What Clinton Wishes She Could Say

Politico: Candidate Won't Say Publicly What She Says In Private About Obama

(The Politico)  This story was written by Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris.

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Why, ask many Democrats and media commentators, won’t Hillary Rodham Clinton see the long odds against her, put her own ambitions aside, and gracefully embrace Barack Obama as the inevitable Democratic nominee?

Here is why: She and Bill Clinton both devoutly believe that Obama’s likely victory is a disaster-in-waiting. Naïve Democrats just don’t see it. And a timid, pro-Obama press corps won’t tell the story.

But Hillary Clinton won’t tell it, either.

A lot of coverage of the Clinton campaign supposes them to be in kitchen-sink mode-hurling every pot and pan, no matter the damage this might do to Obama as the likely Democratic nominee in the fall.

In fact, the Democratic race has not been especially rough by historical standards. What’s more, our conversations with Democrats who speak to the Clintons make plain that their public comments are only the palest version of what they really believe: That if Obama is the nominee a likely Democratic victory would turn to a near-certain defeat.

Far from a no-holds-barred affair, the Democratic contest has been an exercise in self-censorship.

Rip off the duct tape and here is what they would say: Obama has serious problems with Jewish voters (goodbye Florida), working class whites (goodbye Ohio) and Hispanics (goodbye, New Mexico.)

Republicans will also ruthlessly exploit openings that Clinton-in the genteel confines of an intra-party contest-never could. Top targets: Obama’s radioactive personal associations, his liberal ideology, his exotic life story, his coolly academic and elitist style

This view has been an article of faith among Clinton advisers for months, but it got powerful new affirmation last week with Obama’s clumsy ruminations about why “bitter” small-town voters turn to guns and God.

There’s nothing to say that the Clintonites are right about Obama’s presumed vulnerabilities. But one argument seems indisputably true: Obama is on the brink of the Democratic nomination without having had to confront head-on the evidence about his general election challenges.

That is why some friends describe Clinton as seeing herself on a mission to save Democrats from themselves. Her candidacy may be a long shot, but no one should expect she will end it unless or until every last door has been shut.

Skepticism about Obama’s general election prospects extends beyond Clinton backers. We spoke to unaffiliated Democratic lawmakers, veteran lobbyists, and campaign operatives who believe the rush of enthusiasm for Obama’s charisma and fresh face has inhibited sober appraisals of his potential weaknesses.

The concerns revolve around two themes.

The first is based on the campaign so far. If the voting patterns evident in many states in nomination voting continued into the fall they would leave Obama vulnerable if McCain can approximate the traditional GOP performance in key states.

The second is based on fear about the campaign ahead.

Stories about Obama’s Chicago associations with 1960s radicals Bernardine Dohrn and William Ayers landed with barely a ripple. So, too, did questions about whether he once backed a total ban on handguns (he says no but in a 1996 state legislative race his campaign filled out a questionaire saying yes.) Obama’s graceful handling of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy may have turned that into a net positive.

But all this was in a Democratic contest. What about about when Obama’s running against a Republican?

Let’s take the first point: Obama’s electoral coalition. His impressive success to date comes predominately from strong support among upscale, college-educated whites and overwhelming support from African-Americans.

Assuming he is the Democratic nominee, it seems virtuallycertain he would bring turnout of these groups to historic levels.

But there is reason to question whether he would be able to perform at average levels with other main pillars of the traditional Democratic coalition: blue-collar whites, Jews and Hispanics. He has run decently among these groups in some places, but in general he’s run well behind her.

Obama lost the Jewish vote by double-digits in the battleground state of Florida-where this constituency looms large--and that was before controversy over the anti-Israel remarks of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

He won only about one-third of Hispanic votes on Super Tuesday - and did even worse a month later in Texas. A Democratic nominee needs big margins with Hispanics to win states like New Mexico, California, Colorado and Arizona. In the fall, Obama would be running against a Republican with a record on immigration that will resonate with Hispanics.

Then there’s the lower-income white vote. Does it seem odd that a woman with a polarizing reputation would be rolling up enormous margins among some of the country’s most traditional voters? Three out of every four blue-collar whites in small-towns and rural areas of Ohio voted for Clinton over Obama on March 4. The reality is, this is already an electorate with deep, racially tinged divisions-and that’s in the Democratic Party.

Cornell Belcher, Obama’s pollster, says most of these voting blocs will unite when the Democratic fighting is done. “You get a snapshot at the height of a battle within the family but after the family squabbles history shows that the family does come back together,” he said.

Fair enough. But McCain would be challenging Obama on a range of issues that would complicate this coming together---issues that Clinton did not use or used minimally because they would not be particularly effective.

McCain, by contrast, would have a free hand to exploit a paper trail showing Obama’s evolution---opponents would say reversals--over the past decade from liberal positions on gun control, the death penalty, and Middle East politics. He would exploit Obama’s current position in favor of driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants and beginning diplomatic talks with U.S. adversaries like the dictators of Iran and Venezuala. Will those issues help lower-income white voters “come back together” with Obama?

Those issues are all in-bounds. What about the issues that most journalists and probably McCain himself will consider out-of-bounds but that, if recent history is any guide, will echo nonetheless in the general election?

The last two Democratic nominees, Al Gore and John F. Kerry, were both military veterans, and both had been familiar, highly successful figures in national politics for more than two decades by the time they ran.

Both men lost control of their public images to the right-wing freak show-that network of operatives and commentators working mostly outside of the mainstream media-and ultimately lost their elections as many voters came to see them as exotic, elitist, out-of-touch, phony, and even unpatriotic.

Obama is a much less familiar figure than Kerry or Gore, with a life story that is far more exotic, who is coming out of a political milieu in Chicago politics that is far more liberal.

The freak show has already signaled its early lines of attack on Obama. Many Americans already believe---falsely-that he is a Muslim. Voter interviews already reveal widespread unease with minor and seemingly irrelevant questions like why he does not favor American flag pins on his lapel. Nor does it seem likely that voters have heard the last about Jeremiah Wright.

Obama’s advisors said they are not naïve about freak show politics. Their response is that Obama’s appeal to a new brand of politics, and his personal poise and self-confidence, will allow him to transcend attacks andcaricatures in ways that Gore and Kerry could not.

Obama is indeed poised and self-confident. But the current uproar over his impromptu sociology lesson in San Francisco about “bitter” voters in Pennsylvania raise questions about his self-discipline, and his understanding of how easy it is for a politician in modern politics to lose control of his public image.

Clinton has her own baggage, to put it mildly. But it’s been rummaged through for years, so what Democrats see is pretty much what they would get.

The frustration and even anger emananating from the Clintonites comes from being unable to say in public what they think in private.

Little wonder why. Bill Clinton’s comments comparing Obama’s support in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson’s may have been rude and they were certainly impolitic. But it’s absurd to contend, as many Democrats indignantly do, that they amounted to a shocking low blow or to “playing the race card.”

The reaction underscored the essential prissiness of the Democratic contest so far. One can be sure the general election will not be such a delicate affair.

[ranger1948]

trapbreak
Taddles is up past his bed time and off his meds again.

[ranger1948]

jockh
In case you haven''t noticed, obama is steadily losing ground

[ranger1948]

jockh
It is very simple, it shows how many fools we have in the Americn public

[chitwn4]

terrorislamh your fuhrer and Cheney will not be doing a lot of traveling after they get out of office, you can bet they will be tried and found gulity in an international court. You just keep listening to Rush and Hannity, they will tell you what to think.....good luck with that

[chitwn4]

terrorislamh if you think this war is moral, I pray for your soul, but I fear you do not have one. It is interesting that you use Al Gore, who you cleary hate, to make your point. There were no WMD, no ties to Osama, just the lies of your GOP, you are a blind sheep and you are welcome to follow your leaders to the slaughter, good luck.

[chitwn4]

He would like to make the tax cuts for the richest Americans and corporations permeant even though they are contributing to our economic problems considerably. If anyone thinks he will govern any different than President Bush, you are fooling yourself. Senator Clinton has showed that she is willing to do anything to win, same as the GOP, her scorched earth tactics prove she would put her own interests ahead of country or party. She is one of (if not the most) divisive figures in modern American Political history. Senator Obama is being called an %u201Celitist%u201D the same thing that they called both Senator Kerry and Vice President Gore, think where we might be today if we had either of them as President instead of the current administration. You can%u2019t stop change, and we will always have hope. Peace to you.

[chitwn4]

We are in very dark times in the history of our great country. Corruption is out of control in our government, and our citizens are angry and, yes bitter, but is that all that we can talk about? All the problems, the crimes committed by our government, war, poverty, an economy crashing down around us, and our politicians can only call each other names and point fingers. We need to take a bold step in a new direction. Politics as usual needs to end. The youth of this country are ready to take the mantle and steer this country into a new direction, a new era, where race, gender, religion and of our old prejudices can fall to the wayside. There are those that will try to stand in the way, those who fear change, who let their own prejudices cloud their vison. But, they can no more hold back change than they can stop the tides in the ocean, change is coming regardless. We can not continue on the way we have for the last two decades, our leaders in both parties have failed us. We need to take control of this mess they have made, and by the turnout this season it would seem that is what is happening. Senator McCain has said that he will continue the immoral, illegal war in Iraq, and maybe start a new one in Iran.

[omaar-101]

Simple...Noone wants another Lying Clinton in the Oval Office and they know Clintons are Notorious LIARS !!

Bill Clintons Saudi Arabian & United Arab Emirates (Dubai Ports Dealing)

Bills Many Communist Chinese Ties (Norman Hsu & other Communist China Deals)

The (Elitist) Offshore Cayman Island Account.

The (500 Million Dollar Arab Chaired, Financed & Supported) Bill Clinton Library !!

Bill & Hillary (109 Million Dollar Bank Roll) Elitist Money.

Bill Clintons: Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Business Partnership, that Bills says he will End or Dissolve ONLY(IF) Hillary Wins the Presidency...Only then, will Bill Dissolve this Dubai (United Arab Emirates Partnership)

NOTE: A VERY BIG (IF) WHEN COMING FROM BILL CLINTON, EVEN IF HILLARY WON THE ELECTION, HE''D PROBABLY DIVORCE HILLARY AND WAIT, UNTIL, SHE ENDS HER 4 YEAR TERM !!

Note Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates Countrymen Piloted the (911 Attacks) on American soil...

If Barack Obama had such Business Dealings with such people, the Mass Media & You Low Life, Whites Only in the White House Racist, would be having a Field Day !!

But Bill & Hillary are White & Christian, they can F--K You and this Great Country, their White !!

[omaar-101]

If Hillary is the best candidate, has the BEST POLICIES, comes from a Political Dynasty, has the Most Experience and is most likely to WIN against McCain then why is she LOSING to an Inexperienced Newcomer !!!!

Aimple...Noone wants another Lying Clinton in the Oval Office and they know Clintons are Notorious LIARS !!

Bill Clintons Saudi Arabian & United Arab Emirates (Dubai Ports Dealing)

Bills Mant Communist Chinese Ties (Norman Hsu & other Communist China Deals)

The (Elitist) Offshore Cayman Island Account.

The (500 Million Dollar Arab Chaired, Financed & Supported) Bill Clinton Library !!

Also that (109 Million Dollar Bank Roll) Elitist Money.

Bill Clintons: Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Business Partnership, that Bills says he will End or Dissolve only (IF) Hillary Wins the Presidency...Only then, will Bill Dissolve this Dubai (United Arab Emirates Partnership)

Note Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates Countrymen Piloted the (911 Attacks) on American soil...

If Barack Obama had such Business Dealings with such people, the Mass Media & You Low Life Whites Only in the White House Racist, would be having a Field Day !!

But Bill & Hillary are White & Christian, they F--K You and this Great Country, their White !!

[omaar-101]

Source: www.thehuffingtonpost.com

If I were Baracks Campaign mgr. I would Run Bill Clinton''''s Quoutes below, from Now until the (PA) Elections !!

An Also all Clintons Arab Ties & Business Partneships, He''''s been Kind for Too Long !!

As the rumination continues over Barack Obamas comments about economically-depressed small town voters, statements made by Bill Clinton on the SAME TOPIC-- uttered while he was running for president in 1991 -- have now SURFACED.

"The reason (George H. W. Bushs tactic) works so well now is that you have all these (Economically Insecure White People) who are scared to death," Clinton was quoted saying by the Los Angeles Times in September 1991.

A couple months later, Joe Klein, writing for the Sunday Times, reported that Clinton made the following remarks:



Bill Clinton(1991): Im from the South. I understand this. When their economic policies fail, when the countrys coming apart rather than coming together, what do they do? They find the most (Economically Insecure White Men) and scare the Daylights out of them !!

[jockh]

If Hillary is the best candidate, has the best policies, comes from a political dynasty, has the most experience and is most likely to win against McCain then why is she losing to an inexperienced newcomer !!!!

[gunownerdan]

All 3 candidates are pathetic senators when congress has the lowest approval rating in history.
The more we want change, the more things will stay the same!

[jockh]

Sen. Clinton has run an incompetent campaign, half truths, outright lies, imaginary heroism, take-no prisoners politics, a presidential spouse given to wallowing in anger and self-pity, and a succession of aides and surrogates pushed under the bus when things don%u2019t go right. Her campaign has failed spectacularly despite being the Partys obvious favorite from the beginning.

She knows she cannot win the pledged delegates or popular vote; and she knows superdelegates will not destroy the party by backing her, so she is simply hanging around with a begging bowl asking for the nomination in case Obama makes a fatal mistake.

What kind of a leader would prefer to win a Presidential Election on account of her opponents mistakes rather than her ability? How can Sen. Clinton manage the United States when she can%u2019t even run her own campaign.

[phillysage]

It is superb poetic justice that a campaign that was based solely on words, is being brought down solely by words---ironically the words of the same person who will say one thing to humble, working-class people in small towns in Pennsylvania and North Carolina and Indiana and will say something denigrating those same people to one of his smug, sophisticated San Francisco donors. As a teacher of English, I am delighted by this turn of events. Words are great . . . when used by people of integrity, and so weak and terrible when employed by charlatans.

[phillysage]

But when people call Hillary "girl" and worse apparently it''s not a big deal. If it weren''t for this misogynist media propping him up, Hillary would have put this incompetent 3-year Senator away a long time ago.

[taddles-2009]

"Next week is the primary in Pennsylvania where Obama is tanking. He is also tanking in Indiana. Why should she give it up when we are not in the late innings yet?

Posted by trapbreak at 11:05 AM : Apr 15, 2008"



By tanking you mean he''s behind and gaining, as he has been for the past month.

[taddles-2009]

"Put down your Coffee and read the above CBS article
"Bad Obama" OBAMA is Finished when CBS decides to let it Jounalists write the truth.

Posted by Obama8years at 10:21 AM : Apr 15, 2008"


Except that the article you linked to was not written by CBS or anyone from CBS, It''s an article written by the NRO. Pity you didn''t even bother to read the first line of the article.

[taddles-2009]

This article is trash. Your two main arguments are that Obama lost the Jewish vote in Florida and didn''t do well in Texas. First, he wasn''t on th3 ballot in Florida so that point is false on it''s merits and second, he won Texas.

Bad article, poorly vetted, get some real facts before you go spouting off garbage like this, it only makes you mag look like fools.

[tibu987]

I would not trust anything that Bill and Hillary say. Looking at their years of lying, hubris, scandals, going all the way to their Arkansas beginnings.
That they made it as far as they have is due to very unaware voters. They are two of the most conniving politicians ever.
I''ll stick with Obama.

[ranger1948]

sosoe
Obama is a politician and a p-u-s-s-y.