[BeyondGeography]

7. Based on your list

he wasn't very good at choosing theater seats either.

[FrenchieCat]

5. Geeze, when I look at the Civil War, I don't interpret the way that you do.....

In fact, it led millions out of bondage. Lincoln didn't suceed from the Union, the southern states did. I wouldn't want to imagine if the Civil War had not been fought and things would have turned out a different way.

It wasn't Lincoln's fault that the Republican party that he founded was bastardized. Hell, The Republican Party was more like the Democratic party is viewed now, and it was the Democrats that were the Bigots. Where were you sitting in History class.....in the back? :shrug:

:wtf:

[denem]

9. I've paid close attention to Civil War military history.

The issue i9 not whether Lincoln was a great man, he was more than that, he was and is an inspiration, but whether his inexperience as as politician and commander in chief benefited the Union. The answer is no.

[FrenchieCat]

11. Well, I don't know what side you were on, But I'm fucking glad to be free.....

and I'm helping the Union now, so there!

[CTLawGuy]

18. Lincoln is widely considered one of the best presidents ever

but I guess you disagree.

[Cha]

35. The repukes weren't the

same party back then and Lincoln was a wise man..

Oh, and hillary clinton's experience sucks..she knows nothing but how to enable bushits and cover up.

[proudmoddemo]

36. And if you read his writings:

You'll find a compassionate man very much troubled and depressed by what was going on--desperately searching for meaning from the madness. The second inaugural address remains the best political speech ever given. And it is something we could learn from today. If it were still Lincoln's party, I'd be a Republican. They shifted with Warren Harding in the 1920s. But from 1860-1920 they were a relatively liberal party--the radical Republicans of the 1860s and the administration of Teddy Roosevelt, etc.

[Tom Rinaldo]

20. Lots of politicians had the same amount of experience as Lincoln had...

...at the exact same stage in their careers. How many of them turned out to be another Lincoln? It's like one of those logic arguments: Lincoln had relatively little experience before he became President, and Lincoln became a great President. Obama has roughly the same experience that Lincoln had before becoming President. Therefor Obama will be a great President like Lincoln.

Granted I personally see great potential in Obama, maybe he can be another Lincoln. But I doubt that most voters think the best way to find our next Lincoln is to limit ourselves to candidates who don't have more experience than Lincoln did.

[catnhatnh]

3. How could a chef or a plumber....

...underperform our current crop of politicians??? The former must be creative and the latter highly skilled. Either characteristic would prove refreshing in DC. Oh, and Bill, your remark denigrates the great working class that is truly the base of the Democratic party. You don't have to be a brain surgeon OR a rocket scientist to understand that what we are really searching for are compassion, morality, and a spine. What we worry about is that your wife will will become cynical and jaded and inured to the deal making and injustice as practiced inside the beltway-you know-like YOU.

[killbotfactory]

8. Bill should read this:

At a time when our constitution is in such crisis, the symptoms of which can be seen in every aspect of our politics and our government, there is one quote that sticks out to me above all others:

"I don't know if we have had a president that knows as much about the founding document as he does." - Professor Cass Sunstein, University of Chicago

I had respected Senator Obama's time as a professor of constitutional law, but until I had read that quote, I don't think it's full importance was realized. We could be faced with the prospect of a President who knows more about our founding document (although I would argue that wouldn't include the founding fathers, who were there) than any President in at least a century. Not just one who's read it countless times, but who has debated it, defended it, and taught thousands of others about the exact details and historical interpretations of it.

I just thought I would share this quote with you, and hope you'll take a minute to let that sink in. A president who's studied Supreme Court rulings, and understands the exact relation between our constitution and the laws of our land.

A President who knows the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 14th Amendment so well that he has not only taught about them but has used them in court.

I'll end this with a quote from one of his former students:

Some professors are just kind of going through the motions with you. He actually seemed to take everyone's point of view seriously. If he could bring that to bear in the international level with foreign dignitaries and heads of state, I think that would put us in good standing with the rest of the world.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/14/21433/589/757/422317

[Tellurian]

12. First off...Obama never attained the title of Professor..

Obama was a guest lecturer at UC..

Second, Obama's mentor was/is Laurence Tribe. Remember him? He is the one who defended Al Gore and the Constitution in the 2000 Bush v Gore Election Case and bungled it giving us George W Bush. For that matter, Obama is an unproven attorney. He's never tried or won a case. All Obama has done throughout his career is research and write briefs for other more experienced attorneys.

Third, Pretty far fetched floating a statement to the effect saying: "We could be faced with the prospect of a President who knows more about our founding document (although I would argue that wouldn't include the founding fathers, who were there) than any President in at least a century."

Whoever made that statement doesn't know their history. It isn't a secret both Clintons are voracious students of US History and not only are they knowledgeable about the Founding Fathers but could give you quotes, dates and verse about each and every president since Washington up to the present. Plus the fact one is a former president who for eight years gave us Peace and Prosperity.

Your quote is fraught with errors of misinformation and is a stunning example of the kind of pseudo knowledge passed on and fed to the masses as laudable. (you fell for it) We cannot, especially now, let ourselves settle for erroneous revisionist history, risking whatever political capital remains of our standing in the world on the chance of worsening the precarious state of our domestic and foreign affairs by electing a not ready for Prime Time candidate. Obama's resume falls far short of the knowledge and expertise equal to the criteria of presidents preceding him. A bitter pill to swallow but stunningly True nevertheless.

[calteacherguy]

10. This argument isn't going to fly anymore. Clinton is making himself look like a stupid ass.

"When is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service before he's running?"

That's a load of crap. Obama spent years in community service, and then in the State legislature. Can someone please explain to me how the senate is supposed to somehow prepare someone to be President? What we need is a President with LIFE experience!

Do you really think the American public is dumb enough to buy your cheap scare tactics, Bill?

Go work for Rove.

[Tellurian]

13. When will you be changing candidates again and posting your next farewell thread?

[calteacherguy]

28. When did I post a farewell thread? And MOST voters change candidates

during a primary. Folks like yourself are unusual. Why are you staying with the same tired old candidate?

[Skidmore]

14. OMG, I can't believe how badly people must need to cling to the

90s for political identity. We need more Clinton divisiveness like we need more * divisiveness. The nation needs to be done with these two families and to move on.

[Tellurian]

16. You are confused..

The Republicans are divisive and to label the Clintons as such is well, just about as disingenuous a statement that can be written on a Democratic site. Your quote is exactly what is commonly written at Free Republic..

[Skidmore]

19. They are both divisive.

Now between "inevitable" and "restoration" being trotted out, I want neither. That is my opinion and I'm entitled to it. I don't support Hillary, and I will not caucus for her. My thinking is very clear about my choice. Why don't you just face the fact that there are many Democrats like myself who will not vote for her. Period.

BTW, perhaps you can clear something up for me. Is that organization you have referenced on your signature line a PAC of some sort. I dropped by because I'd never heard of it until I started seeing it crop up on posts here. Who started it? There's no meaningful information on the site about who started it and why anyone should send $100 donations without having more information about who is collecting it is beyond me.

[Skidmore]

33. Kicking because you haven't answered my question about

Hillaryis44.org posted above.

[alteredstate]

15. Interesting piece

"Toward the end of the interview, his hands began to shake and his face reddened as he discussed the political thicket his wife finds herself in."

Wow.

[Tellurian]

17. If it's a true account.. no way of knowing based on the word..

[Franc_Lee]

41. "Bill is pissed off that Barack Obama is running for president."

[Armstead]

21. A copy of the video will be on Rose's site (eventually)

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/12/14/1/an-hour-with-former-president-bill-clinton

Charlie Rose website posts interviews on the web. This one isn;t up yet, but should be there shortly (or Monday)

[jefferson_dem]

22. No need to wait on Charlie's website. Youtube clip up here --->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x76405

[THUNDER HANDS]

23. what a silly little article

where to begin?

Obama, for the short time he's been in public life, has actually run in more campaigns than Clinton. Been elected to public office more times than her. Had to face voters and pass their judgement test more than her.

Clinton says it's not a big deal about losing Iowa, because he did, and he won southern states - well, Hillary is not southern, and will not do that this election.

Then there's the malpractice analogy that flies in the face of both logic and reality.

how silly this all is.

[Adelante]

24. The Clintons love John Edwards

You betcha ;)

I do love how Hillary's 35 years in public life gets her 35 years and Obama's 20 years gets him one year.

[Tom Rinaldo]

25. Point nicely made WesDem. If "service" is the operative term

than you are absolutely correct. Bill left out the "in the Senate" part.

[Adelante]

26. Nobody can say he's not a clever pol, that's for sure

:hi:

[Cha]

37. Yes, very calculating.

[Marbury]

27. I love America, Or, Why Clinton (Hillary) Needs to Lose

It strikes me that every single Clinton supporter I have ever run into, or whose post I have read, argues the same thing: we need to vote for her 'cause she's the only one that can win. I have never met someone who tells me how much they like or love the woman, or that she inspires them. I am often told by these same people that, in fact, they don't like her at all, but she's the only one who can win. I am also told, "well, Obama's great, but, you know, I really want a democrat elected and I'm just not sure this country is ready for...." So, it appears to this (perhaps tragically naive) soul that a vote for Hillary is is actually a vote for spirit-crippling cynicism.

The people who love Obama (and, yes, I'll count myself among them) may be crazy, but I think it's a good kind of crazy. it's the kind of crazy that thinks this country is better than hedging your bets, never taking chances, never "rolling the dice." They are the kind of "crazy" that thinks electing an incredibly intelligent, poised, elegant, handsome, cool-under-fire, engaging, thoughtful, international black man (who, by the way, is brilliant enough to fill his cabinet with all the "experience" anyone could ever want) would force the rest of the world to completely re-evaluate their nasty and glib interpretations of "ugly American" small-mindedness. The thought of having this man as my president literally makes my chest swell with pride every time it crosses my mind. When was the last time you felt that "crazy" emotion about a president? Screw the old "experience" line. I want a NEW experience. Let me "roll the dice" with this man --because if I don't I know exactly what I'm going to get for the next four to eight years: the same old sad, divisive, cynical crap we've had over the last several presidents. Please, God, don't make me hold my nose to vote even one more time.

[Adelante]

29. Welcome to DU

Good post :hi:

[Cha]

38. Thank you, Marbury!

And, I welcome you to DU, too!

[Adelante]

30. From Obama's press conference today

Obama said he heard nothing new in the interview.

"This is an argument that they have been making during the duration of this campaign," he said. "Here's a quote: 'The same old experience is a problem. You can have the right kind of experience or the wrong kind of experience. Mine is rooted in the real lives of real people and will bring real results if we have the courage change.' That was Bill Clinton in 1992."

Obama said he has plenty of experience.

"I have been involved in government for over a decade, so the notion that there is a particular kind of experience that he has had, or his wife has had, that is more relevant, I would dispute," he said.

Obama said he suspects he is getting more attention from other candidates because of his recent rise in state and national polls.

"Look, I mean, you know, when I was 20 points down, they all thought I was a wonderful guy," he said, laughing. "So, obviously, things have changed here in Iowa and elsewhere in the country and I understand that's the kind of politics we have become accustomed to."

Asked whether Americans are forgiving about past drug use, Obama stressed that his use of marijuana and cocaine were long ago.

"I can't say how Americans think generally about it," he said. "I do think the average American believes that what somebody does when they were a teenager, 30 years ago, is probably not relevant to how they are going to be performing as commander and chief and president of the United States. I think people have pretty good judgment about that."

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/obama_i_hardly_think_that_ive.html

[Cha]

39. Hmmm...

Excellent Rebuttal!

[Franc_Lee]

31. Bill states Edwards,Biden Dodd etc. are ok because they're not a threat to Hillary

Mr. Clinton is looking frustrated and desperate because a few months back he thought Hillary was a shoo-in as was described by the M$M and the GOP.

[JackORoses]

32. I don't know who wants this more, Bill or Hill? Greedy bastards

Have you seen the bigger piggies in their starched white shirts?
You will find the bigger piggies stirring up the dirt,
Always have clean shirts to play around in.

In their styes with all their backing they don't care what goes on around,
In their eyes there's something lacking,
What they need's a damn good whacking.

[Cha]

40. Did you just make up!?

Speaking of pigginess.. did you read this?

Evaluating the Clinton/Shaheen scandal, Jason C. writes:


I have to admit that this whole affair demonstrates one thing that I do like about Hillary: she's willing to do something like accusing her opponent of being a drug dealer.

It's unseemly now, of course, because her target is a fellow Democrat, and it's not cool to smear someone who may end up being the party's nominee. It shows the fundamental selfishness shared by both Bill and Hillary - a willingness to put your own interests ahead of those of your party, or the people you are supposedly trying to help.

But I do appreciate the willingness to go for the jugular, and not just in a "principled" way. Substantive attacks on your opponent are all well and good, but when the opportunity to hit below the belt presents itself, you've got to take it. But I wonder: if Obama has the chance to take that shot against the Republican in the general election, will he take it? I'm not sure, and that worries me.

Hillary, obviously, is willing to take it. HOWEVER, the willingness to play dirty is useless without the smarts to do it right. This incident indicates a willingness on Hillary's part to do whatever it takes to win, but it also perhaps betrays an inability to do so in a way that isn't clumsy and self-defeating.

That strikes me as pretty smart. Obama has been able to construct the boundaries of the race such that Hillary Clinton loses by attacking him. The Republican candidate will not agree to the same rules, and will be careful to launch their assaults from untraceable, independent sources, rather than campaign co-chairs. It won't be Shaheen, it will be the Swift Vets. Like Jason, I appreciate Hillary's willingness to play that game, and am unconvinced that Obama has it in him. But you have to play that game well, and Clinton isn't proving herself able to do that right now. Part of being a good attacker is knowing when to hold your fire.


http://blog.prospect.org/mt-tb.cgi?__mode=view&entry_id...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3841885

[juajen]

42. My goodness, do you think being President and First Lady for eight years

are a present? Bill Clinton worked his tail off, and Hill was an exemplary and brilliant First Lady. Their service to this country deserves a hell of a lot more than your snarky comments. Shame on you! Disagree with her or him and that's legitimate; what you are doing, is not.

[JackORoses]

43. they stir shit and pretend not to, how is this any different than what the song says

Bill is unashamedly using the respect people have for a former President in an attempt to disparage Obama and manipulate public opinion in favor of his wife.

Not very Presidential of you, Bill.

[proudmoddemo]

34. Disingenous Bullshit from Bill Clinton?

Who would've thought that was possible...20 years of the worst government since the gilded age. It's time to throw all the bums out. There I said it. That is what the election is about. Hillary may be good for a bum, but she's still a bum.

[blm]

44. Hillary only decided in JANUARY, Bill? Then why was TeamClinton undermining Gore and Kerry

and supporting Bush so consistently from 2001-2006?

Why did historian Douglas Brinkley say THIS in April2004:

http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=13354


Why did you use your book tour in summer of 2004 to defend Bush's decisions on Iraq?
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/06/19/clinton.iraq/

Why did Woodward hear Carville's call to Matalin about Ohio's provisional ballots?
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/oct/07/did_carville_tip_bush_off_to_kerry_strategy_woodward


Why was Hillary finding cameras to join Bush's smear of Kerry in Oct2006?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg

[bklyncowgirl]

45. Bill just laid out some great reasons to support.....

Bill Richardson.