That didn't take long. Exactly five minutes before Obama's official text message went out this morning, Howard Fineman had an article up at Newsweek praising the process by which Obama picked his running mate. He even turned lemons into lemonade, claiming Hillary really didn't want to be considered and that Obama "did her a favor" by not doing so. R-i-g-h-h-t.
First, the praise:
The minute-by-minute story of how Obama handled the selection is interesting, and revealing of the way the Democratic nominee works. He insisted on the utmost secrecy; he paid the losers the courtesy of essentially telling them "no" to their faces--not an easy thing to do. And he swallowed his considerable pride and all but confessed his lack of knowledge of foreign affairs by selecting as his running mate the Senate's senior Democratic leader on that topic.
But then came the challenge for Fineman: finessing Obama's brush-off of Hillary—in which it was reported that he had never paid her the courtesy of considering her—into a plus. The Newsweek correspondent managed to square the circle [emphasis added]:
Even his much-criticized failure to "vet" Sen. Hillary Clinton means less than meets the eye. I talked two months ago to one of her closest legal advisors, who told me that she didn't really WANT to be considered for the number two job--in no small measure because the process would have required Obama's lawyers to comb through her husband's foundation and its murky sources of income.
In that sense, Obama did her a favor by not really demanding to consider her. She would have had to say "no."
So Fineman claims Hillary never wanted to be considered for the VP slot. And his evidence: a stale comment from an unnamed source who is a "legal advisor," presumably not even a member of the senior campaign staff. Note that the comment was made "two months ago." That would have been in June, the month that Hillary finally conceded defeat in the primary. What she might have said or thought in the immediate aftermath of defeat could well have changed in the months since. And indeed there were numerous reports that her team was pressuring Obama to put her on the ticket.
And what of the notion that Obama did Hillary a favor because the vetting process would have required an inquiry into the funding sources for Bill's foundation? Is Fineman's theory that being considered for VP would have required delving into that issue, but that if Hillary had actually won the presidential nomination, she would have been able to keep that information secret? It just doesn't wash.
Would Hillary really have said "no" the VP nomination, or was this Fineman's contribution to healing an open wound in Dem ranks?
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Clinton 2012
August 23, 2008 - 07:18 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsI posted this elsewhere, some in the MSM are not too happy with the choice of Biden, As for Clinton, she can now work behind the scene to get McCain elected so she can run against him in 2012.
D
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
Agree
August 23, 2008 - 08:27 ET by Gat New YorkWhat is important to know is that Hillary's camp made sure to say yesterday that she was not even vetted for VP, which means "no votes for you" Obama from Hillary's most ardent supporters.
Those Clinton speeches at the convention will be interesting to hear. And their actions following the convention will be intriguing.
She and they have
August 23, 2008 - 11:14 ET by docbbeen doing this all along since she knew she could not win..why do you think she stayed in --to push the negatves and pray for a 'miracle'...Shameless and certainly a disloyal move by a 'party' democrat--not .
It is evident that it has been about the clintons and never about this country or the party..
The 'legacy' is shot now....
So Obama.......
August 23, 2008 - 07:26 ET by zoro7957...............did'nt want to expose the corruption of Hill & Bill? Very nice gesture on his part.
Investigations
August 23, 2008 - 07:41 ET by saw the light"...the process would have required Obama's lawyers to comb through her husband's foundation and its murky sources of income."
So, the MSM is agreeing that Bill Clinton's foundation has murky sources of income, but Hillary wouldn't want the VP slot because lawyers may investigate those sources.
Shouldn't the MSM be the ones investigating the "murky sources of income?" If there are shady transactions going on, the MSM should be all over it, wanting to expose the issue. At least they would be if it was a Republican ex-president.
Fineman carries water once again
August 23, 2008 - 07:56 ET by AmericanEnergistHillary must be happy that at least she can count on Howard not to abandon her ship.
As in 2004, she & Bill worked behind the scenes to sabotage Kerry to make her viable for 2008. Should the 'roll call' gambit not work out, she will do the same to Obama. She isn't going to sit still for a Hillary '16 shot at the White House. Too many stars will rise upon the horizon, thus diluting her chances further.
I'm glad Biden is the guy...it gives the GOP a better shot, IMHO.
www.ArmchairEnergist...
Is Fineman's theory that
August 23, 2008 - 08:01 ET by motherbeltIs Fineman's theory that being considered for VP would have required
delving into that issue, but that if Hillary had actually won the
presidential nomination, she would have been able to keep that
information secret?
Good point, Mark.
It's more of that liberal "magical thinking."
Fineman Theory
August 23, 2008 - 08:58 ET by allanfIs Fineman considered a commentator or a reporter by Newsweek? His theory is that Obama must win.
Newsweek has no reporters,
August 23, 2008 - 09:07 ET by Captain RepusNewsweek has no reporters, only part-time employess who shuttle between MSDNC and the magazine office.
Just when you thought there
August 23, 2008 - 08:45 ET by BlazerJust when you thought there wasn't any more room under Obama's bus he manages to squeeze 150,000,000 women under there.
BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!
The netroots are nuclear, the PUMA'S are howling mad. They didn't even get their coveted text message. I couldn't have written this script better myself. C'mon DNC Convention, I will watch every scrumptious popcorny moment.
I LOVE IT !
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
" The Cake is a lie."
----
August 23, 2008 - 09:05 ET by dahliatraversJust when you thought there wasn't any more room under Obama's bus he manages to squeeze 150,000,000 women under there.
lol
Just as early in the
August 23, 2008 - 09:18 ET by Captain RepusJust as early in the primaries, John Keating5 McCain has risen from the dead again and has the presidency handed to him on a silver platter by the messiah.
I cannot imagine a more idiotic choice for vp by Obammy than the laughing stock of the Senate, Joe Biden, aka 'plugs'.
This guy makes a complete fool of himself every time he takes the grandstand and is a total embarassment to his party. Didn't he state during one of the debates that his net worth was something in the order of $150,000? After 36 years in one of the hightest paying government jobs, his total net worth is less than a boarded up crack house in South-Central? And he will be half of the team that defines our national economy for up to 8 years?
This is gonna be a really really fun election cycle.
Obama lacks class
August 23, 2008 - 12:59 ET by XBOLTSObama's handlers made a huge mistake by not at least going through the motions of vetting Hillary.
Hillary is a force to be reckoned with, just ask the girls at PUMA.
So we see Obama making another mistake by underestimating Hillary's political potentcy but also we see his complete lack of class.
P.S. LOL Capt. "Plugs Biden"
I want what Howrd Fineman is drinking
August 23, 2008 - 16:01 ET by TheBigMackDaddyOh how the MSM loves to ignore recent history. Let's Recap:
In February, when it was clear that Hillary has no chance at the nomination, she and Bill Clinton began openly floating the idea of a Obama-Clinton "Dream" ticket (see the links below where both the esteemed senator and ex-president try to make their pitch to have Hillary as VP).
This is simply another example of the end of the Clintonista's as a political force in the Democratic Party. They raise lots of money but America is tired of them and the Democratic Party knows it. Howard Fineman is a hack. He knows quite well that Hillary has fought tirelessly to be on that ticket and failed. Fineman has always been in the tank for the Clintons (just ready anything he has ever written about Billary) and is simply doing his best to soften this latest, very embarrassing blow to what is left of the Clinton legacy.
Bill Clinton Call's Clinton-Obama ticket 'unstopable':
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/03/09/2008-03-09_as_obama_takes_wyoming_bill_clinton_call.html Hillary open to VP spot:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/03/breaking-news-h.html
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -- Chief Justice John Roberts
Right for the wrong reason
August 23, 2008 - 21:24 ET by nkviking75Fineman is right, but not for the reasons he listed. In 2012 she can run for president again without the stain of St. Barry's loss on her record.
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.