Clinton should fire whoever told her to use that "Xerox" line

[northernsoul]

Full diclosure: I am an Obama supporter, but I thought that Senator Clinton acquitted herself extremely well in the debate last night - coming across as gracious and stateswomanlike. Which is why the attempted "Xerox" zinger came across like fingernails on a chalkboard. Her delivery of that line was so half-hearted, I'm convinced that it had to come from one of her staffers. Further, I believe that line, and the boos it rightly earned, destroyed what was an otherwise excellent performance by Senator Clinton. If she wants to prove that she really does have the leadership skills it takes to run this country, she should exercise those skills and kick the schmuck who foisted this line on her into next week.

[I_Will]

1. She chose to use the line, so

if she wants to "kick the schmuck who foisted this line on her into next week", she'll likely pull a muscle.
:)

[jasmine621]

31. Funny, but I think if Obama had said the same thing under same circumstances

everyone of his supporters would have claimed victory. We may have seen a few :rofl: :rofl:

[CreekDog]

2. Any excuse to fire Wolfson and/or Penn is good enough for me

those dopes.

[JimGinPA]

3. She Can't - She Still Owes Them Money...

:rofl:

[Fire_brand]

lol

[suston96]

4. Uh, better than that one was the one about the Obama surrogate...

...I believe on Chris Matthews, who couldn't name one of Obama's accomplishments.....That one scratched the blackboard too.

And xerox is now and has been a synonym for making copies using any copier for a long time.

[JerseygirlCT]

10. That whole Tweety interrogation made me squirm.

"YOU HAVE TO ANSWER!!!!" Says who, jerkface?

I felt for that guy, and thought Tweety was being an ass and a bully. Using it again during the debate didn't earn her any points, I think.

[hisownpetard]

47. Yeah, it was self-serving and obnoxious, since she herself knows his accomplishments well.

[TwilightGardener]

5. What bothers me is that she listens to her advisors and does things

against her better judgment, like that stupid attack. It's pretty much the headline of the debate, and that's a shame. Makes you wonder what would happen if she was President and CiC--would her advisors in the WH and her cabinet be able to sway her away from her own judgment and into a blunder that easily?

[northernsoul]

14. I share your skepticism about her leadership skills

I don't consider allowing a bunch of over-paid idiots convincing you to go against your better judgment to be good leadership.

[TwilightGardener]

20. She's a terrifically smart lady--it seems she just doesn't have enough confidence

in her own political instincts. Maybe she learned from Bill that to be successful, you HAVE to have the handlers and advisors manipulating your every word and move, and that everything must be poll-tested and focus-grouped before it comes out of your mouth--because it worked for Bill. But since she doesn't have his natural charm and charisma (which is what kept him looking genuine, even with the Carvilles and Morrises), she needs a different approach--calculated political maneuvering and attacks simply don't look good on her. Everyone loves her when she's nice and friendly, and she should have always stuck to that faithfully, especially against a very likable opponent.

[enough already]

27. You assume she does these things against her better judgment

I'm under no such delusions.

[0007]

6. Do you think Hillary was wearing a ear piece?

The "Xerox Change" remark ruined a good outing for the woman.

[northernsoul]

19. my guess is sombody told her to use it earlier in the day

I don't think she uses an earpiece.

[0007]

21. Guessing doesn't cut it when you're dealing with first class cretins.

[gorekerrydreamticket]

7. but what if it was Bill? n/m

[JerseygirlCT]

8. Yeah, that was a tremendous misstep in several ways.

I'm not sure it completely undercut her performance, but once again, it managed to highlight just the things that people who hate her believe about her.

Her closing was much, much better, and reflected the person I imagine her supporters see her as.

[Tarheel_Dem]

26. but even her close, as heartfelt as it seemed, came under scrutiny

before the evening was over, and now it's being played back to back with clips of John Edwards, who originated those lines.

She should never have gone with the plagirism thing, because her every word is now being scrutinized, and so far, she's looking like a total hypocrite. She'll regret the day she brought this issue into the debate.

[JerseygirlCT]

45. Pretty stupid move, I agree

Unless you know for a fact that every word you're saying in debates and in campaign speeches is 100% your own, don't go poking at someone else. Her people sure seem to be making a mess of this, don't they? Why did she go there?

[ericgtr]

9. I don't think it was the line necessarily

it was her vicious tone at both Obama and the crowd following it.

[rodeodance]

11. First, I do think this issue raises to the level of firing people. Second, she used

it and would take responsibility herself for using it.


That said. i think it is an non issue and I am appalled that it must have 50 threads here on DU. Not to mentioned it seems to get inserted into thread after thread on non related topics.

[mkultra]

13. im appalled too

and shocked. Shocked i tell you. <----(not false outrage)

[nomorewhopper]

12. I think her supporters - the major funraiser types - would rather her concde with dignity than lose

than lose HUGE in texas and ohio.

considering all the stories of the mismanagement of funds, and the huge debts that she has incurred, if their internal polling is looking very grim i think you may be right

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

15. I don't think she can fire Bill.

Hillary needs to face up to the fact that Bill Clinton's (Edit: Or James Carville's. This sounds like something he would come up with) words coming out of her mouth just doesn't work. With the right context and the right delivery, Bill could have pulled off that line. She can't. She's no good at being negative.

[doni_georgia]

30. Yep, Bill or Carville could have pulled that line off - not Hillary

Personally I think she should have sent Bill on a vacation to Tahiti after South Carolina.

[soothsayer]

16. Do any real people even watch these endless debates? or only junkies

[doni_georgia]

34. Real Junkies - nope real people are watching Amurkin Idol

or whatever crap they watch.

[crawfish]

17. Well...considering that the poll numbers jumped up for Obama,

SOMEONE is gonna be fired.

She'll just keep on hiring new staff members until somebody gets it right. :)

[Seabiscuit]

18. I thought it was a very funny and clever line, and laughed out loud when she said it.

But then, unlike most, I have no emotional or financial investment in either of these candidates.

[Iris]

22. Why?

I liked it.

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. well, it's a good thing you only get to vote once. it went over like a

lead ballon, and it's already showing up in polling. Only poli-junkies would have found that remark even remotely appropriate. she's not bill, and doesn't have his delivery. and even her closing remarks (for which she received a standing "o") were lifted almost word for word from john edwards.
:eyes:

[sfam]

23. She couldn't possibly fire Mark Penn...he's given SOOO much advise at this point...

Mark "The Titanic" Penn - has he ever steered her wrong?

[npincus]

24. I'm for Obama, but I actually felt sorry for her when she said that

she is way better that mouthing that canned crap.... so undignified, so transparant.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

25. I Thought It Was A Great Line. I Just Don't Think Her Delivery Did It Justice.

Also, the few Obama supporters in the crowd that made sure their boos were heard loudly, made it come off as sounding far more wincing than it was. But I think she could've delivered it better. On paper though? Great line.

[Exilednight]

29. It wasn't only the delivery, it was the way Obama answered the question....

he had a matter-of-fact tone and kept the answer short and sweet. If he would have waffled or had a nervous edge in his voice, and she took Obama's tone, it probably would have worked.

[TwilightGardener]

32. It had nothing to do with the line itself, or the delivery--she didn't listen

to what Obama had said right before she used it, clearly. She didn't notice or heed the applause that said "Back off, lady, we like Obama and his 'silly season' remark about this is the last word on the subject--we're tired of hearing about it". She was bound and determined to get it in there, somehow, someway, because it seemed like a good line and she wanted to score her point, but her timing was so unfortunate and tone-deaf. A better candidate would have read the crowd's reaction to the topic and thought, "Time to back off of this, it's not selling."

[sfam]

35. It was totally the wrong time to deliver it...

After Obama's "silly season" comment, that window had closed. She should have taken a pass on it.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

37. Yeah, I'll Agree With That.

He actually addressed the issue quite well. He impressed me with his defense on that one.

[Independent-Voter]

40. Her ham-fisted, tone-deaf response to what Obama was saying is indicitive of her entire campaign

I felt sorry for her for about 5 seconds, then got over it. At this point, she really needs salvage what shred of dignity she has and quit making a fool out of herself.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

41. Blah Blah Blah YAWWWWWNNNNNN

[Independent-Voter]

42. Heavy, man. Heavy. -snaps fingers

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

44. Dude, Leave The Conversation To The Grownups, Ok?

[Moochy]

48. Hey You rolled a 1

:P

[doni_georgia]

28. Stupid to use a line that is clearly not your own in reference to

someone else's using other people's lines. STUPID. And I think you could see from Hillary's body language and delivery that she didn't think it was wise, but had been told to use it. The whole plagarism argument is stupid to begin with. All candidates have speech writers. Very few of the words in their speeches are their own. All campaigns bounce ideas around - it's a team effort. How is that any different from Barack bouncing ideas around with his national co-chair and using some of his lines? It's not. If he gave the entire speech it would be no different from any candidate giving a speech written by a speech writer. This was a stupid - stupid attack line to go on in the first place. It was a sign of desperation. It did no damage to Barack but it did reveal the Clinton campaign's real concern that it is all over. It was a desperation move.

[mtnsnake]

36. The Xerox comment will seem like childs play compared to what's coming up this Fall

Yes, it wasn't a great line, but the moderator was just about begging them to get tough on each other.

Anyway, that line won't be too big a big deal anywhere but here by the posters who love to take anything a little out of the ordinary and run with it. That was nothing compared to what's going to happen in the General Election. Obama better get used to it if he makes it to that general election. Hillary also knows full well she'll be experiencing the wrath of the right wing if she wins the primary, too.

[scheming daemons]

39. Yeah.... you guys keep saying this.....

Are you saying that the GOP and McLame are BETTER at the whole "political game" than Hillary?


If so.... then you must therefore agree that Hillary is not the best equipped to take on McLame and the GOP in the fall.

[mtnsnake]

43. I didn't say anything close to that

If you don't think we're going to be bombarded with stuff 100X worse than the Xerox comment, then you're in for a rude awakening.

No where did I imply that "the GOP and McLame are BETTER at the whole "political game" than Hillary". In fact, I think that Hillary is the only one who could easily stand up to the inevitable Right Wing rhetoric that's going to be coming our way and be able to give them back a sour dose of their own medicine in return.

[geiger]

38. although I'm only a recent Obama "convert," too, my heart sank for her

when the campaign ran out of money a couple of weeks ago and the thought leapt to my mind, how is she going to control the country's budget, if she can't handle her own. On top of it, she's paying some of these consultants obscene amounts of money.

I think I read here on DU earlier today, that the use of the word "xerox," instead of photocopy does reflect a generation gap, too. It really makes it seem like her time has come and gone, and I feel bad for her about that, too, because of her work ethic--if you work hard enough, you should be able to accomplish results. I feel the same way, but it honestly doesn't work out that way a lot of times, for circumstances out of your control.

[Quixote1818]

46. She was boxed in after Obama's answer got the audience on his side

she should have just let it go but she couldn't help herself because she is a competitive person. If it had been me, I would have ditched the line after Obama's answer knowing it would fall flat. She made the decision to go with it showing poor political instincts on the spot.