Hillary's gaffe
By Libby
Having read through billions of bytes from Hillary supporters endlessly parsing every stray remark of Obama's and proclaiming it 'proves' his unfitness for office, it's tempting to join in the pile on over Clinton's unfortunate reference to Bobby Kennedy's assassination. But I've tried for the most part to avoid this on both sides of the fence and I'm not going to condemn or excuse this one. You could spend the day reading through all the links or you just read Joe Gandelman's roundup. I recommend the latter. He does his usual excellent job of compiling a cross section of views.
For myself, I only find it interesting in terms of the greater pattern of incendiary remarks Clinton has been making in the last week or so. I think it's telling that Obama has moved beyond the partisan sniping of the primary and has turned his focus on the GOP while Clinton continued to pound her talking points on electability. An argument made more difficult despite her strong showing in the last few tiny states by Obama's ability to draw massive crowds to rallies and his overwhelmingly superior fundraising from small donors.
I don't believe she intended to incite violence against Obama and I don't care to speculate whether the Kennedy remark was calculated or simply an inadvertent gaffe born of fatigue. I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. It's been a long campaign. But I've been pondering her strategy on threatening to take the fight to the convention in the face of the growing call for party unity.
The media and most of the bloggers have been largely ignoring her for a couple of weeks but with her latest series of outrageous comparisons relative to the MI-FL votes she was suddenly capturing the news cycle again. As the old saying goes, there's no such thing as bad press as long as they spell your name right. I'm truly hoping all this tough talk about fighting to the bitter end is just a tactic to maximize her returns in the few remaining contests so she can exit the race on a high note and allow the party to regroup for the larger battle.
I agree. A gaffe from candidates who are on the record 18 hours a day.
But then, considering Hillary went immediately to the worst possible interpretation of the "bitter" comment and then rode the "he's an elitist" horse for all it was worth, which in that case was at least 5 of her 9 point win in Pennsylvania, I think she has no reasonable right to expect that she should unilaterally be given the benefit of the doubt in this case.
Actually, I think the the Obama campaign should be praised for not exploiting this like they could. May the graciousness spread.
Posted by: The Other Ed | May 24, 2008 at 01:20 PM
Ed, I'd agree that Obama has shown much more class in failing to take unfair advantage of these missteps than Hillary has and that she doesn't necessarily deserve a pass because of her own tactics but it's better to take the high road on these things.
I think Obama's greater restraint is partly why he's been so successful in selling his change message.
Posted by: Libby | May 24, 2008 at 01:35 PM
Hi Libby. Another Libby has the best article I've seen on it:
She needs to get out. Now. She just forfeited the right to "finish the race" and "wait till all the votes have been counted" and all that other happy horseshit. She needs to leave today. And the superdelegates need to declare this weekend. This must end immediately.Posted by: Dan | May 24, 2008 at 01:46 PM
Hey Dan. Good article and points well taken but we only have a couple of more weeks to get through and then every state will have had their moment in the sun. That hasn't happened in my memory and I think it justifies keeping it going to the end. I do hope she tones down the rhetoric though with an eye toward unifying the party after these last couple of races are done.
I'd agree that the SDs need to step forward asap after that though in order to maximize the healing time. A few more statements like this and the in-fighting will never end.
Posted by: Libby | May 24, 2008 at 02:39 PM
I'm not saying the states shouldn't have their moment in the sun, just that Hillary shouldn't be part of it. She went way beyond the pale on this. What do you think is an appropriate reation for the party? Saying "it's almost over, let it finish" just brings to mind another unhappy term we seem resigned to waiting out. If raising the specter of assassination in these circumstances doesn't disqualify her as a serious candidate then what would? I mean that literally - what would she have to do at this point to make you say "that's it - she needs to go"?
Posted by: Dan | May 24, 2008 at 02:51 PM
"I only find it interesting in terms of the greater pattern of incendiary remarks ..."
Agree. The kind of thoughtlessness and even desperation she's been showing is not something one wants in a leader.
The only plus I can see for dragging this out is evidence of increasing support for Obama. Take what's happened in California. Look at the signs of approval he's now getting from formerly intransigent Cuban exiles. In this awful stretch of time where Hillary just gets worse and worse and mid-June seems very far away, Obama is proving that he can get substantial support quite apart from the steady flow super-d support.
I don't think Hillary's hanging in there is doing her much good. She's beginning to look like a nutcase and worse. As Joe Gandelman writes: "It’s all boiling down to a massive case on the part of many Americans of Clinton fatigue. No. This isn’t woman-running-for-President fatigue or bigotry — but Clinton fatigue."
PS: Thanks to Dan (above) for the link!
Posted by: PW | May 24, 2008 at 03:42 PM
Dan she ceased being a serious candidate a long time ago and the only reason she's still in the race is on her name recognition and the chits she or should I say they, accumulated in a long career in politics. Personally, I wish she had gracefully conceded a long time ago so I could have at least maintained some respect for her political acumen. I never liked the Clintons, but I did respect them until recently. There's no question in my mind that she should not be on the ticket in any manner. I just don't see the point in making an issue of it at this stage of the game.
PW, I think you're right, she's hurting herself more than she's hurting the party right now. The longer she stays in and continues looking desperate for the win, the more fatigued the low info public will become with the Clinton brand.
Posted by: Libby | May 24, 2008 at 07:25 PM
As Copeland wrote, "we certainly don't need anybody to remind whatever suggestible wackos might be lurking in the shadows." That's why we should make an issue of it even at this late point. She has made it clear she won't go with dignity, so no good can come of her continuing. The harm she does outweighs the good, so why go on for another day?
Even if you think she doesn't have a path to the nomination any more, what would it take for you to think even this "going through the motions" type activity should end? Is she excused in saying anything at this point because her campaign is a formality?
I'm enjoying the exchange by the way and I hope you think it's being respectfully done.
Posted by: Dan | May 24, 2008 at 08:20 PM
I always enjoy your thoughts and company Dan. I guess the point is that it doesn't matter what anyone says or thinks, she's not going anywhere. One can only hope the blowback from this will quiet her down for the duration. In any event, I'm thinking the SDs and what passes for leadership are the only ones that can stop her.
At this point, I'm just trying to figure out a way to reach out to her supporters. Many of the people who seem to have lost their perspective are women whom I love and respect. I don't want to let a politician ruin that.
Posted by: Libby | May 25, 2008 at 09:04 AM
most of the bloggers have been largely ignoring her for a couple of weeks
The previous three days on Ballon Juice, a blog I think you visit:
May 22nd:
May 21:
May 20:
Facts. Troublesome things. Maybe.
Posted by: empty | May 25, 2008 at 01:45 PM