NBC Nightly News Lead Story: Why Is Hillary Attacking Rev. Wright Now?
(Updated)
Well, the embarrassment has spilled out on NBC: Hillary Clinton's interview with Richard Mellon Scaife's Tribune-Review had Brian Williams starting the newscast talking about how she's trying to deflect attention away from her Bosnia war story - at the expense of Barack Obama, of course. It's not looking very good for anyone, but at this point, Clinton couldn't give a rat's ass about anyone looking good.
With the possible exception of John McBush.
This we now know: If she goes down in the 2008 election season, she's going to destroy the entire party in the process.
It's a fucking pity. We used to talk here about how great BOTH these candidates were. We became disappointed in Hillary's reaction when she began losing states to Obama. We watched in stunned disbelief when she began using the "words aren't enough" meme. There was only one person that was directed to, and it wasn't the Republican.
Even when we gravitated away from her message of increased derision and toward the more positive message of Obama, we still remarked that she had great sway in the system. We said she'd be magnificent as Senate Majority Leader, and even Supreme Court Justice. You can't say that about just anyone.
But then she let loose with her "lifetime of experience" and the unbelievable "threshold" talking points. She committed the foulest political crime of outwardly trashing the Democratic front-runner while praising the presumptive GOP nominee. As a result, she's reduced herself to just another bitter politician who puts more cred in the Republican noise machine and the Republican candidate than she can bring herself to do for the party that gave her the chance the GOP would never allow.
Granting a 90 minute interview to the flagship newspaper of the man who through his dollars, singlehandedly tried to destroy her husband? TPM has this picture from today's "interview."
That's the man, Richard Mellon Scaife, to her right.
Essentially, today, Hillary Rodham Clinton turned into Joe Lieberman.
Enough of this bullshit. We're not listening to it anymore. Become McCain's running mate and get it the hell over with.
And forget all that dreamtalk about the Senate and the Supreme Court. Now, we'd be happy if she just WENT AWAY.
Addendum: Donna Brazile is reminding her the guy she's trashing stood by her man.
Donna Brazile -- an uncommitted superdelegate of the Democratic National Convention and one of television's few black, female political pundits -- interjected an intriguing observation this afternoon into a discussion on CNN about Hillary Clinton's stiff-arming of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
...In short, Brazile provided a pointed reminder that some voters (African Americans, in particular, we would think) might recall that Wright did not turn on Clinton's husband during an hour of need for him...
Clinton could have contented herself with decrying Wright's messages without saying, in essence, that no way would she tolerate an association with the likes of him.
That's what Brazile picked up on, making a reference to Wright's willingness to join dozens of other religious figures in attending an annual White House prayer breakfast just as the Starr report on Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky -- in all its lurid detail -- was about to come out.
... those at the event -- at least the vast majority of them -- highly disapproved of Clinton's behavior. But they were not willing to shun him.
Brazile's none-too-subtle point: There's a potential downside to turning away, with nary a forgiving nod, from those who once stood by you.
Hope you can handle it, Hill: Blowback - caused by throwing the people who believed in you into the wood chipper. You should've been smart enough to see it coming. We thought you were. We were obviously wrong.
This is all just too weird...
Posted by: DaveH | Mar 25, 2008 at 07:16 PM
"Now, we'd be happy if she just WENT AWAY"
Exactly, PLEASE, PLEASE Just go away. I don't think I would vote for her again as my Senator, yet alone for Dog Catcher!
Posted by: wdh | Mar 25, 2008 at 07:46 PM
ABC and CBS also led with the same story, and had the same take on it as William's did. That's pretty deadly for a candidate, the main networks get many more viewers than cable, sheesh.
Hoff, I know you're a big KO fan, he announced tonight a Sunday night NBC hour of his show at 6 CDT, I think.
I was outraged when Clinton said that today, to of all people Scaife. But Donna Brazille's take was one I hadn't considered. That makes it all mucj worse.
Posted by: DeeLoralei in Memphis | Mar 25, 2008 at 11:34 PM
Excellent post, Hoff. And to think I was actually a strong Hillary supporter. (until around January 2006 when she gave a foreign policy speech saying essentially that we should have permanent bases in Iraq, that we should keep trade sanctions and military pressure on Iran and that we should increase our military presence in Afganistan ) It was then that I realized that she really didn't get it.
Posted by: sammy1 | Mar 26, 2008 at 05:39 AM
She lost me in NH with the "tears" and the simultanous promotion of herself as a strong woman able to take on the Republicans, yet still having Bill to lean on if times got tough in the WH (and that we should vote for her for both reasons!). It's not that anyone believes she would not be able to count on spousal support, but she always seemed to me to be using it as a code for people (men) who might not otherwise vote for her. If that hadn't done it, then the mocking of Obama, support for McCain, "misspeaking" and "sleep deprivation" excuses (good Presidents also work hard!), etc. etc. would have done it for me. IMO - no VP, no Supreme Court appointment, and a good challenger next time she comes up for election.
Posted by: Sandi | Mar 26, 2008 at 06:27 AM
I wonder where those big-box bloggers are that declared Clinton, the Anointed One, and trashed the rest of us when we started pointing these vile tendencies out.
Are they deluded enough to stay the course with her throughout this ordeal? Are they unwilling to reach beyond their massive egos to see her for what she is? Is the embargo still in force?
Sometimes our political discourse is more at home on an elementary school playground then the world stage. It's very humiliating.
Posted by: David Aquarius | Mar 26, 2008 at 12:14 PM
hello. I just dropped by to do my bit at seeing that the phrase "The Tonya Harding Effect" becomes part of the national discussion. thank you for your time, please drive safely!
Posted by: cage free brown | Mar 26, 2008 at 12:31 PM
I'm sorry. make that "the Tonya Harding Option"
neatness counts!
Posted by: cage free brown | Mar 26, 2008 at 12:43 PM
And in the meantime, Bush is accidentally shipping nuclear triggers to Taiwan. God forbid that Clinton should bring up the audacity of stupidity that is George W. Bush and his band of dimwits - which of course includes Messrs McCain and Lieberman.
Fun? Wow!
Posted by: BKLN | Mar 26, 2008 at 02:12 PM
Hillary's phantom snipers will take her out.
Real leaders don't hem & haw, make excuses and cast about looking for others to blame.
We've seen two tests in two weeks: the Rev. Wright/Obama/Race drama; and Hillary's acid trip to BosniaWorld.
Barack shined, giving an historic speech he wrote, basically, on the fly.
Hillary has made a fatal mistake. Not a "misstatement."
As a female veteran of the Persian Gulf War (US Army), I am highly offended by her complete and willful fabrication of events.
For all the female soldiers out there, I can only hope the men they serve with don't equate them to Hillary. They're head and shoulders above her, any day.
Posted by: Bailey Reynolds | Mar 26, 2008 at 07:00 PM
Good fucking God!!!!!!!!!!!
Why is it that all of the blogs I used to enjoy participating at have all been transformed into a bunch of flaming assholes?
Thanks Obama!
Someone should remind Brazile that the guy President Clinton granted an appearance to the White House was simulating sex acts on a Church lectern on Christmas day in front of children while bashing the shit out of the entire Clinton family.
Man, I am so sick of all you fucked up Obama shitheads.
Obama knew a year ago that Rev Wright would derail his campaign, but like a selfish prick, he concealed his 20 year relationship with that bigot and forced him into early retirement. Now Obama is dragging the entire Democratic party down with him.
If the Clintons where really such a bunch of evil monsters like all you assholes say they are, then why didn't they reveal Obama's 20 year close relationship with an America hating far left bigot before the Iowa caucuses?
Obama would have been the first Dem to drop out of the race if Americans found out about this Wright stuff from the beginning.
Posted by: OxyCon | Mar 26, 2008 at 07:05 PM
Looks like OxyCon got some of the brown acid...
Just exactly what this is referring to "simulating sex acts on a Church lectern on Christmas day in front of children"? I missed that one.
And actually OxyCon, it seems like you're currently having a helluva good time participating at this blog.
Posted by: BKLN | Mar 26, 2008 at 07:50 PM
The Clintons have no shame. At least Tonya was influenced by her tweaker boyfriend when she went astray, and all it involved was the desire for a medal. After these tactics can the Clintons be trusted with any power. Grovelling to Richard Mellon Scaife is the low point of low points. Also, Hillary's role in the Christian Right "Fellowship" along with defeated clerico-fascist senators Santorum and "Macaca" Allen needs to be exposed and investigated. Clinton is one of the first candidates to clearly lie before she even got the nomination, i.e, the Bosnia story, NAFTA and her claimed role in solving the Northern Ireland troubles, a statement which Lord Trimble, one of the real key negotiators described as silly. She needs to get into the ring and be thumped for three rounds by Tonya.
Posted by: John P. Teschke Long Beach | Mar 27, 2008 at 02:24 AM
I saw that picture of Senator Clinton & Scaife and all I could think of was the time in 2004 that "maverick" McCain hugged Bush - these folks will do anything to get elected. Disgusting.
That said, come November, I'm voting for the Democrat.
Posted by: darms | Mar 27, 2008 at 10:33 AM
OxyCon, I didn't join a cult or anything. I did a lot of handwringing before I voted in the primary. J.Schahill and N.Klein have a good nation article where they endorse Dems freezing both HRC and BHO out until they take a strong stand on the war. see, I'm open. I don't think the sun shines out of anybody's ass anymore than I think Wright has been a "preaching bigot" for 20 some years. I think YOU are the guy getting your opinions from pop-top can, not me. you can still be in my band.
Posted by: cage free brown | Mar 27, 2008 at 01:05 PM
Barack Obama addressed the Rev. Wright episode with candor and dignity. Now Hillary's trying to revive this manufactured controversy to distract attention from her blatant lies about her trip to Bosnia. She didn't misspeak; she lied and got caught. This year the Democrats should have thoroughly squashed the GOP, relegating it to a minor party of southern racists but instead, because of power-hungry turncoats like Hillary and Lieberman, there is a distinct chance of another Republican in the White House and the bitter end of the democratic experiment in the United States.
Posted by: d. hatch | Mar 27, 2008 at 01:27 PM
"Good fucking God!!!!!!!!!!!
Why is it that all of the blogs I used to enjoy participating at have all been transformed into a bunch of flaming assholes?
Man, I am so sick of all you fucked up Obama shitheads."
And there you have the calming voice of hope that is the Clinton campaign.
Posted by: dave, CT | Mar 27, 2008 at 07:36 PM
Why do I keep on hoping that HRC will surprise us and, with a big smile on her face, announce that her entire ridiculous and nasty campaign has been a stunt to garner her enough attention to launch her career as a professional wrestler? I mean, I would think someone like her would consider the presidential salary of 400K as chump change, though I am sure Bill can parlay the connections she makes into millions. But still, he already has plenty of connections he is making millions out of, so why bother?
She could present herself as "The Hillinator" who is not afraid to use any tactic to destroy her opponent. And with all the references to Tonya Harding that her campaign has generated, why couldn't she schedule her first match against Tonya? Sounds like a real winner of an idea to me. It certainly would be a much more noble effort than what she appears to be engaging in now.
Posted by: john | Mar 28, 2008 at 09:30 AM
Perfect, CT!
You could have video footage of Hillary giving McCain a blowjob and her (apparently lemming-like) supporters will point out how experienced she seems to be. To the Oxy-guy... WOW! I haven't seen willful ignorance like that since, well, last time I heard someone say "the surge is working".
Dude, much like the surge, it isn't working, and not only that, it's counterproductive and will lead only to an increased bodycount, on both sides. Now, Oxy&Friends, listen very, very, carefully...
We need you. We need your votes, and we need Hillary to stop endorsing McCain and doing everything in her power to destroy the Democratic Party. Our country can't take another four years of a Republican Administration. Obama has, for all intents and purposes, won this contest. Now, more than ever, we need to put aside our petty differences and get behind our nominee so we can put an end to the madness that is Bush, and reverse the destruction he's wrought upon our country AND the planet.
Please?
Posted by: voice_of_reason | Mar 28, 2008 at 09:34 AM
Let's also not forget that Bill Clinton went on the Rush Limbaugh show on the day of the Ohio and Texas primaries. Should we expect him to do the same thing with Pennsylvania? They are shameless!
Posted by: Brianna | Mar 28, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Let's also not forget that Bill Clinton went on the Rush Limbaugh show on the day of the Ohio and Texas primaries. Should we expect him to do the same thing with Pennsylvania? They are shameless!
Posted by: Brianna | Mar 28, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Today Bubba said McCain was a moderate.
jeez! he's already got the JOB, you know?
how do they justify this stuff?
Posted by: cage free brown | Mar 28, 2008 at 12:48 PM