When it was announced that Hillary Clinton was going to give her first Sunday interview since becoming Barack Obama's Secretary of State to her husband's former advisor George Stephanopoulos, nobody envisioned a hard-hitting exchange.
However, as he tossed the softest of softballs at his guest, the "This Week" host mysteriously avoided asking any questions about Clinton's future political ambitions or the possibility that Obama, by involving Hillary and Bill in his administration, has effectively marginalized them.
As former Clinton advisor Dick Morris wrote two weeks ago in a piece entitled "The Incredible Shrinking Clintons":
Asked why he was naming some of his rivals to top administration jobs, President Lyndon B. Johnson said it best: “I’d rather have them inside the tent pissing out than outside pissing in.” President Obama seems to echo Johnson’s management style in his handling of Bill and Hillary Clinton. By bringing them into his inner circle, he has marginalized them both and sharply reduced their freedom of action. [...]
Even though Obama appointed Hillary, he clearly has not been willing to make her a co-president and confines her to the diminished role of her department.
For his part, Bill Clinton has been asked to be a special envoy to Haiti. Yes, Haiti. Obama’s predecessor asked the former president to orchestrate the response to the Asian tsunami and then to Hurricane Katrina. Obama gives him Haiti.
Meanwhile, both Clintons are effectively muzzled and cannot criticize Obama even as he reverses President Clinton’s free market proclivities and budget balancing discipline.
As a former advisor to Clinton, it seems a metaphysical certitude Stephanopoulos was either aware of Morris's piece or has heard such sentiments from others.
With that in mind, as his interview with Hillary neared its conclusion, and Stephanopoulos asked his guest how it came to pass that Obama tapped her to be his Secretary of State, it would have been logical for him to ask her if she considered how her involvement in the new administration might hamper her own political future.
Beyond this, is she considering another run for the White House in 2016...or even 2012?
As Morris wrote:
How long will Hillary subject herself to this discipline? Likely as long as Obama is popular. Should his ratings fade, she might move away from the president and could even consider a primary contest against him in 2012. But while he is on top of his game, she’ll stay loyal.
But she is shrinking by the day. Once Obama’s equal — and before that his superior — she now looks tiny compared to the president. She doesn’t look like a president in waiting; she’s more like a senior staff member hoping to rise in the bureaucracy. No longer at the head of a movement or the symbol of rising women all over the world, she has faded into the State Department woodwork... his diminished status has got to grate on her and on him. But they are trapped in Obama’s web and cannot easily escape.
How could Stephanopoulos have totally ignored this marginalization of the Clintons since Inauguration Day, and not asked Hillary about it?
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
How?
June 7, 2009 - 11:18 ET by BlondeBecause he's not a journalist, he's a cheerleader, that's how. I'm surprised he didn't kiss Hillary's ah-hem in public while he was at it.
The one and only thing I am enjoying about the Obama administration is seeing the Clintons disappear down the rabbit hole. The Clintons have been consigned to the dustbin of irrelvance. MB's duct tape would not have worked better to shut those two up. Cheers.
I hope he fails, too.
The only way to get rid of the Clintons
June 7, 2009 - 11:26 ET by ironchefofmunchiesWas to elect Obama so that they press would be able to transfer their Democrat-worship from Hillary to Obama.
It started (and continues) to this day with their worship of JFK.
I agree with one thing though-it's amazing that Stephie-boy didn't get down on his knees and kneel in the presence of his master (Hillary) but I guess even lackeys have SOME standards.
The only way to get rid of the Clintons
June 7, 2009 - 11:26 ET by ironchefofmunchiesWas to elect Obama so that they press would be able to transfer their Democrat-worship from Hillary to Obama.
It started (and continues) to this day with their worship of JFK.
I agree with one thing though-it's amazing that Stephie-boy didn't get down on his knees and kneel in the presence of his master (Hillary) but I guess even lackeys have SOME standards.
The state run media
June 7, 2009 - 11:38 ET by BlazerThe state run media exists now to cover for their favorite party. Objectivity isn't even an illusion anymore since these folks are so far in the pockets of The Democrat party and it's blatantly obvious.
It's all setup and delivery, now.
Obama offered up moral equivalency in his Cairo speech, concerning Jews and Palestinians. He screwed up bad, however, just like Arafat used to do, he'll say one thing in The West and another thing in The East.
Some folks thought that Brokaw was the one offering up the equivalency the other night in his interview with the president. Wrong, he was simply giving Obama a way out of his screwup, by taking one for the team.
The deciders and the fact checkers are no more than the concubines of the liberal Democrats. The fifth column.
"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."
2012 or Never
June 7, 2009 - 11:59 ET by slickwillie2001Nothing says 'marginalized' better than looking like the Bamster's cleaning lady: picture.
But seriously, Hillary is in the best spot possible for a run. In the VP slot she would have been mostly idle, not able to credibly make any possible successes of the Bamster admin her own, while still suffering his failures. Had she remained a Senator she would have piled up a voting record to be used against her.
As SoS, she is entirely divorced from the domestic situation, even more than she would be as a powerful Senator. Even moreso since the Bamster's czar-corps have taken many foreign policy hotspots away from her. She's not 'in the tent', she's in a cocoon.
It's 2012 or never for Hillary, imho. If the Bamster's economy is in the tank, or the Bamster has a Mideast nuclear war or a new Korean War on his record, she will go for it. She will recover her old base, and the business leaders that foolishly supported the Bamster in 2008, and the Independent/leaning dem voters. The Bamster's black base will never leave him, but hispanics might.
PS: She will be 69 in 2016, and open to the age question, and who knows in what state her health might be by then.
I see that picture...and I hear...
June 7, 2009 - 12:40 ET by Army BratBrains...must have brains....good...brain...slurp...slurp... mmm.....more, must have more...
islam is a lie and Truth is killing it.
Brutal Politics
June 7, 2009 - 13:01 ET by JJoujanThis is a chilling look at the brutality of the political world and I almost feel sorry for the Clintons. Narcissistic Obama is having fun playing at being the President, even though he is clearly in over his head at running a country. Nevertheless, he is brilliant at handling rivals. Kinda like Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe, Fidel Castro, and Vladimir Putin.
Except,
June 7, 2009 - 13:29 ET by UpNorthamazingly, now Putin is lecturing the US on the dangers of "socialism", by which he actually means communism. To coin a phrase, Putin has looked in Obama's eyes and seen what we see, a child playing in the adult world. He owns him, he knows it, O knows it, and most thinking people know it. O hasn't handled Putin at all, and he's finding that he hasn't really handled Fidel, or Raul, Hugo or Kim.
Handling Rivals
June 7, 2009 - 17:08 ET by JJoujanTo UpNorth, I didn't mean O "handled" Putin etc., I meant he was good at handling his political rivals in the U.S. Of course he is not "handling" any other leaders except to alienate U.S. allies.
Elephants in a liberal newsroom
June 7, 2009 - 13:59 ET by metaphorsbwithuHow soon we forget how Hillary was the recipient of those same softball questions prior to the media's courtship of Obama.
You could have an elephant stampede in a typical liberal newsroom and the reporters would spin it to a global warming story.
metaphorsbwithu
Of course Stephanopoulos didn't ask "the question"...
June 7, 2009 - 14:24 ET by PrairieSkyHe didn't dare...I'm sure that was agreed to in advance, because we all know the answer is yes, Obama has marginalized her...
I was very surprised that Hillary agreed to take the SOS position...Partly because of the fact that there seems to be no love lost between herself and Obama, and because of the announcements of all these other people who would also be involved in areas that are traditionally the sole territory of the SOS...Dick Morris is right on with his assessment that Hillary has seen the scope of her job diminish a great deal with folks like George Mitchell, Dennis Ross, and Richard Holbrooke, who are all individually in charge of US foreign relations in certain very sensitive geographical areas...In addition, she has ended up essentially sharing her power and influence on the NSC. At the time Hillary was offered this job, I really didn't think she'd accept it, because I didn't think there was an upside to it for her.
The fact that Obama has basically put her in a box the way that he has, isn't a real surprise. By offering her the SOS job, he has kept her close to the vest, and by limiting the scope of her powers, he is reducing the amount of clout she has and also is restricting whatever personal agenda she would like to see advanced. It really is a masterful stroke on Obama's part, and Hillary must be sorry she ever said 'yes' to his Machiavellian offer.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
I see it as Hillary
June 7, 2009 - 14:34 ET by ironchefofmunchiesI see it as Hillary doubled-down that Obama will overreach (see Clinton White House circa 1992-94) and wind up crashing and burning in the midterms.
If Obama's numbers look bad she'll announce a primary challenge in 2012. If not, she can still claim to have some executive experience when she runs for office again (Governor of New York?).
She's not really losing anything here. She's just letting Obama make the first move.
ironchef...I don't know...That's a big gamble...
June 7, 2009 - 14:48 ET by PrairieSkyon her part...She's pretty much betting the farm that Obama and Co., will go down in flames in the midterms (we can only hope, but for very different reasons). I do agree that if Obama tanks, she'll drop him like a bad habit (if not before) and may announce a primary challenge, or as you mentioned, make a run for Governor of New York...Time will tell, but for now, I still think she looks diminshed, and she remains in an Obama-made box.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
You may be right
June 7, 2009 - 14:57 ET by ironchefofmunchiesYou may be right PSky.
But I'm betting Hillary has figured out that Obama is a BIGGER narcissist than Bill was. Add in the fact that every media outlet is telling Obama he can do no wrong and Obama is being set up for a very big fall.
Just like the 1994 midterms were for Bill and Hillary.
ironchef...I didn't it think it was possible...
June 7, 2009 - 15:19 ET by PrairieSkyfor ANYONE to be a bigger narcissist than Bill...I'd say it's at least a tie! lol!! ;)
Seriously, you're right on target about all the media backing possibly being a double-edged sword for Obama...the bigger they make him seem, when (and if) he falls, the bigger a failure he may become. As far as the midterms in '10 being like the '94 midterms, we can only hope! Fingers crossed!
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Re the Picture
June 7, 2009 - 14:25 ET by DingbatRe the picture that goes with this.....Blazing Saddles comes to mind:
Hillary Tell me, schatze, is it twue what they say about the way you people are... gifted?
[sound of zipper opening]
Hillary Oh, it's twue. It's twue. It's twue, it's twue!
there goes lunch
June 7, 2009 - 14:31 ET by botgthanks for keeping me on that diet
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -- Chief Justice John Roberts
LOL!
June 7, 2009 - 18:47 ET by RukusYeah, that purge diet works well Bruce!! LOL! The first thing I thought was it looks like Barry is sucking out her right eyeball. : )
Gary
Gettin' along is so much easier than buttin' heads. - My Dad
And funner too! - Me
Re Re the picture
June 7, 2009 - 14:53 ET by slickwillie2001Very good poster; it would make a great caption contest.
Forbidden Love
June 7, 2009 - 21:07 ET by Red JeepThat picture looks like it could be the cover of a bad romance novel.
-----
June 7, 2009 - 15:59 ET by dahliatraversher first Sunday interview since becoming Barack Obama's Secretary of State
Interesting. Now let's see if her courage of conviction is strong enough to allow her to be interviewed by someone other than one of her husband's deferential former staffers.
I tried to get through this
June 7, 2009 - 16:08 ET by bigtimerI tried to get through this lovefest this morning...
It was a no-go.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
got kevlar
June 8, 2009 - 11:10 ET by foolnomoredon't be on the pantsuit's bad side or you could be picnicing in the park.