Letters to the Editor
BryanS
Published Letters: 365 Editor's Choice: 1
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Thanks, Alex
[Read the article: The Obama photo flap]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm glad to see that you didn't waste any time putting this up, but I wish the article had made a bigger deal out of the fact that there's been no denial from the Clinton camp (which, let's face it, is an admission that they circulated it). Maggie Williams' response was insultingly disingenuous, and the whole thing just stinks of badly-executed political hack work. And calling it a "flap" implies that it's an irrelevant dust-up, instead of a calculated attempt to prey on voters' fear and ignorance. Haven't we had enough of that over the past seven years? Aren't we all looking for something better, and not just more Karl Rove-style distractions?
Clinton supporters: I don't want to hear another word about how the Obama campaign is taking the low road on Hillary's record, or how Bill Clinton wasn't really trying to inject racism into the post-South Carolina campaign. You stand revealed. And I don't want to hear any more whining about being targeted with personal attacks by the vast right wing conspiracy. If you can't rise above those tactics yourself, don't cry foul when they're used against you.
This is why I'm supporting Obama. I can't get behind a candidate who doesn't have a problem with using these kinds of tactics against their opponent. I actually defended Hillary when the child rapist story broke over the weekend, because I don't think that sort of thing should have any place in a political debate. But that was an independent third-party hit piece on her. This is Clinton's own campaign trying to play the race/religion card against Obama, and aside from the incompetence of the execution of it, it's no different than the Swift Boat attacks of 2004 or the "John McCain's illegitimate black baby" lies of 2000.
This is the candidate you're backing? This is the woman who's going to usher in a new era of peace and harmony, who's going to bring America together to tackle our problems?
I predict a huge backlash against Clinton for this, and it's going to cost her a news cycle that could have been all about her major policy conference call that she scheduled for today. Way to cut the legs out from under yourself at a time when you're sprinting to catch up as it is.
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@ rufus 1133
[Read the article: The Obama photo flap]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If this was not being circulated by the Clinton campaign, then why did they not deny it immediately? Don't you think that it would have won them a few points among Democrats by "setting the record straight" with a high-profile rebuttal an infamous right-wing propaganda machine?
The only reason that they wouldn't deny it is because it's true, and they know that Drudge has the email (which he clued them in on by quoting from it). It's kind of like when Bill Clinton stopped denying his involvement with Monica Lewinsky as soon as he was made to realize that he was one DNA test away from a perjury conviction.
In one stupid move, the Clinton campaign has vindicated every nasty thing ever said about their candidate and cost her any chance of bowing out gracefully.
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What a surprise
[Read the article: The Obama photo flap]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Once again, the vast majority of the anonymous posters are virulently pro-Clinton. I guess that when the campaign tells you to kick it into overdrive and defuse the smear on lefty blogs and boards, there's no time to waste by entering login info. Or maybe they're being super-extra-careful not to leave an embarrassing electronic trail back to the campaign again.
As far as proof goes, the evidence is circumstantial, but compelling: Maggie Williams did not deny that a staffer circulated the email, despite the fact that doing so would have made Hillary look good by shooting down Drudge, and not doing so would be clearly interpreted as an admission. Also, this is not the first time that Clinton staffers have gotten caught passing along false "Obama is a Muslim" rumors. And come on, when your best defense is some anonymous (of course!) supporter saying, "Republicans do this a lot more than we do," what are we supposed to think?
Here's what's awesome about it for us Obama supporters: It reveals Hillary as the calculating bitch that she's often portrayed as. It was immediately discredited and called out for what it was: cheap, Rovian, race-baiting slander. And judging from the strength of the response, the Obama campaign is more than ready to take on this kind of garbage when -- not if -- he becomes the Democratic nominee. Mark my words, this just cost Hillary some superdelegates and ensured what will certainly be a very successful fundraising appeal by Obama.