Mrs. Clinton has a big heart and a good heart.

[bigtree]

Henry Cisneros: Clinton supporters don't need to divide to conquer

03:52 PM CST on Thursday, February 14, 2008

One of the noteworthy dimensions of this year's Democratic primaries has been the loyalty shown to Hillary Clinton's candidacy by Democrats who supported President Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, especially female voters, blue-collar families and Latinos.

. . . Despite the tendencies of the media pundits to speculate about divisive reasons to explain the preferences of Hillary Clinton voters over Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton supporters have made the following points:

•Mrs. Clinton is ready to take on the difficult problems confronting the country on her first day in office. She will be able to go from the inaugural platform to the Oval Office and begin to tackle the challenges of our economy and the war in Iraq, while starting to work on her stated priorities of universal health care and investments in education. Voters tell me that she is smart and prepared and that they trust that she is primed for action.

•Clinton voters seem to feel instinctively what I have observed personally for the many years I have known her: In addition to being smart, she is extremely well-organized and managerially competent to address the problems our country confronts. As a Cabinet officer in Mr. Clinton's administration, I watched her run meetings to produce outcomes. She is a no-nonsense person who breaks problems down into their component parts and systematically solves them.

As first lady, she represented the United States abroad in dozens of foreign countries, meeting world leaders and learning the intricacies of international relations. She doesn't make many mistakes – and when she does, she learns from them. At a time when the stakes in our world are so high, voters appreciate her battle-tested, sure-handed qualities.

•Her supporters feel a sense of loyalty to a person who contributed significantly to some of the best years our country has enjoyed in its modern history. She was part of a team that produced the largest economic expansion in American history with lower unemployment rates, lower poverty rates, higher business formations, a record homeownership rate, higher levels of school performance and even a narrowing in the income gap.

Female voters in particular add to that fond remembrance a sense that the unique experiences of a person who has been a mother, a daughter, a wife and a sister can bring fresh perspectives and distinctive contributions to the nation's highest office.

•Voters tell me they recognize that Mrs. Clinton has a big heart and a good heart. Yes, her commitment to the public good is driven by her intellect and her experience. But her inner drive comes from a desire to help people, to advance the country and to make a meaningful difference in our world. Since her early years working in the Children's Defense Fund to her years in Arkansas working to expand public health clinics for seniors to her work as a U.S. senator on children's health insurance, she has shown she is determined to reach out to families.

Unfortunately, in the heat of a political battle, passions rise, and it seems necessary to draw hateful divisions between candidates or to denigrate one worthy candidate at the expense of another. Hillary Clinton supporters shouldn't be drawn into that game. There is no need. We have solid reasons to support her based on her public service record of a lifetime.


full article by Henry Cisneros: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-cisneros_15edi.State.Edition1.1e3a2d5.html

[Bicoastal]

1. That's nice, but I used to be loyal to the Clintons...

...they've since turned me off bigtime. I'm not Latino, but still.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

40. so you're admitting to being just a FAIR WEATHERED FRIEND?

[Hill_YesWeWill]

42. Oh me too! Nice to know there are more out there like me! nt

[TwilightGardener]

2. It's good to know that Laura Bush now knows the "intricacies of

international relations". I think Obama should make her Secretary of State.

[bigtree]

3. Is that really a fair comparison?

Is every First Lady to be so inept in your view, or just the one you oppose in this campaign?

[TwilightGardener]

6. What's not fair about it? If Hillary learned the intricacies of international

relations not from an ambassadorship, not from being on the Foreign Relations Committee, not from formal education, but from being First Lady, then it's just as valid on Laura Bush's resume now too.

[bigtree]

10. she's not Laura Bush. Never has been, never will be.

Would Obama's wife, with her own background similar in education and law experience, be able to claim experience if she also served as a United States Senator with a seat on the Senate Armed Serves Committee?

[TwilightGardener]

15. I'm pointing out what is said in the article. I'm refuting Cisneros' assertion. That's all.

[bigtree]

28. Her experiences as First Lady should be measured by who she is and what her goals were

not in comparison to Laura Bush.

[TwilightGardener]

32. The article made a narrow assertion, and as you see, it's ridiculous.

Cisneros pointed to her First Lady experience as evidence of foreign-relations knowledge. I dispute that. I'm not reading between any lines or extrapolating, just disputing what's there.

[bigtree]

36. She has met with many foreign leaders, and has communicated administration policy

to them and their governments on several occasions, in effect, using Hillary Clinton as an ambassador. I really don't know how you are in any position to dispute the fact that she went on these trips, did articulate administration policy while there, and played some instrumental part in relations between these nations she visited representing the United States. To deny her those assumptions is absurd.

[TwilightGardener]

43. So Laura Bush is now qualified for a job with the State Dept.?

BTW, how do you know what Hillary did on those trips, if she won't release her papers? You're just assuming.

[bigtree]

45. Not in a Democratic administration

But, I can see that your opinion of Clinton isn't going to rise above your opinion of Laura Bush. Ridiculously slanted to make Hillary Clinton's experience irrlevant, I think. Was Pat Nixon's experience in the White House the same as Eleanor Roosevelt's?

[TwilightGardener]

47. Maybe Hillary's First Lady experience would be a lot more credible

as a resume-builder if she could prove exactly what she did that gives her "experience" (beyond the health care debacle). But she just wants us to take her at her word, that she was a "player" and a VIP and had a hand in things. Gotta prove it--release yer papers, lady, show us what you did on the taxpayer dole. Don't use your husband's experience as your own without the documents to back it up. Sorry, it doesn't confer by osmosis, you've got to show it.

[bigtree]

56. she has. As first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton . . .

. . . jaw-boned the authoritarian president of Uzbekistan to leave his car and shake hands with people. She argued with the Czech prime minister about democracy. She cajoled Roman Catholic and Protestant women to talk to one another in Northern Ireland. She traveled to 79 countries in total, little of it leisure; one meeting with mutilated Rwandan refugees so unsettled her that she threw up afterward . . .


Her role mostly involved what diplomats call “soft power” — converting cold war foes into friends, supporting nonprofit work and good-will endeavors, and pressing her agenda on women’s rights, human trafficking and the expanded use of microcredits, tiny loans to help individuals in poor countries start small businesses.

Asked to name three major foreign policy decisions where she played a decisive role as first lady, Mrs. Clinton responded in generalities more than specifics, describing her strategic roles on trips to Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, India, Africa and Latin America.

Asked to cite a significant foreign policy object lesson from the 1990s, Mrs. Clinton also replied with broad observations. “There are a lot of them,” she said. “The whole unfortunate experience we’ve had with the Bush administration, where they haven’t done what we’ve needed to do to reach out to the rest of the world, reinforces my experience in the 1990s that public diplomacy, showing respect and understanding of people’s different perspectives — it’s more likely to at least create the conditions where we can exercise our values and pursue our interests.”

article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/us/politics/26clinton.html?_r=1&adxnnlx=1203090233-ocLkicuTLhKkTB7gZB%20R/g&pagewanted=all


. . .this is just what I've described. Not a major role, but not the lack of significant experience her critics claim either. Certainly more foreign policy experience than Obama. Couple that behind-the-scenes-of-the-Clinton-presidency experience with her present seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and her term as Senator and you have a pretty healthy resume. (Not to mention those contacts she made overseas during that period and beyond)

[TwilightGardener]

63. LOL! Nice try. Not impressed.

[bigtree]

67. Why would I expect you to be? All you've done here is throw stones.

You got your answer. More foreign policy experience than Obama. What has he done in comparison?

[TwilightGardener]

70. Has a degree in International Relations from Columbia (FORMAL education, not "osmosis")

and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. Has developed nuclear arms reduction and anti-nuclear terror legislation in the Senate. Has just passed a Global Poverty initiave thru the FRC, now on hold by some GOP Senators.

[bigtree]

71. good they are out there. Now, let's let folks judge.

Thanks for the discussion.

[rodeodance]

68. You have lost this argument from the start when you contract HRC with Laura bush--keep digging!

[rodeodance]

79. no its not---its flame-bait.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Oh, and let's talk about the much-vaunted "managerial competence"--

the competence that led to her campaign finances going into the red in the critical month of January, and the competence that didn't have a strategy past Super Tuesday. Yeah, that's the kind of managerial skills that really impresses.

[bigtree]

8. she's running on less money

That wasn't used by Democrats as a measure when republicans had more money to spend to get themselves elected. I think she's managing remarkably well, given the disparity in funds.

HillaryClinton.com - Make a Contribution
https://contribute.hillaryclinton.com/

[TwilightGardener]

17. Yes, the Money Gods didn't dole out the money fairly. Obama

got more than his share from the Gods (not from mortals, of course), and unfairly took advantage of wise budgeting and investing, to be able to compete successfully with a well-known political brand name. It had nothing to do with fundraising prowess or competence or foresight. Just luck and bad luck.

[bigtree]

21. face it. more money means more exposure

it's only one measure of worth that the funds have favored Obama. And, although it's certainly a measure of support, you can't attribute that ability to convince folks to send money to everything good under the sun.

It's as easier for the Obama campaign to manage more money as it is for rich folks to manage their affairs better than I can with my lesser income. It's not a reflection though on my ability to manage money.

[TwilightGardener]

23. You're kidding me--the campaign that was SO PROUD of its

fundraising abilities last year (and trumpeted every occasion that they beat Obama for the quarter), the 20-year political machine, is now just--what? Less lucky? The funds "favor" Obama? He didn't, you know, actively raise it, mostly from small donors? He didn't spend his money wisely, he was just somehow MORE BLESSED recently than she was? If she was outraising him, and won more states with more cash on hand, you'd be triumphant and hold it up as evidence of what a great campaigner and manager she was. Now, money doesn't mean shit, apparently, if the cash flow doesn't favor your candidate--the goalposts, have they moved, or are my eyes deceiving me?

[bigtree]

24. I'm not the campaign

My opinion is, that it's always easier to look like a good manager if you're flush with cash.

[TwilightGardener]

25. If you're flush with cash, you

must be a good manager. Especially towards the end of the campaign.

[bigtree]

26. managing a campaign and running the nation aren't necessarily the same

I don't want the presidency run like a campaign

[TwilightGardener]

30. Yeah, I take bungled finances, and staff shakeups, and just general flailing about

in search of effective tactics, as signs of good, positive things to come in the ensuing administration. A well-run organization is never a good indicator of how well someone will run a larger organization. Good point, you run with that.

[bigtree]

37. All of those descriptions obviously come from sources outside of the campaign

and, you assume that similar problems haven't occurred with the Obama campaign. Show me the reports criticizing her management and I'll show you the uninformed bias.

[TwilightGardener]

44. I beleive it was the campaign itself that released the info that its staffers

would go without pay, and that Hillary had to loan herself 5 million. They released their expenditures, and she obviously chose to spend the big bucks on consultants like Penn. And parking. And steakhouses. And the Hallmark channel thing that got cut off midsentence.

[bigtree]

46. The staffers didn't go without pay and the money has been repayed to Clinton from the campaign

out of increased donations.

And, as I said, the hit pieces haven't yet come regarding the Obama campaign. And, I'm not the least bit interested. What an obsession, with this issue and you. You haven't made the case though, that the internal maneuvering of the Clinton campaign says anything significant about how she'd govern, except, maybe, in the fact that she's willing to change and develop the infrastructure of her organization when challenges arise.

[TwilightGardener]

52. So, the mismanagement doesn't matter? Oh, but it does. Because you'd

judge Obama the same way, if you had it as a weapon against him. But, since the analysis of how they both ran and staffed their organizations, and how they plotted their strategies, favors Obama, you pretend it's suddenly unimportant. Even if she manages to pull the nomination out of her ass, and she very well may, I expect her administration to be a clusterfuck of mismanagement, missteps, cronyism, and inefficiency. And the Repubs will be watching like hungry hyenas.

[bigtree]

57. I don't characterize it as the disaster you and other critics are portraying it as

that's the difference. And, the significant measure of your opinion is that it relies on sources outside the campaign for these strident criticisms.

[Independent-Voter]

38. She had $ in the bank, name recognition, etc and still mismanaged this campaign

She's getting her ass handed to her in the primaries because she managed to blow 140 million dollars with nothing to show for it. Yes, her contributions are down now, but that's mainly because people see that investment as a waste of money.

[bigtree]

41. she'll be nearly even with Obama in a couple of weeks

will that show that she's even better than you say, because she did it with less money?

[Independent-Voter]

51. She'll be forgotten in 2 weeks. Obama's whipped her ass in every election since Super Tuesday

Hillary's toast.

[bigtree]

58. rhetoric

wait for the votes. Why does the Obama campaign seem so obsessed with calling this race before all the votes have been cast?

[rodeodance]

64. Don't get too cozy in your little world.

[miceelf]

49. great googly

You're acting as if her lower amount of money was just some arbitrary handicap she's facing. WHY does she have less money? It goes back to management, paying Mark Penn 5 million dollars to lose Iowa for her, and not being strategic in fundraising.

I don't doubt she'd be a good manager, but the running of her current campaign is not a profile in competence.

[bigtree]

61. I'm speaking to the effect, not the support it represents.

Does the candidate with the most individual contributions always deserve to prevail, just on that measure? Money buys access and visibility, besides the ground organization.

[BlackVelvet04]

27. Did you guys get a memo stating you have to use this meme?

She hired someone to manage her campaign. They messed up. She replaced them. Get over it.

[TwilightGardener]

31. Pretty late in the game to realize your top staff suck--makes me wonder about

advisors and cabinet picks in an administration. Makes me wonder what sort of hands-off person she is, compared to her assertion in a debate that she's all about running a day-to-day bureacracy.

[BlackVelvet04]

33. can't find a real issue, huh? n/t

[TwilightGardener]

34. Plenty of those around, but I am focusing on this one right now, thanks.

[rodeodance]

62. What a stupid stupid comment. Article is NOT about Laura!

[Beacool]

80. And where did your candidate acquire his "expertise"?

Oh yeah, he lived in Indonesia from the ripe ages of 6 to 10.

Please...........



:rofl:

[Johnny__Motown]

5. If she does have a big heart and a good heart she should give it back to whoever she cut it out of

[blm]

9. A few others noticed that, too.

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

And THIS is a display of true character:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg

[bigtree]

11. 'hope and unity'

[I Vote In Pittsburgh]

12. ha!

:spray:

It amazes me how so many people play her as the victim when her cronies have been venemous from day 1.

[bigtree]

13. 'cronies are venemous' on both sides

each one justifying their venom by pointing to their objections with the others' venom

[Beausoir]

22. Crawl back to Freeperland.

You pond scum.

[theboss]

48. "She is extremely well-organized and managerially competent"

Then why does her campaign look like a bunch monkeys humping a football right now.

[greguganus]

76. ...

:rofl:

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Good-Hearted Race Baiting

And a good-hearted war of aggression.

Oh please.

[rodeodance]

59. Stop with the race baiting card being tosseed out --hit and run!! You provided no evidence!

[elixir]

14. Good to see this type of article in the Dallas News. Summed up my thoughts exactly.

[rodeodance]

60. and thanks for pointing that out. I missed that.

[Rock_Garden]

16. Cisneros speaks eloquently. K&R!

[Fredda Weinberg]

18. k&r

[Iceburg]

19. Her record of achievements ... a record I can stand behind in admiration./ nt

[rodeodance]

54. Bookmarked.--note Obama folks are attacking this OP

[emilyg]

20. k/r

[fadedrose]

29. No reason she can't continue to do good works in the Senate

Not winning the nomination doesn't mean she has to hide somewhere; just like Kerry, Biden and other Senators who didn't win, she will continue to stay alive and be influential.

The use of the word "continue" in my subject line is my effort to do a "good work."

[Avalux]

35. Henry was Bill's Housing Secretary until he suffered a 'personal' crisis.

Then he resigned. Henry seems to be a good guy but like Bill, enjoyed the ladies a little too much. The drama was great here in SA; lawsuits and accusations and a lot of ugliness.

[bigtree]

39. nothing that was really anyone's business 'cept his own

He should have come clean about the affairs, perhaps, but, then again, who is it that really cared?

[ClassWarrior]

50. Why wasn't she ready to take on the difficult problems confronting the country...

...on Wednesday, when the Senate voted on immunity for corporate criminals - and she was absent? Why do we have to wait till "her first day in office?"

:crazy:

NGU.

[bigtree]

65. she was present for the vote that mattered. Her vote would not have made a difference on that one.

You know she voted against immunity. Highlighting that missed vote is a political ruse. Tell the truth.

[ClassWarrior]

69. When did she vote against immunity?

And what about the Blank Check for Invasion?

NGU.

[bigtree]

72. I'm not going to debate every objection you have to her record on this thread

She and Obama voted against cloture January 28

[ClassWarrior]

73. Of course not. So when ARE we planning to debate her record?

:shrug:

Considering that's what my post was about. Cisneros said she's ready to take on the nation's tough problems on her first day in office. Why do we have to wait?

NGU.

[bigtree]

75. you have a star. do a search

enter Hillary Clinton and record . . . or, start your own thread

[ClassWarrior]

77. LOL

NGU.

[rodeodance]

53. Very nice endorsement coming from a well known community Hispanic activist. Thank you.

[bigtree]

74. I thought that was the significant part of this

not sure what influence Cisneros has in Texas, but I liked his tone and his drift.

[workinclasszero]

55. Managerially competent ?? lol!

***In addition to being smart, she is extremely well-organized and managerially competent to address the problems our country confronts.***:wtf::rofl:

Yeah I mean look at the way Hillary ran her campaign into the ground. Blew all her cash early and had no plans for after Super Tuesday.

Just gives me the warm fuzzies thinkin about this same person in charge of the nation.:scared::scared::scared:

[rodeodance]

66. This is a truth to carry forth: "We have solid reasons to support her based on her public service"

[rodeodance]

78. REC and thank you Henry.