Letters to the Editor
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So Hillary celebrates the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., by...
...criticizing the nation's first serious African American presidential candidate for working in the "slums."
This is the kind of person we want as the leader of our nation?
Another reason I'm voting for the Republican nominee if she is the Democratic one.
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See, these are not Democrats posting
"Another reason I'm voting for the Republican nominee if she is the Democratic one."
That tells you all you need to hear....
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John McCain & Martin Luther King
Hillary said something mean about Obama on MLK day so you'll maybe vote for John McCain, who voted *against* the MLK holiday. Smart move!
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The 80% of us who are not black are left scratching our heads over this
I understand that Dems have to officially flock to the grave of MLK and mouth the appropriate words, but what were those words? I guess one of the candidates was more black than the other. Not sure which one though. Oh well. Come the general election the GOP will make fun of either one of them for embracing blacks anyway. You know it, everyone knows it.
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I swear on all that is good that I am in fact a Democrat.
Honestly, I am.
I voted for Bill Clinton--twice. I voted for Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004 (although I voted for Edwards in the primary that year). I'm pro gay marriage, pro abortion--I hate the term "pro choice"; let's not be ashamed of a perfectly legitimate procedure--and a big-time environmentalist. I hate Wal-Mart. I hate sprawl. Even demographically I'm a Democrat. (I live in Manhattan. I'm an agnostic. I have no children. Evangelicals scare me. I used to bike to work every day. My wife is of a different race from me.)
But there are so many reasons--all of which everyone has heard before, I'm sure--that neither I nor my wife (also a partisan Democrat) will vote for Hillary Clinton. Most of them come down to the fact that we don't trust her. We think that she will do anything to get elected--and the same was true of Bill Clinton, though most of us didn't realize it at the time. (Whitewater, renting out the Lincoln bedroom, Marc Rich, handing out appointments to people who raised money in religious venues--must we go through this again?)
The other reasons are that Hillary has zero new ideas, zero potential for inspiring the nation, zero demonstrated leadership and ability to get anything done in her brief, unremarkable career in the Senate. She voted for the war but won't admit it.
And yes, I can't stand her. A dumb reason, and it's not the top one, but no way am I going to subject myself to listening to her caterwaul for 4 years.
Anyone but Hillary!
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Clinton and the Rezco "slumlord" cheap shot
OK, here's the Chicago Tribune on Obama's relationship with "slumlord" Rezco. You have to admit that Obama's explanation during the debate was pretty lame in light of this (he referred to Rezco vaguely as "that individual" and implied his only relationship was billing 5 hours at a law firm). I especially like the shades of Whitewater in this saga!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0611010273nov01,1,2852476.story
A fun excerpt (here's classic Obama trying to defend himself):
"I don't recall exactly what our conversations were or where I first learned, and I am not clear what the circumstances were where he made a decision that he was interested in the property," Obama said.
"I may have mentioned to him the name of [a developer and] he may at that point have contacted that person. I'm not clear about that," Obama said.
Additional fun coverage:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-rezko_both_20jan20,0,7876083.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/425305,CST-NWS-obama13.article
The point is, I will vote for Obama anyway if he gets the Dem nomination, but he is not Polly Purebread and the sun doesn't shine out of his hiney.
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Prices Slashed!
Only in a Shapiro article could you find spin that indicates supporting Wal-Mart is a good thing 'Yay, noble Hillary!' because of the super, low, LOW prices!
Given half a chance, I'm voting for Edwards.
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Misleading Sequence
Obama attacked Clinton for serving on the Wal-Mart board, and Clinton struck back by mentioning Rezco. Yet Shapiro describes the Rezco charge and then says, "But Obama demonstrated that (unlike turn-the-other-cheek insurgents like Bill Bradley in 2000) he could fight back. Referring to his years as a community organizer in Chicago, Obama said to Clinton, "While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board of Wal-Mart."
This is entirely misleading to anyone who didn't watch the debate. The point made by political observers was that Clinton demonstrated to Obama the perils of attacking her by hitting back hard, with something that is very bad for Obama.
Why would Shapiro write it deceptively? Odd.
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Cythera45
Good point, Cythera, but the problem is that most of those nasty political campaigns were between two opposing parties, not members of the same party. All this Democratic sniping and character assasination depresses me, especially when I look over at the Republican field and see candidates that frighten me as much as Bush/Cheney.
Whatever one thinks of political parties, their ability to organize people around a core set of values is seriously jeopardized during the primary process, when people who would normally play on the same team are forced into bloodsport. I'm well aware of the shortcomings of the candidates from which I'm going to choose and see little value in Democrats raking each other over the coals. Most of us already feel they're all bums anyway, so why rub our noses and make us feel even more fed up with our political system. Actually, maybe that's the point of all this. Maybe the whole establishment wants us so disgusted that we become consumed with total apathy, an apathetic renunciation of "We the people."
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Here's where the candidates can learn from Reagan
(and I feel a little ill saying it, but this is probably the only thing I admire about him).
LAUGH AT YOUR ATTACKERS.
It always plays better than getting all verklempt or snotty. (Ask any number of school kids or single women who have used this technique to deflate playground bullies and bar room lotharios).
Reagan was an actor, of course, so he had an easier time than most at projection the character of an unruffled, amused candidate. Lines like "There you go again!" spoken with a headshake and a wry chuckle (not a sneer and an eye roll, a la Al Gore), made the opposition look foolish and Reagan look cool as a cucumber.
Now I need to go take a bath.