CONTEXT

[Stephanie]

"At this point, Barack is the presumptive nominee," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel during the New Yorker's magazine conference.
"Hillary can't win but something could happen that could effect that Barack could lose the nomination."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/09/rahm-emanuel-obama-is-our_n_100992.html

[Joe the Revelator]

1. If she had said that, no one would have blinked...

Well, some may have blinked, but it would have been better then using an assassination to prove her point.

[Stephanie]

2. They've been waiting for something to happen to him.

A Wright blowup, a dead girl or a live boy, or something worse. They've been saying so for a while now. And doing what they could to set up a hostile atmosphere.

[tekisui]

3. She is so politically tone-deaf.

All of the rage, the media feeding frenzy, the apologies and commentaries would have never existed had she not said "We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June..."

She is either an idiot or too politically tone deaf to communicate with America and within the media.

[Cha]

19. Yeah, hilary blew a hole in their game plan

with her big mouth.. And cemented herself out of a vp, although, I'm thinking Obama already told her she couldn't have it and this is his payback.

[marylanddem]

4. Yes, the "something COULD happen" theme

Now it's making sense - her blunder shows us what they've all been speculating about. Ugh, what a bunch of fucking vultures.

[Stephanie]

6. Exactly.

This has been their last ditch argument for staying in. Now we know what they were imagining. Her comment was taken as horrific because they've been setting it up for weeks with this argument that something might happen to him. That's why she's not getting the benefit of the doubt on this one.

[stillcool]

5. The "Catastophic Event"...

...or the hope card...

Clinton campaign on ropes

BY JOHN GUERRIERO
Published: May 08. 2008 6:00AM
Murray, who has supported Bill and Hillary Clinton since 1991, said these are tough times for people like him who are in the Clinton camp but want to unify the party.

"The sense is, absent some catastrophic event that would take place in this campaign, it's going to be very difficult to see a path to victory for Hillary given what happened" Tuesday, Murray said.
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/NEWS02/805080437

Sun May 11, 2008
Analysis: Could Clinton land the VP nomination?

Several Clinton associates say there is still a ray of hope among some in her campaign: that a "catastrophic" revelation about Obama might make it possible for her to win the presidential nomination. But barring that, Hillary and Bill Clinton recognize that her candidacy is being abandoned and rejected by superdelegates whom she once expected to win over and that, even if she were to win the popular vote in combined primary states, she will almost certainly be denied the nomination.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/10/bernstein.clinton/index.html?section=cnn_latest

CBSNews.com Reports: N.Y. Senator Now Faces Nearly Impossible Odds To Capturing Democratic Nomination
May 7, 2008

Clinton's Path To Victory Slipping Away
There is one scenario which does work for Clinton and that’s a massive movement of superdelegates leaving Obama and supporting her. The party leaders could do that, but it would take some unforeseen development in the race between now and the convention for them to do so. Obama, in some way, would have to be rendered so unelectable that the party rejects him at the convention. That’s not much to hang a hat on but it’s starting to look like her best option.

And even that might not be a viable option, said Joe Trippi. “Even if the catastrophic thing existed or happened, if she were perceived to have caused it, I think it would end her campaign too,” Trippi said. I don’t think there’s any way now for her to gain the nomination. She’s at the point now where if she tries to make a case against Obama, it will actually speed up superdelegates joining his cause just to shut the campaign down.”

But Trippi notes that the Obama campaign and Democratic leaders are still likely to give Clinton the room she needs to go forward on her own terms, provided that she does so in a positive manner. “I think there’s lots of tolerance for her going on, running the table into the convention and having a presence there,” he said. “But if she actually tries to compete in the trenches for the nomination in a way that looks like it’s damaging the nominee … I don’t think there will be any tolerance for that at all.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/07/politics/main4078586.shtml

[Stephanie]

Thank you, that's exactly what I'm talking about.

They have been hoping for catastrophe, and HRC spoke the subtext Friday, to everyone's shock and dismay.

[crankychatter]

7. well, assassination IS pretty GD "catastrophic" - nt

.

[dchill]

8. CONTEXT

1.) Rahm is not the candidate.
2.) He didn't use the "A" word.

CONTEXT.

[Stephanie]

12. see stillcool's post above - this has been a Clinton campaign talking point for weeks now

[K Gardner]

9. Good context, Stephanie.

[Stephanie]

11. There's a reason her words were taken literally. They've been setting this up for weeks now.

See the "catastrophic event" quotes above. Pair that with the hostile atmosphere they've been encouraging, as far as I know. Her entreaties that he "can't win" - it's perfectly natural to take her words at face value when she opines that assassinations happen.

[Individualist]

10. The something could happen meme has the stink of DLC all over it.

There's no doubt this despicable tactic originated inside that vile, putrescent organization.

[SoxFan]

14. Don't be an asshole

Show me one scrap of evidence that the DLC had anything to do with this.

[dchill]

13. AFAIK, Edwards is still qualified to be the nominee...

since he suspended his campaign, and there's no reason Hillary couldn't do the same, and still be eligible in the event of some "catastrophe." Is there a flaw in my thinking?

[Stephanie]

17. I think you are correct.

[gulfcoastliberal]

15. K&R - Excellent expose of these sick fucks.

DLCers are pure evil.

[BlueJac]

16. Those damn informed Hillary supporters.....

Are they members of DU?

[Stephanie]

18. I'm sure they are.

Perhaps they will post in this thread and identify themselves.