Letters to the Editor
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Mitt Romney just fired one of his campaign staffers
Overheard through a crack in the door:
Staffer: "But boss, who would have thought that getting choked up would win her the primary?
Romney: "I pay you to advise me on how to act and you blew it! I should have been out there bawling like a baby from day one! You're fired! And from now on, I'm blubbering at ever campaign stop. Get me some glycerin, fake tears look better on camera."
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I can't be the only person saying this
Whether or not the tears were real (I beleive they weren't), they played on people's sexist assumptions that women are weak and need support when they break down. That was illustrated beautifully when Bill Clinton came riding in on his white horse to defend a lady in disdress.
And what's up that bullshit question she was asked: "How do you do it?"
Is there any doubt that that is a question that can only be asked from one woman to another? Really. If Obama or Edwards had gotten that same softball question and then they choked up, it would have been suicide. The fact that it helped Hillary says a lot about the way women are perceived in American society.
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How will the press respond
Noting first that Tim Grieve made no editorial comments on this (other than distancing Obama personally from this), unlike what he would have done had Clinton's campaign done something like this, I wonder what others in the press will say. I bet it gets almost no comment beyond being mentioned. If a Clinton staffer had said it, it would be news for a week.
On another front, there is a wire story that Obama is going to up his attacks on Clinton. Here is the quote, "I think that Senator Clinton, obviously, is a formidable and tough candidate, and we have to make sure that we take it to them just like they take it to us," the Illinois senator said. "I come from Chicago politics. We're accustomed to rough and tumble."
I point this out, because Tim doesn't seem to be inclined to mention it. If Clinton had said it, I bet he would have.
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JJ is a tool
Yes, JJ is a tool.
No, he isn't the right tool for this situation.
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obama's spokesman
what. an. asshole. I never heard such crap in my life. If this is the kind of shit Obama is going to start shoveling, I'm with Clinton all the way.
Making an implicit judgement about over what Clinton should cry or shouldn't cry is so intellectually dishonest--not to mention fucking stupid--that I'm just gobsmacked by it.
Obama...get your spokespeople under control. The utter stupidity evidenced by this statement from your co-chairman ill-becomes you.
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Did Obama Cry for Katrina?
...and does this spokesman believe Obama is a psychic with special abilities to see Clinton's every past moment?
Clinton didn't cry in New Hampshire, either. Gosh, when Romney cried a couple weeks ago it was reported as "a poignant moment".
I will support whomever the Democratic candidate is but after watching every debate thus far I have to say, Hillary is the only one who consistently comes up with the answers.
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"[Hillary] changed her voice at black churches so crying is no big feat for her"
So? That was a lot of southern fried lingo I heard Oprah and Obama tossing around in South Carolina a few weeks back--not their usual speak at all. And I bet Obama didn't produce that pimp strut for the white voters in New Hampshire, either. Don't you get it? Politicians play to the crowd.
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This is NOT a double standard
Tearing up, or choking up, is perfectly OK....as long as you're a girl. It is also perfectly acceptable to drone on and on about how good it was for your campaign....if you're a girl. Men, on the other hand, are forbidden to either shed a tear or question the reasons why a woman does because its beyond sexist to expect a female leader to be scrutinized as much as a man is.
I agree with Jr. Hillary gets emotional because someone asks her how she manages to keep looking so good while fighting a campaign every day; but, Edwards can't even comb his hair in public without getting stories questioning his manhood. Had Hillary staged an event with a handicapped child, or commented about the nearly 4000 American deaths in Iraq, or how people ravaged by Katrina still can't get back to their homes over 2 years later, or how people are still dying in Darfur, or how violence is raging in Kenya or any other substantive issue facing the next president of the United States then I could sympathise with her getting a little emotional about the subject. Getting misty-eyed about the prospect of a bad hair day on the campaign trail makes her the Marie Antoinnette of American politics.
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Tears were for a lot more than Katrina...
I guess because I am a woman, and realize that when a strong woman like Hillary Clinton can be brought to tears, I understand it to be something beyond anyones understanding....and the reference that it wasn't for Katrina among other "reason" was a really "CHEAP" shot and a very sad. ignorant and bigoted comment and most certainly a bad representation of the intelligence of Mr. Obama and his staff. I do not believe that reference would have come out of Mr. Obamas mouth...and he would be wise to have any further reference to it nixed....Cause he is gonna irritate a lot of folks out there who will fight even harder to help get Hillary in the White House...and I will be one of them.
That was with out a doubt the dumbest comment could have been made for her tears...
Her comment and reference at the time, about her concern for so many bad situations that needed to be handled.... and will we get the right person in there to do the job...explains exactly why the tears came... You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out just how serious her concern is and has she done everything she possibly can to make things right..her honest concern for the people and the situation in this country today should make a lot more "men" cry....it would do them all a lot of good....
Lets keep some intelligence in our disscussions, and not sound like the local gossip tabloids that fill the air with a lot of inuendo's