Billy Shaheen has resigned:
“The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight … and one of the things they’re certainly going to jump on is his drug use,” said Mr. Shaheen, the husband of former N.H. governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is planning to run for the Senate next year.
By afternoon Thursday, however, Mr. Shaheen had resigned his post as a campaign advisor, which was accepted by the Clinton camp.
I don’t get this. It wasn’t an attack on Obama. It was the truth! Personally, I think it’s great that Obama admitted past drug use. It means he’s honest. But you know as well as I do that the Republicans will latch onto that because it’s all the moralists have. So, he resigned because he knew what was coming??? I’m not a Hillary supporter, but to fire someone (and “resigned” is just another word for fired in politics) because he or she is politically astute seems stupid to me.
myiq2xu
Oops! The strategy backfired.
Sorry Billy, but we need a volunteer to get thrown under the bus and we picked you.
Psycheout
The Obama is a dopehead meme was a trial balloon that didn’t fly. I bet it came from the top. It’s not like this guy had anything to gain by blurting it out accidentally on purpose to the press.
Considering that Bill Clinton didn’t inhale and the allegations of cocaine distribution through Arkansas, this is the stupidest attempted smear in quite some time.
So when the media decided not buy into this lazy smear, the guy was forced to fall on his sword. That this was used at all shows a certain amount of desperation on the part of the Clinton campaign.
Psycheout
Oh and, LOL!
FearItself
I don’t get this. It wasn’t an attack on Obama.
Please. You must be joking. Of course it was an attack. He wanted to tie Obama to drugs in order to bring Obama down. He wanted to get the attack in under the wire, before people’s Xmas shopping completely distracts them from the campaign. He tried to blame Republicans so he wouldn’t get tagged for going negative. It didn’t work.
Will it work if Obama is nominated? Maybe. Sadly, it depends largely on how the press reacts next time. This time they didn’t bite, but next summer they might.
Still, who cares? As many elsewhere have pointed out, it doesn’t matter who the Democratic nominee is or what s/he has done; s/he will face vicious, personal attacks from the right next year. Whether a misstep from the past is mentioned now or not, the Noise Machine will beat the drums until they burst to try to damage the eventual nominee. If there isn’t any real dirt there, they will make shit up.
Who are we kidding? You can’t have seriously thought there was anything high-minded about Shaheen’s comment. If you were joking, then I just took the bait, hook, line, sinker, rod & reel. If you were being disingenuous, then shame on you.
VidaLoca
It sounds like he got started running his mouth, and before he knew it he had put the pimpin’ into overdrive. He may be right that the Republicans are going to bring up Obama’s admissions about drugs — but sometimes the biggest part of being “astute” is knowing that it’s time to STFU.
Right now neither Hillary nor Obabma nor any of the Dems are running against the Republicans — they’re running against each other. So why this? And why now? And how’s Hillary doing in N.H? This has the smell of flop sweat.
cleek
Billy Shaheen’s an awesome bass player.
dwetzel
Actually I think it was the rest of what Shaheen said:
It’s one thing to point out that the GOP will use dirty tricks regarding Obama’s drug use; it’s another to do the leg work for them.
But it might have gone differently for Shaheen if Hillary was still ahead in NH instead of tied. She might have cut him a break if things weren’t messed up there.
Richard Bottoms
Who cares. If Dennis Kucinich won the nomination we’d still beat your ass 12 ways from Sunday next year.
Libby Spencer
Who knows what was on Shaheen’s mind, probably too much eggnog is my guess, but I’m really pissed that Obama didn’t jump on it to bring the war on some drugs into the 08 narrative.
I keep waiting for some politician with a big megaphone to realize that embracing anti-prohibition, or perhaps I should say an end to the war on some drugs, is a winning strategy. They would energize a huge, really well organized drug policy reform network of NGOs and activists who would work relentlessly to get them elected. I offered to hook Obama up with the right people, but I guess he doesn’t read my blog.
jake
Just one question: Can anyone offer another reason why he would give a fuck about what’s going to happen to the opp.?
[crickets chirp]
Please don’t play with the language, you’ll break it. Under your definition Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Kathleen Turner etc, etc, etc, were fired. Wrong.
w.Thomas Smith Jr
Holy crap are you people still having elections? What’s it been now, like 2 years? Can’t you just get it over with, elect someone not so terrible and get on with buying stuff from the rest of us?
scarshapedstar
In other news, Edwards said voters should study Hillary’s background, because Republicans might tar her as a lesbian, a feminazi, an emasculator, and Vince Foster’s murderer, and… yeah, they just ought to keep that in mind.
Keith
Hillary’s loss is Mr. Big’s gain
dslak
If pointing out that are lying assholes that will resort to dishonest tactics to win an election makes one astute, the bar has been set awfully low.
dslak
That should be “pointing out that REPUBLICANS are lying assholes . . .”
TheFountainHead
Actually I think the Obama camp played this one just right. By giving little or no comment, and certainly not “reacting”, they left the story up to the MSM and the Blogosphere to dissect at will, which we are, and that’s playing very well for them. Despite what the Vampires 4 Hillary will say, I think Obama is an excellent candidate for the nomination, and with the right VP on the ticket, a powerful general election candidate. Can you imagine how careful the Republicans are going to have to be to not play the race card while still trying to play it every chance they get? As for Bill Sheehan, I agree with FearItself, this came from the top, and was a trial balloon that went Hindenburg on them. (See, it’s a blog with a theme!) Someone had to go down in flames and so it had better be Shaheen before it’s Hillary.
cd6
The repubs will be too busy fighting over what color Jesus’ hair was to run negative attacks against Obama, or whoever the Dem nominee is.
akaoni
I think that Shaheen was fired for using these talking points in the wrong place at the wrong time. With the Clinton campaign losing ground lately the drug gambit looks petty and a little desperate and I’m sure that’s not the perception the image-concious Clinton wanted to portray. Strategically, the time to go negative has passed, especially in Iowa where that kind of negative campaigning tends to backfire a bit. Candidates want to move into a positive mode with the caucases a few weeks away. The likely scenereo as I see it is that the Obama drug angle was likely discussed in strategy sessions and Shaheen acted on his own without consulting Clinton. Clinton was pissed and Shaheen had to take the bullet for his blunder. Sure there’s a chance that the whole thing was planned from the start.
Maybe the Clinton camp cooked this up to get the drug issue back out there shortly before the Iowa caucases, with the plan being for Shaheen to fall on the sword and take the blame. But I think it’s more likely that Shaheen acted without an ok from the top and thus has been forced out.
Pug
Shaheen’s mistake was making these remarks publicly. This should have been a “whisper campaign”. It should not have been attributable to anyone.
That’s how the game should be played, right?
Chris
Honestly, this sort of thing is what attracted me to the Obama campaign in the first place. No, not his drug use. I’m talking about the real lack of fear that comes from Obama. Clinton and her staffers go on and on and on about the terrible, evil Republicans and oh how mean they are and the things they’ll say about the Democratic nominee.
STEVEinSC
I don’t care who brought it up, the repukes will use every type of innuendo and rumor-mongering there is against Obama. Anyone who doesn’t believe that is worse than naive. Ed Rogers (current and former asshole) blurted it out on tweety’s show a while back “..Barack HUSSEIN Obama” accompanied by his witless little giggle. You can think of what was done to Harold Ford as an hors d’oeurve for the main course to come if Obama is nominated. Not being judgemental about Hillary or Obama, but its going to be Rove-driven bloody next year and everyone should be prepared to understand what Obama (or Hillary for that matter) is going to face.
Jen
I haven’t followed the Obama drug thing at all, but I assume something “broke” as news that it’s all of a sudden being discussed. I read Dreams from my Father years ago and it’s in there, I remember thinking it had some very candid parts in it for someone who even then was discussed as presidential material. I expect he knew what he was doing.
Psycheout
Ah, so you’re looking to score?
Psycheout
LOL! What do you want the guy to say? Get a clue. That’s his name.
You don’t hear Republicans getting all bent out of shape when people say “George WALKER Bush.” Grow up.
grumpy realist
It wasn’t the drug taking, it was the insinuation of drug-dealing that pushed this over the top. Especially since similar accusations have never been thrown at Mr. Prior Cokehead in the White House or at any other politician with a history of drug use.
Pissed off a lot of people in NH. Pissed off even more minorities. African-Americans really, really don’t like the stereotype that they’re nothing but a bunch of drug dealers. They don’t like the Hillary campaign trading on those stereotypes.
It’s also the fake concern that has left a bad taste in people’s mouths. “Oh, we’re only raising this issue because the Mean Ol’ Republicans will in the future….” Yeah, and you’re not hoping it’s great ammunition as well? Give us a break. How stupid do you think we are?
Result: impression of political dirty tricks, desperation, smarminess, insincerity. Throw the guy under a bus? Hell, if I were Hil, I would have thrown him down a volcano.
Cindrella Ferret
Here is a WaPo reporters blog about the incident. Money quote:
This tells us a lot about HRC and her supporters. They were questioning Obama’s openness. This screams of traditional Clinton politics. Avoidance. Parsing. The instincts of the Clinton folks is to question being straight forward. This sounds too much like old politics. Obama seems to making an attempt to be honest about his youthful indiscretions. Why is that not good? A person running for President and not running away from their past.
Sunshine. Sunshine. Openness and good faith on the part of the next President will restore Americans confidence in the Office.
So the fact that the Clinton supporter question openness is troubling.
Its time to turn the page.
The Other Steve
Severeral observations.
#1. The damage, if there is any, is done to Obama. Shaheen falling on the sword doesn’t matter, the words are out there, and the MSM picking up on it spread it.
#2. I think what got Shaheen in trouble wasn’t so much the mention of the drug use, but his continuing on to suggest that maybe Obama sold drugs too.
#3. I think this helps make the Obama and Clinton camps both look good. First, Clinton camp shows it can fight. Second, Obama camp shows it can fight back.
People getting outraged about how unfair this is just have a political ax to grind. This is nothing compared to what the Republicans will bring out next year, and I think it’s good to make sure the candidates dirty laundry is aired at this time.
The Other Steve
Didn’t GW Bush also talk about his youthful indiscretions?
PaulW
He resigned because he was acting too much like a Republican.
Or, that possibly the Clintons aren’t as good at mudslinging as we thought.
It wasn’t so much that they were bringing up Obama’s drug use, but that they were “suggesting” that Obama was also a dealer (which is more inexcusable than being a cokehead).
RSA
I think W. will stand for Willard next year.
Psycheout
Well that’s an unfair stereotype of course. A lot of black people use drugs without ever dealing them. So I can understand the anger there. It’s justified, to be sure.
But take a look at the Democratic candidates. There’s only one black guy running and he admits to taking drugs. That’s 100%! What are the odds?
I’m not sure about Alan Keyes though. I don’t know if he’s ever done drugs or not. So if you include him that would at least bring the percentage down to 50%. Or maybe 75% since we’re not sure.
grumpy realist
Congrats, DougJ. You had me going there for about 5 seconds. Let’s see if you catch anyone.
Spider97
Michael, I totally agree that Shaheen did – to a large extent – merely state the obvious: the moralists and 28 percenters will grab onto this in the general. Hell, Romney already did a few weeks ago, putting out the usual and predictable tripe about it setting a bad example blah blah blah.
But I think the far greater point here is one I’ve seen in various places and articulated here by PaulW and Grumpy Realist: the reference to selling drugs. Nobody asked Bill Clinton if he sold drugs. Nobody asked George W. Bush if he sold drugs. This is really bad form.
Not just bad form, but it makes the Clinton camp look desperate in the most despicable and pathetic way.
And it once again shows us a trait that has emerged so often with the Clintons, and particularly Hillary: their tendency to be too cute by half. They take what might be a decent strategy and pursue it far past where they should. Another recent example was the “revelation” that Obama has harbored the desire to be President since he was in kindergarten. Good idea: pointing out untethered ambition. Taking it too far: going back to when the guy was in underoos.
Zifnab
I heard John McCain had an illegitimate black child. :p
I don’t know if this “wrecks of fop sweet” nearly as much as the narrative would have you believe. But I do think it is comically disingenuous to claim Barak Obama would be unelectable because the Republicans would be just too mean to him as a candidate when your own candidate is Hillary Freak’n Clinton. This is the sort of card Edwards or Dodd might be able to play off with a straight face. But Hillary? Really?
Jen
Oh, if only the right would pay more attention to Alan Keyes. Psycho, do you think you can get the word out on him a little more? He is in the race, you know. He’s a real contender. Plus, having TWO R candidates whose own children would clock them upside the head given half a chance would be kind of fun.
Jay
That’s how the game should be played, right?
Wrong! This is Rovian-Bar-Lowering that should not be perpetuated. Bringing dealing into the mix was a calculated tactic by a desperate campaign. Prior drug use is permanent now that all of our candidates are Boomers and it’s such a non-issue that they had to try to pin the next unacceptable level on him.
My song for Hillary.
Robert Johnston
If not for the rash of Clinton staffers spreading the “Obama is a Muslim” lie Shaheen might have survived this, but he had to know that anything that can be interpreted as an underhanded attack by a Clinton campaign worker on Obama is, right now, going to be met with a resounding firing. A comment that might, under other circumstances, have been met only with a reflexive “shut up, Bill, before you say something really stupid” from Mrs. Clinton, was, in the very current climate, a genuine political sin. Yes, Clinton should have made it absolutely clear to her people to back off for a few weeks from nonsubstantive targeting of Obama, but Clinton still had to fire Shaheen, even though her own fuck up put him in position to get fired.
stuck in 200
I suspect that when they decided to put this out there they knew it was going to be a kamikaze mission for the messenger, and that Sheehan will be taken care of if Hilary makes it through.
Too Machiavellian? I’m not sure that’s possible with the Clintons
zzyzx
The great thing about this dr00g issue is that it’s not going to help Hillary at all, but if it comes up again in the general, it’ll be old news and no one will care.
Andrew
TOS said:
You didn’t think Clinton could throw down?
The Other Steve
Speaking of overreaching and taking something too far…
The Other Steve
No. But that’s important in politics.
Pb
LOL!
shaker o salt
Yeah, you don’t get. you can go ahead and file yourself under “General Stupidity” now.
The Other Steve
To clarify. I happen to like all of the candidates to varying degrees. But this is trial by fire, and I want to see how these guys do under political pressure.
I want to see Clinton on the attack, but also attacked. I think she’s handled herself well, and this tactic of having distantly related supporters out doing the dirty work, is good politics.
Obama has been very good at taking on silly attacks, but I think it’s good to see him under a bit of fire as well. He’s getting better, and as I said I think this episode helped him. He’s certainly handled this a lot better than John Edwards and his haircuts. He also didn’t start whining about how unfair the world is towards him like Edwards does, and even to a degree Clinton. So again, this really has helped Obama in that regard.
But still, there’s going to be that whiff of uncertainty in the air from these points getting the light of day. So Obama needs to come out strong in the next two weeks, lest his campaign fall apart like Dean’s did in ’03.
The worst thing you can do in a Presidential campaign is start whining. That’s one thing I think Obama really has working in his favor.
Jon Marcus
Other Steve, it works better if the “distantly related supporter” isn’t the campaign chair.
The Other Steve
He’s not a paid staffer though. Shaheen has been around politics a long time. He knew what he was doing.
FearItself
Psycheout:
Based on the debate, regardless of his past drug history, I think he’s off his meds right now….
Paul L.
Someone explain this to me.
Barack Obama’s drug use in his youth is off limits.
But George W. Bush’s and Dick Cheney’s DUIs in their youth were fair game in 2000.
Other than the standard is different for democrats and minorities.
I guess the lefties who called George W. Bush a coke addict will now be outraged if I say the same about Barack Obama.
pendragon
Oh please. You don’t think Bush choked on that pretzel because he was sober do you?
Of course it’s an attack on Obama by going ’round the barn.
I think Obama stopped just shy of becoming a drunk driver, or using a fistful of deferments to avoid going to war. Since we’re revisiting, Obama definitely doesn’t seem like the type to become a cheating intern fucker either.
Hell, let’s go back to the dawn of time! I’m sure there’s a T-rex that has a modern day descendant that Hillary’s increasingly desperate people can smear. Watch out though Hillary! You don’t want to piss off those creationists. You know they had forebears who frolicked with those dinosaurs!
JWW
I could care less of Obama and his youth and narcotics. The era was full of it. But if you read deep enough into his voting record you may find things you really don’t like. To start how about “infanticide” by vote. No I am not talking about abortion.
Paul L.
Just like Obama claiming to be “tired” when he said ’10,000 People Died’ in Kansas Tornado.
Jay
Obama’s drug use is fair game, but extrapolating it into drug dealing is not.
Silver Owl
It was a passive/aggressive attack in my opinion. Not the drug use itself but the spinning it into drug dealing. That was on purpose and criminally stupid.
In this day and age when a good many voters have tried different drugs in their youth this tactic gets no traction and merely annoys people. Shaheen probably knew that and went for the drug dealing angle.
Shaheen screwed the pooch. It was quite the Rove thing, which makes him a huge liability. I’d ditch him as well. Rovian tactics lead to failure, broken laws and a zero credibility.