Issue 1) Bill Clinton In The Tank For McCain; Issue 2) Where is Hillary?
Posted by WLS:
I’m not going to clutter this up with a bunch of examples — they’re piling up too fast to catalogue.
But, it is quickly becoming an irrefuteable fact that Bill Clinton is in the tank for McCain. When Obama lost his lead in the polls in the aftermath of the GOP convention, the best Clinton could offer was a short meeting with Obama at Clinton’s offices in Harlem, followed by a perfunctory statement in support of Obama’s candidacy. He didn’t really lift a finger on Obama’s behalf as they struggled to cope with the “Palin Effect” then underway.
I posted here 11 days ago that Clinton declared Obama “Dead Man Walking” in letting his aides disparge the Obama campaign to John Harris at Politico in the immediate aftermath of that meeting. What we are seeing now in Clinton’s behavior the past few days is this prediction from Harris’ column becoming reality:
But [Obama] errs if he thinks the former president does not still have resentments toward Obama, and that those resentments might not surface at unwelcome times, in the view of many former aides.
For the moment Obama has the wind at his back due to the circumstances of the economy. Now all of the sudden Clinton is making comments in the press about the Dems in Congress being responsible, that the GOP tried to fix but were blocked by the Dems, and McCain wears a “White Hat” on this issue.
Hillary’s candidacy was Bill’s path to validate his legacy. Obama’s campaign crapped on his legacy, and called him a racist to boot.
Payback’s a beetch. It only remains to be seen how long it takes him to begin sporting a “McCain-Palin” button on his lapel.
If Clinton keeps this up, it may begin to show in the margins in states where Obama can ill afford to have leakage in the swing voters who only marginally support him now.
And, where is Hillary?
Why can’t we just say that Bill is speaking the truth, as hard as that is to believe, for once and leave it at that.
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 9/26/2008 @ 12:44 pmCribbing from Ghostbusters:
Bill telling the truth.
…. Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes…
The dead rising from the grave!
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together – MASS HYSTERIA!
jim2 (667b24) — 9/26/2008 @ 12:53 pmBecause Clinton is the ultimate political animal, and his comments always have a purpose.
WLS (26b1e5) — 9/26/2008 @ 12:53 pmThe Messiah should have known this was coming – once they brought out the racism charge against Bill, the jig was up. The Clintons come not to bury The Messiah, but to praise him…
Dmac (e639cc) — 9/26/2008 @ 12:58 pmBTW, Clinton’s appearance on The View was flat – out hilarious. Watching the shrews scrunch up their faces during his comments regarding the fiscal crisis was priceless – Comedy Gold.
Dmac (e639cc) — 9/26/2008 @ 1:00 pmGiven the current economic/financial news, the Clintons may believe that then next four years are going to be very, very rough for the next president. Rough enough that even if Obama wins, they won’t need or want to be associated with his administration. Instead, they will be positioned to make life for any Obama administration very difficult.
And such would be typical, as the Clintons know. Dems elected in “change” elections (JFK, Carter, Clinton) often run into huge problems with a Democratic Congress.
Karl (133ddc) — 9/26/2008 @ 1:00 pmHillary’s out there, just isn’t getting much press attention with all the recent craziness in the news and campaigns lately. She has a big campaign event in Michigan tomorrow, coverage of which will be buried by post debate analysis, for example.
You’re absolutely correct about Bill, who has been doing a lot of things to cause a collective facepalm by Obama supporters.
But Hillary has been pretty mature and loyal to her party in this situation, from her convention speech and thereafter. She may not be breaking her neck with a punishing campaign schedule but she’s doing enough to avoid criticism that she isn’t doing enough. She’s just being pragmatic. She has a Senate seat and will have to either work with a President Obama which will be much easier if he’s grateful for her support than it would be otherwise, or serve with a defeated Senator Obama, which would be hell if Democrats looking to blame someone for the failure point to her for insufficient support.
Bill doesn’t have to worry about any of that, he can be the cranky, contrary retired guy pointing out the flaws of the young whippersnapper seeking the job Bill thinks he did so well when he had it.
I don’t think it will matter much. If it actually gets to the point where Bill’s lukewarm attitude seems like it actually might make a difference, they will drag him out for a big campaign event where he effusively praises Obama.
Aplomb (b6fba6) — 9/26/2008 @ 1:00 pm“Good. Someday, and that day may never come, I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But, until that day, accept this justice as a gift on my daughter’s wedding day.”
Don Corelone to the undertaker Bonasera
voiceofreason2 (10af7e) — 9/26/2008 @ 1:37 pmLittle did Robert Palmer know that “Addicted to Love” would ever have such a lasting impact on the world…
Jim Treacher (592cb4) — 9/26/2008 @ 2:03 pmThe Clintons are interesting politicians to me because, even when I think I know what motivates them and thus I think I know what they will do, it’s still fascinating to watch the Machiavellian way they go about it.
DRJ (c953ab) — 9/26/2008 @ 2:22 pmTREACHER IN THE HOUSE.
The perfect comment. Again.
WLS (26b1e5) — 9/26/2008 @ 3:10 pmThe Clinton’s are a disease. As soon as McCain wins Bill will start plotting his return via Hillary. Clinton probably figures McCain’s great sacrifice makes him unlikely to finish out his term and then Hillary will run against Sarah as “The McCain successor.”
Clinton probably also figures he can make money on the Obama collapse AND destroy Sarah.
the Clinton’s are god allies in THIS fight, but once McCain dispatches Obama, the Clinton’s will go back to doing what they do best: promoting themselves, arranging shady deals, selling our country to the highest bidder.
They are a disease and pathological liars. maybe Hillary will re-up and fight the Battle of Tuzla Tarmac while Bill begs somebody’s else’s daughter, “Just kiss it….please! please!”
Beware of these people: they are corrupt AND dangerous.
mccainpalin=demwin (4f133c) — 9/26/2008 @ 3:42 pmWhat does it say about me if my favorite person this entire campaign season has been Bill Clinton? I should be troubled I’m sure but quite frankly, he’s a boost to McCain, hot for Palin, and because he’s always the petulant child holding a grudge, his paybacks are delicious to watch play themselves out.
Dana (4d3ea0) — 9/26/2008 @ 3:56 pmI think it’s possible Bill is setting himself up for hero status. Obama isn’t desperate yet. But we’re pretty sure he’ll be in financial trouble before long. Perhaps Bill is waiting for the chance to swoop in and rescue the day.
Robert C. J. Parry (50a453) — 9/26/2008 @ 4:03 pmRemember guys; we see polls all the live long day and so do the candidates and the parties.
If the internal polls those guys saw matched the ones we see every day, do you think things would be playing out like they are?
Why would Obama be getting nervous after pulling a good lead? Why wouldn’t McCain? Why wouldn’t the Clintons finally show some support if they truly thought their rival was going to win?
Lord Nazh (ce25e3) — 9/26/2008 @ 5:03 pmI keep telling everybody there is a civil war between the dems for party control going on.
Clinton won’t out and out dump him but just let him twist in the wind
daytrader (ea6549) — 9/26/2008 @ 8:52 pmClinton has been harder on Obama than McCain has on this one, ven if in part he is also diverting from his own tracks.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 9/26/2008 @ 8:57 pmKarl wrote:
But the Clintons also know that even if the next four years are very tough for the next president, if Barack Hussein Obama wins then Mrs Clinton still can’t run in 2012, regardless of how poor his performance is; they are old enough to remember Edward Kennedy’s primary challenge to Jimmy Carter in 1980, and they know that the black vote, nearly a third of the Democratic primary constituency, will remain locked up for Mr Obama.
It’s very simple: for the Clintons, Mr Obama has to lose.
The transplanted Southerner in Pennsylvania Dana (556f76) — 9/27/2008 @ 5:36 am