The only pundits defending Clinton's assassination comments are...wait for it...

[Cant trust em]

Fox News.

I guess her repeated appearances on their network has worked.

[dsc]

1. sorry that just isn't true

I watched MTP today and two of them did defend as well.

[Phx_Dem]

9. I watched MTP too

and didn't see much defense of Clinton. Who defended her undefendable remarks? Just curious.

[Ice-9]

11. Which two on MTP defended them?

I'm listening to MTP as I'm typing this (on tivo, since I didn't wake up until 12 p.m.!), and I don't really hear any of them defending her comments. They all seem to agree that the intended meaning of what Senator Clinton said was simply that primary contests have frequently gone to June. But that's not much of a defense given that (1) the statement "primary contests have frequently gone to June" is disingenuous as a historical matter; and (2) whatever Clinton meant, her choice of words was terrible and reflected a political naivety that is simply astounding for someone who claims to be the more seasoned and experienced candidate. So nothing I'm hearing on MTP really qualifies as a "defense" of what Clinton said.

:shrug:

[K Gardner]

12. Here's the transcript.. and I just posted excerpts. I saw no defense.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24815500/

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6123026

[MissWaverly]

16. hate to say this but the transcript is not always the same

they "airbrush" it later, I saw the Newsweek pundit defending her on the show, it was a "gaffe" not intentional, blah, blah, blah

[MissWaverly]

18. maybe I saw a different one

who knows, the one I saw was comprised of totally of pundits this week with Timmie, there were no interviews per se just the roundtable, I remember Gwen Iffel from the Newshour was there, they had a representative from Newsweek, (he was the one that defended Hillary) and there were at least two others, (oh, one of the others was the historian that wrote on Lincoln). I saw David Brooks on the NewsHour on Friday night, defending her with
it was just exhaustion spiel.

[woolldog]

22. She also blamed the Bosnia gaffe on "exhaustion."

I thought the whole premise of her campaign was being ready to respond to 3am phone-calls? How can she do that effectively when she makes so many mistakes when she's tired?

[MissWaverly]

25. well, yes, and then she doesn't apologize

saying something like "If I traumatized people with my remarks..."

here's some quotes defending her from David Brooks, (NewsHour/PBS) and MTP

DAVID BROOKS, Columnist, New York Times: .. and then we've got Hillary Clinton with the RFK thing. And my own personal belief is she didn't mean it. She was talking about June. She stumbled into the assassination thing. She didn't mean anything by it. You know, she says 100,000 words a day like all the candidates.

I basically think there's nothing to it, doesn't reflect any real views of any of the three what happened today.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june08/brookshields_05-23.html

MR. RUSSERT: Robert Kennedy's son, RFK Jr., issued this statement: "It's clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the race through June. ... I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense."

MR. MEACHAM: (Newsweek)...But I think this is a great example of what our colleague Michael Kinsley called a gaff in Washington. It's when someone tells the truth by accident, and I think this is exactly what Maureen and Gwen were saying. It's not that she wishes him bodily harm, it is that she is counting on cataclysm.

MR. MEACHAM: (Newsweek) Senator Clinton can run until Labor Day if she wants, you know? No, no one's--she keeps talking about people forcing her out. It's a democracy. She's running, she's winning the popular vote, God go with her.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24815500/page/2/

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

29. She's ready at 3 a.m.

It's 7 EST that's giving her trouble.


:think:

[apocalypsehow]

19. That is simply false. Which, when I consider the source, isn't surprising. n/t.

[MissWaverly]

2. David Brooks defended her and there were some on MTP

oh, it was just exhaustion and she HAS more popular votes lie.-MTP

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. exhausted from a full night of sleep, on her first of three events,

in the morning. Uh huh. Yeah, she was too tired to know what she was saying.

[NorthCarolina]

6. What's her excuse for the other two occasions in which she stated it?

eom

[L0oniX]

13. Good thing she wasn't saying that shit on that 3am phone call.

:evilgrin:

[MissWaverly]

20. I have been thinking that too

the campaign trail is much easier than being President where you have to go eyeball to
eyeball with foreign leaders, many of whom would rather spit in your eye than talk to you.
She does not have the inner core, the leadership qualities to be prez. She has the same
I pity me quality that Nixon had which is never a good personality trait for a prez.

[ErinBerin84]

4. yeah, MTP shouldn't have let the "popular vote" lie slip by

the Newsweek guy. But that was also the Newsweek guy who was trying to tell us that McCain is nothing like Bush. MTP was good today. They said that Hillary obviously didn't wish Obama bodily harm, but it was at the least a faux pas to use the word assasination. And presidential scholar Doris Kearns Goodwin smacked down the intellectual dishonesty of both the "my husband didn't get this nomination until June" and the RFK comparison being inappropriate since the primaries started in March. George Snuffy, who obviously worked for the Clinton campaign in 92, also said that Hillary's logic on the Bill Clinton/June comparison was "pure silliness". Heh, George Will also used the "Hillary was fatigued" excuse.

[KSinTX]

7. Amen to that MissWaverly

I am exhausted to my core!

[MissWaverly]

15. read Right is Wrong

What is needed is not the Left Take on this or the Right Take on this but just a simple
this is not what a politician should say.

[Cha]

23. The right wingers are defending hilary like

they defended bush for 8 years..with lies.

[MissWaverly]

26. well, say she was tired well then

she is never going to be tired at the G8 conference or at 3:00 am for the famous phone
call or when there's another earthquake, flood or hurricane in this country or around the
world that needs dealt with.

[EFerrari]

5. I was hoping the Sunday shows wouldn't beat it to death

because the sooner this topic goes away, the better.

[Cant trust em]

8. I take no joy in any gaffegates. NT

[EFerrari]

14. This one in particular isn't an idea we need floating around, in especial.

I don't mean we shouldn't talk about here. But it was sort of a relief that it wasn't repeated over and over again this morning on the talk shows.

edit

[KittyWampus]

10. is there some reason you feel the need to use the word assassination in your thread title?

is it really necessary or are you hoping to get replies by using an inflammatory word?

Be honest.

[Bensthename]

21. Exactly, why use her words ?? That is really weird..

:crazy:

[Cant trust em]

30. I think that your indignation about that word would be best directed at Senator Clinton. NT

[Pisces]

17. I saw Chris Wallace this morning and he looked incredulous and Terry McAuliffe's

spin. I don't think he is buying the b.s.

[otohara]

27. Chris Wallace Has Half A Brain

and anyone with half a brain ain't buying McAwful's numbers, spin etc....Although he was right on about the "anything can happen" statement. Anything did happen, only it happened to his candidate.

[MissWaverly]

28. I actually have begun to feel sorry for him

lately he's been acutely uncomfortable like someone waking up from a hypnotic trance,
the spin is wearing off

[Swamp Rat]

24. LOL!

:D