Letters to the Editor
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If Hillary Wins Pennsylvania Big
Then wins North Carolina, Indiana, and Kentucky, they'd be morons not to pick Hillary.
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Self-interest?
What Richardson's blessing signified was that an ambitious politician with close ties to Bill Clinton (they watched the Super Bowl together) decided that his self-interest would be enhanced by choosing Obama rather than Hillary.
Perhaps that was the calculation... perhaps not. But since ambitious politicians are also voters & citizens, is it not possible that they support a candidate because they believe he or she is the better candidate? Do most Obama, or Clinton, or McCain supporters support their candidate in the expectation such support would be in their best self-interest? I would like to think a functional democratic process requires of the citizen — voters & office-holders alike, on a deep level, a measure of idealism on the nature & possibilities of the political process, & an idealistic sense of the public-spirit. Perhaps Mr Shapiro is doing us all a favor, trying to disabuse us of such silly illusions, but it is a sorry sort of wisdom to have.
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@Bill Richardson
"Superdelegates should never contradict the will of the voters, except in my case because my state went for Clinton but I'm for Obama."
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@Bill Richardson
"Superdelegates should never contradict the will of the voters, except in my case, because my state went for Clinton and I'm for Obama."
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ljwalker53
Inexperience: As impressive as Obama's state senate experience may be (and that remains questionable in my mind, as well as in others' minds), it is not national experience by any stretch. And in the U.S. Senate, I don't know how you can say that Obama has done more than HRC, because that is questionable. HRC is ranked 9th out of 100 in the U.S. Senate for a) leadership; b) ability to get things done; c) her legislative accomplishments. (Congress.org).
The same org also ranked Hillary as #2 leader in earmark spending.
Clinton's Foreign Policy Experience: You keep bringing up Clinton's lack of foreign policy experience (and the Bosnia trip) and yet, even her own staff has noted the danger of that trip (see HuffPost, for example).
Hillary’s account: 'We were put on a C17– a plane capable of steep ascents and descents — precisely because we were flying into what was considered a combat zone. We were issued flak jackets for the final leg because of possible sniper fire near Tuzla. As an additional precaution, the First Lady and Chelsea were moved to the armored cockpit for the descent into Tuzla. We were told that a welcoming ceremony on the tarmac might be canceled because of sniper fire in the hills surrounding the air strip.'
The truth: http://alternet.org/blogs/video/#80459
She has also been given enormous credit for her work in Northern Ireland peace process.
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19398210&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=
All that Ireland Prime Minister Bertie Ahern says here is that Mrs. Clinton 'hugely helpful' in the process. Quite gracious of him really in that he ignored all of the implicit arrogance of Hillary’s claims.
The truth: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/01/clinton_and_northern_ireland.html
And she participated in numerous efforts around the globe re: aid, education, human rights, diplomacy, children's/family concerns:
Clinton’s Foreign Relations experience (from 11,000 pages of Hillary Clinton’s records released for the Clinton Library, Thursday, March 20, 2008):
China
• Sept. 5, 1995: HRC traveled to Beijing and spoke out for women’s rights and human rights despite efforts by the Chinese government to discourage her visit and pull the plug on her speech.
Good for her. But really ljwalker53, these kind of speeches were really just her job at the time, weren’t they? No disrespect to the role of first lady, but come on. This is a stretch as a legitimate diplomatic effort.
Macedonia
• May 14, 1999: Hillary traveled to the Balkans while the NATO-led air war against the former Yugoslavia was still under way as part of a broader U.S. effort that led to the reopening of the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, permitting thousands of Kosovar refugees to flee to safety. She met separately with Prime Minister Georgievski and President Gligorov, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia Christopher Hill, to emphasize America’s support for the stability and security of Macedonia.
Here we go again. She claims to have negotiated to open the borders in Macedonia to fleeing Kosovar refugees. But the borders were opened before she even arrived.
The truth: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/hillarys_adventures_abroad.html
Northern Ireland
• Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 1995; Oct. 31, 1997; Sept. 2 – 3, 1998; May 12 – 13, 1999; Dec. 12 – 13, 2000. Hillary traveled to Northern Ireland five times as First Lady and gave what Northern Irish leader and Nobel Laureate John Hume recently described as “decisive support” to the peace process in Northern Ireland. She focused especially on encouraging the emergence of women in the political process. In addition, Hillary's work at the grass roots and behind-the-scenes helped cultivate the conditions necessary for the peace to take hold and last.
Again, this has proven to be hyperbole. And you’re repeating yourself ljwalker53.
RE: Obama's POTUS ambitions and U.S. Senate effectiveness:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th
OK, your argument is really unraveling here. The same organization (Congress.org) you cited that touted Hillary’s #9 ranking in leadership and legislative accomplishment, also places Obama at #11. So really, this argument is nonsense.
RE: Rezko - this has not been fully answered by any stretch. The entire transcript of his interview last week is here and I actually find it more troubling than I did prior to this Q&A session because of his "I don't recall" and "I can't really remember" and "I really don't know" comments-as-answers:
A non-story that doesn’t have the wheels to take it around the block
RE: Michelle's unfortunate comments - I don't think there is anything of a "reach" about bringing these up. They raise questions about how he will be/is seen by voters.
Do you mean Michelle’s comment that she “would have to think about it” before voting for Hillary? Oh dear… Nothing like Hillary stating that only she and John McCain are qualified to be POTUS, or creepy Bill inferring that only Hillary and her Republican Doppelganger McCain are the two candidates who love their country. Getta grip.