Hillary is only guilty of a Gaffe at the very worst.

[Geek_Girl]

I honestly can't understand why DU'ers are freaking out over Hillary's comments about the RFK assassination. I watched the video of her interview and it's pretty clear that she was talking about a historical context for her staying in the race through June. The Bobby Kennedy/ McCarthy primary lasted until June.


Comparing her to Ann Coulter and calling her beastly and evil is just ludicrous. I really wish Duer's showed more critical thought.



http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2...


For the record I'm not a Clinton supporter I voted for Obama and I fully support Obama. But I finding this knee jerk reaction ridiculous.

[skooooo]

1. Well then, you are extremely naive.

[shadowknows69]

2. I just can't reconcile that she had any reason to mention his assassination

In this context. There is a pattern of these kind of nebulous statements about "anything can happen" from her campaign.

[Geek_Girl]

7. She was commenting that historically speaking Primaries can go through June

RFK was assassinated in June during his primary. You've completely taking her comments out of context.

[shadowknows69]

11. Well me and about 90% of his board then

[beezlebum]

13. i disagree with your assessment/buying into her excuses for it

it was unnecessary, and it was not the first time she did it.

the context is perfectly clear.

[izquierdista]

16. Historically, yes. Now, no

A big difference. By June 1, 2008, all the primaries will be done; by June 1, 1968 there were several big states still to vote. In addition, it was a 3 man race with Humphrey, McCarthy, and Kennedy all needing lots more delegates. Now, there is a clear leader within striking distance of putting it away and one buzzard circling.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

3. It's a gaffe called "truth"

She's basically admitting that she has no chance of winning, and that she's hanging around the primaries like a vulture hoping that the Obama campaign will implode. Unfortunately, her gaffe was that she used the example of political assassination -- it revealed a dark and really unpleasant part of her psyche -- one that calculates her political gain based on political terrorism.

[Max_powers94]

4. Somethmes a "Gaffe" let others know whats really on your mind n/t

[C_U_L8R]

5. It's not really a gaffe when you repeat it a bunch of times

more like an ill concieved strategy... stupid in fact.
But gaffe... no.

[nichomachus]

6. One of scores of "gaffes." What if she

does this while talking on the phone at 3 a.m? We could end up obliterating someone by accident.

[TexasObserver]

8. Gaffe? No. Self immolating? Definitely.

She has burned herself out.

[livingmadness]

9. I'm with Rachael Maddow on this one ...

She is, after all, the consummate Democrat - really doesn't care who the nominee is, as long as they win! For her this was a Gaffe at best; at worst - well she didn't rule out more sinister intentions.

[dkf]

10. Yeah, well if you don't get it, you don't get it.

If you do get it, the thought of it makes you feel sick in your stomach. Its a visceral reaction, and admittedly it starts with the realization that we might lose Teddy Kennedy, the last of our great Kennedy Lions... And then it goes to the dangers that Obama faces as our first Black Presidential Nominee and how devastated we would feel if something happened to him. And then it moves to Hillary, ascending to the nomination as she planned if something really bad happens to Obama.

As I said, the thought makes me feel ill.

[Geek_Girl]

15. If you watch the interview , the interviewer specifically asks

"Why people want her out the race." She explains she doesn't understand why. That there is a historical precedence for her to stay.

Her husband's primary lasted till June and RFK was assassinated in June during his primary. Thus meaning that primaries in the past have lasted till June. That's the context of this interview I can't comment on anything else, but it's pretty clear what she is meaning here.

[Smarmie Doofus]

29. I agree. She was making a weak argument....

... a critique if you will... challenging the supposition that she needs to bow out so the party has time to unify.

Also, she was prompted along by the interviewer; she would not have even reached the "June" part of the argument had she not been pressed to 'explain' *why* this POV ( i.e. that it was time to get out) persists.

It's true, however, that she had mentioned RFK's death on several other occassions... essentially to fortify the same ( weak; 'weak' 'cause the situation is not comparable to 68 or 92) argument.

I'm done trying to figure her out. I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. I don't see why her being *in* the race or *out* of the race at the time something unfortuanate happened to Sen Obama would make a difference as to whom the party would turn to in that unfortunate event. They might pick her if she's still nominally in the race; it's just as likely, ( no more, no less) seems to me, that they would pick her as the runner up if she had already withdrawn when the unthinkable took place.

I'm for Obama... but I agree that DU is going a bit overboard. It's an ambiguous statement. Suspicious, yes. But we're trying to unite the party behind Obama. ( Remember, folks?) Blowing this up and thereby alienating Clinton people at this point is bad politics as well as being unfair.... based on what we *know* to be true.

He's going to be nominated. She is NOT. Let's be a little generous.

[dkf]

34. Robert F Kennedy evokes emotions. The automatic reaction to bringing up

his campaigning is not to think that it occurred in June, but to remember what ended it.

I'm sure when she was thinking of ways to justify her staying in the race, they researched campaigns that went long. Of all the choices, she picked this one, which has way more meaning than the month in which it occurred.

[Nay]

12. All I can say, then, is that was one HELL of a gaffe. And I thought a

gaffe was something you did only once. If you repeat a gaffe, is it a gaffe?

[dkf]

14. No, then it turns into a Tuzla.

[Orsino]

17. Of course.

But gaffes are the meat the MSM feed on. This time, she's the loser in the sound-bite game.

[cali]

18. it was a gaffe. It was a humdinger of a gaffe though.

It was crass. It was insesnsitive, and the comparison is so faulty it's a lie. The first primary was March 12 in 1968. This year it was over two months earler. Bobby Kennedy didn't enter the race until March 30th. At the time of his death in June of '68, the race was still up in the air. It's just a spurious pretext for continuing, aside from the whole gaffe thing..

[Geek_Girl]

22. I never said Hillary was honest

Just that her comments were taken out of context.

[Webster Green]

19. Here's the deal: She's running for President of the United States..

We don't need another gaffe-filled presidency.

It should be obvious to anyone (including high-priced campaign managers) that such a remark is insensitive (to say the least), and has no place in a campaign. The Clinton's should know better, but they are egomaniacs with only one goal on their minds, and that is to gain more power.

Fuck 'em! :thumbsdown:

[liberalcommontater]

20. Thanks for your judgment.

[BlooInBloo]

21. It's not a gaffe if you do it over and over and over.

[smoogatz]

23. gaffe=unintentional truth-telling

So, she's sticking around in case Obama gets shot. Nope—nothing wrong with that!

Jeebus. I used to be kind of astounded when large numbers of DUers failed to get simple concepts. Not any more.

[Caoimhe]

24. Agreed

I agree with your assessment and here is my take. I call out these faux Democrats who want to roast her over this sound byte.

I support Obama but this is ridiculous. With Ted Kennedy recently being diagnosed with brain cancer, no wonder she had Kennedy's on the brain (no pun intended). How stupid to pick on something that was obviously not intended as a threat. How anyone can even remotely come to that conclusion is beyond me. In sports (especially basketball) there are those athletes who get really skilled at the art of "flopping" to the floor during some perceived push, then moaning and groaning about how hurt they are, hoping to draw a foul. When no foul is forthcoming, they hop up and play like it never happened. Right now, I feel many Hillary haters are doing that very thing. How about talking about real issues instead of this tabloid pablum crap? Does anyone HONESTLY think that Hillary Clinton wants Obama to be assassinated? How incredibly stupid you are if you believe that. Do you also think she eats baby brains for breakfast and sleeps upside down hanging from the ceiling? Don't be the caricature the Republicans would love to paint you as.

[Smarmie Doofus]

I agree with your agree; but.....

>>>I support Obama but this is ridiculous. With Ted Kennedy recently being diagnosed with brain cancer, no wonder she had Kennedy's on the brain (no pun intended). >>>>

...she made essentially the same assertion about RFK in at least three other interviews before EMK's tumor became known.

[Celebration]

25. yeah, we all take this differently

My husband and I actually disagree about what she meant with her remark, and both of us are astonished with the other.

Finally, I figured out the difference. He gives people the benefit of the doubt far more than I do. I feel that there are about 10% of humans that are completely sociopathic, and another ten or fifteen percent partially sociopathic. Finally, Clinton has given me enough clues to put her into at least the partially sociopathic category.

My husband continues to believe that everyone has the same basic motivations as he does, unless they are convicted of murder or something. And, neither of us like Clinton. It is just the different ways we see the world.

[last1standing]

26. No. She is guilty of exploiting someone else's gaffe at best.

Hillary wasted no time in sucking the blood out of the "bitter" comment and several of her supporters here were only too glad to jump in the mud and wallow. Now the very same posters are screaming for calm.

That is what disgusts me.

[4themind]

27. I think to many this is ALREADY a gaffe

at least given one dictionary definition of "1.)A clumsy social error; a faux pas <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gaffe> I would think that her apology yesterday was a recognition of that as well,but people can disagree with that
Her comment, on its face, can be interpreted as either suggesting that
1.)She's staying IN the race because obama may be assassinated and at that point it'd be easier for her to take on the mantle than otherwise (I am not saying that IS what she is saying but merely that this can't be eliminated as a possibility at least based upon the structure of her sentence. She made NO mention of the primary at the time, only the assasination, which suggest that the assassination may be what she was referring to in terms of staying in the race in her statement.

2.)A historical reference (she could have said Kennedy was still running for the primary when he suffered that terrible tragedy, which even still may have been seen as not being sensitive to the kennedy's at this time (not to mention it's less than two weeks away from the 40th anniversary of the murder) There were definitely other examples, I think it was a relative bad choice at an inopportune time for her, and I think even she will admit that at this point.

So IMO this is considered as a gaffe AS IS because her sentence structure, in the minds of many, does not sufficiently give them reason to eliminate "number 1" (although based upon her situation and prior history I don't think she would have anything to gain from this). So I think it is a gaffe but it could be a historical reference at best or a ghastly innuendo at WORST. (and I've been critical of obama when he has failed to do this as well) I won't claim to be a mind reader but I will excoriate her based upon my feeling of how a president should be with their words. Also saying it,at a time like this for the kennedy's shows a shocking inattention to their potential sensitivities in my view (and that means what EVERYONE in the family thinks, not just RFK jr. his brother may have just as strong ties to him , let's see how he reacts to this before it's just brushed of). For everyone who doubts the recklessness of these comments (even if there was no malicious intent to obama), think if you were in HIllary's position and you DIDN't know how ted would react at a time like this?(potential deadly diagnosis on the 40th anniversary of his brother being killed) Would you risk saying it anyway just to prove a political point? If I wouldn't I won't excuse others for it.

[RBInMaine]

28. STUPID STUPID STUPID thing to say !! And, she is ALSO alluding to potential catastrophes that could

affect the race in the endgame. Don't for one second think she isn't. Her campaign has said time and again that they are staying in because "ANYTHING" can happen, and that means "ANYTHING."

[AngryOldDem]

30. I don't know where to begin.

If you think she was merely referencing the primary system in 1968, then you really need a course in reading between the lines, as well as one in history.

But whatever. Continue to believe what you want.

[progetto]

31. more than dry references to history

Hillary's comments came off as inappropriately absorbed with the idea of becoming the nominee based on assignation. I had the sense she's thought about it far to much.

For her own sake, Hillary should wrap up her campaign and get some needed rest.

[catgirl]

32. Remeber when she went after Kerry for his "joke"

(she was killing his chances before he even announced)... Her comment,
however, is MUCH worse than his. Hers shows her camps true strategy.

[NorthCarolina]

33. Stating she is staying in the race because Obama might be assassinated is only a "gaffe"?

Please tell me you were only kidding when you posted that. I'm sure you must have simnply forgotten to add that sarcasm thingy to your post...right? Her statement is inexcusable. As a Black American candidate with a real chance for attaining POTUS he is likely already a target by some nutcase bigot extremest, surely she has to realize that her words Do Matter. There is no excusing the inexcusable.

[Geek_Girl]

35. Your taking her comments out of context

She was saying that she does not understand why she's being pushed out of the race. There is a historical precedence for her too stay in the race till June because other primaries have gone on through June.

[NorthCarolina]

36. That is an awfully naive take on her words IMHO

but if it works for you then hey, who am I to argue the point with you. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

[catgirl]

37. Because she lost and can't accept it