Bill Clinton's tirade stunned some delegates

[powergirl]

Why is he doing this to fellow Democrats? This is all about the Clintons. Not the party. Not the Country. Maybe Mr. Scaife can help persuade those pesky superdelegates.

"The Bill Clinton who met privately with California's superdelegates at last weekend's state convention was a far cry from the congenial former president who afterward publicly urged fellow Democrats to "chill out" over the race between his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Barack Obama.

In fact, before his speech Clinton had one of his famous meltdowns Sunday, blasting away at former presidential contender Bill Richardson for having endorsed Obama, the media and the entire nomination process.

"It was one of the worst political meetings I have ever attended," one superdelegate said.

According to those at the meeting, Clinton - who flew in from Chicago with bags under his eyes - was classic old Bill at first, charming and making small talk with the 15 or so delegates who gathered in a room behind the convention stage.

But as the group moved together for the perfunctory photo, Rachel Binah, a former Richardson delegate who now supports Hillary Clinton, told Bill how "sorry" she was to have heard former Clinton campaign manager James Carville call Richardson a "Judas" for backing Obama.

It was as if someone pulled the pin from a grenade.

"Five times to my face (Richardson) said that he would never do that," a red-faced, finger-pointing Clinton erupted.

The former president then went on a tirade that ran from the media's unfair treatment of Hillary to questions about the fairness of the votes in state caucuses that voted for Obama. It ended with him asking delegates to imagine what the reaction would be if Obama was trailing by just 1 percent and people were telling him to drop out.

"It was very, very intense," said one attendee. "Not at all like the Bill of earlier campaigns."

When he finally wound down, Bill was asked what message he wanted the delegates to take away from the meeting.

At that point, a much calmer Clinton outlined his message of party unity.

"It was kind of strange later when he took the stage and told everyone to 'chill out,' " one delegate told us.

"We couldn't help but think he was also talking to himself."

When delegate Binah - still stunned from her encounter with Clinton - got home to Little River (Mendocino County) later in the day - there was a phone message waiting for her from State Party Chairman Art Torres, telling her the former president wanted him to apologize to her on his behalf for what happened.

Still, word of Clinton's blast shot all the way back to the New Mexico state Capitol, where Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley reiterated Tuesday that his boss had never "promised or guaranteed" Bill and Hillary his endorsement."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/02/BAVNVU2PJ.DTL&type=printable



:wow:

[Alter Ego]

1. I can't help thinking that this is just reinforcing Richardson's idea

that his choice was the right one--it has exposed his former boss' true nature.

Bill, I used to like and respect you. What the fuck, man?

[NDambi]

20. "Bill, I used to like and respect you. What the fuck, man?"

Exactly. What the fuck?!

[crikkett]

44. No no no no no. Cut some slack for a man with serious health problems

People with heart problems are on meds that cause that sort of outburst. His red face indicates continuing heart problems. I hope he survives the campaign.

[izzybeans]

2. Gee I wonder why he backed out of his support.

:sarcasm:

With friends like these...sheesh.

[formercia]

3. Billy's Big Button just got pushed

Loyalty is everything. He must have learned that from Poppy.

[City Lights]

4. "Trailing by 1%?"

Bill, you need to chill out and brush up on your math skills.

[KittyWampus]

11. that's what I saw. In what alternate universe does Hillary trail by 1%?

[dkf]

5. Oh my. I guess it is a bad idea to ask Bill about Richardson.

:nuke:

[terrell9584]

6. He gave the country the best times that it has ever had

and was the first Democratic president since Johnson to have a landslide that touched all areas of the country.

The only reason we are even having this election is because of a constitutional amendment post FDR. If that amendment had not existed Clinton could have run again in 2000, would have won, probably woulda won again in 2004 and we would still be enjoying our greatest prosperity ever.

[powergirl]

12. Which is why this is so sad

and such a tragedy. The Clinton campaign has been a disgrace and tarnishes President Clinton's record. I defended Bill Clinton for 8 years and believe he was a great president. He's not so great anymore because he will risk the stability of our party for personal gain. Disgusting. :puke:

[Voltaire]

14. Landslide???

What he got is called a PLURALITY, which is far, far from a landslide. Let's not get caught up in mispokements shall we?

[terrell9584]

23. In this country, the method of election is by electoral vote

And Clinton did well enough in enough states that represented the diversity and range of cultures in the United States.

370 and 379 respectively.

[TheDoorbellRang]

42. And yet, he never broke 50% in wooing the voters

He won by 43% in '92 because the Republicans split up between Bush and Perot. In '96 it was 49-40% in Clinton's favor.

[spotbird]

17. Ronald Reagan would have run

again in 1988, and won.

There is no way to say how the world would be. Times were good under Clinton, he did use negotiation internationally. But he did set in motion some policies which eventually turned out to be disastrous such as banking reform, welfare reform and NAFTA.

[Ron Green]

39. Not the mention the Telecommunications Act.

That one is biting us harder than most people will ever realize.

[KittyWampus]

22. Clinton was lucky to preside over the Tech Bubble. He fucked us over with Bank Deregulation,

Media Consolidation and he swept Iran/Contra under the rug thus allowing the NeoCons to regroup and steal Gore and Kerry's election.

Under his watch, the Democratic Party nearly died off.

Clinton was better than Reagan and Bush. But that is setting the bar very low.

[Cassandra]

28. Probably not.

We still would have had to deal with the dotcom bubble, although Clinton would have dealt with it better than Bush and we wouldn't be mired in Iraq. But the idea that the good times would have run forever or will come back if Hillary wins is wishful thinking. Those good times are not coming back (NAFTA didn't help) and someone who can inspire us to come together (and who sees that as important) might be more useful in the near future than we can see now.

[blm]

30. BULL! BushInc grew STRONGER in the 90s because Clinton protected them and their agenda

when he deep-sixed all the outstanding matters of their criminal operations in IranContra, Iraqgate, BCCI and CIA drugrunning throughout the 90s.

BushInc should have been in JAIL by the end of 1994 and instead they were progressing with their fascist agenda and planning their return to the WH, while the Dems were turning over control of Capitol Hill to the GOPs.

Gee - and it only cost Jackson Stephens HOW MUCH to groom and underwrite the primary campaign of the governor of Arkansas?

[Window]

38. Do you honestly think he could have won after the Lewinsky debacle???

I, too, defended Bill Clinton and his presidency forever, which is why it's so sad to see this side of him.

[YDogg]

7. I can't help but think how much better his presidency would have been had he showed self-control.

I lost respect for him years ago.

[tabasco]

8. So if somebody hires you to do a job, and you do a great job for them,

do you owe the employer loyalty for life?

This makes no sense to me.

The Clintons have been corrupted by power and wealth.

Their weak character has caused this downfall.

Classic Shakespearean tragedy.

[LakeSamish706]

9. I really think that this election is taking a bigger toll on Bill than any of his own did.....

Physically, I don't think that he is/has been up to this schedule. Just saying. (Giving him the benefit of the doubt)

[dkf]

15. Bill is not used to losing. And I'm sure losing does take a toll on a person.

[catgirl]

10. Who would want these people in the White House?

Egomaniacs who can't relate to people. To act like this in front of the
SDs that you're trying to woo? I don't think so Bill.

[JVS]

13. Classic! I think they're cracking!

GOBAMA!

[BeyondGeography]

16. Sounds bipolar

It's a problem.

http://www.ecureme.com/emyhealth/data/Bipolar_Disease.asp

[Frustratedlady]

18. Everytime I see Bill act like this, I wonder how strongly he backs Hillary?

It's almost as though he is throwing roadblocks in the way for Hillary to win the nomination. Perhaps, subconsciously, he doesn't really want her to get the job? Show him up? Too much Monica flashback?

Maybe he doesn't have the fight in him anymore. He probably should stay off the campaign trail, as he does more harm than good. JMVHO

[marshall]

24. It is hard to imagine he is not undermining her

Except for the fact that he is tarnishing his own image just as much or more than he is messing with Hillary's. It's really bad for him because I don't think he will live long enough to see his reputation rehabilitated. This whole campaign has been a total fiasco for both the Clintons.

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

35. At least he is only losing it in private (mostly).

She has been apoplectic right on our TV screens.

So if he is sabotaging her campaign, then what is she doing? Not questioning your premise, just expanding it to ask the question of her too. So, my conclusion is that they really are apoplectic about an up.... person.

Wonder why they don't recall that Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and yes, Bill Richardson, all with far more real experience than her, went from the scene so graciously?

[Cassandra]

36. Perhaps Bill Clinton counseled Hillary to wait for this year...

instead of running in 2004 and is angry at himself for having given her bad advice? Often people who are angry are also angry with themselves.

[blm]

37. How could she have won in 2004? Pre-Katrina press was still in 'protect Bushboy' mode.

And it is not exactly like her political team actually HAS its shit together for a primary let alone a general against Bush and Rove at their most powerful.

Plus - people seem to forget that Hillary AND Bill sided with Bush over his decision to invade Iraq, unlike Kerry who was against the decision since weapon inspections were already proving force was not needed.

How would Hillary have differentiated herself? She wouldn't even side with Kerry's call for Rumsfeld to go after Abu Ghraib.

[saltpoint]

19. If at this point in the nomination contest Mrs. Clinton's surrogates are

throwing temper-tantrums over endorsements, the notion that she is an "ideas candidate" comes under great strain.

Which is to say, if your candidacy is fueled on political resentments as much as this one is, it's not fueled enough by ideas as it needs to be, which might suggest that entitlement tipped the scales at the expense of issues early on. If you don't plan past Feb. 5th because you think you've got it wrapped up, the result is this bitter vaccum in which a former president and Congresswoman et al are race-baiting and ankle-snipping at other Democrats.

Obama's is an ideas campaign, whether you like him or not or whether I like him or not (I like him a lot). Hers isn't. It never was.

Mrs. Clinton's surrogates in this primary race have been abominable failures.

[JTFrog]

21. Why does he care? Richardson doesn't count.

Neither do caucuses.
Neither do red states.
Neither do small states.
Neither do young voters.
Neither do black voters (post SC).
And only half of Texas counts (not the caucus half).

[TahitiNut]

25. Some folks have a very strange idea of "loyalty" ... like the Mafia.

Take several people like Bill Richardson ... people able to find jobs in the private sector paying far more. They take a cabinet position and work to make the President look good and do the difficult job of administering a huge budget and vast bureaucracy in a manner that matches the lip service that President has peddled. They do the job with the full knowledge that the President will get the lion's share of the credit, no matter how hard they have to work to keep him from making a fool of himself. (Yeah ... I know this is idealized ... but close to the truth more often than not.)

So, now that Bill Richardson is a Governor and helped make the Clinton Adminstration successful - even though BIll couldn't keep his pants zipped - Bill Clinton shows his gratitude for that SERVICE by bad-mouthing the guy for not backing his WIFE???

WTF??

Since when is SERVING the same as swearing FEALTY?? (Fucking monarchical bullshit!)

:grr:

[stevedeshazer]

34. What TahitiNut said.

Richardson is nothing if not a realist.

And, yeah, the guy has been a public servant for decades when he could make a lot more money as a former cabinet official in the private sector, as most former Secretaries of Whatever do.

Remember when so many here swooned over Bill the "Big Dog"? He's swiftly becoming a pariah here, and for good reason. He has no one to blame but himself.

And yes, I've been criticizing him since 1995 or so over NAFTA and GATT and this globalization bullshit that's been killing the middle class ever since.

[formercia]

43. Bush school of political manners

He's been hanging around Poppy too much.

[asjr]

26. Damn! It's so dangerous being human.

[shellgame26]

27. Irony is a bitch

Barack Obama is the same age that Bill Clinton was when he ran for president. He also used a similar message of choosing hope over the politics of fear. He appealed to the younger and new voters. Could Bill's meltdown be that he might be a closet Obama supporter?

[Kber]

45. Now that would be a hoot and a half!

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

29. Listened to Richardson on Imus the other day,

Richardson said the only one that would call from the Obama Camp was Obama, every few days.

With Hillary is was all the time calling, and not from just her and Bill, but 70 more of the Camp workers. That sounds like harassment to me.

Super delegates are getting Harassed by the Clintons.

dumbdumbdumb.

[4themind]

31. I used to have some fears about clinton being the nominee

now I also have fears (for the party) about what will happen if she is not...

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

33. Same here.

They are just Toxic.

[C_U_L8R]

32. Can't deal with rejection

oh poor baby

[DarienComp]

40. Okay... this is bordering on unstable to me. Frankly, it's kind of scary.

[karynnj]

41. This sounds like the Clinton who over reacted to Chris Wallace in 2006

and who has had a blow up like this every month. He is also patently dishonest. The primary is a race for delegates, where Obama has about 13% more than she does. It is insane that the media does not call him on the change of metric - especially when that metric makes no sense as the underlying contests are not the same.

How many posts here noted the comments of the Bush cousins that W always changed the rules as they played. This usually led to a series of posts saying this presaged his behavior as President. Yet, there are Democrats willing to constantly change the game to one the Clintons could win. The height of this was Bayh suggesting that we look at the sum of the electoral delegates of the states each won.

I don't think HRC should pull out, but saying she is 1% behind is just not true. Attacking people like Richardson in public like this is just immature.

[undeterred]

46. Does he know he is a former president and not GOD?

:shrug: