DISQUS

mountainmomma · 1 year ago

I have never known politics and political campaigns to be neat and easy. This campaign has provided opportunities to flesh out policies and positions. It has offered the opportunity to hone skills in communication and thinking on your feet. It has shown that the candidates are not perfect and are clearly human, making mistakes and mis-statements. It has shown that voters will decide if this campaign continues to convention or not. The voters have been tenacious in bringing their concerns about their abilities to raise their families with any kind of dignity. Voters have shared their uncertainty about the future and what it holds for them. Voters have seen that what happened to blue collar and manufacturing jobs can happen to white collar jobs. This race is not neat and it doesn't fit into soundbites and time tables. The best laid plans don't always work in politics. I believe that the voters of this country will decide for themselves who best represents them and that the decision will be accepted by Democrats and those who vote for a Democrat candidate, because the alternative is four more years of Bush policies.

mountainmomma · 1 year ago

I have never known politics and political campaigns to be neat and easy. This campaign has provided opportunities to flesh out policies and positions. It has offered the opportunity to hone skills in communication and thinking on your feet. It has shown that the candidates are not perfect and are clearly human, making mistakes and mis-statements. It has shown that voters will decide if this campaign continues to convention or not. The voters have been tenacious in bringing their concerns about their abilities to raise their families with any kind of dignity. Voters have shared their uncertainty about the future and what it holds for them. Voters have seen that what happened to blue collar and manufacturing jobs can happen to white collar jobs. This race is not neat and it doesn't fit into soundbites and time tables. The best laid plans don't always work in politics. I believe that the voters of this country will decide for themselves who best represents them and that the decision will be accepted by Democrats and those who vote for a Democrat candidate, because the alternative is four more years of Bush policies.

pastorhorace · 1 year ago

Your observation points to one of the difficulties of the feminism of HRC's generation. She has adopted many of the same destructive traits of the men who have too often served the cause of peace and justice poorly. We men need to adopt more of the values traditionally associated with the feminine if the world is to be a better place - not so much the other way around. HRC has had a noble career, but she has become too much of what she once fought against. The last straw for me was her reaction to the Rev. Wright situation. She decided to participate in the high tech lynching of a good and decent man with a great ministry. (I hope all of you watch the complete Moyers interview.) A man who was good enough to stand with her family during it's greatest political (and personal?) crisis. It is one thing for the RNC hit machine to do this. It is quite another to do this to someone on the same team for one's own gain. Yes, young women and men should look at HRC. This is what it looks like when you adopt the values of the system in the name of changing it. You end up voting for dumb wars that should never have been fought along with a whole litany of other disappointments.

old91a10 · 1 year ago

Now, if Dean, Pelosi, and Reid will just keep out of it. I have nothing but contempt for that creepy cabal.

old91a10 · 1 year ago

@pastorhorace
The Reverend Wright issue was initially brought up by Fox News and not Hillary Clinton or her organization. For the most part, she has been involved in it by responding to direct questions put to her. That it has continued, is as much a matter of Barack Obama's obfuscation, misdirection, and equivocation during his long, drawn out explanation that progressed from denial of experiencing it to denial of the Reverend.

It is Obama that has some explaining to do here, and not Clinton.

I detect some latent misogynistic attitude in your text.

madisonaubie · 1 year ago

The Clinton campaign is smart enough to do the math. They know the nomination is securely in Barack Obama's hands. Even in a near perfect scenario of Hillary doing much better than expected in all of the remaining primaries and caucuses, she'd still need 76% of the uncommitted delegates to come out and support her. She'd nee to convince 76% of these politicians to overturn the will of the people. Since february 5th, she's gained a net of 5 super deleagtes, while Obama has gained 70!!



Every day that the Clinton camp keeps their campaign alive and focused on bringing down the Eventual Democratic nominee is another day that John McCain gets a free pass. John McCain doesn't need to raise money to attack his opponent. He has Hillary Clinton for that.



It makes one wonder if Hillary truely wants another Democrat to win the White House. If Barack Obama wins in November, Hillary would 68 years old before she could mount another serious run at the White House and after eight years of democratic rule, the fickle electorate might be ready to switch back to a Republican president, as they did after eight years of Bill Clinton, making her election a long shot. However, if McCain wins and continues Bush's failed policies, she could run again at 64 years of age and stand a much better chance of winning.

tselfe · 1 year ago

To answer your question - No, you're not crazy, but yes, she is certainly starting to look like she is.....I am a 54 yr old woman who was (IS) on the front-lines of women's rights, for 40 yrs - I have a close friend of the same age, who says she is pro-Clinton because she wants to see "a woman President".....an understandable sentiment.....but to which I can only respond "this is not 1973, let's grow up" haven't we all progressed beyond assuming that ANY woman for the job is an improvement over ANY man? Hillary has never represented ALL of my values (just to start, putting up with Bill's crap in the name of political ambition is scarcely noble behavior) and I'm frankly embarrassed for the women who gleefully rationalize her selfishness and tunnel-vision...if anything, I believe she is setting back the progress of women in the political arena by leaps & bounds. We are so fortunate to have a candidate of Obama's caliber - his intelligence, integrity, ethical standards, vision (as we were with Gore), we really can't blow it again, can we? Geeeez, I hope not.......

grainneg · 1 year ago

old91a10, Clinton has gotten in bed with the conservative media - Fox, Abc, Scaife(!)... - in her attempt to align herself with John McCain in attacking Obama. I would say with some certainty that the Clinton's had some influence in the Rev. Wright loop; don'y be naive about their connections and their influence. The ABC debate/set-up is one example. And as the article so clearly says, she did betray the Rev. in supporting the conservative, unfair view of him. But betrayal and going with popular opinion is nothing new to the Clinton's - it is what has gotten them where they are and helped all the scandals to roll off them like water off a duck's back. I would admire her if she stepped down now and tried to work to bridge that racial divide that she has made wider with her attacks, which are meant to be emasculating and to marginalize Obama as a black candidate. If she wasn't such a divisive candidate, she might have been a perfect VP. I often wonder why the media doesn't more closely explore the reasons why these two candidates with nearly identical platforms will not work together. But I think we already know the reason - Hillary wants to be #1 and that she is not; if she eliminates Obama, she feels she will have a chance. But in the process, she is marginalizing herself because the African American community and many of the young and older voters who are strong Obama supporters would not look kindly upon her in the Fall. I myself, will not support such underhanded politics.

What we see here is not a victory for feminism, but rather a woman giving in to the patriarchal status quo and the conservative values that she claims she is against. Has anyone noticed that most of the people behind this woman are men, and some quite frightening and slimy ones at that? I need to stop here; I have some cookies to bake and artwork to catch up on (my career; what do you think about that, Sen. Clinton? not feminist enough?)

I pray that she grows a conscience and takes a good long look in the mirror. That's not glowing in her face; it's gloating, and I hope voters recognize for what it is, too.

old91a10 · 1 year ago

@grainneg -- unsupported, random, obamaniac drivel.

Depending on the 'who and how' of data analysis and extrapolation, it looks as if the split is close enough to 50/50 which warrants that the primary continue -- there is not yet a presumptive candidate. And as it continues, he acquires the stink of the transparent Dean, Pelosi, and Reid cabal.

What's your take on pastorhorace? Misogynist or not? He's in your camp.

Here is a short list of complaints I have about Obama (I could double this):
advocated Social Security privatization;
association with Exelon -- elect. util. & nuke waste;
association with Rezko -- 11 dilapidated properties in district;
association with Auchi -- food for oil scams;
wife's pay raise after his election;
supported the Bush and Cheney energy plan;
voted for Bush's Class Action Fairness (deprives legal recourse against large corps.);
denial of taking money from oil companies (both candidates have oil execs as bundlers individual donors);
correction for Bush's tax relief still favors upper incomes;
opposed Feingold's censure of Bush over wiretaps;
rejected Murtha's call for redeployment;
neglect of European Subcommittee (ergo, lost influence over NATO);
relationship with homophobes McClurken and Rev. Caldwell;
repeatedly voted for Patriot Act;
"present" and "oops, wrong button" on many votes in Illinois & U.S. Senates;
takes credit for ethics bill he had little to do with;
does not include adults in his health insurance program;
skipped out on Iran resolution vote;
spokesperson equivocated on NAFTA in Canada;
spokesperson equivocated on troop withdrawal in England;
invokes past Republican Administrations (riddled with excesses and criminal acts);
his handling of the Reverend Wright debacle.

Charisma is a thin veneer. It surely doesn't hide Obama's obfuscation, equivocation, misdirection regarding responses to some issues of his personal and political history.

For example, his Rezko connection still matters. Here, his denials usually referred to a narrow strip of land, returned campaign funds, or billable hours. Accepting those explanations, I can not ignore eleven dilapidated buildings designated as affordable housing in his district that received grants, loans and Federal tax credits. Many of these appear to be within five miles of the Obamas' home. Imagine that. His constituency shivering in the cold because of evictions and unpaid heating bills.

Don't believe me, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHsHM0laT8&feat...

Here's a map of the locations -- Obama's residence is three blocks east of the north side of Washington Park:
http://media.suntimes.com/images/cds/gmapsobama/

Now, tell me if you should also be praying that Obama grows a conscience.

By the way, there is no possible way that McCain will receive my vote, and I hope your cookies were a big hit.

grainneg · 1 year ago

old91a10, I don't mean to be disrespectful (I would like to improve the tone here), but your Clinton talking points are just as random and unsupported (I won't use the word drivel here; it's not a nice word) as my observations, as written, were. I wrote and unfortunately lost a long response to your unsupported reasons for not liking Obama (sounds like a political excuse but is actually true). Yet I will not rewrite as it is very late, and I realize that if you have the capability of gleaning all those talking points from Hillary's website and other sources, you also have the capability of deepening your view of Obama and the issues. I used to be Hillary supporter and I went through this process myself. Obama certainly is not perfect and has his faults, admittedly, but it wouldn't hurt to be a little more objective and fair. Have you looked so deeply into Hillary's scandals as well?

And no, I wouldn't accuse pastorhorace of being a misogynist based on what he wrote here. It's a strong word to throw around.

old91a10 · 1 year ago

@grainneg
Sorry ctrl-s failed you on your long rebuttal. I find it safer to work in a text editor, then copy/paste into the comment block. Thus, I avoid the occasional time-outs, browser failures, and finger slips.

However, I would be very happy to assist you. Please feel free to select any number of my short list of complaints about Obama, and I will gladly provide you and others with links.

They'll look something like this random sampling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHsHM0laT8&feat...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchi...
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/2008033...
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_...
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/genera_evely...
http://www.nysun.com/news/national/obama-advise...

What's your thinking on Obama being afraid to debate?

moondancer · 1 year ago

I'll concede that Hillary can emerge the nominee. She can continue her assault on Obama, playing to the racist vote(that will turn sexist in the fall) and hardball 70% of the remaining SDs to go her way. She'll be standing on the ashes of what once was the Democratic Party. If someone can explain to me how the fact that she has picked up only a handful of SDs since the race actually started isn't a rejection of her as a candidate? It is clear the party wants no part of the Clinton entity. They were narcissistic poor party leaders in the nineties. She is not wanted, her dog-whistle racist politics are abhorrent. And we haven't even got into the Limbaugh democrats propping up one of the worst campaign machines in modern history.

polisigh · 1 year ago

In answer to the column title - absolutely nothing. It's what made this nation great. It's what has brought men and women this far - it moves mountains.



But in Hillary's case perseverance isn't what keeps her keeping on. For years, she and Bill have had a strangle hold on the Democratic Party, inching it further toward the right. Their ties with big business, lobbyists and other questionable political connections are infamous. If Obama does win, this power structure collapses in upon itself. That's one reason she's not going away.



The use of Bobby Kennedy's assassination in June 1968 as justification for staying in the race was positively chilling and frankly there is no rational explanation for it nor an acceptable apology. But that statement, along with her grave mistake of trying to give LBJ credit for the Civil Rights Act, should have given even her most devoted insight to the true nature and character of one, Hillary Rodham Clinton. If you thought she'd say or do anything to win, that proved she would.



Bill Clinton was one of the most popular Presidents of the 20th Century. However, Hillary was not by any means a popular First Lady. Geraldine Ferraro's commentary about Obama's color being the primary reason he was still in the running only made it obvious to me that had Hillary Rodham not married William Jefferson Clinton, who in the Sam Hill would know who she was or care? So one might say the same about her.



But finally, this is not good old American perseverance fighting for good old American values. Hillary has made it exceedingly clear that this is about her. So rather than rising to the occasion and showing herself to be an exceptional woman of intelligence and strength, instead she has shown herself to be a self-absorbed egotist who believes she is owed the Presidency. Well she's not owed a da ed thing.

18 million voters - most of whom are women - aren't so hypnotized by the prospect of Hillary in the Whitehouse so as to lose complete sight of what this election is all about. Obama's platform and Hillary's are very almost parallel, unlike John McCain's - an 180 degree turn.

johnlewismealer · 1 year ago

At least She had more balls than Obama will ever have.

Progressive Candidate John McCain comes through for America with his 3R economic plan. In the aura of Theodore Roosevelt, McCain