Clinton Fires Back: Obama, Edwards Given 'Free Ride'

[Karmadillo]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/Story?id=4099840&page=3

<edit>

Clinton also took the opportunity to fire back at her rivals for the Democratic nomination.

"They can say whatever they want to say, they will anyway but you know they've both been given a free ride this campaign. And if that's what Democrats want to see continue, well then that's the choice of the voters in this election, but I think I'm the best prepared to be the president and commander in chief and I think I'm the best candidate to actually win for the Democrats."

[polichick]

1. Well now, wait a minute...

Seems to me there were a lot of months when Hillary got non-stop positive media coverage.

[maddiejoan]

15. really when?

What she got was being called the front runner --and then being ripped apart.

There was never any positive coverage. Only lots of coverage.

[Lerkfish]

25. that's revisionism. She was getting plenty of positive coverage

[maddiejoan]

26. really?

tell me some things that were said about her that were positive.

[polichick]

30. For months on end, the media reported that...

Her nomination was INEVITABLE ~ that's positive in itself.

[maddiejoan]

34. not really.

given what the MSM thinks of Democrats in general --it's rather like saying she's queen of the geek squad.

[Lerkfish]

37. again, revisionism.

http://www.easterneronline.com/news/2007/04/11/Opinion/Hillary.Is.Destined.To.Win.The.Presidency.In.08-2833951.shtml
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hillary-rodham-clinton/
http://answers.yahoo.com.au/question/index?qid=20070924180726AAQtFrb
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/11/02/hillary_era/
http://www.newsweek.com/id/45800

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=clinton+ahead+in+poll&btnG=Search

honestly, google is your friend. You should try a search now and then.

[Lerkfish]

61. still staying away, I see.

oh well.

[maddiejoan]

62. sorry

sometimes I actually go to bed.


your links show the press saying Hillary will be the Democratic nominee.

That's not positive coverage --the press isn't saying "and what a great President she'll be"

They aren't praising her, and in fact on almost every occasion bashed her while saying she was the presumptive nominee.

[Lerkfish]

63. erm....okay, you go with that.

:eyes:

[Skidmore]

56. And don't forget all that admiration for her "perfect" campaign that could do no wrong.

Oh, yeah, and all those big donors that the media was admiring. Paycheck was in the bank.

[Lerkfish]

35. you can use google as easily as I can.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hillary+positive+poll&btnG=Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Hillary+clinton+presidential&btnG=Search

that's as far as I'm willing to go to help you.

[Lerkfish]

43. I guess facts scared you away.

oh well.

[RaleighNCDUer]

45. How about one repuke after another stepping up and saying

how much they respect her, how she's a real fighter, that she has more experience than anyone else, and how she's the probable nominee, and the media reporting those statements at face value for the past two goddam years. They had chosen her as the nominee a year before she announced her run.

Gingrich. Rove. Buchannan. O'Reily. Kristol. All had more good to say about her than bad.

I think they were, and still are, counting on her being the nominee.

[indimuse]

54. you are WRONG!

wrong wrong wrong

[polichick]

57. I'll refer you to my post #30, and also to #56...

And add that for quite a while Hillary was the only Dem candidate who could even get air time.

[ruggerson]

2. Well she's half right

Drudge and the lazy reporters who look to his cues for their stories hate Edwards as much as they hate her. She just took more hits as the frontrunner.

[billbuckhead]

10. Hillary's fighting the media, the Republicans and all the other Democratic candidates

If she is beaten, at a strategic time the media will let loose on whoever our frontrunner is. You can be assured they'll pick our candidate for us and then crush them in the general election.

[Horse with no Name]

14. They already tried to pick it. Where have you been? n/t

[Sarah Ibarruri]

19. Well, personally? She's too centrist at a time when we can't handle any more centrist right wing bs

What do you want me to do if she's not leftist? To be delighted? Sure I'll vote for her if she's the nominee, but not with delight. She is not a leftist. If she is and she hid it, too late. If she isn't, I don't like her for my president. Must I now be force to like her because some people feel centrist is okay for the country? Sheesh.

Besides, she's our weakest link! They've swallowed her for lunch over years, and will swallow her for dinner.

[hfojvt]

47. that was not always true

a few months ago, the media just about called her the winner. They always reported it as: "Hillary Clinton, who has a huge lead in the polls ..." against "Edwards, who is the richest man alive and pretends to care about the poor ..."

Once it looked like she had the nomination, they started to attack her as the nominee. What they really wanted was a close race. Given her machine and her bigshot endorsements, my guess is that she will still cruise to an amazing "comeback" victory on Fat Tuesday.

That's what the pessimist in me thinks anyway. I'd love to be wrong.

[mitchum]

3. Hillary, the problem is that you made your ride not free...

but instead have lots of corporate $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ attached to it

[jefferson_dem]

4. Is she frustrated that her "Drug dealin' Muslim Hussein" smears didn't stick?

Ridiculous.

[billbuckhead]

21. The RepubliKKKans will make them stick and laugh at us for nominating Obama

Obama does CHANGE the election. Having Obama as our candidate, turns an election that was supposed to be based on Republican treachery, failure, corruption, lost wars, lost cities, lost fortunes, lost lives, lost comfidence and makes it merely about race.

[jefferson_dem]

41. Well stuff that racist shit back in their bigoted faces.

You gonna stand for that, bro?!

[billbuckhead]

49. Yeah, right

I lost a job fighting for Kerry, I was lucky I wasn't hurt financially or got my ass kicked. Reality is I can't sell Obama to my co-workers, friends and neighbors, it's a non starter. Even middle aged black people I've talked to around Buckhead and in the suburbs would rather have Hillary as the candidate than Obama. All the women know including my yellow dog mom and career women sisters, think Hillary's getting screwed over. Redneck men who claim they vote Democratic ( Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Zell Miller and Roy Barnes) every now and then, fold their arms and say they won't vote for a "terrorist". I talk to friends and family in Ohio and Pennsylvania and they say similar things about getting those around them to vote for the coming Democratic ticket . Don't kid yourself, the suburbs of Ohio and Pennsylvania aren't that different than Atlanta. Winning the Democrat primary is far far different than winning the general election. Right now the media wind is suspiciously at Obamas back, but all politcal veterns know it soon could be the doldrums or even a hurricane in your face.

[K Gardner]

5. LOL, Edwards has been given No Ride at all. Zip, nada, zero.

[ruggerson]

They hate him as much as they hate Hillary

If he ever became the frontrunner, and thus a threat, Drudge and Tweety would be hammering him every single day.

[K Gardner]

13. He probably won't ever be there (in front) but if he outlasts Hillary they'll do the same

to him, I agree.

[KennedyGuy]

8. you don't get publicity unless you hit the frontrunner

if Edwards had spine enough to take on Obama, (the current frontrunner), you better believe he'd get headlines.
You don't make news by continuing to attack someone the media already considers dead.

[indimuse]

55. agreed..

Why doesn't JE call out Obama? He only swipes at Hillary...with a snarl of course.

[billbuckhead]

28. NPR was pumping Edwards up this morning and CNN was just minutes ago

I bet they quickly turn on Edwards if Hillary is beaten. The powers to be want Obama as the Democratic candidate and we may not be able to do anything about it.

[Midwestern Democrat]

60. Agreed. Edwards given a free ride?!?!?

Media coverage of Edwards has fallen into two categories:

1) Completely ignored
2) Portrayed as a far-left wing radical

[Whisp]

6. what's this free ride she talking about?

Another Hillary quip I don't understand

[Yael]

9. Who the f*ck knows. Apparently it is a sexism thing.

[Cha]

18. It's no quip..it's..

shoot out anything you can and hope it's not blanks.

[Yael]

7. Its LIMBO TIME, people!

Sing it with me now -- "How looooowwwwww can you gooooooooo?"

Whatever, Hillary. Keep digging.

[Joe the Revelator]

11. Is she just going to whine the rest of the campaign?

Why not talk go back to the issues Hillary?

[Lerkfish]

29. a self-imploding campaign -- kind of amazing how losing ONE caucus

is making it all unravel. Makes me realize she would never make a good president. Does she think the press will give her a free ride as President?

absurd.

[Horse with no Name]

12. Oh yeah

We didn't hear on the MSM about Edwards haircuts, or his house, or his Hedge Funds, etc etc.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

16. WHO gave them a free ride? Whom is she referring to? I'm confused. nt

[DURHAM D]

17. Hillary is right.

Edward's free ride is that he has mostly been ignored.

As for Obama - he is getting a free ride on the wings of the corporate media as they do his dirty work for him. I hope they like their product after their marketing season is over.

[Cha]

20. Oh yes, hillary is always

right.

[Yael]

23. Which started a week ago

I believe she was coronated in 2006 and has had the last 14 months of a 'free ride'.

Now that people are listening to what she has to say (and watching the same old tired tactics), it isn't working out as well for her, IMO.

[MalloyLiberal]

22. Yeah right, what a whiner and sore loser just like her friend Joe Loserman

[Lerkfish]

24. well, I beg to differ. if ANYONE was given a free ride this season it was CLinton

the whole "inevitability" meme, etc. I agree she's no longer getting that free ride now, but to claim Edwards and Obama have always been getting a free ride is insane.

Her campaign advisors are abysmal and they are the ones that are tossing her chances away. To complain about press coverage, at this point, when no one has gotten MORE ink than Clinton up till now is absurd.

That having been said, I will agree the ink she's getting now is stupid regarding the tears, but no more stupid than Edward's haircut and Obama's middle name.

[ihavenobias]

27. Free Ride?! That $400 haircut was *incredibly* expensive

and brought up CONSTANTLY.

Free ride my @ss.

[Lerkfish]

40. the reality is she fell off her own free ride and is having to suddenly campaign

on something besides "inevitability" and "electability". That's the danger is centering your whole campaign on entitlement. Pride goeth before a fall.

[CyberPieHole]

31. I agree with her...

she is still my choice for President.

:kick: and recommend

[Joe the Revelator]

33. Of course you do, you've already said you won't for any democrat other then Hillary

Was there ever any doubt that you don't eat up every word she says?

[ihavenobias]

38. You shouldn't agree JUST because she's your favorite candidate

It started with Hillary with chargers of her being "shrill" and BS about her tipping or not (she's not my candidate but I won't pretend there was no bad coverage of her).

But a free ride for Obama/Edwards? How many times did we hear about Osama/Obama or the Madrassa story? How about $400 haircuts, phonies and ambulance chasers?

Was it a free ride when Chris Matthews showed a complete and total bias in his interview with Elizabeth Edwards this weekend? (fast forward and watch from the 6 minute mark):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhvsJBiEj24


And then we have this, the nonsense talking points that spread to all other networks and fuel the fire against Obama and Edwards:

http://foxattacks.com/senators

[LostinVA]

32. She's right -- and it's getting worse

[LittleClarkie]

36. The best prepared were Biden and/or Richardson, if she really wants to get picky

How does she reckon she is the best qualified. She was in the White House, tis true. But she wasn't the president. She's a Junior Senator. It's her first elected public office.

Edwards has not been given a free ride. He's been largely ignored. And pundit after pundit thought that Hillary would be the one to beat.

Keep talking dear, keep digging that hole. You're not giving me reasons to vote for you.

[eridani]

39. It's Obama and Clinton who have the free ride

And Edwards is nowhere nearly as disrespected as Kucinich.

[Lerkfish]

42. DING DING DING we have a winner!

exactly. BOTH Obama and Clinton have had decent press up till now. Kucinich has had NO press to speak of, and Edwards has had very limited press.

But the largest recipient of a "free ride" in the press thus far has been Clinton, both in terms of quantity and quality.

she certainly is not helping her cause with this complaint.

[Bullet1987]

44. The media has always been negative against Clinton? WTF!!! Since when?

Who the hell was it pushing that coronation crap down our throats?

[Lerkfish]

53. did you mean to reply to me?

I was saying she had POSITIVE press up till now.

[EFerrari]

46. What a crock. She really needs some time off. n/t

[BlueStater]

48. Maybe she's right about Obama but Edwards hardly ever gets coverage from the media

Positive or negative.

[billbuckhead]

50. I remember how NPR ignored Wesley Clark religiously

They've been pretty quiet about Edwards until recently.

[Thrill]

51. Is Hillary 12 ? They're picking on me?

This is getting Embarrassing.

[Evergreen Emerald]

52. I have been saying that all along: she as absolutely correct. The media

attacks her continuously. Edwards and Obama are never questioned. They speak their minds with no confrontation. It is apparent and ugly. And WE the democrats are not only allowing it---we encourage it, buy into the lies, and support it.

I am ashamed of America. The way we treat our powerful, intelligent, female Senator is disgusting.

[sendero]

58. So one week of less than fawning supplication...

... makes up for the 6 months of "inevetible" we've had to endure?

HRC reminds me more and more of a wingnut, sucking at the teat of privilege forever and then whining like a stuck pig when it is pulled away.

Guess what HRC, you are losing because you FUCKED YOUR BASE. Learn something and try again perhaps.

[Armstead]

59. Defensiveness is not a good tactic

She's getting dangerously close to the line of blaming the voters, which is not a good stance for a candidate.