Obama, Edwards attack; Clinton bombs debate - Roger Simon - Politico.com: "PHILADELPHIA — We now know something that we did not know before: When Hillary Clinton has a bad night, she really has a bad night. ”You know, Tim,” Clinton replied, “this is where everybody plays ‘gotcha.’”
Sighhhh ....
This approached Rovism.
HRC is quiet on certain issues because that is the statesman like thing to do. Without that sort of restraint a President can become entangled in commitments that make no sense and THEN be accused of lying. One can NOT get votes in the dem. primaries by telling the truth about withdrawal from Iraq, raising taxes, soc. security benefits, solution to our 12 million illegals issues, the dumb ass border wall, the reasons for global trade, the likely costs of weaning from oil, etc.
So, it is true she has gotten a bye until now while her opponents have been more forceful, often to the point of making unrealistic promises to withdraw the troops NOW (Edwards, Richardson) or to leave no combat forces within 1 years post the new Presidency (BHO). The there is John Edwards extensive promises of everything from health care to universal graduate education. He knows these things won't ha pen without massive and unlikely reforms.
My candidate has been especially careful. Obama has made few promises that make no sense and has even broached the importance of globalism to the future of Detroit. Most of his programs are short on specifics, but that is as it should be and is as true of everyone else with a realistic chance of election. At the same time, he has avoided the kind of ad hominem (is that OK for women?) attacks on program and character typical of the Bush-Rove machine. THAT took courage. This, well if you wanna be Prexy you gotta play the game?
I am somewhat dissapointed but, I suspect BHO's campaign folks are a lot more astute than I. Not getting elected is not the way to get things done either. Obama has to walk the thin ethical line between becoming a vaguely remembered intellectual senator from Illinois, (click the link if you can not figure out who I mean), the successor to FDR, or a Democratic version of the infamous "read my lips" Bush I.
So, I still support BHO, I just wish our system were not so utterly mucked up!
"John Edwards immediately went for the jugular. “Unless I missed something,” he said, “Sen. Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes. America is looking for a president who will say the same thing, who will be consistent, who will be straight with them.”
Barack Obama added: “I was confused [by] Sen. Clinton's answer. I can't tell whether she was for it or against it. One of the things that we have to do in this country is to be honest about the challenges that we face.”
Not always. BHO feels strongly about education reform, that requires standing up to the teacher's unions. Not bloody likely if he wants to get elected.
"Earlier, when Clinton was asked whether she had made one statement on Social Security publicly and a conflicting answer privately, she ducked the question, saying she believed in “fiscal responsibility.”
And when Russert asked her if she would make public certain communications between herself and President Clinton when she was first lady, she responded weakly: “Well, that’s not my decision to make.”
This seemed to me to be a real Achilles' heel moment. HRC dropped her usual lawyer;y guard last night by claiming that the Archives have not had the time to get to the documents from her time as First Lady. Worse, if GWB is interested in electing a Reprican successor, NOW would be a good time to offer the service of the excutive branch if Mr. Clinton so asks.
"Perhaps just as bad was her general tone and demeanor. All of her opponents seemed passionate about one issue or another. But Clinton seemed largely emotionless and detached, often just mouthing rehearsed answers from her briefing book.
True, she was relentlessly attacked all night. But she can’t claim that she was stabbed in the back. She was stabbed in the front.
“Who is honest? Who is sincere? Who has integrity?” Edwards asked and then provided the answer: Not Hillary.
“She has not been truthful and clear,” Obama said at one point.
Hillary Clinton will certainly live to fight another day. She still has a huge lead in the national polls, a good staff and a ton of money.
But, in the past, Clinton could always depend on her opponents to lose these debates. All she had to do was stay above the fray to win.
Those days seem to be over."
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