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Hillary Invokes Assassination in Dem Race, Then Offers Non-Apology

By Marjorie Cohn, AlterNet. Posted May 24, 2008.


Hillary hasn't uttered a word of repentance for her suggestion that Barack Obama's death could inure to her benefit.

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For weeks, pundits have speculated about why Hillary Clinton insists on remaining in the primary race when Barack Obama has all but clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. On Friday, Clinton answered that question. It appears she's waiting in the wings for something dreadful to befall Obama.

When asked by the editorial board of South Dakota's Sioux Falls Argus-Ledger why she is still running, Clinton replied, "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."

It's astounding that a presidential candidate could verbalize such a thing when the collective American psyche still aches from the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. Many of us remember where we were when these heroes were shot. The pain we felt is palpable. We still suffer from their absence.

Clinton, evidently surprised at the ferocity of the reaction to her statement, made a half-baked non-apology a few hours later. She expressed regret that anything she said could have offended the Kennedy family. But she uttered not a word of repentance for her suggestion that Barack Obama's death could inure to her benefit.

The response to Clinton's invocation of the "A" word was swift and strong. The New York Times called it an "inexcusable outburst." Keith Olbermann characterized it as "crass and low and unfeeling and brutal." Noting that "the politics of this nation is steeped in blood," he admonished Clinton: "You cannot and must not invoke that imagery, anywhere, at any time."

Clinton's remarks offer a look into her character. In Olbermann's words, they "open a door wide into the soul of somebody who seeks the highest office in this country and through that door shows something not merely troubling but frightening."

Before Friday, a groundswell of support for an Obama-Clinton ticket appeared to be building. But as New York state Sen. Bill Perkins, an Obama supporter, said when he heard Clinton's comments, "My jaw just dropped -- I think she just basically shattered her hopes of being named as vice president. To use the example of an assassination," Perkins added, "I think, leads one to believe that she may be talking about something unfortunate happening to Barack Obama. Couple that with the other remarks she made recently about winning the white vote and her husband's statements and I'd say something is seriously amiss."

How, after Clinton's ominous remarks, could Obama ever turn his back on her if she became his vice-president?

Anyone who "might be sticking around on the off-chance the other guy might get shot has no business being the president of the United States," Olbermann declared. As Newsweek's Howard Fineman noted, Clinton's is "a campaign that probably needs to be put out of its misery real soon."

Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, an uncommitted superdelegate, commented that Clinton's remarks were "beyond the pale." Indeed, the remaining uncommitted superdelegates should stop the bleeding now and allow us to move on with the election.

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See more stories tagged with: assassination, hillary clinton, election 2008

Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and the President of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of "Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law."

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She was promised the presidency
Posted by: DR. LARRY MITCHELL on May 24, 2008 9:20 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
and she's ready to collect. She knows that they're going to kill him if he gets the nomination. She just couldn't hold her water waiting for it, and she spilled the beans.

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» RE: She was promised the presidency Posted by: DR. LARRY MITCHELL
» RE: She was promised the presidency Posted by: DR. LARRY MITCHELL
I imagine she was just pointing out that anything can happen, however unexpected
Posted by: YogiBear on May 24, 2008 10:00 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How, after Clinton's ominous remarks, could Obama ever turn his back on her if she became his vice-president?

I didn't realize I'd switched off the Alternet and turned on Fox News.

She's clearly hoping some scandal will kill Obama's chances. I doubt she's hoping he'll be murdered.

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Why is 2008 starting to look dangerously like 1968?
Posted by: BobS on May 24, 2008 10:08 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The remark that Senator Clinton made about Bobby Kennedy is only the latest in a series of "gaffes" that underscore the desperation of the Clintons as they see the nomination slipping away. Hillary is reinventing her earlier incarnation as a GOP Goldwater devotee and Bill is revving up his Southern fried good ole boy racist act.

Her political campaign adopted the vicious Southern Strategy pioneered by George Wallace and honed to perfection by the Republican Party. Does she have any idea what kind of racial hornet's nest she is dragging us into? Doesn't she understand this nation's long history of killing those who challenge our Caste System of Color?

We need to build a multi-racial progressive working class movement, the kind of movement that Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy came to symbolize. That's one of the most difficult and dangerous things to do in American politics. It threatens the whole basis of racial and gender privilege in this country and it's a direct challenge to the stranglehold that corporate power has over this nation.

Both candidates fell far short of what was needed to help build that movement, shying away from directly confronting the painful intersection of race, class and gender that is tearing this country apart.

Barack Obama should have been out there everyday telling people," If you are voting for me because you don't want a woman in the White House, than stay home because I don't want your vote."

Hillary Clinton should have been out there everyday telling people," If you are voting for me because you don't want a Black man in the White House, than stay home because I don't want your vote."

Both candidates should have been talking directly to working class people about the importance of bridging the racial divide because without that, any progressive movement for change is doomed.

But at least Barack Obama did not launch a smirking sexist attack on Hillary Clinton. And at least Barack Obama did not make a coldblooded statement that suggested how political assassination might benefit a particular candidate.

Clinton has no excuses here. She was a grown woman in 1968 when the future of America was shattered by gunfire sending us into the dark ages of vicious rightwing Republican rule.

Barack Obama will not lead us to the promised land, but at least he is not dragging us back into the desert of racial hate.

Bob Simpson
The BobboSphere

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» RE: Where Have You Been Posted by: desidid
» RE: Where Have You Been Posted by: BobS
» RE: Where Have You Been Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Where Have You Been Posted by: desidid
» RE: Where Have You Been Posted by: BobS
» RE: Where Have You Been Posted by: desidid
» RE: Where Have You Been Posted by: bernadette
a cult of personality -- obama is hitler
Posted by: mordezlet on May 24, 2008 10:29 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
why would clinton want to be this scumbag's vp? are you kidding me? this gaggle of mindless groupies that worship this maoist freak == a barrel of hopeless promises that will lead to ruin == has ruined the democratic party... along with the brain damaged kennedy who came out for this fake in the first place.
the clintons have fought these losers i.e. daschle, kennedy, kerry, edwards a long list of losers for years. the clintons created the third way in american politics and WON! idiotic children and latte sipping snobs. i hold a BA from a top notch school in NYC == i know who these elites are: idiotic neophytes.
all the best. hillary should dump the democratic party and join lieberman to establish a NEW LEFT.

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» Obama is Hitler, You're Einstein Posted by: texshelters
» Godwin's Law Posted by: LeaderofMen
Poor comment but not as represented in the article
Posted by: OldNavyGuy on May 24, 2008 11:40 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I've been torn between the two candidates for some time and am leaning toward Obama, largely because it appears to be inevitable that he will receive the nomination. I say this in preface because, as has been the case throughout the campaign, partisans from both the Obama and Clinton camps have shown very little circumspection. Blogs may be First Amendment machines but they also reveal the ugliness that lurks beneath the surface of American society and politics.
>
Professor's Cohn's article is very misleading. I've watched and listened to Candidate Clinton's remarks on TPM and HuffPost and she did not say nor suggest what the article asserts. Only by quoting others who inferred other interpretations of the remarks in question (the New York Times neo-cons and the Hillary-bashing and somewhat misogynistic semi-liberal hatchetman Olbermann) can this argument stand up. It is a classic smear--quote someone misinterpreting remarks made by a political candidate to create an artificial wedge.
>
The two candidates believe the same things and they support very similar policies. All of the discussion regarding whether Obama can win white Appalachian voters, whether Clinton's campaign was invoking some kind of race card by using the word "dice," remarks by Obama's pastor seven years ago and this most recent flap on Clinton's remarks are manufactured controversies.
>
That this post comes from one of the most conservative bastions in the country left may speak to Ms. Cohn's desire to keep the pot boiling. Oh wait, that's an assertion made on an unverified assumption, an invention of the facts and innuendo: the same bases as Ms. Cohn's article.

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» RE: Great comment, bad title (?) Posted by: oregoncharles
Hiliary punches below the belt becuase she is a loser....
Posted by: Smiggsy on May 25, 2008 1:12 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
She is also a terrible sore loser but that issue is already obvious to us all. She has already lost & everything she does hereafter will destroy what ever is left of her credibility. Now Hillary has shown us all that she really is a divisive fool & not just a perceived one.

Can anyone imagine what it would be like to have this self-obsessed moron in charge of the white house. Shame on you america.

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He said she said..
Posted by: carbon-based on May 25, 2008 4:28 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Anyone who listened to Hillary knew she wasn't talking about waiting for something to befall Obama. What she said was very inappropriate in any election especially this one where Michelle Obama had expressed concern with her husband being shot!

I am by no means a Hillary fan and have jumped ship for Obama but this article demonstrates what is very wrong with our media today.. Alternet usually has some outstanding pieces.. right on for the views they are trying to present.. This isn't one of them.. Hillary's comments are taken completely wrong, and on purpose.. we all know this sites support for Obama (who can blame them).

But it would be helpful to be a bit more objective and accurate in the reporting.

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» RE: He said she said.. Posted by: desidid
» RE: He said she said.. Posted by: Lauren
» RE: He said she said.. Posted by: carbon-based
Let's leave moralistic outrage to the religious wingnuts, eh?
Posted by: hagwind on May 25, 2008 5:11 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Mostly I don't pay much attention to those who accuse liberals, feminists, et al. of "wallowing in victimhood" or "taking offense at the drop of a hat," but really, people, the obsession with Clinton's comment makes me think the right-wingers have a point. Or maybe the liberals and left-wingers have run out of things to criticize Clinton for? (As a former Edwards and now Obama supporter, I can't imagine why anyone has to stoop to this petty crap.)

The statement:
"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."

No, it's not elegant, and it's subject to misreading, but this jumping down the throat of every clumsy statement by a campaigning politician only contributes to the perception that all candidates' comments must be scripted and rehearsed in advance. Whereupon we all complain bitterly that none of the candidates are spontaneous. Whereupon the smart candidates hire even better scriptwriters who can make them seem spontaneous.

I thought H. Clinton was pointing out (a little petulantly) to those who thought she should drop out now that B. Clinton didn't wrap up the 1992 nomination till the California primary, "somewhere in the middle of June," so why the assumption that she's washed up when it's only the middle of May? "We all remember that Robert Kennedy was assassinated in June in California [but we don't remember what else happened in June in California, i.e., B. Clinton wrapped up the Democratic nomination]."

Then Marjorie Cohn writes:
"It's astounding that a presidential candidate could verbalize such a thing when the collective American psyche still aches from the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. Many of us remember where we were when these heroes were shot. The pain we felt is palpable. We still suffer from their absence."

This is melodramatic crap. Many of us weren't born when "these heroes were shot." I have vivid memories of the assassinations of JFK (I was in junior high) and MLK and RFK (I was a junior in high school), but my first introduction to Malcolm was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, so my anguish over his death didn't come till he was four or five years dead. As for "the collective American psyche," I'll hazard a guess that a significant portion of that psyche doesn't mourn the loss of one or more of these individuals. I remember the 1960s very well, especially the second half of them, and I remember how stunned I was from MLK's death in April 1968 through the presidential election that November, but if I were still stunned -- if my pain were still "palpable" and I were still "suffering" -- I'd be long overdue for a visit to a shrink or a bereavement support group. Whipped-up moralistic outrage makes lousy politics, and lousy political commentary.

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Stupid is as stupid does
Posted by: Quasar on May 25, 2008 6:45 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The only thing more infuriating than Clinton's "gaffes" are those who continue to apologize for the very same - especially when she is seemingly incapable of cleaning up her own messes.

We can hardly criticize her for fear of being labeled sexist. We cannot let her off the hook for fear of not being fair and balanced. So what are we left with? What are her supporters left with? The democrats?

How about a loose cannon on a sinking ship?

But no. Instead we get this, the latest apology: "She didn't mean it" and anyone who thinks otherwise is misinterpreting her words i.e. it is their fault not hers.

Well, one thing is for certain: the longer WE let her continue is nobody's fault but our own.

The answer lies with our silent superdelegates. Stand up. Be brave. Do the right thing.

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I find this completely incredible and unforgivable
Posted by: opmoc on May 25, 2008 7:00 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Olbermann says everything that needs to be said

here


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8CsQyr6vlc

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An Act of God
Posted by: bessie on May 25, 2008 7:59 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When Hillary & her surrogates started saying things like they were staying in the campaign because 'anything can happen' or making references to 'an act of God', you had to wonder. What were they talking about? A bolt of lightning? The odds of that were low. A heart attack? Isn't Obama a little young for that? Surely they weren't thinking about these things anyway. They were talking about a scandal or a misstep. But how would that be an 'act of God'? Then, Hillary blurted the word 'assassination' out. Seems pretty clear that we can include that in as one of her reasons to stay in the race. When you put together all of these wierd and illogical comments, you get a picture of a candidate who thinks that they can only win if something really awful happens to their competition. Given all of this, it's safe to say that Hillary is not really talking about an 'act of God", she's placing bets on the opposite.

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There are only two 'ones'
Posted by: Balanz on May 25, 2008 9:01 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As is common in the media, the problems of under representation rear their ugly heads in this campaign. It is unfortunate that it is so easy for opposition to either candidate to be painted as racism and sexism because one woman and one african-american are competing for one position.

Just as it is a lack of variety of images that create problems for women and non-whites in the media at large, the focus on one woman and one man amplifies there representation of the groups to which they are assigned. Neither represents me and both represent me.

The context of Clinton's comments were of interest but I am not in a position to take them beyond their face value. Yes, she misrepresented the history since the '68 contest was still in its early stages when tragedy struck. Yes she has intimated "anything can happen" before. Yet, what good does it do anyone, particularly supporters of the Obama campaign, to persist in viewing Clinton in a nefarious light and acting accordingly?

Families always have the most dangerous fights since the expectations are so high. Those interested in making progress against opression have got to keep their eyes on the ball.

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When it comes to apologies, Hillary is Bush 43 in a pants suit.
Posted by: HughScott on May 25, 2008 9:27 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
After Senator Clinton's shameful explanation on Friday for her reckless RFK assassination remark, I am convinced without doubt that she is George W.'s soul mate -- i.e. a power-hungry narcissist who cannot admit to making a mistake.

During the past eight years, Bush has confessed a personal failing just once. It happened on January 14, 2005, when he told reporters at a round-table interview in the White House that tough talk can have “unintended consequences.”

Dub-ya’s misgivings were about two of his most famous inflammatory expressions: “Bring ‘em on,” in reference to Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. troops, and his vow to get Osama bin Laden “dead or alive.”

“Sometimes,” Bush told the reporters, “words have consequences you don’t intend them to mean. ‘Bring ‘em on’ is the classic example. I was really trying to rally the troops and make it clear to them that I fully understood what a great job they were doing. Those words had an unintended consequence. Some interpreted it to be defiance in the face of danger. That certainly wasn’t the case.”

Read his explanation again and you will realize it wasn’t an apology. It was an excuse.

In his typical self-serving way, George W. suggested he had been victimized by eagerness to motivate our soldiers. At the same time, while lamely rationalizing his impulsive oratory, he couldn’t resist shading the truth.

Hillary comes from the same cut of egocentric, disingenuous cloth. Capitol Hill should be the closest she comes to the White House.

--------------------------

Hugh E. Scott, Vietnam vet, ex-USAF pilot, lifelong registered Republican, Obama supporter and the editor of www.PhonyFighterPilot.com -- the only website about George W. Bush that presents irrefutable, smoking-gun proof of White House corruption.

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For anyone that just doesn't get it
Posted by: foreverhope on May 25, 2008 10:12 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
She used the assasination of Bobby to calculate and triangulate and speculate on how a similar assasination of Obama could or might be what gives her the dem nomination on what will be the 40th anniversary of Bobby Kennedy's death, two weeks or so before the birthday of JFK AND a week after Teddy Kennedy was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer.

It is OFFENSIVE and INSENSITIVE beyond measure for any democratic presidential candidate to CARELESSLY use the death and memory of Bobby Kennedy in a mindlessly self-asorbed argument for keeping in a primary SHE CANNOT WIN unless something REALLY BAD happens to Barack. It is called COMMON HUMAN DECENCY and RESPECT.

I was raised to speak of the dead in hushed tones and with the UTMOST respect, and as a democrat that would apply double for the Kennedys'.

Of course I was also taught pointing is rude and to take responsibility for my own actions, but The Clintons' are always pointing fingers at someone and NEVER take responsibility for anything.

Progressives for Obama on Yahoo:
linked text

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Another Kennedy Assassinated?
Posted by: HoboHomo on May 25, 2008 10:41 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This time, via biological warfare? Just wondering.

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Say hello to our next President: John "Insane" McCain!
Posted by: buddyedgewood on May 25, 2008 11:02 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Bold predictions:

1. Hillary makes a subtle reference to a BO assassination.

2. A couple of weeks or months after Hillary’s remarks, BO is assassinated - it's blamed on the U.S. branch of al-Qaeda. MSM: You didn’t know that al-Qaeda has a U.S. branch? Now you do.

3. Hillary clinches the Democratic nomination. She’ll say something to the effect: "...it's with heavy heart that I accept this nomination, let's win this one for Barack!" or “Barack would have wanted it this way!”

4. McCain's Karl Rove campaign team tears Hillary to shreds and exposes her lesbian affair with Anne Heche (not that there's anything wrong with that!). McCain: “You want that crazy c*** in the White House?” Nobody can tell if he’s referring to Clinton or Heche.

5. McCain cake-walks to a November landslide victory.

6. Within 6 months of McCain taking office, bombs start dropping on Iran and then Syria. Troops not only stay in Iraq, but the numbers swell in preparation for the ground invasion into Iran and Syria.

Israel rejoices.

7. The draft is reinstated, but now it's called National Pride Service. Just like Israel, and many counties of the world, every man and woman, when they turn 18, will serve a minimum of 2 years in the military - all in the name of fighting the tactic called 'terrorism'. Many flee to Canada, but Canada has changed their laws since 1971 and all American “deserters” are deported.

Have a nice day and enjoy your freedom, because tomorrow it will all be gone.

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Think About It
Posted by: jacksmith on May 25, 2008 2:07 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
HILLARY CLINTON IS THE GREATEST CAMPAIGNER IN AMERICAN HISTORY !!!

HILLARY CLINTON CAN BEST WIN IN NOVEMBER:

IT'S ABOUT ELECTABILITY !!!

It's time for everyone to face the truth. Barack Obama has no real chance of winning the national election in November at this time. His crushing defeat in Pennsylvania, and loss in Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky makes that fact crystal clear. His best, and only real chance of winning in November is on a ticket with Hillary Clinton as her VP.

Sen. Obama has zero chance of winning against the republican attack machine, and their unlimited money, and resources without Hillary Clinton. Zero chance.

It is absolutely essential that the democrats take back the Whitehouse in November. America, and the American people are in a very desperate condition now. And the whole World has been doing all that they can to help keep us propped up.

Hillary Clinton say's that the heat, and decisions in the Whitehouse are much tougher than the ones on the campaign trail. But I think Sen. Obama faces a test of whether he has what it takes to be a commander and chief by facing the difficult facts, and the truth before him. And by doing what is best for the American people by dropping out of the race, and offering his whole hearted assistance to Hillary Clinton to help her take back the Whitehouse for the American people, and the World.

Sen. Obama is a great speaker. And I am confident he can explain to the American people the need, and wisdom of such a personal sacrifice for them. It should be clear to everyone by now that Hillary Clinton is fighting her heart out for the American people. She has known for a long time that Sen. Obama can not win this November. You have to remember that the Clinton's have won the Whitehouse twice before. They know what it takes.

If Sen. Obama fails his test of commander and chief we can only hope that Hillary Clinton can continue her heroic fight for the American people. And that she prevails. She will need all the continual support and help we can give her. She may fight like a superhuman. But she is only human.

Don't be fooled by the pledged delegate, and math arguments. Neither candidate has the necessary pledged delegates. The entire delegates counts, and votes from Florida, and Michigan are not even being counted. Plus the democratic caucuses, and primarys have been heavily corrupted by fraud, and vote cheating. The only relevant question now is who can best WIN IN NOVEMBER and take back the Whitehouse for the American people. And the answer is HILLARY CLINTON. Everyone knows that now.

Sincerely

Jacksmith... Working Class :-)

p.s. Cynthia Ruccia - I'm with ya baby. All the way. "Clinton Supporters Count Too."

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» RE: Think About It Posted by: Equalitynow
Please, Barack -- say NO to Hillary!
Posted by: HughScott on May 25, 2008 3:31 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As a lifelong registered Republican since 1956 and ardent Obama supporter, I once believed Hillary should be his vice president in 2009.

No more.

I don't want Mrs. Sniper Fire anywhere near the White House next year. And if her supporters vote for John McBush in November, it will show what kind of people they are: mindless bigots with suicidal tendencies.

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"Senator, you're no Bobby Kennedy"
Posted by: Jefferson's Guardian on May 25, 2008 3:33 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" was a phrase spoken by American Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator Dan Quayle during the 1988 vice-presidential debate.

Evoking remembrance of that classic line, let me add that "Senator Clinton is no Bobby Kennedy". By comparing his historic run for the presidency in 1968, to her hollow and pandering campaign in 2008, is more denigrating and disingenuous than the reference to his untimely death. Beyond both of them serving as senator from the Empire State, any similarities to the late senator as far as his unmatched character, unquenchable search for truth and justice, and unrelenting concern for the downtrodden of society, is nonexistent. For this reason, her continued campaigning for the presidency, into the month of June, is ill-serving and disparaging, not only to the American people, but to the memory of Robert F. Kennedy.

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a real threat!
Posted by: raginghormones on May 25, 2008 6:59 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I live in rural Nebraska, the middle of RedNeck Jesusland. It is hard to describe the incredible fury that exists among a certain element out here at the mere thought of a President Obama. Angry young men, Rush Limbaugh ditto-heads and O'Reilly listeners are too numerous to mention out here. Remember, this is the part of the country that spawned Timothy McVeigh.

I know that Obama is being protected, but to dismiss Hillary's remark is not to dismiss the threat. Progressives that live in urban areas cannot imagine the rage that Obama arouses in some people I've talked to out here.

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» Coincidences? Posted by: katz22br
» RE: a real threat! Posted by: opmoc
Isn't incitement to violence a crime?
Posted by: dayahka on May 25, 2008 9:15 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hillary should be brought before a grand jury and investigated.

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I Just Got This email From a Friend and It Said This
Posted by: opmoc on May 25, 2008 9:16 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln 's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln .

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln , was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.



John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln , was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.



Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.'
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford.'

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.


Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the kicker...

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

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Lady Macbeth...?
Posted by: TJ-stars4peace on May 25, 2008 9:53 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It smacks of a Freudian guilt complex to me..

She's more and more like Lady Macbeth everyday..

Hillary is there something you want to tell us about Vince Foster maybe..something about assassinations like Ron Brown's maybe...is there something keeping you wake at night or something your considering or Bill is maybe..

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Exactly how much forgiveness do Hillary's supporters expect from the rest of us?
Posted by: foreverhope on May 26, 2008 9:38 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Keith Olbermann brilliant special comment on Friday sums it up very well for most of us:

"God knows, Senator, in this campaign, this nation has **had** to forgive you, early and often...

And despite your now traditional position of the offended victim, the nation **has** forgiven you.

We have forgiven you your insistence that there have been widespread calls for you to end your campaign, when such calls had been few.

We have forgiven you your misspeaking about Martin Luther King's relative importance to the Civil Rights movement.

We have forgiven you your misspeaking about your under-fire landing in Bosnia.

We have forgiven you insisting Michigan's vote wouldn't count and then claiming those who would not count it were Un-Democratic.

We have forgiven you pledging to not campaign in Florida and thus disenfranchise voters there, and then claim those who stuck to those rules were as wrong as those who defended slavery or denied women the vote.

We have forgiven you the photos of Osama Bin Laden in an anti-Obama ad...

We have forgiven you fawning over the fairness of Fox News while they were still calling you a murderer.

We have forgiven you accepting Richard Mellon Scaife's endorsement and then laughing as you described his "deathbed conversion."

We have forgiven you quoting the electoral predictions of Boss Karl Rove.

We have forgiven you the 3 A-M Phone Call commercial.

We have forgiven you **President** Clinton's disparaging comparison of the Obama candidacy to Jesse Jackson's.

We have forgiven you Geraldine Ferraro's national radio interview suggesting Obama would not still be in the race had he been a white man.

We have forgiven you the dozen changing metrics and the endless self-contradictions of your insistence that your nomination is mathematically probable rather than a statistical impossibility.

We have forgiven you your declaration of some primary states as counting and some as not.

We have forgiven you exploiting Jeremiah Wright in front of the editorial board of the lunatic-fringe Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

We have forgiven you exploiting William Ayers in front of the debate on ABC.

We have forgiven you for boasting of your "support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans"...

We have even forgiven you repeatedly praising Senator McCain at Senator Obama's expense, and your **own** expense, and the Democratic **ticket's** expense.

But Senator, we cannot forgive you this.

"We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California."

We cannot forgive you this -- not because it is crass and low and unfeeling and brutal.

**This** is **un**-forgivable, because this nation's deepest shame, its most enduring horror, its most terrifying legacy, is political assassination.

The politics of this nation is steeped enough in blood, Senator Clinton, you cannot and must not invoke that imagery! Anywhere! At any time!

And to not appreciate, immediately -- to **still** not appreciate tonight -- just **what** you have done... is to reveal an incomprehension of the America you seek to lead.

This, Senator, is too much.

Because a senator -- a politician -- a **person** -- who can let hang in mid-air the prospect that she might just be sticking around in part, just in case the other guy gets shot -- has no business being, and no capacity **to** be, the President of the United States."



Progressives for Obama on Yahoo:

linked text

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Sick & Tired
Posted by: sick&tired on May 26, 2008 10:01 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Frankly I'm outraged at all the Hillary bashing. Sorry but you Obama "FANATICS" are getting as vicious and nasty as any republican nut case that I've seen. Let the election play itself out. Frankly, one of the biggest problems I see is that we drag the elections out for so long. We should all vote on the same day and have it over with. This is exactly the kind of hateful divisiveness the media (aka the republicans) want to screw up this election for us. Stop looking for the bad in Hillary and start viewing this election as a fight for the Democratic Party, no matter which one wins. The media is trying to put nasty spins on everything, and I mean everything that Hillary does, says or even looks at. She really has not done anything worthy of all this craziness. Everyone calm down and lets work together and try to get one of these equally worthy candidates into office.

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I don't even like Hillary, but this is ridiculous.
Posted by: nihilozero on May 27, 2008 10:08 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
She did not say that she was glad that RFK died nor did she suggest that Obama might be killed. It's everyone else who is reading into her comment and adding all that kind of stuff. If honorable and righteous people are supposed to be remembered for what they did, and if running for office is a noble endeavor, then bringing up RFK and what he was doing when he died is a perfectly acceptable thing. If she legitimately brought him up but failed to mention how he died she would be much more remiss for that (and still probably be taking much of the same heat). Should she not bring up MLK or Lincoln or Gandhi? Is that taboo now? It's this kind of media frenzy hype that helps ruin an already corrupt and pointless process. Like I say... I don't even like Hillary. She is a warmonger and a generally unpleasant liar, but those are the things that should be pointed out... not hype over a non-issue that people are making too big of a deal over. It's ridiculous and pathetic. Truly absurd.

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BBQed Chances for the Nomination
Posted by: FlowerGirl on May 27, 2008 11:01 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hillary had a BBQ this weekend and used her lost support, lost votes, her countless gaffes, expectation for preferential treatment, her hate mail and death threats, etc. to make a fire to cook her burgers, which burnt to a crisp, the same as her chances of winning the nomination. And the grill's still burning.

But the beer was flowing, with tequila chasers, so she's still in denial.

Wasn't someone supposed to spike her shot with Thorazine?

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A DEVIOUS PLAY to force him to make her VP
Posted by: ibemee on Jun 4, 2008 8:56 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
.... and we should NOT allow him to! She has made it perfectly clear that NOTHING will stop her from becoming President. She has proved she'll do "whatever it takes".

By refusing to concede, and holding her supporters in a death grip, she is making the most of Obama's promise to 'unite' the party -- NOTHING MORE THAN A VERY DEVIOUS PLAY TO FORCE HERSELF ONTO THE BALLOT AS VP.

...a very devious play to force herself onto the ballot as VP.

"WHATEVER IT TAKES"
...assassination has already been planted in the public's mind. Maybe it's a call to the subconsciousness of some demented hillary-follower, or maybe it's simply to remind the public not to be surprised if 'that terrible thing happens again someday'....

Time for everyone to contact Obama's campaign.

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