A comment from MABlue inspires a new Confluence parlor game, Oh, Really? Based on the Saturday Night Live, Weekend Update segment with the same name, the rules are simple:When someone tells a flat-out lie about Hillary Clinton, we reply, “Oh, Really” and debunk it. Like this . . . .
From MSNBC’s FirstRead
Politico’s Roger Simon gets Obama strategist David Axelrod to say some tough things about the Clinton campaign. “Is it possible to win the Democratic nomination in such a way as to make winning not worth it? The Barack Obama campaign thinks so. It thinks Hillary Clinton’s campaign is willing to take any road to the White House, including the low road. ‘They would do anything to win, and that means anything,’ David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, told me Monday. ‘There is a frenetic energy around them to commandeer this election in any way they can.’”
“Axelrod went on: ‘She is the ultimate Washington inside player. She is always asking, “How do we wire the vote? How do we wire the system to get the results we want?”’” More: “Another Obama senior aide told me he believed Clinton was willing to ‘destroy the party’ just as long as she ends up with the nomination.”
Oh, Really?
(shaking my head)
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this story, and it’s rather nicely debunked this time right within the same tale. But, I’m still hearing it and it’s flat out wrong.
Because if Hillary really would “do anything” to win, why is the story of Obama and his Preacher making the big-time now?
Hillary’s campaign has been on a death watch 3 times since the start of the campaign. It’s an old story by now. Everyone knew she was broke and was going to withdraw after New Hampshire. Then it was Super Tuesday and Oprah & the Kennedy’s were blowing the Clinton campaign out of the water in California & Massachusetts. Then it was Mini-Super-Tuesday and she just had to win Texas and Ohio.
Supposedly this story has been floating around Fox News for months. Assuming Clinton knew about this bombshell (the worst kept bombshell ever) then isn’t too much of a stretch. And if she’s such a Monster™, why didn’t she use that powerful information?
The MSNBC story from above continues:
“I asked Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson for a response. ‘I think these apocalyptic quotes are unhelpful,’ Wolfson said. ‘I don’t envision that either side would destroy the party. There is a democratic process here to play out. This process is not over. There are still 10 [contests] left to vote. What is the fear here? Let’s let democracy run its course.’”
Hillary Clinton has shown no signs of an unseemly quest for power. Her grace throughout this last uncomfortable week proves this.
Oh, Really? Really.
Filed under: Hillary Clinton |
The Confluence 
Clinton exasperates me precisely because she hasn’t been pointed enough in calling out Obama….for what he’s done in this campaign, and for his substantive failings as a candidate. The people who hate her will hate her regardless, so she might as well speak her peace and not leave anything on the table.
As I mentioned from the previous threat,
Clinton’s upping the ante in MI.
There she goes again trying to make Democrats’ votes count. She wulod really to anything to destroy the Party.
But how does one candidate call out the other directly? Even Obama isn’t usually doing it himself, is he?
I think she needs us to help.
or it might be nice if maybe ONE news caster noticed how restrained the Clinton camp has been. the person who really should do this is Keith Olbermann. She deserves a great big wet sloppy kiss from MSNBC after all she has endured from them.
lol! Kbird, we are going to snark our way to the winner’s circle! Too, too good.
OK, MABlue — let’s play:
““We understand that when it comes to counting votes, the Clinton campaign favors whatever they think will benefit them.”
Oh Really?
The Clinton campaign has consistently said that they’re first priority is seating the delegates. And if that doesn’t work, then revotes.
I’m running off to find quotes….
(waving to cdo & riverdaughter)
O RLY?
The Obama campaign is at it again?
YA RLY!
Oh, gosh, daria-g — now I’ll have to redo all the graphics! I had no idea.
So Obama is running a transformational, post-partisan campaign?
OH REALLY?
Then why, on the day that Obama is making his ultimately transcendant, transformational, post-partisan speech, he equates Gerry Ferraro with Rev. Wright, and his campaign director decides to resuscitate the MONSTER claim?
That’s what I’d like to know too, litigatormom.
I just filled out my Delegate application form….
Can the Democratic Party really be this chuckleheaded?
I hope those people who make the RULZ read this and heed the warnings herein.
Times poll: Dems want primary results to count
The money quote:
Now tell me again who wants to destroy the Party.
Yeah, they had to destroy the Party in order to save it from the chaos that would result from disregarding the DNC’s preferred primary schedule.
Totally worth it. ;-p
I want to read the story behind this mess. I can’t wait to find out.
I swear it didn’t make sense at the time. And now we’re stuck, looking like fools.
And what I don’t get, is why Obama can get away with saying that he’ll seat them when he’s the nominee. Oh, Really?
Barack Obama is a liar
To all nbc
Obama speech ,,,, Not sure if you caught Not only did Obama,,, Refuses to denounce him,, but even More,, He say in his own words,,,
Barack Obama was in church when Jeremiah Wright,, was spewing Anti-American, Racist ism ,,,, Those were his own words,,, barack was there
After going on keith Oberman ,Show obama said he would denounce that if he heard that language he would leave and not tolerate it , and denounce it
After he went on MSNBC,, he went on FOX CNN ABC< all the news station saying he was never there,,, in his church when he said these things,,
But Now today during his speech,,He states flat out Say’s HE was there,,, Last week Barack Obama Lied,, went on all the news stations, and Lied,,
But your not reporting that,,,, You can rest assure,,, cnn ,,, Fox , ABC,,, Msnbc,, are getting more on this ,,, they will be reporting on this, and we will see
If you chose to report, Obama Lying on tv,,, If this was Hilary clinton lying and caught lying on all the new station,,, you can be sure,, you would talk about it every hour
people will be on your station debating this,,,, people analysing , if it is hilary clinton but it was not her it was Barack Obama, ,, it bad enought He lied, about being in church
With Jeremiah Write, when he said these anti american ,,,,,and still refuse to denounce him…all the news agency want to do is speak on how good his speech was,
Not that he lied,,, Last week on all the news agency ,, He was never there today in how own speech He say I was there,,,,should play all Obama videos from last week
stating he was not there,,, or heard any of the anti-american Jeremiah Write, said in his churc then play his speech today saying he was there and he did hear him in church and refuse to denounce Jeremiah Wright,,,
James Wolcott – Squish Boom Bah
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/blogs/wolcott/2008/03/after-watching.html
Wolcott’s reference to the Kos Diaries turning into a primal scream clinic was funny. If you follow his link, you’ll see an unbelievable competition amongst diarists to write the most IMPORTANT diary on THE SPEECH. The front page, it looks like a fun house hall of mirrors.
Wolcott also takes the Clintonist portion of the blogosphere to task for saying that Obama threw both Gerry Ferraro and Grandma Dunham under the bus, because he views Gerry Ferraro as a pro who should have known better than to say what she said. But he doesn’t clear Obama of having thrown Grandma under the bus.
Briana, thanks sharing the Wolcott link — I could have sworn that I wrote a comment, but I must have dreamt it.
Luckily litigatormom picked up the slack. I noticed the whole “throw >>> from the bus” thing. But, she did MUCH better at it than me.
It’s lovely that he said right out loud that he’s a Hillary supporter.
Oh no.. Haven’t read Wolcott’s piece yet, but let’s see, anyone wants to take a bet on how many Kos diarists declare that Obama “HIT IT OUT OF THE PARK!!!!1111”
I say at least a dozen.
Obama should drop out because he can’t win.
Wolcott has evidently been reading the comments at Hillaryis44 re: citing Hannity and Newsmax and such. either that or certain myDD diarists. I read this stuff too – the blogs, not Newsmax – but for crying out loud, is that the way to make the case for Hill?
I still think Obama should’ve left Ferraro out of the speech. And I *do* feel bad on a personal level for his grandmother because I myself just would feel mortified at the entire nation knowing if I’d said some ignorant sh!t decades ago.
I see that in Wolcott’s piece he quotes that Obama has “The Math.” Would that be the same “THE math”
that Karl Rove had in 2006?
Karl Rove’s “The math” quote from an NPR interview October 24, 2006 in the following link.
http://www.npr.org/about/press/061024_rove.html
One of my pet peeve “memes”
Everytime I hear it I ask the manure spreader for examples. What have either of the Clintons done that exemplifies “doing anything” to win?
The other false meme is “divisive.”
What, other than win elections, have the Clintons done that was “divisive?”
They were not the ones practicing “wedge issue” politics or the “politics of personal destruction.”
Obama supporters bash Hillary for “triangulation” but praise Obama for “reaching across the aisle.”
Racism was not an issue in this 2008 election until Obama made it one. I thought this country had issues with the 2 lost wars, healthcare, education, the economy, global warming etc. This smells of Rovian tactics when in 2004 the issues were God, gays and guns. People fell for that crap, let’s hope they see through Obama’s hype and not lose sight of the real issues. Obama HAD to give that speech on racism because it was for his own self preservation. This time, it appears people are paying attention and are not buying it. Please write to the DNC and tell them to fix this mess and urge Obama to resign. Obama’s nomination will be the end of the Democratic party.
My friends (I mean that it a non-ironic, non-McCain way), why is being willing to do anything to win a bad thing?
Sen. Clinton didn’t invent the zero-sum game. She’s just very very good at it. If that means use more carrot than stick, so be it. But if she needs to use the stick, then crackety-crack. I actually feel deep, personal affection for her because of this.
And given her reputation for doing anything to win, as president she may win some battles on the international scene because the idea of what she may do.
And honestly, I am aware of this flaw in my character, but I feel a thrill thinking that the world’s he-man women-haters club in Iran gets a shellacking by a girl.
Okay, not fair. Not everyone deserves crackety-crack. But some people do. And if Sen. Clinton decides to pucnh one of them in the nose, I trust she knows to aim for the back of the head. Hit ’em so hard they stay hit.
Best of all, it’s not the only arrow in her quiver. She has shown by her own record in the senate, she’ll work with even people who hate her guts to get good stuff done.
I think I’ll go send her more money.
I’m not personally all that upset if the democratic party gets destroyed. I’m just not feeling it any more, not really feeling welcome there after all these years of supporting it.
but I hardly think Hillary Clinton is the one doing the destroying.
Right, I don’t know exactly what it means to “do anything to win. ANYTHING.” Neither Senator nor President Clinton injected race into the campaign; Senator Obama and his campaign did.
Beginning in the weeks before the South Carolina primary, it seemed clear to me that Senator Obama would capture 50-60% of the African-American vote, a big gain over the Clintons’ traditional support in the AA community – but evidently that was not good enough. He wanted 85-90%. To do that, the Obama campaign needed to paste the Clintons as some kind of racists. And so they did – by distorting the Clintons’ remarks and then branding as racist the comments they did not make. What the Obama campaign actually did was disgusting, but the fact that those false charges were accepted as conventional wisdom is more than disgusting.
So Senator Clinton zings Senator Obama on this or that issue, sometimes justifiably (IMO) and sometimes not, but how does that add up to “willing to do anything to win”? On the other hand, a deliberate campaign to slander as racists two progressive politicians who have championed the issues of African-Americans for 25 years? That really sounds like someone who will do anything to win.