Bill Clinton claims he was "mugged" by the Obama campaign...

[Bread and Circus]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/17/clinton.bill/index.html

Bill Clinton: What happened in South Carolina a 'myth'

CNN) -- Former President Bill Clinton defended his role in his wife's presidential campaign in South Carolina, disputing claims he made race a campaign issue...

"What happened there is a total myth and a mugging" Clinton told CNN's Sean Callebs in New Orleans, Louisiana, over the weekend.

____________________________________________________________________________

You stay classy Bill Clinton!!!

[anigbrowl]

1. Reminds me of this Onion headline...

http://www.theonion.com/content/from_print/hillary_clinton_threatened

[Bread and Circus]

2. My wife said "Choice words there, Bill..."

Choice words indeed.

[psychopomp]

97. That link is funny

What Bill Clinton said is not.

How low will they go?

[burythehatchet]

3. I hate it when black people mug white people.

[NJSecularist]

4. Bill made race an issue after Obama won South Carolina

[DemGa]

82. Do you have any proof?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Then his apology is a myth.

:shrug:

[EFerrari]

29. And Hillary's apology for him. n/t

[KittyWampus]

6. Bill has been pimping himself out, using his presidency to enrich himself, foreign nationals

and other unsavory characters.

Did he think we wouldn't notice?

[redqueen]

37. He *knows* many either didn't notice or don't care. (nt)

[Armstead]

7. Oh Goody. Bill does it again.

I'm not sure this is very smart or very stupid. But it could be very divisive, considering the implications of the black candidate "mugging the white candidate.

[Metric System]

8. What, only black people mug? That would be news to Charles Dickens.

[Armstead]

17. No but in modern America that has become one of those code words

[mopinko]

28. good work, 900 posts in a month.

your bosses should be proud.

[Metric System]

38. WTF? I've been here for 2 months and NO I'm not paid. Again, why do some Obama supporters think

people need to be paid to support Hillary?!? It's such an arrogant assumption. Maybe you're the one being paid since you're so quick to accuse others.

[mopinko]

57. why do hillbots post such crap?

maybe if hillary's supporters started making some sense, they wouldn't get so much shit. post this kind of bs, and get what you deserve.
check my profile. been around a long time.

[Metric System]

77. Get what I deserve? The only thing you proved is that you don't know what month it is!

[ecstatic]

14. Amazing, isn't it?

I mean, of all the words he could use. That man knows EXACTLY what he's doing.

[Tom Rinaldo]

40. There are plenty of white muggers in America

To assume that the mention of a type of "crime" is a slur against black people is to presume that blacks are more prone to committing that crime than other racial groups. Where does this nonsense stop? Should we also assume that "convicts" is now a racist coded slur because America locks up a greater percentage of African Americans than whites?

[endarkenment]

61. Maybe if you make this clueless point multiple times it will seem credible.

[Armstead]

64. Political history would suggest otherwise

Beginning with Nixon, phrases such as "crime in the streets" were deliberatly used to evoke racism. It was a safe way to be racially polarizing, but whenever called on it the GOP could say "Who us? We're only talking about crime."

It was a well-researched and proven strategy. Not fair or accurate, because plenty of crime is committed by whites. But in the world of political rhetoric, it has aquired those connotations.

Let's assume Bill Clinton didn't mean it in that way. If not, he is not as smart as people give him credit for.

[Tom Rinaldo]

71. I know about Willie Horton and all the rest

Perhaps we should add "mugged" to the list of politically suspect words like "shrill", "pimp", and "cackle".

[Armstead]

81. It already is on the politically loaded list -- That's the point

I don't disagree that everyone has become too sensitive about the potential implications of words these days.

But that fact is that mugging is a word that has racial overtones to many people, and Bill Clinton was eitehr stupid or very devious to use it.

At least he didn't say "We were the victim of a drive-by shooting.."

[Tom Rinaldo]

85. LOL. There would be no basis to argue that one n/t

[Armstead]

87. Glad some of us still have a sense of humor around here

[roguevalley]

74. I wish he would stop being a fool.

[Whisp]

9. what a pathetic ugly asshole he's become.

maybe he was all along?

every time I see him on the tube, I smell something rotten and foul - very similar to what I experience when i see the Chimp.

fuck your innuendoes, Bill.

[meow mix]

10. ah a victim of "street crime" dog-whistlin bill at it again.

callin out to the bigots again

[Swamp Rat]

"Mugged?" That sounds like a NewsMax headline.

[thereismore]

Oh man, not to belittle your art, but do you have the original photo? that is precious. nt

[Nedsdag]

11. "Mugging," eh Bill?

I guess he couldn't use "shuck and jive" since Andrew Cuomo used it already.

The word "Diss" is still available.

[EFerrari]

12. He doesn't want her to win. That's the only explanation. n/t

[loyalsister]

107. Bingo!

White male privilege threatened?
It's a powerful thing.
I have a sneaking suspicion that he may fear the possibility that if she were to become president, her legacy would eclipse his.

[EFerrari]

110. What a terrible year to be Bill Clinton.

The only other explanation would be that he's lost his mind and I don't buy that one.

[papau]

13. "mugged" is an interesting word - but he is correct that Obama twisted what he said so as to play

race card and change the subject from discussion of Hillary's win in NH to a discussion about how African Americans had to vote for for Barack because Hillary was not trying to control her racist supporters and Husband.

"mugged" is probably a good word except that it does not convey the disappointment one feels when you see that the person that is your mugger is someone who pretended to be a friend.

[Tellurian]

84. That would be..

"mugged" is probably a good word except that it does not convey the disappointment one feels when you see that the person that is your mugger is someone who pretended to be a friend."

"A masked mugger wearing an Obama mask would be accurate"... the plan all along!

Highly inflammatory and would bring on more spin. Sometimes it's worth playing the waiting game..waiting for the right moment and strike.

!

[jaxx]

15. Sounds like a fairy tale.

;-)

[Skwmom]

16. The Poor Clintons - Victims of a vast black folks conspiracy.

I think by now it's pretty obvious that their standard m.o. is to play the victim.

[ecstatic]

19. LOL nt

[EFerrari]

21. LOL!

[TahitiNut]

36. Snap!

:rofl:

[yardwork]

66. That made me laugh out loud in my cubicle!

[Catherina]

72. Lol! We'll have to update this cartoon

[Rageneau]

18. Clinton was being exactly as truthful as Wright was being but got attacked for it.

It is TRUE that J Jackson won the So Carolina primary, so it was NOT "racist" to point this truth out -- especially after the voting was over and the results were already in.

Anybody who defends what Rev Wright said because it is the truth, should also defend Bill Clinton. Both men spoke the same truth, so both men should be treated the same by the media.

But look what's happened: The same pundits who fall over each other to excuse Barack's pastor, inevitably go miles out of their way to unfairly criticize my ex-president, a man who has never to my knowledge EVER told a lie.

[EFerrari]

23. LOL!

:rofl:

I only hope he keeps talking.

[democrattotheend]

24. Even if he is right, it was a pretty poor choice of words

And I am not even sure I agree with you that he was right. What he said about Jesse Jackson was factually accurate, but it seemed designed to minimize Obama's win and imply that it was less significant because of the large number of black voters voting for a black candidate (as if the preferences of black voters are somehow less important than the preferences of white voters). If he simply wanted to point out that not everyone who wins South Carolina wins the nomination without any racial implications, he could have used the more recent example of John Edwards.

[yardwork]

65. Bill Clinton never told a lie?! ROTFL!

You're not serious, are you? LOL!

[ericgtr]

20. Bill has been wronged!

[tabasco]

32. Poor Billy getting picked on!

[BenDavid]

22. Jesse Jackson either won Carolina 20 years ago or he didn't

But mentioning that fact allowed Obama and the whore press to brand Clinton "a racist." Hillary said MLK needed a president to pass civil rights legislation - another fact - but that gave Obama and the press another opening to brand Hillary "a racist."

This isn't about fact vs opinion - this is the press vs the Clintons. The Clintons can say "Good morning" and watch that be turned into the most horrific personal racial slur ever.

This is how we treat our best modern president? STAB THEM IN THE BACK!

[democrattotheend]

27. John Edwards won SC 4 years ago and failed to win the nomination

If Bill Clinton simply wanted to point out that not everyone who wins SC wins the nomination without any racial implications, he could have cited that more recent example.

What he said about Jesse Jackson was factually accurate, but it seemed designed to minimize Obama's win and imply that it was less significant because of the large number of black voters voting for a black candidate (as if the preferences of black voters are somehow less important than the preferences of white voters).

[jackson_dem]

105. Edwards won both the white and black vote. Obama and JJ won on racial lines

They got nearly unanimous support from their racial group while getting trounced among the other group. Everyone else who won SC, like Edwards and Clinton in 92', did it by winning across racial lines.

Clinton's point was South Carolina was a demographic anomaly and was an attempt to minimize its importance heading into Super Tuesday where only Alabama and Georgia were states Obama could, and did, win on racial lines. He shouldn't have said it as a former president but it was a perfectly legitimate point for the campaign to make and made sense for the campaign to attempt to minimize his win. Obama's campaign has tried to minimize her big wins as well, McCain tried to minimize Romney's Michigan win as a home state one, etc.. That is how it works in politics.

Romney won every state with a large Mormon population. Is it bigoted to point it out? Is it bigoted to point out that everyone expected him to win Utah big?

[democrattotheend]

109. So you admit that Bill's Jesse Jackson comment had racial implications?

And why is a victory less significant if there is a significant African American population? Are their votes somehow less valid? Or is it just that you assume that they can be taken for granted in the fall, and thus that the ability to appeal to whites should be the true litmus test of electability?

[jackson_dem]

111. Obama's win had racial implications just like Romney's Utah wins and a few others had religious ones

Is it illegal to state the obvious? Does Obama's new politics include bans on some aspects of political analysis?

Demographics matter. The Obama campaign itself pointed to demographics in Wisconsin to further hype its win. Was it trying to say white working class votes matter more than others when it did that? No. It was pointing out Obama did well among a group he previously, and subsequently, has struggled with. There are points to be gained or lost based on expectations. Clinton was trying to lower expectations for his candidate, the Obama campaign raise it for Clinton in Wisconsin after the result was in.

The significance was simple. Of the two dozen states that voted on Super Tuesday only two had demographics similar to South Carolina. Essentially this is what he was trying to say to the msm: "Don't read too much into Obama's win. He won it on racial lines and he won't be able to do that in 20 Super Tuesday states." Of course he could not say so explicitly. That argument failed, largely because the Obama campaign quickly pounced and playing the race card to claim it is racist to point out Obama won on race. Obama then received a shot of momentum that lifted him into a tie for Super Tuesday.

Romney won Utah. It was part of Super Tuesday. Let's suppose it was a week before Super Tuesday. Would it be bigoted if someone mentioned the fact that no one had a shot to beat him there because of the large Mormon population there? If Utah were an early state you can bet that point would have made. Or look at Huckabee. The evangelical populations in the early states were mentioned by the media and political analysts. Would it be bigoted to point out the two early states he did well in, Iowa and South Carolina, had large populations of this group and the three that didn't, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Nevada he fared poorly in? Going back to the Democratic side, JFK won four out of five Catholic votes in 1960. He tipped some states with large Catholic populations that usually voted Republican. Would it be anti-Catholic to put two and two together?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

33. Nobody is forcing Bill Clinton to say stupid things.

He's doing a perfectly good job of it himself.

[NDambi]

45. Sorry, as an ex prez..Billy boy is a BIG dissapointment!

[NorthernSpy]

25. It's Obama's fault! He CARJACKED the election!

Y'all saw it, right?



:eyes:

[cooolandrew]

26. OMG any trick like their word means much. They have secret service.

[City Lights]

30. Poor Bill.

Bill, if you can't open your mouth without inserting your foot, maybe you should just keep it closed.

:nopity:

[thereismore]

31. Everything he says just comes out the wrong way doesn't it. I loved that man.

Is this race baiting again? Mugging? Stereotypically, black assailants mug a white guy and take his wallet.

[thereismore]

34. Bill has changed ever since he became chummy with Bush Sr. nt

[americanstranger]

35. It's an either/or proposition.

Either he suddenly got so goddamn dumb that his command of the English language has left him.

OR

More dog-whistle politics.

I'm leaning towards the latter. Bill's smarter than this.

- as

[Bread and Circus]

41. What's "dog-whistle" politics?

[americanstranger]

46. Dog-Whistle Politics

Dog-whistle politics, also known as a code word, is a term used to describe a type of political campaigning or speechmaking using coded language, which appears to mean one thing to the general population but which has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience. The term is usually used pejoratively by those that do not approve of the tactics. Ian Welsh (blogger) wrote about it as:

When you speak in code(...), most of the time the only people who hear and understand what you just said are the intended group, who have an understanding of the world and a use of words that is not shared by the majority of the population.<1>

The term is by analogy to dog whistles, built in such a way that humans cannot hear them due to their high frequency, but dogs can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog-whistle_politics

---

If that's not a precise description of what's going on here, I don't know what is.

- as

[Bread and Circus]

49. Fascinating.

[ecstatic]

83. cool. I learned something new. Wasn't Reagan the Godfather

of that?

[americanstranger]

102. Yep, although they were called 'code words' back then.

Same concept. Reagan's big one was 'state's rights.'

I think the 'dog-whistle' nomenclature is a relatively new term. I think I saw it on Atrios' site first.

- as

[knowledgeispwr]

54. "dog-whistle" politics...

is saying particular things that will go over the heads of many voters and sound reasonable, but send a clear message to those meant to hear it.

For example, many GOPers back in the day (and old school Dems before that) used "states'rights" as code for supporting segregation and other ways of keeping blacks and other minorities down as second class citizens.

Recently, on a trip to the Middle East, Condoleezza Rice made comments calling the trouble there "the birth pangs of a new Middle East". Most people won't think twice about that, but that's language right out of Christian Right's 'end-times' theology. Only those couched in that "end-times" theology would get that.

Many have interpreted some of the comments from various Clinton surrogates as having this same aforementioned quality: sounding innocuous to mildly negative on the surface, but under the surface trying to scare some voters (the ones that understand the language) away from voting for a "black candidate." Most blacks are acutely aware of such language and that's part of the reason why Clinton has been hurt by such statements.

[bicentennial_baby]

48. Definitely the latter

[flpoljunkie]

94. "Poor, Bill. He just can't help himself!"

As the late and great Ann Richards might put it.

[Blue-Jay]

39. At least he didn't claim to be "car-jacked".

[grantcart]

42. lol . . .water . . nose . . spray . . . .keyboard --- gotta get a paper towel

[grantcart]

43. What Obama needs - more Bill Clinton

[knowledgeispwr]

44. OMG! Obama is playing the "race-card!"

Obama is forcing Clinton to open his mouth and then force him to stick his foot in it!

How dare he make so many Clinton surrogates say such odd things!

How dare he trick many blacks and a good number of non-black progressives to believe their own eyes and ears!

How dare black people be so gullible to actually believe what they see and hear!

Obama, stop splitting the Democratic party with your mind trickery!

[dbonds]

47. Doesn't the mugging analogy have racial overtones?

Claiming he didn't mean anything racist, then invoking a racial metaphor. Oh the irony.

[Tom Rinaldo]

51. I thinnk it is racist to presume that muggers are black

There is no racial overtone unless you start with that assumption. Muggings have been around for a century in our vocabulary. It is no more racist to talk about being mugged than it is racist to decry "purse snatchers", or to say "I was robbed".

"Crack" for whatever reason has been identified in the public mind as a drug that African Americans disproportionately consume, but mugging is simply a category of crime. The direct implication of your question is that crime is linked to blacks.

[EFerrari]

52. No, the implication is we've cracked Bill's code. n/t

[endarkenment]

60. bullshit. prime example of using code words to evoke racial stereotypes.

And your response is the classic deflection. Nice.

[Tom Rinaldo]

75. Here is a fact

We have a very serious, impressive African American running for President in a society that has not yet evolved to be color blind, no matter what side you look at it from. We are in a period of societal transition, we have not reached post racial America. Though for the most part the forces of hard racism have been routed, much insecurity, fear, insensitivity and suspicion remains.

We are not going to make it through this election cycle, we never had a chance to make it throught this election cycle, without race being consciously present. To think otherwise would not be much different than blaming the 1950's American public for noticing that Jackie Robertson was not just another talented white baseball player.

There is nothing Bill Clinton can or could say, short of stating "You can't trust Blacks" that has or could make Americans conscious of Barack Obama's race in a way that they haven't been aware of since day one. It is a myth that Barack Obama was once running in a post racial American election race until the Clinton campaign got people to think of him as a "black candidate".

It has been a fabulously effective campaign technique for the Obama camp to tag any negative racial issues that Obama has to face in contemporary America as being the direct consequence of how one or another Clinton campaigned. Talk about making lemons into lemonade.

[endarkenment]

86. You are either very thick and naive or deliberately obtuse.

The concept of 'code words' and their use in political rhetoric has been explained in this thread several times. You either don't get it or are just being dishonest. I'll go with the latter explanation.

[Tom Rinaldo]

96. I think you are swell too. n/t

[Catherine Vincent]

50. I agree that Big Dog shouldn't have used those words when talking about Obama.

He should know by now that we all have to watch our words when speaking about Obama because some can take it out of context.

[Tom Rinaldo]

53. Yes. Now it is considered racist to not realize that the simple mention of a form of crime

is racist.

[Bread and Circus]

68. You said it, I didn't...

[uberblonde]

78. In fact, I don't think he should be allowed to use vowels...

When speaking about Obama. Someone might misinterpret.

[marshall]

55. He could have said he was lynched

He was the first black president, after all, doncha know.

I agree it's a use of a code word. Whites who fear that radical blacks are taking over the country always talk about the dangers of being mugged in the inner city, how it isn't safe anymore for "law abiding folk".

[RiverStone]

56. Sorry Bill, if it looks like a duck - quacks like a duck....

..you know the rest.

It's really wierd feeling at odds with a man I worked so hard for to get elected. That Bill - that ol President Bill, I had a lot of respect for.

[Catherine Vincent]

58. Charlie Rangel doesn't have a problem with what Clinton said.

Why should you all? You people are grasping at straws.

[endarkenment]

59. The Clintons are crap. Put on the white hoods and get on with the lynching.

Those words are not accidental.

[moobu2]

62. The Clintons should have been better prepared

for Baracks race baiting, the only thing I fault them for.

[DrFunkenstein]

63. I Guess "Hit Job" Was The Wrong Ethnic Stereotype

My fave: "Contrary to the myth, I went through South Carolina and never said a bad word about Senator Obama — not one."

Wink wink.

[OhioBlue]

67. what an idiot. c'mon Bill - you really need to stop. n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

69. So now "mugging" is supposed to be a code word with racial overtones?

How in the world is a person supposed to keep up with all of this? I'll be sure to add this to my list of unacceptable code words right next to "fairy tale".

:eyes:

[Bread and Circus]

70. I'm not sure it has "racial" overtones but the whole notion that he's a victim of a "crime"

is just absolutely absurd.

This is a classic case of either he's an idiot or he thinks we are.

[endarkenment]

101. yes of course it is and has been for quite some time.

Thanks for asking though.

[Catherina]

73. They can't get more pathetic. This is really sad to watch

Have some dignity Bill. You're losing fair and square despite all the dirty tricks your team pulled.

[uberblonde]

76. If you assume muggers are black...

I'd say you're the racist.

[NorthernSpy]

108. Where I live, muggers are white. But if you had most Americans take an implicit bias test...

... which faces do you think they'd be quicker to associate with the word mugger -- black faces or white faces?


That is the point.

[Johnny__Motown]

79. well, I guess it is a good thing he called it a myth and not a fairy tale.

[NoodleyAppendage]

80. It's apparent that it won't be Bush who gets frontotemporal dementia first.

Bill has shown repeatedly that his mouth and frontal lobes are not connected. He has no breaks on his behavior and appears oblivious when lapsing back into veiled racist comments.

Keep 'em coming Bill. You are the best friend to the Obama campaign.

...wait a minute. Maybe all of these helpful comments are purposeful, and Bill is really (implicitly) sticking it to his wife.

J

[DemGa]

88. ZERO proof of anything racist from Bill Clinton -- as usual

But a whole lot of convinced minds (Obamas) nonetheless. It's sickening what they've done to the Clintons. But it's easy to see where this hate emanates: Barack Obama and his mentor pastor Wright.

[ClayZ]

89. Michelle Obama claims she was hugged!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5122941&mesg_id=5122941

[Forkboy]

90. Bill needs to listen to his own advice.

"When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging."

[BeyondGeography]

91. Talk about your fairly tales, Bill

:eyes:

[invictus]

92. Bill Clinton "mugged" America the day he signed NAFTA. n/t

[Major Hogwash]

93. It's on Youtube, Bubba! Get a clue, this ain't 1992! We've got viral videos now, old man!

And you did what you did when you did what you did when you said what you said --

And I know it!!!

[BlueIdaho]

95. Poor Bill

The accusation by former president Clinton - worth an estimated 54 million dollars - that he was "mugged" by a black man running for political office would be laughable if it weren't so insulting. To hell with the Clinton Global Initiative - how about the Bill Clinton tries to act like a human being Initiative.

[DemzRock]

He's right. He was attacked unfairly. Kind of the way the OP is attacking him unfairly...

By implying something is wrong with the word "mugged." He feels he was attacked almost criminally like he was mugged. No racial implication at all. Muggers come from all creeds and colors. And calling Bill a racist is wrong. And a lie.

[Bread and Circus]

103. I didn't say anything about "mugged" being racist or having racial overtones...

Actually, it appears you brought it up before I did because I haven't brought it up at all. I think you are just projecting.

On the other hand I just think it's silly that he acts like he is a "victim" of some sort of "crime". Is he a big baby or what?

[EFerrari]

104. Right. All those unfortunate choices are just accidents!

[DemzRock]

98. Sorry duplicate post.

[MagickMuffin]

99. I'm surprised he didn't use the word "looted" since he was in New Orleans

I expect that to be the term they use when Obama wins some more primaries.

[Mooney]

100. ...

[jackson_dem]

106. Obama's cronies, as usual, resort to the race card at the slightest of opportunity

Where were these complaints when Obama's national co-chair compared Obama to OJ and Hillary to Nicole after Iowa?

[thoughtcrime1984]

112. Well, we can sit here and argue about this all day, but the bottom line

is that a former POTUS has tarnished his image and lost respect in many folks' eyes. At what price does HRC become President? At all costs, apparently, and it still isn't going to happen. Sorry Bill.