Carl Bernstein: [It's] this feeling that the Clinton campaign is about the Clintons

[Stephanie]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/07/acd.01.html

COOPER: Carl, given all you have seen of this woman, given all the research you have done, what must be going through her mind, her husband's mind? I mean, this is certainly a moment none of them expected to be facing.

BERNSTEIN: Well, they seem to be launching themselves the kind of campaign against Obama that they have often accused the Republicans of launching against themselves, the Clintons.

They have got their people out talking about what a liberal, at the left end of the spectrum, he is, saying, sotto voce, that he's against long sentences for -- for criminals. It's really kind of an amazing thing to look at.

You know, John Edwards picked up on this the other day. He said, this campaign lacks conscience. It may not be true of Hillary, but of the campaign.

I think one of the things that has so many Democrats riled up is this feeling that the Clinton campaign is about the Clintons, not about the country, as Hillary was saying today, and that it does lack a conscience on some level, and that, if she's going to compete with this wave that Obama's riding, she's going to have to figure a way to make a campaign look like it has a conscience, and a different kind of attack.

COOPER: We're going to have -- we're going to more with our roundtable.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Sorry.

David, go ahead.

GERGEN: I just want...

COOPER: Go ahead, David.

GERGEN: I just want to disagree with that.

I think it's very, very important that she go out with class and with dignity, if she goes out February 5. But I do think there's a legitimacy on her part of saying, let -- what is this rush to judgment? Let's -- everybody ought to be carefully vetted. This process, don't -- don't rush in. Let's -- there's almost a coronation.

I happen to think that Barack Obama is a phenomenal candidate, but I do think the country deserves to know more about him before we, in effect -- before, in effect, he wins the prize.

BERNSTEIN: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

GERGEN: ... the most important country, the United States.

BERNSTEIN: Oh, no, he should be vetted. And all these candidates and their campaigns particularly need to be examined, the same way the Clintons have been.

But, also, the campaign apparats and how they operate of all of these candidates need to be examined.

COOPER: We're going to leave it there. We will have more from our roundtable coming up.

[grasswire]

1. a backlash against Rove, Cheney here?

"But, also, the campaign apparats and how they operate of all of these candidates need to be examined..."

Veddy interesting, coming from a Washington insider. An admission that the candidates are "operated." A tacit admission that the "operators" ought to be "examined."

This oughta be news.

[2rth2pwr]

2. It didn't start with Rove or with the 20th century. nt

[TalkingDog]

4. No, that rule only applies to backtalking women, uppity black boys and

stupid folks that take up for white trash.

If you are rich, white, socially and politically connected it doesn't matter if you are batshit crazy. Haven't you read any Thomas Wolfe or F. Scott Fitzgerald?

"Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me."


My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[sandnsea]

3. After a year of coronating Hillary

Now they want to say let's not coronate Obama???

:crazy: