A Talking Point Gone Awry - or - Hillary Pens Her Own Political Obituary: Blogosphere Reaction

K Gardner

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Sat May-24-08 10:59 AM
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A Talking Point Gone Awry - or - Hillary Pens Her Own Political Obituary: Blogosphere Reaction

Edited on Sat May-24-08 11:04 AM by K Gardner

How are Democrats feeling today? You won't hear it on cable news, where the punditry are already closing ranks to protect their primary race ratings extravaganza by passing off Clinton's comment as something uttered because the candidate was "exhausted, tired, campaigns are grueling". Nevermind that this begs the question of how would this woman stand up to the extraordinary rigors of a 24/7, 365 days/year job of being President if she continues to make horrid Bosnia-sniper-Zimbabwe-Election 2000-Assassination "gaffes" because of her 'campaign' and a tight schedule.

No, the real horror of this is that in the glaring light of day the reactions of Real People in the Democratic Party are spreading like wildfire over progressive blogs and show no signs of abating, no matter how much the media and the few Hillary supporters remaining want them to. My prediction is that by Monday or Tuesday, Hillary Clinton will concede the Primary Race to Barack Obama.

Huffington Post - Approaching 7,000 comments in less than 24 hours, 103 pages of reader responses. Sampling below:

fouchnickens

Does Hillary Clinton wish physical ill will or violence towards Obama? The ultimate answer would have to be no. The ultimate answer would have to be no, as she does not possess the leadership characteristics needed to operate in the fashion he has; and that possibility would more than likely send African American voters to other progressive parties -- or back to the Republican party, which has counted on the black vote longer than the Democratic party has. The backlash to such an event would be permanent damage on a nation that is already searching for socio-economic soul in a time of war.

However, Senator Clinton is well aware of the power of suggestion. A continually reported finding at the beginning of the campaign was that blacks were wary in backing Obama because of the possibility of assassination; once black voters were assured of Obama's cross ethnic appeal, only then did they make the leap of faith to give him as equal a hearing as blacks had done with white candidates.

Repetition of voter fears serves as a subtle, psychological red flag: what you fear will happen. It serves as white-gloved intimidation -- always politely received, and if one dares to point out the velvet hammer for what it is, one is branded as impolitic. A Yale graduate would certainly be well-versed in such tactics -- as would any high schooler in the US.

To those who think we are overreacting:

She said this today when in the last couple of weeks there have been stories about the Secret Service investigating their own for joking about the potential assassination of Jesse Jackson and his wife, a newspaper cover with Obama in a gun sight, an article about people saying to hang that blackie from a tree and Huckabee's tasteless joke about Obama ducking for cover at an NRA rally. This coming from the woman who played on her new-found base's love of guns, in the part of the country that overwhelmingly despises Obama, by sending out flyers with his picture overlapping a rifle.

You can think that there is nothing to her comments but someone running for President cannot say something like this without the wrong person getting the wrong idea. Whether she called anyone to arms or not, someone will think she has.

I think this was a behind-closed-doors strategy that she slipped out in public. She gave a long pause after that statement as if she knew she just sealed her own fate. But at this point she needs to care more about the fate of Senator Obama. Her "apology" didn't calm my fears or the thousands of others posting here. So what does her lack of true remorse say to the person who is just crazy enough to think that Hillary told him to do it? That is my fear. And it should be all of our fear.

Roboto

Nobody really knows what is going on inside somebody else's head. It is odd that she chose that particular year when there are other examples to choose from. And don't forget, she said the same thing in March, so it wasn't a slip of the tongue. It was a talking point. Surely if so many interpret it as having ominous meaning, she and her campaign staff must have realized the import of what she has been saying.

For those of us who suspect she is something of a narcissistic sociopath, based on many bizarre behaviors, statements, twisting of reality, irrational justifications for continuing her doomed campaign, cannot give her the benefit of the doubt.

You know, there are many people who are smart, capable, forceful and charismatic, who do suffer from personality disorder.

Aleka4

Well the worst of it is this: think about what she's been doing for the past few weeks.

1: Shes been stoking the racial animosity in order to pander to the bigots, and made it socially acceptable to BE racists - they are now a "valued voting bloc!" this is rightfully offensive to anyone who doesn't live in the appalachians.
2: Shes been telling them that Obama has been mocking them, thus invoking the uppity black man.
3: Shes been inciting the faux feminists and Taylor Marsh freaks by crying phantom sexism AND having Ferraro - a powerful symbol of feminism cry it too - so the militant females have been stoked.
4: Shes been making a huge deal about inciting FL and MI by comparing Obama to a corrupt politician in zimbabwe - and now busloads of her deluded supporters are going to go "demonstrate"

So...after whipping ALL these people into a frenzy of outrage - she "accidently" invokes the A word. It is no wonder it is getting attention. You don't stoke people like this then mention that you don't want to drop out because people get assassinated in June.

You people defending this - shame on you. you are either as morally corrupt as she is, or extremely deluded. That word should -never- have come out of her mouth and especially not after her most recent antics.

She should be tossed right out of the contest AND the party AND her senate seat. Thats my opinion.

northcan

I don't find this surprising, but do find it disgusting and deplorable. This woman is not woman. She is not human, she is not compassionate. All thru this campaign, the racist remarks, the lack of insight, intolerance, unethical behavior has upset many, incited many, and wronged many. There is nothing to compare this woman to, no party has stood beside a man or woman this vicious, volitle in history. I compare her to 'the black widow'. She is not playing with a full deck when she has a entourage around her and still screws up. People don't like her for a reason, and it's not a petty one. It's the danger she portrays with everone she associates with, or comes in touch with or against. Please voters, this woman has no place on a Democrat ticket. She is clearly evil, and should not be in charge of anyone let alone anything.

M.S. Bellows, Jr.

And Bill Clinton actually believes Obama should take this woman as his running mate?

George Bush failed at everything he ever tried: oil businesses that were bought out (at huge gains to him) by men who owed favors to his father and needed tax writeoffs anyway; trading A-Rod for some guys that were back in the minors a couple years later; debts in Texas govt. It's one thing to elect a businessman; it's another to elect a bad businessman.

Hillary Clinton flunked her first bar exam. She got her job in Arkansas because Bill was Governor. Her health care plan failed because she designed it behind closed doors and alienated her own party. She voted for the Iraq war. And her campaign has been one disaster after another: she banked too much on large donors instead of developing a grassroots donor base; underutilized the Internets; didn't plan past Super Tuesday; chose the wrong advisors, and had to jettison them partway through; made insulting references to hardworking white Americans; and not ran her campaign's budget into the ground, but didn't even pay her staff's health insurance premiums, giving a great talking point to her opponents. Snipergate.

And now this. Was it just a mistake? Sure. But do we want someone who makes this many mistakes? Sometimes someone who keeps making mistakes is just that -- a person who is going to KEEP making mistakes, and therefore shouldn't be trusted with certain offices.

kee

Hillary Clinton's explanation does not wash. She meant exactly what she said. Her one and only chance at becoming president in 2008, is for somebody out there to assassinate the presumptive nominee of the Democrtic party. Make no mistake about it. Clinton, her husband, her strategists and others close to her, have held these discussions. That is why it slipped off her tongue so easily and guiltlessly. Clinton isn't sorry for what she said. She meant every word of it. That half-hearted, if you were offended speech was quite underwhelming. Clinton has some very dark thoughts in her heart and every American should find that extremely alarming.

Superdelegates have a duty to this country, its nominee and their own consciences, to do the right thing and end this!

Daily Kos: All featured diaries on Front Page reflect Hillary's Remarks, Responses total around 3,000

Hillary Clinton Downs the Political Hemlock - P.M. Carpenter, Buzzflash

Both sides would agree that what she said was a damn stupid and inexcusable thing to say. Period.

Excluding Mr. Olbermann's, initial reaction from the universe of cable punditry, which presented a mixture of the above, was a fascinating thing to watch. They were the Astaires of commentary, dancing with unprecedented grace around the obvious.

From Chris Matthews to E.J. Dionne to John Harwood to Rachel Maddow, cable's voices of authorized observation intoned, one after another, that they just couldn't bring themselves to believe that Hillary had in mind the happy prospect of triumph through elimination, rather than the chronological lethargy of past primary seasons.

Only the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson -- based, that is, on my circumscribed viewing -- finally encountered reality in a rousing flurry of disgust and disbelief.

To paraphrase Robinson: What in God's name are you people talking about? She said it. It's right there on tape. "Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June." What other interpretation or spin could one possibly put on it? She was saying, point blank and in plain English, that it's not nearly too late. Stuff happens, dear troops, so don't give up hope.

A few years ago, when I was engaged in research for a historical manuscript on American demagoguery and the rise of the New Right, a wise rhetorical studies professor offered me this advice: Don't assign motive when none is clearly stated. Don't play psychiatrist or psychohistorian.

Or, at least I, said the professor, can tell you that we rhetorical studies professionals have stopped doing so. All we can know is what a politician says. Why he or she said it is beyond our scope. Only what is said can be competently analyzed.

One cannot traverse the blogosphere this morning, through the myriad of conservative, moderate or most liberal left, without stumbling over the outrage of tens of thousands at Hillary's stunning analogy - one that was planned and scripted; which never should have been penned into a talking point; never should have been uttered. It is the exclamation point of a campaign already too long and too heavily mired in fear and division. The only bright ray in this darkest of political days is this: Hillary Clinton and her team, in their ruthless and evil scheming to play on the worst instincts and fears of voters, may have inadvertantly penned her own political obituary. It comes not a moment too soon.