If George W. Bush had gone to law school and later flunked the bar exam, you can imagine that fact would have become a virtual part of his name in the MSM, as in "George Bush, who failed the bar exam, today criticized a law that . . ."But it came as news to me when Carl Bernstein mentioned on this morning's "Today" that Hillary flunked the Washington, DC bar exam back in the '70s. OK, I'm not the most knowledegable guy, and the fact of Hillary's failure is not news -- after years of hiding the embarrassment, she revealed it, en passant, in her ghostwritten 2003 "autobiography." Note: according to that book, during the same period Hillary took and passed the Arkansas bar exam. The pass rate in Arkansas was considerably higher than in DC.
I have to imagine that Hillary's failure comes as news to a good number of people. How does it jibe with Clinton's image as The World's Smartest Woman? And what does it say about the MSM that this fact has not been widely disseminated?
In any case, that revelation was far from the only unflattering thing that Bernstein had to say when speaking with Matt Lauer this morning to promote his new Hillary biography, A Woman in Charge. Let's preface this by mentioning that Bernstein is anything but a conservative hit man. The son of two parents with Communist Party affiliations, as he wrote about in this book, Bernstein is of course best known as Bob Woodward's WaPo Watergate investigation colleague. More recently, Bernstein has called for a Senate investigation of the Bush administration, and in the course of the interview this morning referred to the Bush presidency as a "disaster."
Among Bernstein's other comments today:- "This is a woman who has led a camouflaged life, and continues to."
- Hillary's childhood was in "an abusive family situation. Her father humiliated and abused her mother. Her mother had a horror of a childhood."
- "Bill Clinton's closest advisers, like Lloyd Bentsen and Donna Shalala, were adamantly opposed" to Hillary becoming head of the healthcare initiative.
- At one point "Today" displayed a graphic with a quotation from the book: "As Hillary has continued to speak from the protective shell of her own making, and packaged herself for the widest possible consumption, she has misrepresented not just facts but often her essential self."
- "I think that she has developed an inauthenticity that is perhaps her greatest political problem. . . Partly because of her self-invented biographical details, she does come off as inauthentic.
- "There's not a sex act mentioned in the book. What is important is Hillary savaging the women that he was with. Forgiving Bill Clinton repeatedly through their married life, but not forgiving the women, which raises a very interesting question about her feminism.
- Bernstein speaks of Hillary's "rather disingenuous explanation of her vote on the war."
Contact Mark, who somehow managed to pass the New York bar exam, at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Hillary did not fail the bar.
June 1, 2007 - 09:07 ET by KC BeachHillary did not fail the bar. Obviously, the bar failed her.
You know that the bar is writ
June 1, 2007 - 09:14 ET by GothampcYou know that the bar is written and administered by a white male dominated society. She could have passed the bar if the questions had not been so anti-womyn. Obviously if the bar were more fair towards womyn, she would have had a perfect score.
So, the smartest woman in the
June 1, 2007 - 10:28 ET by kathleenirishSo, the smartest woman in the world failed the bar?! How are they going to spin this one?
Proves her inferiority, really, doesn't it?
Anyone who says they support the troops but not the mission is a liar.
OK, that was good. You'll b
June 1, 2007 - 09:14 ET by PeskyDaneOK, that was good. You'll be here all weekend, I presume? I'll remember to tip the wait staff.
LOL. Early clubhouse lead
June 1, 2007 - 09:14 ET by Mark FinkelsteinLOL. Early clubhouse leader for line 'o the day!
The Clintonistas will insist
June 1, 2007 - 09:22 ET by Tim GrahamThe Clintonistas will insist that the flunked-bar-exam fact is "old news." But what they're really saying is they've worked so hard to burnish the image of Brilliant Hillary that they can't allow this fact to take hold -- just like John Kerry's actual college grades being worse than Dubya's.
Thanks to the MSM's soft-pe
June 1, 2007 - 09:32 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks to the MSM's soft-pedaling of Hillary's flunking the bar exam, I'd love to know what percentage of Americans were aware of it prior to Bernstein's appearance.
And it shows she is only hu
June 1, 2007 - 10:20 ET by pbanks7And it shows she is only human. Remember when Bush 1's ignorance of grocery scanners showed how out of touch he was, but poor Bill didn't know how to use the ATM? I don't recall.
Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.
Ba-da boom!NEVER,NEVER trust
June 1, 2007 - 10:14 ET by iveseenitallBa-da boom!
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
You gotta love it, though.
June 1, 2007 - 09:27 ET by PeskyDaneYou gotta love it, though. Given the libtards obsession with being portrayed and portraying each other as "smart," this is just too rich.
Here's another take on this.
June 1, 2007 - 09:49 ET by PeskyDaneHere's another take on this. Flunking the Bar exam isn't a badge of shame. Plenty of smart people fail it every year. Same thing with the CPA exam or any number of licensing hurdles. Often its just a matter of re-focusing on what particulars you need to study or review.
The irony here, (a concept usually lost on libtards) is how things like this come back to bite them in the ass. If they didn't invest so much of themselves into the conservatives are stupid/evil template, then they'd have a little more wiggle room.
PeskyDane, good point you m
June 1, 2007 - 09:57 ET by MightyMouthPeskyDane, good point you make. The same thing happened to the Kerry campaign when Bush's military record became an "issue", can you say "Rathergate" and "Switfboated"?
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Hillary Clinton never passe
June 1, 2007 - 10:12 ET by Jack BauerDittos for Bill. He never passed a D.C. bar either - especially one containing any female aged between 19 and 65.
It's Rule #1. in the Hooters Code for Aging Swingers
Rule #2Never sniff the Cigars
June 1, 2007 - 10:36 ET by Airforce_5_ORule #2
Never sniff the Cigars, you don't know where they have been.
Can we run a little unscien
June 1, 2007 - 10:36 ET by Mark FinkelsteinCan we run a little unscientific, informal poll here? Before watching "Today" this morning or reading this item, who here already knew of Hillary having flunked the DC bar? As mentioned, I didn't.
I did not.
June 1, 2007 - 10:37 ET by MightyMouthI did not know.
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Same here, never heard this b
June 1, 2007 - 10:57 ET by Senior ChiefSame here, never heard this before...
On the other hand, the leftoids will spin this to their "advantage" and point out she is a victim, as usual. Loser!
I did not know.
June 1, 2007 - 11:09 ET by Airforce_5_OI did not know.
Did not know either.Not surpr
June 1, 2007 - 11:24 ET by stratmanDid not know either.
Not surprised to have never heard it nor the fact she failed.
I cannot understand how anyone could support a person for president who claims to never having an inkling her husband had multiple affairs. I could excuse not knowing the first time, but not recognizing the signs of a serial adulterer thereafter? What will she miss on her watch as president. Frightening!
I never knew that. On the oth
June 1, 2007 - 11:52 ET by KC MulvilleI never knew that.
I thought lawyers are there
June 1, 2007 - 11:58 ET by Senior ChiefI thought lawyers are there not to understand the law, but to screw, twist, or manipulate the law. Isn't this what our "public servants" are doing?
mark f. -- What a pity Moni
June 1, 2007 - 12:00 ET by Jack Bauermark f. -- What a pity Monica Gooding didn't have that little factoid about Rodham flunking the bar a couple of weeks ago.
Remember the thread you posted about that jerk Congressman Cohen (D) who was making sneering remarks about the intellectual standards at Regent?
He SPECIFICALLY referenced bar exam failures! How sweet to fire back...
Yes, that would have been a
June 1, 2007 - 12:01 ET by Mark FinkelsteinYes, that would have been absolutely epic!
It might have been Weselyan -
June 1, 2007 - 12:09 ET by PeskyDaneIt might have been Weselyan - probably spelling it wrong. I think Yale was her law school. Anyway, add me to the "did not know" list.
Thanks, PD. Unless I'm mis
June 1, 2007 - 12:14 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks, PD. Unless I'm missing something, not one of us had known before. Given that by definition NB readers are politically junkies, and would be very interested in news of this sort, I think it says a lot about how the MSM has buried the story.
News to me. And the most amaz
June 1, 2007 - 12:40 ET by ThisnThatNews to me. And the most amazing thing I've ever heard -- bar none!
Never heard it mentioned, Mar
June 2, 2007 - 18:38 ET by MikeBNever heard it mentioned, Mark.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
This is interesting in light
June 1, 2007 - 11:36 ET by JoeBobThis is interesting in light of Congressman Steve Cohen's (D-Tenn.) grilling of Monica Goodling and her education at Regent University.
"Is it a fact -- are you aware of the fact that in your graduating class 50 to 60 percent of the students failed the bar the first time?"
Can we expect that Hillary will be subjected to similar scrutiny by her colleagues?
Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man. - Confucious
Have you ever seen Matt Lau
June 1, 2007 - 12:25 ET by marvlHave you ever seen Matt Lauer without his legs crossed? What's he hiding?
"What's he hiding?&quo
June 1, 2007 - 12:38 ET by MightyMouth"What's he hiding?"
My guess is... not much.
(*curses, lured in again *)
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Perhaps it takes a "vi
June 1, 2007 - 12:57 ET by BenderPerhaps it takes a "village" to pass the Washington DC Bar exam?
Aha! Proof positive it's no
June 1, 2007 - 13:04 ET by MightyMouthAha! Proof positive it's not Hillary's fault!
The exam is flawed!!
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
or to spell tommorrow...maybe
June 1, 2007 - 15:19 ET by vrwc13or to spell tommorrow...maybe she should have a homeschooler on her staff!
You guys have it ALL wrong!
June 1, 2007 - 19:46 ET by goldenthroatC'mon, NB bloggers! Cut Shmillary some slack, for pete sake's! Don't you know that the bar is nothing more than a part of the vast right wing conspiracy?
Poor thing - she takes SO much abuse!
Never dance on an empty stomach unless it's a liberal.
The "smartest woman in the world" flunked the BAR?
June 1, 2007 - 22:18 ET by Dave RMark,
LOL-As someone who has always considered myself to be fairly up on all things Clintonista, this one caught me completely off-guard.
Wow, I guess you really do learn something new every day.
Bernstein better hope Hillary isn't the next president, as there will be no invitations to any White House dinners coming his way for at least four years.
This republic will not survive the continued neglect of its people.-Neal Boortz