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May
24
First time: 2/26/07
Second time: 5/04/07
Third time: 5/23/08
Hillary Clinton doesn’t get a pass for saying out loud what others are thinking. It’s not her place. Certainly not out loud.
But does anyone really think that Barack Obama’s campaign can’t be, shouldn’t be or isn’t thinking about such fears?
UPDATE: Mark Daniels, who is familiar to many Ohio bloggers and blog readers, is a co-blogger with me at The Moderate Voice and wrote this post about Clinton’s statement.
Here’s an excerpt but read the whole thing:
I, for one, don’t believe that Clinton meant to draw an analogy between Senator Barrack Obama and Bobby Kennedy, insinuating that because the Illinois senator evokes the same sort of passion as Kennedy, he may be an assassin’s target, thereby presumably giving the New York senator reason for staying in the race for this year’s Democratic nomination. There was nothing to be gained by Clinton in making such a connection, especially among Democratic superdelegates, many of whom venerate Kennedy and his older brother, President John F. Kennedy, and, like most Americans, have just been saddened by the news that Senator Edward Kennedy is suffering from cancer. Clinton, in spite of what her many opponents may say, is not evil incarnate. She’s not stupid either.
…
But comparing, June, 1968 to June, 2008, is not so much comparing apples to oranges as it is apples to King Kong.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:37 am May 24th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Race, WH2008
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28 Responses to “[Update] The Tri-C Obama rally tow-truck man’s Kennedy reference strikes again”
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How many assumptions does it take to fill an imaginary basket?
Can we charge a fee for the assumptions and then sell the basket?
In some countries, they still hunt down journalist and hang them, some just shut the media outlet down others blow it up.
How much self-control should we have about subjecting so many to what so little have to say?
Some day people will be tried of picking the corn out of each others fescues or looking for peas in somebody’s else’s regurgitations.
Ok – I don’t get your point. The fear should be voiced, or not voiced?
I honestly don’t know – but when I first posted the tow-truck guy’s comment to me, it was out of sheer surprise that he would be saying it.
Are you saying I shouldn’t have been surprised in the first place? That none of us should be?
When do we get to move to where such a fear has no basis in reality – will it never not have a basis in reality – like 9/11?
That tow-truck guy had no problem saying it or thinking it. There are a lot of folks like him who are voters too.
We wanted these candidates – but we also brought along a lot of unspoken emotions, Oengus. And few of us – myself included – really know what to do with that.
You know, I honestly believe that she meant that RFK was shot while campaigning in June, not that Obama will be assasinated.
Shalom Jill,
I guarantee you that Obama’s secret service detail is at the highest possible level of alert any of us could conceive. I can’t begin to imagine their stress levels.
And I guarantee that they’re all thinking 1968.
Having said that, Clinton’s reference that Bobby Kennedy was still campaigning that June was inept and ill-said; but not ill-meant. I think this is a case of campaign fatigue.
I don’t agree with people calling for an end of the primaries. All of America has not yet voted. This isn’t over until they have.
This problem is for Howard Dean and the National Democratic Party to fix before 2012.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Jeff – I agree with 100% of what you wrote. I think earlier I wanted it to just end – but that was perhaps in March or so. But it certainly has seemed that, with fewer and fewer contests left and if the candidates want to keep treating it as a race, and voters are supporting it with their money and their desire to vote – yeah, it might as well finish out – I wouldn’t want to be in a state that hasn’t voted yet, but then I really had wished it was over before it got to Ohio. Can you say, conflicted?
I agree re: Howard Dean. I’m wondering, how do we make the process they’ll use to fix this – however we define this – as good as it can be – what would that be? Who would be on it? What interests would be voiced?
[...] 0925 The Tri-C Obama rally tow-truck man’s Kennedy reference strikes again [...]
Lynda – I just watched the tape again – I agree with you. She was trying to bring up the importance of June – not the topic of assassination. The WaPo article to which I linked quotes RFK’s son, who is a Clinton supporter, saying the following:
“Robert Kennedy’s son, Robert Jr., has endorsed Clinton, and in a statement through her campaign, he said: “It is clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the race through June. . . . I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.”
I agree with him, but the ability to realize why it might be indelicate of her to have stated it definitely shows the fatigue of the campaign – how careful can you be after 18 mos. of campaigning – what is left to say, you know?
Ugh. I can’t believe summer is just starting and I want it to be over! lol
fatigue is no fucking excuse. this it the 3am woman afterall!
See, then? That is all that’s needed – she makes the case for herself, for some people, as to why she isn’t fit.
Don’t you think most political candidates are more than capable of torpedoing their own rise?
Especially when every public moment of that 18 mos. is being recorded, analyzed, deconstructed, looped endlessly, and spun in the most unflattering and sensational way.
The thing that troubles me most about any presidential hopeful is that they’d want the job so badly that they’d subject themselves to the process. It’s just plain disturbing.
I think the same way – exactly. It just cannot be worth it – the ego and drive involved. Both something to admire and to question. I’ve always thought that.
I agree with those who have said that there wasn’t any point for Clinton to say that, since she clearly wouldn’t have to have an active campaign running in order to be considered the obvious nominee if Obama was raptured, decided to become a Muslim after all, etc. Besides, the issue I and many other Obama supporters have with her isn’t the fact that she’s still running, it’s the way she’s running, with these bogus and thoroughly unproductive arguments about Michigan and Florida. Where a normal candidate would be taking steps at this point to prepare her followers for the inevitable, she’s encouraging them to feel that they’ve been cheated.
The incident also reminded me of one of Clinton’s less attractive qualities in this campaign, which is her difficulty acknowledging Obama in anything other than attack mode. She never congratulates him on his primary wins, and her apology Friday was directed to the Kennedy family (which is fine) but not to the Obama family.
The other thing is this: fear that something terrible will happen to Obama is widespread in the black community. If Hillary had spent any time at all trying to campaign among black voters instead of just going after “hardworking white people” over the last 4 months, she might have been aware of this and been less likely to make this mistake.
Wiley – those are all really excellent points, not all of which I thought of but can absolutely see.
If you are running to represent a country, no matter how hard it might be – Clinton must think about the kind of critique you just made (much as Obama or McCain should heed critiques about them as well).
Thanks for commenting – you are absolutely right.
Why would she apologize to the Obama family?Have they had anyone assasinated in the month of June? If you listen to the tape, she is referring to campaigns that still go on in June, not assassinations.
Shalom Jill,
It wasn’t original with him, but I first heard the idea of an eight-week, four-primary primary season from President Jimmy Carter. It works like this:
You divide the country into four primary groups along the time zones. Then you hold primary election two-weeks apart in each group. Every four years you rotate the order so that every 16 years every group gets the chance to be first.
You start the first of May and end before the 4th of July; then hold your conventions in August and campaign for office in September and October.
B’shalom,
Jeff
I love it, Jeff – I also love the idea of a national primary.
Think there’s a place for us somewhere?!
Shalom Jill,
I don’t favor a national primary because that doesn’t allow for the evolution of a candidate and favors those who can front-load their campaign chests.
I prefer the compromise of an eight-week primary season.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Hmm, but Jeff, why shouldn’t we expect the candidate to put forth all their goods before we vote? Why does their need to be a period for evolution? Wouldn’t that be unfair to the people who vote at the beginning of the metamorphosis?
Shalom Jill,
Putting forth all is great if we can get the American public to sit still for Lincoln-Douglasesque debates.
I also think that the primary season tests the candidates in ways they have never been tested.
And yes, it is unfair to those who vote early. That’s why I favor rotating the order every four years so that everyone gets a shot at being first, and last.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Hmm, well, maybe but still – there will always be a butterfly effect on someone, that way, no? I suppose it depends on the goals of system you choose.
Hey, Jill! Thanks so much for linking to my post.
Have a good Memorial Day.
Mark Daniels
[...] [Update] The Tri-C Obama rally tow-truck man’s Kennedy reference strikes again 0823 Lieberman promotes expansion of online censorship in name of fighting terrorism Posted in [...]
I don’t believe she was referencing the shooting; which almost makes it worse because what I expect from a leader is someone who expresses their thoughts well. She loses to Obama on that score. I do know it’s a long campaign and words will be misconstrued; however, to use a blogging word, she is not transparent enough for me.
I don’t need a one day primary but how about four regional primary days? One month apart. Everyone can fight about who goes first. (Mid Atlantic and South?) That would be us! LOL
Mark – I thought you handled the matter very reasonably. We’re at the point where people are going to see what they want to see – it really wouldn’t matter what the speaker said about what they said – no one is listening at this point anyway. It’s actually really sad – the only views percolating are those of speculation – not really what the actors really mean or say or do.
Carole – so you like the regional primary thing? Certainly would be better than what we have now.
I don’t know a lot about the connection between the formal political parties and the primaries. I’d like to understand that better too.
Here I guess we have to see if Jimmy Dimora likes an idea lol. Sigh. I too would like to understand the way to change or affect the voting system we have. Are there committees?
Well, I guess it could start either from “without” or “within” you know? So – for example, does the SOS office have some group studying it? I can’t imagine they’d be studying a wholesale change, but I don’t know. Who is it up to, to look at it? On a national level or local? The political parties – what is their role if any? Are they too vested in themselves to even consider such a review? And then there’s the whole industry of advisors, advertisers and so on.
Hmm – maybe someone like John Green at the Bliss Institute would have a handle on such a thing?
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