Short Sighted Hillary May Cut Her Own Throat
The other day, when Hillary Clinton was asked on the program "60 Minutes" whether she believed Barack Obama was a Muslim, Clinton said:
"No. No. Why would I? No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know."
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert called that "one of the sleaziest moments of the campaign to date" in a column he published yesterday, since there is absolutely no evidence that Obama is a Muslim, and Clinton knows that all too well.
This, of course, is not the first time, Clinton, a Machiavellian if there ever was one, or her campaign has managed to slip something pruriently suggestive into the primaries mix.
The Clinton campaign has suggested through surrogates there is something more to be discovered about Obama's acknowledged youthful use of drugs. Her husband suggested in South Carolina that white voters might respond to black votes for Obama by voting in a backlash for Hillary. Last week, campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson compared Obama to Ken Starr.
These are all low blows, and, besides, the Clintons may be cutting their own throats by using such tactics in their grab for a renewal of power.
Why is this so? Because, after the prejudiced way in which Clinton has been conducting her campaign, resentment is sure to build in the black and liberal communities. Millions of these people may be inclined, if Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, to either stay at home in November or cross over and vote for John McCain, if he makes an adept independent appeal.
True, Clinton has been hinting this past week that she might ask Obama to be her vice presidential running mate, should she win the nomination. Assuming this is not just more bushwa from the Clintons, it might be asked, if she actually did this, and Obama accepted, just how she could advertise he wasn't ready for the presidency and at the same time agree to put him just a heartbeat away from it.
In an article for Flashreport.Org by Shawn Steel, the author points out that no matter who wins the Democratic nomination, Hillary or Obama, there are liable to be deep racial divisions in the Democratic party.
Specifically, he is talking about tensions between Latinos and blacks. He postulates that if Clinton wins the nomination, the blacks will stay home, while if Obama wins, many Latinos either will stay home or cross over to vote for McCain. Latinos have been instrumental in Clinton's primary victories in California, Arizona and Texas.
Either way, it throws a complication into Democratic prospects for the fall, even though, in a special election in a normally Republican congressional district in Illinois yesterday, a suburban area west of Chicago, a Democrat won. This provided reinforcement for the notion this is a Democratic year.
It is more likely to be one, however, if Clinton stops talking about Obama in such a negative way. In the last two weeks, she has said a lot of things that McCain can recycle in the fall, of Obama captures the Democratic nomination.
The Clintons are not exactly clean. There has always been something of L'll Abner's Dogpatch in the Clinton makeup. Now, Bill Clinton's philandering has been mixed with Hillary Clinton's unfairly suggestive remarks. I'm glad they are hanging themselves, but I wish, at the same time, they weren't hanging Obama too.
"No. No. Why would I? No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know."
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert called that "one of the sleaziest moments of the campaign to date" in a column he published yesterday, since there is absolutely no evidence that Obama is a Muslim, and Clinton knows that all too well.
This, of course, is not the first time, Clinton, a Machiavellian if there ever was one, or her campaign has managed to slip something pruriently suggestive into the primaries mix.
The Clinton campaign has suggested through surrogates there is something more to be discovered about Obama's acknowledged youthful use of drugs. Her husband suggested in South Carolina that white voters might respond to black votes for Obama by voting in a backlash for Hillary. Last week, campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson compared Obama to Ken Starr.
These are all low blows, and, besides, the Clintons may be cutting their own throats by using such tactics in their grab for a renewal of power.
Why is this so? Because, after the prejudiced way in which Clinton has been conducting her campaign, resentment is sure to build in the black and liberal communities. Millions of these people may be inclined, if Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, to either stay at home in November or cross over and vote for John McCain, if he makes an adept independent appeal.
True, Clinton has been hinting this past week that she might ask Obama to be her vice presidential running mate, should she win the nomination. Assuming this is not just more bushwa from the Clintons, it might be asked, if she actually did this, and Obama accepted, just how she could advertise he wasn't ready for the presidency and at the same time agree to put him just a heartbeat away from it.
In an article for Flashreport.Org by Shawn Steel, the author points out that no matter who wins the Democratic nomination, Hillary or Obama, there are liable to be deep racial divisions in the Democratic party.
Specifically, he is talking about tensions between Latinos and blacks. He postulates that if Clinton wins the nomination, the blacks will stay home, while if Obama wins, many Latinos either will stay home or cross over to vote for McCain. Latinos have been instrumental in Clinton's primary victories in California, Arizona and Texas.
Either way, it throws a complication into Democratic prospects for the fall, even though, in a special election in a normally Republican congressional district in Illinois yesterday, a suburban area west of Chicago, a Democrat won. This provided reinforcement for the notion this is a Democratic year.
It is more likely to be one, however, if Clinton stops talking about Obama in such a negative way. In the last two weeks, she has said a lot of things that McCain can recycle in the fall, of Obama captures the Democratic nomination.
The Clintons are not exactly clean. There has always been something of L'll Abner's Dogpatch in the Clinton makeup. Now, Bill Clinton's philandering has been mixed with Hillary Clinton's unfairly suggestive remarks. I'm glad they are hanging themselves, but I wish, at the same time, they weren't hanging Obama too.
Labels: Presidential campaigning
posted by Ken Reich at 11:26 AM
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