April 07, 2008
Error, Foul, Penalty
Hillary Clinton’s campaign wins the most errors, fouls, and penalties for the last week. The other two candidates aren’t maintaining a perfect game either, but they are doing much better than Hillary. McCain’s only major error this week was in vowing to deal with severe economic crisis.
Demonstrating in full public view his complete lack of understanding about economics and government's enormous role in it, McCain told reporters he would oppose any big government bailouts, saying they had not worked in the past and would not work in the future. But he expressed support for the Senate's economic stimulus package. Never has a candidate given a more blatantly contradictory message. The economic stimulus bill is a 158 billion dollar bail out for consumers who are feeling pocket books pinched by the recession and curtailing their consumer behavior. The man is speaking out both sides of his face at the same time.
The message is designed to appeal to fiscal conservatives who reject government intervention in economic and market affairs, while in the same breath assuring the voting public that he will use their tax dollars to shore up the economy when it is in trouble. This is similar to McCain's position on getting out of Iraq so long as we can stay in Iraq, as insurance. Or, McCain's support for Rep. Jim Webb's idea of a better GI Bill education for returning Vets, but, inability to endorse the bill drafted in Jan. of 2007 and waiting over a year for McCain's help to pass it. Still, the polls show these errors of McCain's are not affecting his standing with the public, yet.
Obama this last week is celebrating having picked up 72 super delegate votes in the last 10 weeks or so, while Clinton has lost 2. Obama raised more than twice as much money as Clinton last month. But, Obama is being penalized for his glamour campaign, and if he doesn't address this line of subtle undermining criticism, he will have committed a serious error in his campaign. WatchBlog's own writer Jack in the Republican/Conservative column has launched a very similar critique of Obama and it is popping up on other blogs as well.
This constitutes a very subtle and distinctly dangerous line of rhetoric for the Obama campaign, which can be distilled down to the spin line: "He's all talk, and if elected, walking the talk will be beyond his experience." Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever that this implied accusation will be true, as many presidents in America have come to the office without experience in it, and rose to the occasion. However, there is no evidence that such a criticism may prove untrue either, save for Obama's masterful campaigning skills to date. And this is what makes this line of critique potentially dangerous to the Obama campaign. Obama must find a way to disarm this growing grapevine critique before it catches a public wave and does irreparable damage to his campaign.
This last week however belongs to Hillary Clinton for errors, fouls, and penalties. A serious error occurred in the Clinton campaign when Hillary repeated many times in many places a story she heard 3rd or 4th hand about a pregnant woman who lost the baby and then herself died. Hillary attributed the losses to a lack of adequate medical care and absence of insurance by the pregnant woman. Both proved to be untrue, and the Clinton campaign accedes to the error, stating Clinton will not recite the story again.
This is a major error in judgment by HIllary Clinton whose campaign has been centered around her judgment when that 3AM call comes into the White House. It begs the question of whether Sen. Clinton has the ability to screen and verify sources of information before making critical decisions that could affect the lives of 100's of millions of people. Pres. Bush failed to verify sources before invading Iraq, and the cost to America has been enormous. For Hillary Clinton to commit this same mistake to the jeopardy of her campaign, not once, but twice in a month, is a most serious error.
Previously, Sen. Clinton recounted a trip to Bosnia under fire, which turned out to be a complete fabrication. Americans do not want to bear the costs of another person in the White House who will both lie and fail to verify information before making deadly presidential decisions.
Sen. Clinton's foul of the week came in the form of accusing Sen. Obama and his allies of trying to stop people from voting as some of his backers have called on her to drop out of the presidential race. Pay very careful attention to that sentence construction, for therein lies the foul.
Some of Obama's backers have called on Hillary to drop out of the race for the good of the Democratic Party. Not Obama, and not any officials currently with the Obama campaign. Yet, Sen. Clinton's rhetoric attacks Obama himself for the actions of others who support him. That is a foul. There are probably hundreds of Clinton supporters in jail for various crimes, but, it doesn't mean Clinton sanctions their actions. Obama is on record as having said he thinks Clinton should stay in the race as long as she wishes to.
Sen. Clinton's penalty is being served up in several ways, but none more important than the loss of a double digit gain in the polls for Pennsylvania. If she loses Pennsylvania to Obama, small chance really, it is generally agreed she has lost the last opportunity for becoming the nominee. But, if Obama loses to her by only 3 to 8% of the popular vote, the pundits and analysts will penalize Clinton for having lost the momentum necessary to keep her in the race. The talk is that she must win the popular vote to get super delegate consideration on the scale against Obama's pledged delegate lead. Failure to decisively win Pennsylvania, the pundits will argue, makes the likelihood of winning
the popular vote through the remaining state's primaries and caucuses, remote at best.
This latter penalty is literally unfair. In a democratic process it should be up to the people to cast their votes without the influence of cloudy crystal ball readers laying claim to a future outcome, prejudiced by opinion and nothing harder in the way of data or statistics.
It has a been a very tough week for the Clinton campaign but the errors and fouls were of Clinton's own making. If she runs the White House the way she ran her campaign this last week, America will regret having elected her, just as they now regret having reelected Pres. GW Bush. Obama and McCain have largely gotten a pass on their imperfections, but primarily because Clinton's fouls and errors were so blatant and damaging. However, the Clinton's have rightfully earned the moniker of come-back kids, so, don't count Hillary Clinton out on this last week's performance alone.
David,
Here’s the next big Hillary blow-up:
Hillary Clinton Fired For Lies, Unethical Behavior
Posted by: Jim T at April 7, 2008 11:44 AMAmerica will regret electing anyone of the three candidates. But that aint the point of the thread.
Hillary is proving herself to be as big of a liar as Bill. Maybe bigger. But will the Democrats see it and deny her the chance to lie her way through the general election? Anyone’s guess.
One thing for sure she’s proving she aint fit to be President. Like ya said if she runs the White House like she’s running her campaign, and she most likely will, we’re in a whole heap of cow hockey.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Democrats that see what she really is will support her if she gets the nomination or if they’ll find another candidate.
The man [John McCain] is speaking out both sides of his face at the same time.He took lessons from Pat Paulsen.
But, it appears the other choices (Hillary and Obama ; one-simple-idea.com/VotingRecords1.htm) are not much better, who are both trying to out pander each other.
Too bad none of them will simple promise to stop these 10 abuses, causing these economic problems that are now worse than ever, and/or since the 1930s and 1940s.
If they would simply address those problems, health care and other problems may not only be so problematic, but may improve drastically.
Posted by: d.a.n at April 7, 2008 12:23 PMJim T
good link. pretty damn scary that someone like this could become president.
david
the fact that any one of these clowns could be president scares the hell out of me. i think hillary probably scares me the most though. it’s one thing to disagree philosophicaly, but throw in a complete lack of ethical standards, and you’ve got a true monster.
Posted by: dbs at April 7, 2008 02:29 PMthe fact that any one of these clowns could be president scares the hell out of me. i think hillary probably scares me the most though. it’s one thing to disagree philosophicaly, but throw in a complete lack of ethical standards, and you’ve got a true monster.
You guys are incredible. I’ll say before anyone has a chance to jump this, No…two wrongs don’t make a right. But get off your righteous soapboxes and quit trying to make believe that Bush has been a choir boy!!!!
Posted by: janedoe at April 7, 2008 02:57 PMjanedoe
doesn’t matter, he’s not running again. we’re talking about the current crop of hopefuls. i’ll say it again IMHO not one of them should be president, but hillary is by far the scariest. 300 million people in this country to choose from, and this is the best we can do ? holy sh*&t !
Posted by: dbs at April 7, 2008 03:35 PMi’ll say it again IMHO not one of them should be president …That’s my opinion too.
300 million people in this country to choose from, and this is the best we can do ? holy sh*&t !Sad line-up isn’t it.
That’s why it is important to not forget Congress.
Repeatedly rewarding Congress with 93%-to-99% re-election rates certainly isn’t working.
30+ years of irresponsible politicians and voters, and these 10 abuses, is why the economy is doing this.
Posted by: d.a.n at April 7, 2008 05:51 PMd.a.n. said: “That’s why it is important to not forget Congress.”
Getting a new Congress is at least as important to a better future as getting a new president. In my estimation, even more so. A responsible Congress could have checked and prevented many of Bush’s errors, fouls, and penalties incurred by the American people. But he didn’t have a responsible Congress and still doesn’t. Couldn’t agree with you more.
Posted by: David R. Remer at April 7, 2008 06:17 PMdbs said: “the fact that any one of these clowns could be president scares the hell out of me.”
You are not alone by any means, dbs. Americans, as measured by the polls in approval rating for the President and Congress and the Courts, have in large part lost their faith, confidence, and trust in politicians. The opportunity costs of that loss are enormous. A democratically elected government is hobbled at best when it governs without the approval of the majority in the nation. We see evidence of these costs in problems looming for years without government response or solution.
America can take care of her enemies from without. It’s the enemies within her political system and government that are the far greater threat to America’s future. They spoil and destroy the support and trust of our democratic republic by the people, and that opens doors into a future few would dare to contemplate, let alone address.
Posted by: David R. Remer at April 7, 2008 06:38 PM*sniff*, I miss Pat Paulsen, we truly lost a great one when he passed…
We need more like him who can and will fire full ammo at both sides for their hypocrisy and attempts to sneak their way into power.
Where is this generation’s Pat Paulsen?
Posted by: Rhinehold at April 8, 2008 10:35 AMPat Paulson was a comic entertainer. We have lots of those. Robin Williams, Bill Maher, and Jon for example. Robin Williams even got elected president with a little glitch help from Diebold, but, as a comic with integrity, it wasn’t meant to be.
Besides, we already have a smirking chimp in office, why would we want another comic to take his place?
Posted by: David R. Remer at April 8, 2008 03:52 PM
Pat was more than a comic entertainer, he attempted to make people think about politics without being obviously partisan about it, Maher and Stewart are not at that level, as much as I like them. And Robin Williams dances around politics without treading heavily. Dennis Miller is in the same camp with Maher and Stewart.
Perhaps Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the closest things we have now…
Posted by: Rhinehold at April 8, 2008 05:20 PM“Assuming either the Left Wing or Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles” — Pat Paulsen
Posted by: d.a.n at April 8, 2008 07:05 PMY’all need to elect me President. I wouldn’t screw things up any more than the rest have.
Heck I just might screw around and accidentally fix a few problems. Either that or get my butt assassinated. :)
d.a.n.
The government has been flying around in circles. Even with both wings in control.
Rhinehold, yeah, every generation has its comic critics of government, like Samuel Clemens, Will Rogers, Bob Hope, SNL dating back to the 1960’s with Rowan & Martin. Every generation has them because every generation needs them, along with a whole helluva lot of other educators about government and politician’s actions and inactions.
One true maxim is this, if we want to know what good is being done in government, ask our politicians themselves. They are none to shy about bragging. If you want to know what bad things are being done, you have to ask politician’s opposition, the media’s investigators, and non-governmental (truly) non-partisan public watchdogs, of which there are many. They make their livlihoods off following such matters.
How on earth politicians can delude themselves into believing they can get away very much these days, is beyond me, but, they do.
Posted by: David R. Remer at April 9, 2008 07:56 AM
Suprise, suprise, politicians lie. You want headline news across the nation? Find a politician that doesn’t lie. The sad truth is that the politicians don’t have to lie to the voters, they just have to pretend that they are on the voters side and get us to believe, have faith that they are.
It is beyond my understanding, how people can continue to say that our government is irresponsible. The fact is that our government is very responsible to our corporations and their vision of a NEW WORLD ORDER. What could possibly more important than that for our American Way Of Life?
Hasn’t the government virtually eliminated our southern border, making it very easy to export and import goods and services, especially the import of much need work units that aren’t to lazy to work for an honest day’s pay?
Didn’t our government give tax breaks to many of our corporations which helped them move our manufacturing base to countries where our corporations can enjoy the benefits of low wages and the elimination of safety regulations which detered our corporations from providing us with cheap products? Haven’t our children been benefited greatly by these cheaper products?
Isn’t it true that our government has helped our oil companies and weapons dealers by starting and maintaining a war in Iraq? Hasn’t that been worth the lives of a few ground pounders considering the enormous benefits that these corporations are enjoying and the great benefit that we have bestowed on the Iraqi people by introducing them to free market capitalism?
Isn’t the government helping to bailout the morgage/banking industry? The government can’t just stand by and let the companise be at the mercy of market forces. Afterall, these companies didn’t break any laws.
Let’s face facts here folks. Our corporations are America. Without them, you and I are just a bunch of Nemo’s. Just go to the polls, vote for the candidate of your choice and get yourself a bumper sticker with the new national slogan, God Bless Free Market Capitalism And The New World Way.
Posted by: jlw at April 9, 2008 09:40 AM
David R. Remer wrote:How on earth politicians can delude themselves into believing they can get away very much these days, is beyond me, but, they do.I’m not so certain many (if any) of the incumbent politicians are actually delusional.
It is more likely that most (if not all) of the incumbent politicians know that they can do almost anything they want, and still be repeatedly rewarded for it with 93%-to-99% re-election rates, and voters throwing thousands and millions of dollars at them to boot (to get re-elected).
For example, consider the Democrat Representative from Louisiana, Representitive William Jefferson (D).
Despite getting caught red handed with $90K of $100K of bribe money in his freezer (wrapped in neat $10K bundles), the voters in New Orleans, LA. re-elected him.
And consider Dan Rostenkowski, who was convicted and pled guilty, and still got one of the 546 pardons by Bill Clinton (140 on Bill’s last day in office).
And then there’s Scooter Libby, who was convicted and had his sentence commuted.
Ron Brown wrote:Y’all need to elect me President. I wouldn’t screw things up any more than the rest have. Heck I just might screw around and accidentally fix a few problems. Either that or get my butt assassinated. :)It’s safe to say few people could do worse than the current occupant of that office.
Ron Brown wrote: d.a.n. The government has been flying around in circles. Even with both wings in control.Yep.
We often think the incumbent politicians don’t know what they are doing, but I think they know exactly what they are doing, and the incumbent politicians’ concerns have nothing to do with the future and security of the nation. Their top priorities are self-gain first, as evidenced by their ability to vote themselves a raise in a heart-beat (such as their 9 raises in the 10 years: www.congresslink.org/print_basics_pay.htm), but their reluctance to do anything about these problems, growing in number and severity. They will still be rich, even if the country falls apart. Heck, most voters will probably still re-elect them.
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a [well-educated and] well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” — Benjamin Franklin, 1759
Posted by: d.a.n at April 9, 2008 10:05 AMHillary Who?
How could anyone trust and support this left-over 70’s feminist that took nearly half of her life to decide to be a democrat? She was a Goldwater supporter while in high school and was President of the Young Republicans at Wellesley College and now seeks the favor and nomination for President of the USA on the Democratic ticket? Spare me, please!
She is, and has always been a political opportunist who couldn’t make an honest name for herself in public service or private business dealings. She never misses a beat thumping her chest about all her experience which mostly involves waking up (sometimes) next to the President of the USA. Her paltry list of accomplishments as a NY Senator are so meager her supporters ought to be embarrassed. Hillary has had a total of twenty bills passed since she entered the Senate. Of those, fifteen have been purely symbolic in nature. Her record of missed votes should be a major area of concern for her supporters. How can you trust what she says when you balance it against her actions? She either doesn’t seem to take her job as a Senator very seriously or has some hidden agenda to account for her dismal voting record of missing or declining 28.9% of the roll call votes during the current Congress.
She trades on the Clinton name heavily and why not? It won her a senate seat for doing nothing less than hurriedly purchasing a $1.7 million home in the Westchester County hamlet of Chappaqua, NY, her own home being in VA. She has no doubt in her mind that it will carry her to the Presidency. Have you noticed that she no longer uses the ‘Rodham-‘ surname moniker? I can only conclude that she doesn’t even believe in her own causes if they get in the way of her stubborn quest for power.
She’s a fraud of no consequence and the only person on planet earth that I can think of that would make a worse President than the “Commander-in-Thief” that sits in the oval office today. God help us if that is allowed to happen. She needs to be ‘put in her place’ again in a large way and be made to realize that riding on the coat-tails of her sort-of husband is not a sure-ticket to the Presidency. I can only hope the Democrats are not as easily hood-winked by her as the Republicans were by G.W. Bush.
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