Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (official)

[CookyPuss]

More on Hillary's claim of being critical of the war before Obama, this one is worth more than 4 Pinocchio's:

Political Punch

Clinton on Saturday told Oregonians, "when Sen. Obama came to the Senate he and I have voted exactly the same except for one vote. And that happens to be the facts. We both voted against early deadlines. I actually starting criticizing the war in Iraq before he did."

It's an odd way to measure opposition to the war -- comparing who gave the first criticism of the war in Iraq starting in January 2005, ignoring Obama's opposition to the war throughout 2003 and 2004. (And Clinton's vote for it.)

But even if one were to employ this "Start Counting in January 2005" measurement, Clinton did not criticize the war in Iraq first.
Scrambling to support their boss's claim, Clinton campaign officials pointed to a paper statement Clinton issued on Jan. 26, 2005, explaining her vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State.

"The Administration and Defense Department's Iraq policy has been, by any reasonable measure, riddled with errors, misstatements and misjudgments," the January 2005 Clinton statement said. "From the beginning of the Iraqi war, we were inadequately prepared for the aftermath of the invasion with too few troops and an inadequate plan to stabilize Iraq."

But Obama offered criticisms of the war in Iraq eight days before that, directly to Rice, in his very first meeting as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 18. [cont]

[sandgk]

Let's just call it what it is -

8 Days in January ... in place of 7 Days in May

[jlb1705]

Originally Posted by ekeen

That's what people said when we used to tease John Kerry for throwing like a girl.

It is comforting to have a guy who you know, acts like a guy be considered for the top position in the land.

Why does it matter how you bowl or throw?

And how much brush do you have to clear to make people forget that you were a cheerleader?

[shetuck]

NYT: Tough Math for Clinton

In Superdelegate Count, Tough Math for Clinton

By JOHN HARWOOD
Published: April 7, 2008

The hill that Hillary Rodham Clinton must climb to beat Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination will grow a little steeper on Monday, as it has most days lately.

Margaret Campbell, a Montana state legislator, plans to declare her support for Senator Obama, of Illinois. She becomes the 69th superdelegate he has picked up since the Feb. 5 coast-to-coast string of primary elections and caucus votes.

[...]

Mrs. Clinton tried again this weekend to stem the erosion, speaking to Ms. Campbell on a campaign swing through Montana. But Ms. Campbell declined to hold out any longer, saying, ?Senator Obama reminds me of why I?m a Democrat.?

Even if Mrs. Clinton narrows Mr. Obama?s delegate lead to 100, and if no further superdelegates make commitments through the end of the primaries, she?d wake up June 4 needing to win over two-thirds of the still-uncommitted superdelegates.

[...]

Such reasoning didn?t dissuade Ms. Campbell, who also spoke to Mr. Obama over the weekend. His handling of the Wright episode showed ?his strong points? at racial reconciliation, she concluded, to the benefit of her fellow Native Americans as well as other groups.
?I think he can win a general election,? Ms. Campbell said. ?He gives me that belief that America can be united.?

['BusNative]

There are two arguments that the Clinton campaign is leaning on that are driving me crazy:

1) She is staying in the race so every voice is heard.

Bull[censored]. If it was truly important to the Clinton campaign that every voice is heard, than she wouldn't be trying to convince people that there is no such thing as "pledged" delegates - or, more properly, delegates can exercise their own judgment.

The pledged delegates are the only link between voters and the nomination, so if she truly believes the everyone should be heard than pledged delegates should absolutely vote as allocated at the convention in Denver.

2) She has won the "big states" or is winning the electoral college count.

So what? It's hard to imagine that the Obama campaign, which has COMPLETELY outplayed the Clinton campaign wouldn't adjust its strategy if the goal was to win electoral college votes or to win big states. Winning the fictitious electoral college contest is about as meaningful as Clinton's victory in TSUN.

[Folanator]

She now want to boycott the opening of the Olympics Bejing in responce to Tibet.

I know several people that were [censored]ed by Jimmy Carters Boycott of Moscow. There should be a law against using the Olympics for political leverage. I hate people that do not understand the intent of the Olympics, where sport is a place that is above political BS.

['BusNative]

Originally Posted by Folanator

She now want to boycott the opening of the Olympics Bejing in responce to Tibet.

I know several people that were [censored]ed by Jimmy Carters Boycott of Moscow. There should be a law against using the Olympics for political leverage. I hate people that do not understand the intent of the Olympics, where sport is a place that is above political BS.

My HS track coach was one of those people.

Back to Hillary.

[shetuck]

Originally Posted by Folanator

She now want to boycott the opening of the Olympics Bejing in responce to Tibet...

She's trying to reach out for the Nancy Pelosi vote...

[ORD_Buckeye]

Originally Posted by Folanator

She now want to boycott the opening of the Olympics Bejing in responce to Tibet.

I know several people that were [censored]ed by Jimmy Carters Boycott of Moscow. There should be a law against using the Olympics for political leverage. I hate people that do not understand the intent of the Olympics, where sport is a place that is above political BS.

Let's not forget that we all got [censored]ed when the Soviets boycotted the LA games. If the Soviets and East Europeans had shown up, nobody would have ever heard of Mary Lou Rhetton. Instead, we had to deal with the little hillbilly in our faces for a decade.

[Gatorubet]

Originally Posted by ORD_Buckeye

Let's not forget that we all got [censored]ed when the Soviets boycotted the LA games. If the Soviets and East Europeans had shown up, nobody would have ever heard of Mary Lou Rhetton. Instead, we had to deal with the little hillbilly in our faces for a decade.

But she's holding up pretty well for her age.



Mary Lou is from West Virgina.

She named her four daughters Shayla Rae (4/12/95), McKenna Lane (4/15/97), Skyla Brae (8/9/2000), and Emma Jean (6/20/2002)......thus confirming conclusively that she is indeed from West Virginia.

[shetuck]

Originally Posted by Gatorubet

But she's holding up pretty well for her age.


Mary Lou is from West Virgina.

She named her four daughters Shayla Rae (4/12/95), McKenna Lane (4/15/97), Skyla Brae (8/9/2000), and Emma Jean (6/20/2002)...

Don't forget her newborn son... Scooby Doo!

[shetuck]

Politico: Where did the tables turn?

Where did the tables turn?

By: Roger Simon
April 8, 2008 09:06 PM EST

Where did the Hillary Clinton campaign first go wrong? How did she go from inevitable to in trouble?

I think it all began with the very first contest: Iowa.

Iowa is where Clinton needed to strangle the Barack Obama campaign in its crib.

She needed to do him in at the very beginning, while her inevitability argument still had credibility.

True, some in the Clinton campaign were worried about Iowa. Mike Henry, her deputy campaign manager, wrote a 1,500-word internal memo saying Clinton should skip the state entirely and spend her time and money elsewhere.

[...]

Clinton?s campaign strategy in Iowa was a traditional one: Target those voters who had voted in the past ? the most reliable kind of voters there are ? and then get them to the polls. And some Clinton aides were openly contemptuous of Obama?s attempt to ?expand the universe? and bring in younger voters.

Young voters simply don?t vote, they said. They may show up and wave signs at rallies, but they don?t vote. Everybody knew that.

Except in Iowa, in January of this year, they did vote. Younger voters represented 22 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucus? the highest youth turnout in any state so far ? and Obama got 57 percent of them to Clinton?s 11 percent. The youth vote, in fact, turned out to be about 30 percent of Obama?s total vote.

At the end of the day, Obama won 38 percent of the delegates at stake, John Edwards got 30 percent, and Clinton fell to earth with a thud, in third place with 29 percent.

cont'd...

[shetuck]

AP: Colombia Trade Deal Splits Clintons

This appears contrived...

Apr 8, 6:24 PM (ET)

By CHARLES BABINGTON

WASHINGTON (AP) - The presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that her husband, the former president, supports a free trade agreement with Colombia that his wife strenuously opposes.

The acknowledgment adds new hurdles to the New York senator's bid to woo Democratic voters in Pennsylvania and elsewhere who believe free trade agreements have eliminated thousands of U.S. jobs. On Sunday, she demoted her chief campaign strategist for his role in promoting the Colombia pact.

Hillary Clinton told union activists Tuesday she would do everything in her power to defeat the Colombia Free Trade Agreement now before Congress. Her campaign spokesman, Jay Carson, said in response to a query from The Associated Press that the senator's opposition is "clear and firm." He added: "Like other married couples who disagree on issues from time to time, she disagrees with her husband on this issue. President Clinton has been public about his support for Colombia's request for U.S. trade preferences since 2000."

cont'd...

[ORD_Buckeye]

Originally Posted by shetuck

AP: Colombia Trade Deal Splits Clintons

This appears contrived...

They're triangulating, Baby!

[Buckeye86]

NYtimes

WASHINGTON - The war in Iraq collided with White House ambitions in hearing rooms on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as three would-be commanders in chief - Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain - swooped in from the campaign trail to question the top American commander in Baghdad, Gen. David H. Petraeus.