As usual the media types have completely missed the point of the recent Hillary and Obama dust-up. One must understand that regardless of your personal beliefs about the Clintons, they deserve some credit for strategy. They most definitely play chess not checkers.
The Hillary camp’s response to David Geffen’s comments were not primarily designed to get Obama into the mud. That’s just a happy secondary aspect. The primary goal is to make Bill and Hillary’s past off limits. Their goal is to make it verboten to even go there. Even disregarding the strong evidence of their wrong doing in many areas, the facts are bad enough.
Those last minute pardons? Can’t talk about them. Remember it was Hillary’s brother, not a relative of Bill, who was trying to sell pardons. Where would he have ever gotten the idea that he had the power to pull this off? Can’t talk about it.
That her husband has been convicted for lying under oath and was disbarred? Can’t talk about it. That he can’t even meet the moral requirement to be an attorney? (not the highest bar ever set) Can’t talk about it.
That Hillary is on record laying the ground work for the “nuts and sluts” Monica defense? Something she has never explained? Can’t talk about it. How those pesky billing records “just showed up one day” in one of the most secure buildings in the world? Can’t talk about it. That perhaps these two are truly morally deficient, as even their ‘friends” freely admit? Can’t talk about it.
The list of 'can’t talk about it' subjects is pretty dang long. Long enough that many voters, regardless of their political leanings, might think very hard about whether we truly want these two back in the White House? Most definitely can’t talk about it.
Article comments
1 - Arch Conservative
Cattlegate.......Can't talk about it.
Travelgate........Can't talk about it.
Sandy Berger stuffing documents down his pants.....can't talk about it.
Peter Paul, Davis Rosen, campaign finance fraud...can't talk about it.
Vince Foster's death......can't talk about it.
Bill Clinton using Arkansas State Troopers to secure women for him to committ adultry with....Can't talk about it.
Hillary's "stayed home and baked cookies" remark......can't talk about it.
Bill Clinton's refusal to go after islamic terrorists....can't talk about it.
Pardon for Marc Rich...can't talk about it.
The fact is that Hillary Clinton has always been sheltered from having to answer questions regarding her life's worth of unethical self serving behavior.
As first lady and NY State senator no one in the MSM ever dared call her out on these things. They were in love with her but now have come to realize deep seated and unchangeable the hatred that roughly half this nation has for this woman. I think most of her supporters in the Dem party underestimate this hatred and the obstacle it poses in her path to the White House.
In her bid for the presidency, the shrew will be forced to leave her comfort zone of pre-arranged, scripted interviews with hand picked reporters and public appearances at friendly venues. For the first time in her life Hillary will actually have to deal with real scrutiny and criticism and her "oh it's just a right wing conspiracy" bullshit isn't going to save her this time. Neither is the 'if you're anti Hillary, you're anti women" bullshit rhetoric. the only chance she has at winning is if she is more successful in her voter fraud strategy (having millions of dead people, illegals and felons vote for her) than Al Gore was in trying to steal the presidency in 2000. Even then some crackpot will take her out ala JFK.
If the Dems insist on nominating this woman as their candidate they are insuring a loss for themselves in the general election in 2008.
In plain english:
HILLARY CLINTON WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT!
2 - Zedd
There is no need to talk about them because they are none issues.
3 - Arch Conservative
No they are issues and will be talked about non-stop as Hillary tries to win the White House Zedd.
They will be talked about and and everyone will se what a fake, corrupt, wretch Hillary is and she will lose badly against the GOP nominee in the general.
End of story.
4 - Zedd
Arch
Those people who dug up all of those "scandals" got power and proved that they were impotent. Besides, the skeletons that came out about those creeps were monumental compared to BAKING COOKIES. BTW most women today would agree with Hilary on that. Even stay at home moms. Its a different world.
Its a different world Arch. We were a great deal more naive and trusting 12yrs ago. No one cares any more about such non-issues. We've had an attack, the Republicans turned out to be a bunch of hypocritical, drug heads, thieves, perverts and kooks. Their ideas sank and they ended up embarrassing our nation. We are at war. Just about everyone was laid off at some point. The health care system sucks. A comment about baking cookies is hardly significant. Actually if anyone tried to bring it up THEY would be attacked for its triviality under the circumstances.
5 - Zedd
For the record.
I DON'T WANT TO STAY HOME AND BAKE COOKIES EITHER.
-Zedd 2007
Now can we move on...........
6 - John Conlin
Zedd,
It's not about the Republicans. That is another argument. This one is about the Clinton past. The last minute pardons, and the people pardoned - that's OK?
Oh right, can't we just move on?
7 - Zedd
Is Bill Clinton running again? THE Clintons did not pardon anyone, Bill Clinton did as many Presidents do. Whats the big deal.
Again compared to the rest of our politicians today all of that stuff is really mild. WHO CARES!
8 - Arch Conservative
Zedd...how many presidents have pardoned the biggest tex evader in American history?
How many presidents have pardoned people who have made large financial donations to the first lady's brother.
HOw mnay presidents have pardoned hundreds of people as repayment for political favors?
Bill Clinton is in a league of his own when it comes to shady pardons.
And the events that took place while slick willie was in office are fair game as everyone knows that Hilary and Bill are a team. It's Bilary.. always has been.
It's blatantly obvious that you're a diehard Clinton apologist Zedd and that you don't believe that anything, regardless of how relevant, should be brought to bear under the light of public scrutiny if it in any way suggests anything negative about the Clintons.
2008 is a long way away Zedd. You might want to conserve your Kool-Aid.
9 - methuselah
I'm not sure that Marc Rich is the biggest tax evader in US history. Do you have a citation?
In his defense, Clinton claimed that the pardon was a good move since it netted the IRS $154million in back taxes from Rich, but, IMO, he just wanted to get closer to Denise, his ex-wife, who's a real babe.
10 - Clavos
@#9:
Youre right.
Here's the biggest individual tax evader ever.
11 - Arch Conservative
At the time of the pardon Rich was the biggest tax evader in our nation's history.
What about Clinton pardoning FALN members?
12 - Zedd
Arch
If Bill Clinton some how got around the constitution, snuck and made us vote for two people for Pres. then lets go get him. Lets get him right now!!
If he didn't, lets stop the right wing awfullizing, either vote for Hilary or not but stop the chicken little stuff. We've grown up and its a new world. Rush is a dope fiend, O'Reilly is a pervert, the religious right is full of hypocrites and the Republican spin has been exposed to merely be a channel for pathological liars like Rove to get their biggest fix.
13 - Zedd
Arch
Marc Rich, a fugitive, was pardoned of tax evasion, after clemency pleas from Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, among many other international luminaries. Denise Rich, Marc's former wife, was a close friend of the Clintons and had made substantial donations to both Clinton's library and Hillary's Senate campaign. Several months after her last donation, emails reveal Republican attorney "Scooter" Libby asked her to approach Clinton about pardoning Marc Rich. Clinton agreed to a pardon that required Marc Rich to pay a $100,000,000 fine before he could return to the United States. According to Paul Volcker's independent investigation of Iraqi Oil-for-Food kickback schemes, Marc Rich was a middleman for several suspect Iraqi oil deals involving over 4 million barrels of oil.
What is the big deal.
FALN None of the 16 were convicted of bombings or any crime which injured another person, though they were sentenced with terms ranging from 35 to 105 years in prison for the conviction of conspiracy and sedition. Congress, however, recognizes that the FALN is responsible for "6 deaths and the permanent maiming of dozens of others, including law enforcement officials." All of the 16 had served 19 years or longer in prison, which was a longer sentence than such crimes typically received.
Presidential pardons include pardoning Confederate officials after the war, draft dodgers, embezzlers, traffickers, and many many more.
Again I say, big deal.
14 - Clavos
O'Reilly's a pervert???
OMG!!!
That's almost as bad as being a right-winger!!!
Or...or...(gulp!)...a Libertarian!!!
15 - Zedd
A right wing pervert! oooooooh!
16 - Dave Nalle
Dr. Mudd whose only crime was setting John Wilkes Booth's broken ankle wasn't pardonned until more than 100 years after his death.
Dave
17 - Clavos
Mudd is still the only person to be imprisoned at Ft. Jefferson, in the Dry Tortugas, fifty miles west of Key West.
Aside from now being a National Monument operated by the National Park Service, that's the only use Ft. Jeff was ever put to; it was never used as a fort.
Dr. Mudd's infamy is the origin of the saying "your name is mud."
"I'll take trivia for a thousand, Alex..."
18 - Clavos
Correction to my #17:
According to Wikipedia, Mudd was imprisoned at Ft. Jefferson with several other "co-conspirators" in the murder of Lincoln, and several hundred Union deserters.
Damn, all my life I thought he was the only one...