Yes, I'm pissed off. I'm pissed off because of the things Hillary Clinton's camp have been coming out and saying in the wake of her victories in Ohio and Texas on Tuesday. Specifically, Clinton's chief spokesman, Howard Wolfson, has come out and criticized Barack Obama for stating that he intends to increase criticism of Clinton's record. Here's your quote:
"After a campaign in which many of the questions that voters had in the closing days centered on concerns that they had over his state of preparedness to be commander in chief and steward of the economy, he has chosen instead of addressing those issues to attack Senator Clinton," Wolfson told reporters in a conference call. "I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president."It almost seems like this man has to be joking, because this has to be the most blatantly hypocritical thing I've ever heard in my entire life. If Obama decides to engage in negative tactics -- a strategy which has mostly avoided throughout his campaign -- it is only because his hand has been forced by Clinton's continual use of those tactics.
As Devin pointed out out on Tuesday night, Clinton's "red phone emergency" ad, which painted Obama as a man incapable of rising to the occasion in the event of a crisis (while of course Hillary has all sorts of experience in this arena as a result of having been the President's WIFE), was disturbingly effective and may have been a large part of the reason she won in Texas. This was quite clearly a negative ad, and it continues a long trend of outright criticism toward Obama that Clinton has engaged in throughout her campaign. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, in essence -- it's politics after all. But I have a great deal of respect for Obama because he has mostly shied away from such tactics (tactics which are hurtful to the Democratic party in the long run), and for Clinton's lead aide to come out and criticize Obama for announcing his intentions to use the same tactics that Clinton has been using for months and comparing Obama to Kenneth Star is absolutely ridiculous.
This criticism is tantamount to the New York Yankees getting angry at the Twins for going out and signing an expensive high-profile free agent in order to improve their chances of winning. Hey, it's all well and good when we do it, but when you do it, it's morally wrong and unethical. Shame on you, Barack Obama!
Clinton still trails in delegates and it has become quite clear that she is willing to do just about anything to get back ahead in this race. If anyone is deserving of criticism for the way they've run their campaign and the potential damage it will cause to the eventual candidate's chances against John McCain in November, it's her.
2 comments:
She is going to divide our party, end of story. I'm calling it right now - the polls said a week or so ago that 70% of dems would be perfectly happy with either candidate. If she continues these hypocritical and baseless attacks, that number will drop drastically. Its ludicrous to accuse someone of the dirty politics you are playing. Its almost as if she has to get it out there first so when he comes at her and says she is running a dirty campaign, she can claim she said it first about him and he is becoming desperate. This is the most absurd thing ever and I am getting sick of this race. The dems are going to split apart soon. Al Gore where are you? Obama needs your endorsement. And a running mate!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/opinion/07brooks.html?hp
Is it time to really concede and follow suit then? Did the "politics of change" fail and will Obama have to start getting his hands dirty? Maybe that would be a more disappointing ending for many than the split of the Democratic party. I welcome two new parties and the destruction of the major parties because frankly there is nothing worse in modern politics than the power of the party caucus system. Its what turns Washington into a charade of lobbyists and politicians begging for more money from the same powerful people. Nothing could be better if you actually want change.
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