Letters to the Editor
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The "Clinton Rules"
"Needless to say, it was Clinton's short fuse that dominated the overnight stories, not the substance of his remarks in Charleston."
Did he do that? Was it "natural" that he got that reaction? Paul Tsongas was a nice old man who, by the way, was lying about his cancer, and his campaign was one the press was in love with: cut all the entitlements. Like Bradley, who was destroyed in a one-on-one debate by Gore, Tsongas was loved by elements of the press, but not by the voters. Was it ungentlemanly to point out that Paul Tsongas would cut your Social Security?
Meanwhile, Bill was the first, and to my mind the only president who never got a "honeymoon." (Note: Bush got one, extended by three years by his manly reaction to 9/11.) The New York Times fell all over itself trying to make a story about of the insane Whitewater non-scandal. Sort of a prelude to the Judy Miller scandal.
It's not "all about Clinton." It is, however, true that any progressive, from Gore to Hillary (yes) to Edwards to Kucinich, is going to have to swim against a hostile and corporate press and its lazy habits.
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Too much Clinton, too little Hillary
Bill's a net negative if he remains front and center in the campaign. He needs to go back to doing good deeds and allow Hillary to be the candidate.
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Bill Clinton looks backward/Nequais1 get the facts right
It seems rather apparent many people love to bash the Clinton's no matter what and use this forum or any forum available to them.
I do not approve of negative politics, but it seems both sides are using this tactic. John Edwards did poorly because he used it against Hillary in the early debates, and discovered it was a mistake.
Barack Obama including his staff and his wife, Michelle are not above the fray, but do not get the scrutiny from the media as much as the Clintons do. The Obama's are the darlings of the media.
Nequais1's comment about Hillary not being in the Senate to vote needs comment. To be exact the non voting record for Obama is worse. Barack's missed votes 166 or 37.6%, Hillary's 103 or 23.3% in 110th Congress.
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Depends on what your definition of "had" is
"Clinton unfortunately had a problem that played right into their hands"
Ben, why are you so sure that Clinton no longer has this problem? I remember how he artfully denied not "having" (at the moment) a relationship with Miss Lewinsky as a way to make it seem that he had never had one. Why are you so sure that he is faithful now? I think the man deserves a private life--if he chooses to live a private life. But he's bigger than Hillary right now in the campaign and says he will play a role in her administration. Isn't it legitimate to ask how H. Clinton would handle another public infidelity by her living-large husband?
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This is the betting on your Presidential election
According to Ladbrokes, one of the biggest chain of "bookies" in the British Isles, the odds on a McCain victory are 7 to 2 at this early stage. Putting a bet on a horse or a human doesn't necessarily mean that you love that particular creature but that you think you've picked a winner. Although it'sjust an opinion, I regard McCain as essentially OK for a number of reasons. First of all, he did not equivocate about waterboarding, a euphemism for partial drowning, and which any civilized nation should abhor. Then there is the fact that the Bush gang hate him and that certainly enhances him in my eyes. He fought for his country in what is now recognised as yet another failed foreign adventure and he is clearly a man who loves America. His age has been mentioned in a derisive way but the Roman Senate was for the elders, as the word Senate implies, and there was an acceptance then that age can be honorable and wise. I've read that the Arizona Senator has said that American forces could be in Iraq for 100 years but, given the way the media is reporting the campaign, I've no idea whether this is true or not. I suppose it's not impossible. There was indeed the Hundred years War between France and England back in the Middle Ages but there must have been some "comfort breaks" in that stretch of time. What is going on now is not a conventional war, of course, but the desire for resources and pre-eminence has scarcely changed. Sir Thomas More wrote "Utopia" in the l6th century and that dream has not been realised in the 500 years since More wrote his opus.
I wrote my earlier comments in mid-morning as there is a time difference of approximately eight hours. I provoked an irate response from someone because I quoted Michelle Obama from her interview in Vanity Fair. I was accused of being "condescending" and even I, a newcomer to this forum, recognised the code. Remarkably, my accuser did not deal with Michelle Obama's remarks at all but engaged in what I'd regard as a sneak attack. But what would I know? I've never been to any Ivy League university nor am I a high-powered lawyer who believes the world owes me. Incidentally, your presidential field seems to be crowded with lawyers. Maybe that's why they're all so full of themselves.
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Inside baseball -- Journalists LOVE to write about Clinton ... their "glory days" ...
it's like talking about that historic world series game from your childhood, all the details indelibly (or not) etched in your memory.
I'm not crazy about Bill's front-and-center style here ... but I am amused at all the folks fainting in coils after two elections in which the major complaint was that the democratic candidates were pulling their punches and NOT fighting back.
I'm also fascinated that no one mentions how personally INFURIATING and insulting the Obama camps accusations regarding "race" must have been to both Bill and Hillary -- I'm amazed Bill in particular didn't blow a gasket over that whole ugly mess which in hindsight appears to me anyway to have been a gross overreaction by some which ... though the accusations were made against Team Clinton, managed to derail the positive energy, positive new direction promise of the Obama campaign -- at least here on the web ... unintended consequences, indeed.
We're going into the 2008 election with the candidates we have and the spouses they have ... get a grip ... this too shall pass.