Some endorsement!
Barack Obama's greatest vulnerability as a candidate is, perhaps, his lack of national security credentials—the doubt in voters' minds as to whether he is qualified to be Commander-in-Chief. So if there was one thing Hillary Clinton could have done during her speech today to bolster Barack, it would have been a clear-cut statement that, yes, she believes in his ability to be Commander-in-Chief. But the only person person Hillary spoke of today as qualified to be Commander-in-Chief was . . . herself.
View video here.
Let's recall that during the primaries, Hillary repeatedly hit Obama on the issue of his lack of C-of-C cred, going so far as to draw an invidious comparison between Obama and John McCain on the matter. Consider these statements from March, as reported by the Chicago Tribune [emphasis added]:
In a Cabinet-style setting, surrounded by retired military leaders, Sen. Hillary Clinton said the public should ask whether Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama has met the criteria needed to become the nation’s commander in chief.
“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington.
“I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,” she said.
Calling McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee a good friend and a “distinguished man with a great history of service to our country,” Clinton said, “Both of us will be on that stage having crossed that threshold. That is a critical criterion for the next Democratic nominee to deal with.”
In her speech today, Hillary used the good old defeating-sexist-stereotypes hook to endorse her own Commander-in-Chief credentials.
HILLARY CLINTON: When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions: could a woman really serve as Commander-in-Chief? Well, I think we answered that one! [thunderous applause].
Hillary did go on to say that Barack Obama answered the question as to whether an African-American could be president, but she conveniently left him out of her Commander-in-Chief comments. Nor did she in any other way in the course of her speech praise Obama's qualifications or good judgement in the areas of national security or foreign policy. It was, by omission, a slight, if not a stab, on the single greatest challenge facing the Dem nominee.
BONUS COVERAGE: Hillary Plays the Victim-of-Sexism Card
Hillary also indulged a good measure of self-pity, blaming her loss on sexism.
CLINTON: When I was asked what it means to be a woman running for president, I always gave the same answer [N.B.—so much for spontaneity!]: that I was proud to be running as a woman, but that I was running because I thought I'd be the best president. But, I am a woman, and like millions of women [pause for dramatic effect], I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build an America that embraces and respects the potential of every last one of us.
. . .
Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
If Hillary had won, would Obama have given a speech blaming his loss on racism? I don't believe so.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Interesting catch Mark
June 7, 2008 - 15:02 ET by acumenI wonder about her motivations for touting her own supposed credentials to be CIC while continuing to omit Obama's qualifications to be CIC. Not simply because she is a Clinton (where nothing political is done by accident), but I have to wonder about her motives after the secretive, clandestine meeting between Hillary and Obama before her speech today and how that ties in with her carefully worded speech. Without knowing her status as becoming Obama's VP and ignoring her enourmous ego, I am left with two theories/possibilities for her to continue touting herself more than Obama --
1 - She knows she will become Obama's VP so she is continuing to promote herself to America as the perfect VP candidate as a balance to fill any real or perceived lack of experience void concerning Obama.
2 - She will not be Obama's choice for VP so she has begun campaigning for 2012 publicly supporting Obama but interiorly hoping for a McCain victory.
Other than that, all I am left with is a migraine trying to get inside the head of this megalomainac.
“I believe that I’ve
June 7, 2008 - 15:13 ET by motherbelt“I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done
that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,”
she said.
Calling McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee a good friend and a
“distinguished man with a great history of service to our country,”
Clinton said, “Both of us will be on that stage having crossed that
threshold. That is a critical criterion for the next Democratic nominee
to deal with.”
Well, she said "I'll work my heart out for him if he's the nominee!"
How is she going to explain that that isn't so important any more?
I hope Republicans use that primary clip of hers in an ad!
I haven't seriously
June 7, 2008 - 15:22 ET by SchnikeysI haven't seriously followed the Democrats' primary race at all. Glad to know I didn't miss anything.
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Grizzly Bear '08
Triple post! Sorry
June 7, 2008 - 20:53 ET by GregE<delete>
Triple post! Sorry
June 7, 2008 - 20:53 ET by GregE<delete>
Well allow me to sum it up
June 7, 2008 - 20:52 ET by GregEWell allow me to sum it up for you.
Two Socialists arguing about who's going to hand out more stuff, all free of course (apparently there's secret liberal grove of money trees or something)........rich people suck and are just greedy and don't need their money, let's give it to those who don't have as much...........success in Iraq? what success, we don't see no stinkin success, let's withdrawl right away.........take the oil profits........income redistribution, but of course disguised as nice terms that everyone blindly loves......
...in other words, nothing you've never heard before from the Left.
It seems my suspicions were
June 8, 2008 - 02:07 ET by SchnikeysIt seems my suspicions were correct, then. Which is another reason why I missed it- it's just a re-run.
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Grizzly Bear '08
Although we weren't able to
June 7, 2008 - 15:23 ET by fitzfongAlthough we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
They may have put about 18 million cracks in the "glass ceiling", but her campaign spent $20 million more than it had to make those cracks.
When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions: could a woman really serve as Commander-in-Chief? Well, I think we answered that one!
Before she first started, people everywhere knew the answer to that question. The answer? Yes...just not you.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
She didn't quit
June 7, 2008 - 15:25 ET by juspassinthrushe 'suspended' her campaign which means if Obama doesn't keep his promises made to her at the secret meeting at Di Fi's house, she will be back waving all the supportive emails from the pants suit crowd, all the way to the convention.
Did anyone notice the snub she gave Bill before her speech? No hug no kiss 'til the end when he gave her a peck on the temple.
Touching.
I think "suspending" a
June 8, 2008 - 15:46 ET by GregEI think "suspending" a campaign allows for the candidate to continue raising money, in her case to pay debts. I think this is why "suspending" is normally done. If anyone knows for sure and can clarify, please chime in.
It's chaos, everywhere
June 7, 2008 - 15:42 ET by ThisnThatKeep running, Hillary. You won't win; Obama won't win. Instead, it's obvious this is going to be a steel cage death match between her and Obama right up to the election.
And give me a break with the victim card. What if John McCain started touting his "as a white male" creditionals? The fact that she even says "As a woman" automatically, and permanently, disqualifies her from holding public office. She needs to resign from the U.S. Senate.
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
What she really thinks
June 7, 2008 - 15:55 ET by KC MulvilleHillary clearly thinks that Obama is a lightweight. Part of that is fueled by their rivalry, but I suspect she believed it anyway. And if so, I have more respect for her judgment.
Count on the Clintons to feed the media whenever Obama displays his shallowness. Look for Joe Klein, Joe Conason, Mandy Grunwald, and of course Carville & Begala to show up whenever Obama puts his foot in his mouth. They'll be stoking buyers' remorse among their fellow Democrats.
hired mouths
June 7, 2008 - 16:04 ET by Jerry MackThe people that you mentioned are hired mouths. Give thm a fat pay check and they will be singing the praises of BHO.
Lunch Date
June 7, 2008 - 15:55 ET by CellaI was otherwise engaged today. So I didn't get to watch this zoo. Lucky me.
Please someone assure me that Hillary is not going to burst into flames at the end of her presidential campaign and then rise again from her own ashes, like the Phoenix.
No flames, Cella
June 7, 2008 - 16:00 ET by BlondeBut the look on her face as she conceded was priceless. I thought it was going to be a replay of the New Hampshire tears....only this time she meant it.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Blonde
June 7, 2008 - 16:43 ET by CellaI can't even watch the rerun on FNC because I have another horse to watch in another race.
Cella
June 7, 2008 - 16:49 ET by BlondeI've been watching the racing all day....did you see the Secretariat vid (at Belmont) that I posted on the Open Thread?
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
I thought she looked and
June 7, 2008 - 17:48 ET by stratmanI thought she looked and sounded fairly genuine for a complete change. This one sounded more from her heart and less a calculated pandering for votes/money, as it was all about Hillary and nothing else. I actually didn't cringe while listening to her concede the Primary, although maybe it was because she was conceding the Primary.
Too bad she still doesn't get it that playing 'victim' should and did disqualify her as becoming president.
Let's hope enough Americans have the good sense not to elect the slow-witted, friend of terrorsists domestic and foreign, long term supporter of racists and and Jew haters, and stammerer without a script Barry O.
RRAM Tough!
Incredible; I had Forgotten
June 7, 2008 - 19:41 ET by CellaBlonde,
Thanks for posting this incredible video. I had forgotten!
Hillary is going to be the VP
June 7, 2008 - 18:22 ET by JerusalemiteBut not Obama's. Watch her end up running as VP along side of McCain.
All of her Dems will still go along with her. The real conservatives out there aren't going to vote for McCain anyway, so having her on the ticket won't hurt him. And the lukewarm conservatives will still think McCain/Clinton is better than President Obama.
Hillary's Sunset Boulevard
June 7, 2008 - 18:55 ET by celatorAs I watched her on TV, a sense that I had seen this movie before came over me. Ahah! "Sunset Boulevard"! That was it.
And these lines spoken by Norma Desmond seem to fit Hillary's "concession speech" very well:
..."And I promise you I'll never desert you again because after 'Salome'
we'll make another picture and another picture. You see, this is my
life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, the cameras, and those
wonderful people out there in the dark!... All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm
ready for my close-up."
Or...
..."They took the idols and smashed them, the Fairbankses, the Gilberts, the Valentinos! And who've we got now? Some nobodies!"
And this ...
(First Asssistant Director) "I understand she
[Norma Desmond]
was a terror to work with."
(Cecil B. Demille) "Only toward the end. You know, a dozen press agents working overtime can do terrible things to the human spirit."
Indeed, they can.
Hitlery doesn't want the VP
June 7, 2008 - 19:44 ET by jefflebowskiShe wants Balack to lose so she can run in 2012 after a weak liberal McPain presidency. She will on the surface support Osama...but really wants him to lose a close one. That way the Dims stay fired up and make Juan McPain's life miserable for the next 4 years.
I can't stand that shrill witch and her POS husband and am ashamed of the "leaders" we have running our country.
Jeff Lebowski
www.angrywhitedude.c...
Yea, I think you're
June 7, 2008 - 22:05 ET by celatorYea, I think you're painting a plausible scenario, for sure. She's not saying goodbye, and for sure she and her little drones are going to undermine Obama (in subtle but cumulative ways).
I was reading a piece about the Founding Fathers the other day, and the writer was explaining how they did everything they could to create a government which had as little power as possible over the people. They did this because they understood the nature of the political class to chase after power for the sole purpose of making the lives of citizens as miserable as possible. Our political leaders have done exactly that for many years.
Then again....
June 8, 2008 - 11:30 ET by winston smith....with all the dead and missing bodies, missing pets, political victims, rape vicitms, character assasinations that have haunted the Clintons over the years, one wonders if any presidential candidate would be brave enough to add Hillary to the ticket with the top seat in such a perilously close "striking" distance ---- if you know what I mean.
Clinton asserts: "could a
June 7, 2008 - 20:07 ET by TEClinton asserts: "could a woman really serve as Commander-in-Chief? Well, I think we answered that one!"
Clinton has absolutely no qualifications to serve as Commander-in-Chief. She's a military-hating feminist who wants to substitute the values of the military-hating feminists for the values held by the United States military.
Laura Bush
June 8, 2008 - 08:35 ET by ThisnThatClinton's main CIC credentials are: (1) being first lady, and (2) dodging sniper bullets in Bosnia.
So, I wonder what Clinton thinks about Laura Bush's third visit to Afghanistan yesterday, where the U.S. actually has troops on the ground engaged in a ground war (vs Bosnia's air war only)? Will Clinton make any positive remarks about this trip, pointing out that we now have another CIC-in-the-making? Laura is going to spend several hours with President Karzai before meeting up with President Bush in Slovania (former Yugoslavia) -- in the same area as Clinton's sniper bullet episode. I'll bet Laura doesn't duck and run across the tarmac.
BTW, as of 8:15am Eastern this story was given prominant space on the front pages of Fox News.com and CNN.com (CNN.com actually gave it 14 paragraphs with lots of background and details). So, I thought I would check the "Newspaper of Record".com. Nope, not on the front page. Or in the World news section. Or in the U.S. section.
Instead, I finally found a 9-sentence writeup in the U.S. - Washington section in the NYT.com. It was the last item, following the "Despite Concerns, Democrats in Minnesota Back Franken" article.
It looks like the NYT doesn't give much credence to First Ladies traveling to war zones to build up their CIC credentials, does it? Unless, of course, the first lady is Clinton, in which more than 20 paragraphs are devoted to the topic as can be seen in this 1996 NYT article.
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
This should keep people up at night
June 7, 2008 - 21:40 ET by Semper Fi_USAOh I know the media is, and is going to continue to play this down because of their love-fest for Oboma...
But in A time of war to even consider a Presidential candidate who has zero experience, and if we are to believe him intends to retreat from the enemy anyway is pure lunacy.
Let alone the trial balloons he continues to float about naming Bill Clinton as Secretary of State, or worse yet a Supreme Court Justice.
It does not surprise me Hillary is campaigning so hard to be Veep, and touting her own experience. (not that it will matter if no one joins or reenlists in the military anyway) But she will be planning scandals or worse (Vince Foster) to remove him, and ascend as soon as he is sworn in (God forbid that ever happens.)
I just hope there are enough Americans left who have not drank the Oboma Cool Aid to stop this thing before it really hurts our country.
Devil Dog
True, Obama is really a empty suit, and so inexperienced
June 8, 2008 - 07:49 ET by ChiefE9Hillary too!
If Hillary and Obama is the best the Dem party can come up with for President they really are in trouble.
The Dem controlled Congress approval rating is 18%, lowest in history.
Besides being a empty suit I don't think Obama will support equal opportunity for all.
So WHY
June 9, 2008 - 11:21 ET by Cape Conservativeare the Republicans silent about this figure???
"The Dem controlled Congress approval rating is 18%, lowest in history."
If the Democrats win this fall, it will be only because the Republican Party refuses to address the issues that are important!
Hey, Shmillary DOES have CIC experience!
June 8, 2008 - 13:15 ET by goldenthroatPoor Shmillary is merely misunderstood! After all, she DOES have more C in C credentials than Osama Bama. She ran the White House from 1992 to 2000, remember?
The Clinton family motto: "Bill wears the pants in the family and has Hillary's permission to do so!"
"How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?" - Firesign Theater