I really don’t know how she does it, and this is not an attack. She is up there on stage, and she just endorsed Obama, and here is the thing- she looks like she means it. I simply do not understand how she just keeps going like the energizer bunny. No matter what you think about the Clinton family, you have to be amazed by that ability to just keep chugging along.
*** Update ***
Chris Matthews is making me want to stab my ears with an ice pick so I never have to hear anything so stupid again. Losing is like “rigor mortis.”
Not this Rigor Mortis, either.
Effin’ idiots.
*** Update #2 ***
WTF is Terry McAuliffe wearing? An orange-striped Izod with a blue blazer?
*** Update #3 ***
And wtf is KO talking about? Hearing her convincingly say “yes we can” really says it all for you?
Kill the media. Start alphabetically, with say, Broder.
kchiker
She’s giving it her all up there. My hat is off to her…regardless of what arm-twisting might have been involved.
jeff
It’s what they do best.
cleek
good speech so far. just the right tone. well done.
jp
This is the best speech she’s ever given–and I’m not a fan. But good on her–this is exactly what she needed to do, and she’s doing it with style, and her passion seems genuine.
The “yes we can” was a nice touch.
rob!
she thanked her african-american supporters, among others.
since there were only two, the least she could have done is name them specifically.
also–i heard some scattered booing when she first mentioned Obama. way to keep it classy, Denver-Enders!
Tom in Texas
If Hillary had run in 2000, we never would have had Bush. It would still be in the Supreme Court. She will not quit.
Thank you for your graciousness and dignity today, Mrs. Clinton. And I respect your tenacity and drive, moreso than any politician I’ve ever known.
smiley
Good speech. Unequivocal endorsement of Obama. She’s playing the gender card a bit but that’s OK. She deserves her moment.
AkaDad
I’m glad Hillary switched her endorsement from McCain to Obama.
cleek
“don’t go there, … life is too short, the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been.”
nice
Tom in Texas
I liked “Every moment we spend looking back keeps us from moving forward.”
Karmakin
Yeah I agree. There’s a bit of the “gender card” but in a way that’s fine and natural. It had to be done anyway.
But that said it’s a very good speech, very hopeful and uplifting.
And just to follow up on the post from the other day, there’s a LOT more usage of inclusive language, we, us, you, than in the speech on Tuesday.
jp
Smiley–I think the emphasis on women’s history is strategic–a way of winning over the very unhappy & disappointed women supporters to the Obama camp. She’s saying “You and your concerns STILL are important, even if you vote for him.”
diana
Is it possible you were wrong about her all along?
cleek
nope
pillsy
There have been a lot of people who’ve been convinced that Sen. Clinton’s loss in the primary proves a woman can’t win the presidency. I think that this is an incredibly destructive and wrongheaded message to take away from this campaign season, and I’m very glad that Hillary took all that time to rebut that claim.
Davis X. Machina
Considering what she got put through in ’98-99, I doubt this is even in the top 10 of toughest things she’s had to do in public life….
The Other Steve
Oh man, talkleft is a treasure trove. Cult Hillary is still sounding bitter.
w vincentz
I’ll give her speech an A-. The minus for “suspending”, not “ending”. Otherwise, good. Tactic to bring the women back from their disappointment…commendable.
smiley
BTW, I tried to say that I was in no way offended by her talking about the glass ceiling, etc. She made history and has probably made it a bit easier for whoever (maybe her) will be the first woman president.
Doug H. (Fausto no more)
What this primary has proven is that anyone – male, female, white, black, latino, what have you – can be President. Major props to the Senator for pointing that out.
buford puser
THANK ***ING GOD THAT’S OVER!!!!
A gracious & powerful endorsement; I hope she follows through.
smiley
I think that’s for fund-raising reasons.
phoebes in santa fe
Good speech, very gracious, and excellent embracing of Obama.
Much better than I was expecting.
Doug H. (Fausto no more)
I went over there for the first time in months. They didn’t sound that bad, just give them (and Hillary and Barack) some time.
SGEW
Isn’t the “suspension” language required for her to continue to raise funds in order to offset her campaign debt? Vague recollection of reading this (Ambinder, perhaps?), but cannot find it.
Michael D.
I feel the same, and I will echo kchiker:
My hat’s off to her. I think she is actually sincere, and it was a pretty darned good speech. Thank you, Senator Clinton.
Anticorium
Man, I decided to see what they’re saying over at Taylor Marsh, and it’s just a sewer.
The first comment, one word: “McCain”. Wright shows up in #7, Rezko in #16. Marsh herself is being attacked as a stealth
MusObama supporter.I can only assume Joe Max’s post at that site demand that they engage in polite reconciliation and party unity is held up in moderation.
The Other Steve
I don’t really care.
I’m just thrilled she’s not our nominee. We finally have a real Democrat as our candidate, for the first time since I can remember.
Michael D.
My initial reaction is that, if she had been giving speeches like this all along, she might be giving a different one today.
Jon H
“The minus for “suspending”, not “ending”.”
Suspending is what they always do. A suspended campaign has options for paying off campaign debts that an ended campaign doesn’t have.
Balakirev
She keeps going because she an adulation vampire. She gains energy by people applauding her hysterically, moving her to the center of their universe. That’s why she accepted the trade-in money on that kid’s bike: because it was a gesture of innocent worship. If she stopped to think how much it cost the kid in relative terms, it only made the gift seem that much more valuable to her.
I find Clinton a fascinating and repellant character (if you haven’t guessed that, already). She is a politician’s Liza Minelli: wherever she goes, whatever happens, it’s always about her. Gifted, intelligent, she knows that the world exists to further her ambitions, because she is deserving.
Krista
My hat is off to her. She went out on a seriously high note.
And both she and Barack have broken down so many barriers in this race. It’s nice to know that the next time a woman or a non-Caucasian runs, there won’t be this bullshit of “Is America ready for a (fill-in-the-blank) President?”
The Other Steve
Perhaps for the first time in months she truly is sincere?
Was she doing the laugh and the pointing? That seems to be her trademark way of showing insincerity.
w vincentz
Hillary even dressed appropriately. Yup, she’s been saving the black pant suit for a while. Didn’t she wear that one at Ford’s funeral too?
SGEW
Amazing how much of my antagonistic sentiment regarding Sen. Clinton has evaporated just by watching this gracious, smart speech. That Unity Juice sure has a kick.
Now I’m back to only disapproving of her Senate record, based on pure policy differences, rather than fighting off the bizarre, visceral distaste I developed while watching her campaign. Wow. Politics is personal, no?
Good stuff.
demimondian
Well, no, but you are probably correct about the motivation — the campaign finance laws (thank you, John McAint) make a distinction between suspension and termination of a campaign.
Dennis - SGMM
The other day one of the talking heads asked someone who new about the difference. The answer was that it was only important for election lawyers.
Clinton did good. She had to walk a fine line between endorsing Obama and seeming like a phony. This was also a first effort, delivered at great personal cost to herself. I think that as time goes on she’ll be a strong campaigner for Obama.
w vincentz
Dennis,
Agreed.
loquacious mute
Was this her funeral or Obama’s? I am just not sure what the dressed in Mourning clothes was and I think it sends the wrong message.
JGabriel
This is an instance where the famed Clinton prolixness really worked.
In the first half of the speech, there were scattered boos and catcalls at every mention of Obama’s name. Through exhortation, argument, insistence, and – let’s face it – sheer length, Clinton wore them down, and by the second half of the speech there was nothing but applause at Obama’s name.
That’s a good sign.
As for the gender rhetoric, that was necessary. Clinton had to not only convince her supporters that their concerns would still matter under an Obama administration, but convice them that their efforts on her behalf were not in vain – that progess was made despite Clinton’s failure to clinch the presidential nomination – so they can drop any resentments and disappointment about the outcome and elect Obama.
.
Kali's Little Sister
For the first time I saw her lead her crowd away from a direct paean to her personalized power. Nicely done.
Dennis - SGMM
Give her a break. It is a sad day for her and her supporters, I’m fine with her acknowledging that. If she’d have appeared in a print dress and a garden hat it would have looked as phony as hell.
Dumbfoundedx2
Longtime lurker…first time poster, blah, blah, blah.
Can someone one please explain hillaryis44.com to me? Who are these people? Their response to Hillary’s speech? “Hillary if you lie down with dogs you get fleas.” But hey we’re all going to write you in on the November ballot.
Love it here at B-J…can always count on a good laugh and some great snark.
Good job Hillary, but there’s still a ways to go to walk your people back from the edge.
asl
Didn’t see it, but will take it from most that it was a great speech. But it’s one speech too late. She really missed the historical moment. History will likely remember that speech more than the Saturday make-up.
VC71
Great speech — perfect build up to: “Yes we can!”
loquacious mute
Not, not giving her a break and I agree a priint dress would have been too much, but on the Hill Boards they see it as some kind of message to them.
Jorge
I wonder when the backlash from her supporters will begin? The threat to go to the convention and hyperbole about Florida and Michigan were just tactics to camp Hillary, not the civil rights struggle that Hillary made them out to be. But alot of folks were really fired up and excited to fight this thing to the very end – after all, they were on the right side of a historical moment. That kind of righteous indignation and anger is usually quite a high and Hillary pulled the rug out from under them. What happens when it sinks in that they were punked?
Dennis - SGMM
Welcome! Posting here is good for you. I, for instance, am now completely unafraid to make a fool of myself.
JGabriel
The Other Steve: “Was she doing the laugh and the pointing? That seems to be her trademark way of showing insincerity.”
No, not during the speech. Clinton did it afterwards, before leaving the stage, but it’s quite possible she really was waving to McAuliffe, who was standing in the direction she pointed and smiled at.
So it appears, even by that oddly subjective measure, that she was sincere.
.
ThymeZone
Wow, that is some concernalicious concerny concern trolling there, concernpadre. I am concerned that your concern is concerning you so concernimuch.
I share your concern. Sinconcernerely, I really concerndo.
Tom in Texas
(posted on other thread)
Taylor Marsh comes to Pajamas Media.
It’s really not all that bad an analysis. mainly excoriating the media (and Hillary’s own campaign, a rarity for Clinton supporters) rather than laying all the blame at Obama’s feet.
Kevin K.
I’ve been harder on her than just about anyone, but that was a magnificent speech. She did a brilliant job of making the case to her supporters that a) they’re work hasn’t been in vain (“cracks in the glass ceiling”) and b) pointing out that Obama and her share all of the same goals and values.
montysano
Over at Taylor Marsh:
That’s nice. That’s classy. What a fever swamp it is over there.
For years, I’ve been OK with the Clintons. Recently, however, I was seriously doubting my judgement. HRC did it right today; my hat is off to her.
JGabriel
Dumbfoundedx2:
Cultists.
This has been episode 3243 of series “Short Answers To Simple Questions”.
.
passerby
Although I hate the Clintons and Bushes in general, I’m always amazed by the sheer grit and tenacity with which they carry on.
Today I saw Hillary stand at the pinnacle of public and political attention and give a grand slam speech (delivery and content).
I cannot deny nor withhold my great admiration of her performance today.
T
Cols714
Was there a specific reason Clinton didn’t run in 2004? The woman I’m seeing on stage would’ve had a chance to win. Maybe she just missed her opportunity and ran 4 years too late.
The Other Steve
I think you’ve nailed it. When I heard her tell that story, my gut reaction was “You selfish…”.
Dennis - SGMM
The Hill Boards will eventually dry up to a few bitter-enders and the ratfuckers. Right now they are down to the level of, “Hillary arched her eyebrow. That means that she’s going to fight on to Denver.”
Balakirev
Marsh has already done that so often that Obama had to jump over the pile of rubble she and others like her have created, whenever he moves.
Sorry, but I’m not suddenly a convert to the Miss-Gracious-Clinton bandwagon. She would have gone on, if she could have, and gave us all full notice of that a few days back. If she pleads vocally and long with the supporters she and her bots have deliberately alienated and sent scurrying into the McSame camp to come back, that it was just campaign rhetoric, that Obama’s the one she really respects in this race, then I’ll be civil.
Democrashield
I live blogged the speech here.
Today, we are all Obama supporters.
Game on.
Krista
I saw that too. Hopefully, people will wake up and realize what a horrible thing a McCain presidency would be for the country. At least there is still a decent amount of time for bridges to be mended.
Tom in Texas
Maybe she really believed that a Senator isn’t ready until they’ve been there 6 years rather than 4.
Or maybe she would rather run against a plethora of dead-enders rather than an incumbent in a time of war.
Pillsy
Nyah. I think the 4 day delay between her non-concession speech and her concession speech will be remembered as a historical curiosity, if it’s remembered at all.
Given the historical precedents, people will be recalling this as a political candidate ending one of the hardest-fought, closest nomination races the country has ever seen with uncommon speed and grace. People who were expecting her to take this fight to the convention had plenty of history to support them.
El Cid
It was indeed a great speech. It also dealt amazingly well with women and sexism, so along with Barack’s speech in Philadelphia and a couple of Edwards’ speeches on class & work & politics, it’s a pretty amazing series.
JGabriel
Cols714:
Clinton had pretty much promised NY voters that she wasn’t going to drop out of her first Senate term to shoot for the presidency.
.
Kevin K.
Wow, that last comment of mine was the most error-ridden pile of mush I’ve written in ages. Apologies all around. Just imagine it with strike-throughs everywhere. I guess I was still stunned at what a great job Hillary did.
Just Some Fuckhead
Word on the street is that the speech is so good because Obama and his guy wrote it and gave her some delivery tips.
John Cole
History will not remember the several days in between.
jp
Oh come on. The black suit makes her look states-person-like, authoritative, powerful. I thought it was a good choice, rather than one of those turquoise or bright yellow jobs she’s shown up in.
cbear
Thank you Senator Clinton.
Most sincerely, thank you.
krusher
Mine hasn’t evaporated–I don’t have amnesia. But it has certainly been back-burnered.
loquacious mute
Terry Mcauliffe is just a wacky guy. Will he be on the Obama team:)
The Other Steve
Maybe that’s what the secret meeting was about?
jp
…and while I’m not used to Keith O being the dumbest one in the room, he sure has been for this half-hour or so.
ThymeZone
And now, through the magic of electronic eavesdropping, we pick up the audio at the McCain Beer Mansion in Phoenix …
“So, what are the tracking numbers on that ‘I am not George Bush and I Hate War‘ theme coming along?”
“Osama has a 7 point bump in the last week on Rasmussen”
“What have got to counter this?”
“More POW footage?”
“Calling Obama ‘Osama’ in public?”
“The Whitey tape?”
“Rezko?”
“More mavericky stuff?”
“Whatever, but that airboat ride in the Everglades was fun at least.”
“What’s on tv?”
Dennis - SGMM
Now for the important work of snarking on McCain.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
Is it out of line to suggest a Ballon Juice “Act Blue” fundraiser thread for Hillary Clinton? I’m going to give $25 to HRC and think it would be cool to give here.
Tom in Texas
MATLOCK
MAAAATLOOOOCK
JGabriel
Just Some Fuckhead:
I doubt they wrote, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some minor input on it.
More importantly though, Clinton has been a good speech-giver for years. And she had Bill to learn from. She hardly needs any tips from the Obama camp.
.
Dennis - SGMM
As for Matthews, he must have more legs than a centipede because every time he opens his mouth he puts another foot in it.
passerby
Yes, indicative of a sea-change. Exciting times.
T
Dumbfoundedx2
I gave up traditional media to come here. I guess that means they really did push me over the edge, right?
(p.s. I never would have known about hillaryis44 if not for you guys…now pass the brillo pads so I can scrub my brain)
Balakirev
Tweety has always been a loose cannon. Unfortunately, is desparate man-love for McSame has never varied.
fuddmain
More fun at No
BrainsQuarter:Yeah, 50 or so new donors will make a real splash.
DougJ
This is bad news for Democrats.
I expect many of Hillary’s pro-choice, anti-Iraq war, universal health care loving supporters to gravitate towards John McCain. Richard Cohen told me they would.
Just Some Fuckhead
THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS! FOR HILLARY!!!
kind of an off white
IF THAT Hillary Clinton had been running all along, I would’ve spent the last 3 months demanding that Obama stop destroying the party.
I can’t think of another political figure, past or present, who has the ability to drive me to drink and then turn right around and make me want to run for treasurer of her fan club.
I mean Jesus, she totally kneecapped the nominee just a few days ago, and not only have I forgiven her, I’m already writing “Senate Majority Leader Hillary Clinton” with heart-dotted i’s on the back of my spiral notebook.
Kevin K.
You know, I was thinking something similar … some kind of organized effort by Obama supporters. The speech was that good.
p.s. WTF has happened to me?
Andrew
Give your $25 donations to Obama. That’s where it’s needed.
The right donors to help out Hillary with her debt are the folks who have already maxed out their Obama donations and can afford to donate more.
crw
He’ll be their designated booze-run guy. ;)
Tom in Texas
Is golfing elitist? Or is it something normal everyday Joes do since it’s so popular with the rich white dude set?
Perhaps Obama wanted today to be focused on Hillary rather than the catfight between the two of them.
Dennis - SGMM
Cohen has, throughout his career as an op-ed writer, made consistent hacktacular dickitude seem like a bad thing.
Kevin K.
According to basil9 of HillaryIs44, you can get them on Donna Brazile’s head.
cbear
Couldn’t resist going over to NoQ to see how the deadenders were taking the HRC speech and, in the middle of another delusional hate-filled thread, found this gem:
——————————————————–
Comment by ts | 2008-06-07 07:51:54
yo, where the white women at? i hear the video is coming out today? true?
peace out, bitches.
———————————————————
I’m still LMAO.
loquacious mute
He is his own frat party.
SGEW
The funny thing is . . . her concession speech actually is “excellent news for Hillary.” Of all things. Extraordinary.
We do live in the post-ironic age now, don’t we?
jnfr
I suspect that speech just gave McCain’s strategists a heart attack. Go Hillary!
Balakirev
Couldn’t have put it better. Clinton made her intentions known in the speech she gave a few days ago. That was Hillary Clinton. This is the puppet whose strings are being pulled by her heavy backers (who won’t help her out of the deep financial hole she’s in unless she sings sweetly) and the Democratic Party’s top brass (that now includes Obama). This isn’t Clinton. Be as diplomatic as you want, thinking millions of obdurate Clintonistas-for-McSame are going to read here and declare a jihad if we anger them, but really–don’t believe that Clinton has suddenly changed her mind and heart over who did win the nomination.
loquacious mute
A lot of the haters were haters before all this went down, and for many of them that will not change. I just wish they woud direct that hate at McCreepy.
Karmakin
Nah you wouldn’t. If that Clinton had been running all along, we’d be cheering them both on, running strong campaigns, and I guess whoever had more delegates as of Tuesday, maybe Wednesday would be the nominee.
NR
Plus, if they each only give him a dollar, the cost of handling the transactions would probably amount to more than the fifty bucks in donations.
I want these idiots to support McCain. They’ll do more harm than good for him.
passerby
kind of an off white Says:
HA! funny!
T
Anticorium
Hate is hard to sustain. It takes a lot of energy. And it doesn’t help, either, to have your candidate up there chanting “The Pony is good, the Pony is great, we suspend our campaign as of this date.”
Tommy
A vote for McCain is _not_ a vote for me.
What is: “Something I wish she had said” Alex
JGabriel
Kind of an Off White:
Her husband. Other than that….
.
Dennis - SGMM
I’m staying with the notion that McCain is a distraction. I look for the Republicans to have some inconclusive ballots and then ‘draft” some other nominee. My money’s on Charlie Crist. Or they may go fully “in your face” and nominate Jeb.
Tommy
A vote for John McCain is _not_ a vote for me.
What is: “One thing I wish she had said?” Alex
NR
Over at Free Republic, they’re still hoping that McCain will step down for health reasons at the convention and the Republicans will nominate someone else.
SamFromUtah
Is golfing elitist? Or is it something normal everyday Joes do since it’s so popular with the rich white dude set?
If Obama is golfing, it means he’s not willing to make sacrifices in a Time of War. :)
We’ve got a long way to go, but the U.S. has come a long way simply because Obama is able to go golfing.
rob!
i think Olbermann was going out of his way to be nice.
because he knows–and Hillary does too–that if Obama wins–which is likely–she will never be President.
Kevin K.
Eh, she came close enough. I’m sure she’s embarrassed by those Clinton supporters for McCain knuckle-draggers and didn’t want to come close to implying that all of her supporters are that fucking stupid.
w vincentz
Yuppers, thanks Hillary. You did just fine.
Now, the Belmont. Big Brown go get em! Casino Drive is scratched. Watch for Tale of E and Dennis of K under for your tri box… and for you long shot bettors (and we’ve had our share at BJ), there’s the maiden, Guadalcanal.
Safe trip to all. Come on Big Brown! Give us the Triple Crown!
demimondian
Oh, for heaven’s sake.
Listen. “We are all Democrats” cuts two ways. It means that Clinton, at whatever cost to herself, lets go. It also means that if you backed Obama, you let go, too. You can be privately suspicious if you want to, but it means that for the next five months you keep your f*cking mouth shut about it, ok?
Our party has a President to elect, and we don’t want you getting in our way. Trashing Hillary Clinton is running down her supporters. They are on our side, whichever side she’s on — and if you want to trash her, you’re working for John McCain while you’re doing that.
Balakirev
So do I, oh, so do I. But it’s going to take a lot more than one good speech (and it is a very good speech of its kind) by Clinton to convince the people whose ears she poured poison into for months to vote for someone other than herself. She dug a very deep hole for the Democratic Party. This is a good first effort, but she’s got months of it to do go before she can undo all that nauseating damage.
And you can bet that all the videos and commercial soundbites of Clinton attacking Obama will be aired by the Republicans. She’s created a fine tool to use against her own efforts. Pretty ironic.
To her credit, I don’t think it was ever Clinton’s intent to hurt the Party or its chances in November, because I don’t think she envisioned for a moment that she wouldn’t win, that she couldn’t use her magic to win back the disaffected. It simply wasn’t a part of her universe to imagine that whatever she did could hurt her own chances at her presidency.
passerby
Agree. Can’t help but wonder how much of this is fear/hatred of negroes. McCain’s been such a doddering flip-flop that it’s difficult to hate him. What is his core message anyway??
T
rob!
if Hillary puts half the effort in for Obama she put in during this campaign (which, by all measure, was Herculean), Obama will be President in a landslide.
Tom in Texas
Aren’t there more than a few clips of Romney, Huckabee, or pretty much any Republican railing against McCain?
If the GOP has to use Hillary Clinton’s speeches to fire up their base I am pretty sure that equals epic ass kicking.
Wilfred
Our long national nightmare is over.
FupDuck
Well, not anyone. You still can’t be an atheist (or at least admit it in public. The last great taboo survives.
Peter Johnson
I’ve located what seems to be the so-called “Whitey video”. It’s not quite as damaging to the Obama campaign as some have said, but it certainly can’t help.
JGabriel
Passerby:
War is good.War is bad.Bush is good.Bush is bad.For an old guy I’m pretty darn
hipsnarky, you trollope..
Balakirev
How does that go?
Oh, right. No.
First off, I’m not a big fan of Obama, but I will support him. I would have voted for Clinton, too, if she’d won, albeit while holding my nose both because of her antics, and her repeated defense votes in Congress. But unless this is your website, I’ll continue stating reality instead of making believe that there isn’t a very real problem that has yet to be dealt with. You don’t like reality? Keep singing Kumbaya, by all means, but please don’t order me to harmonize or shut up. You and I both know we have better things to do than play this game.
loquacious mute
Vote for me. The old puffy white guy.
Love that cottage cheese in lime green jello.
Desmond
Lol, all my posts at No Quarter just got deleted. Fuckers. :D
John Cole
That website you linked to is awesome. I thought geocities went out of business. And what is up with the flashing text?
Over 15,000 of them nationwide, too! That is the kind of concentrated voting power that is going to swing… nothing. Seriously- 15,000? What is that- a city block in NY?
Balakirev
I’m afraid there’s nothing on the order of informing an audience in very serious tones that a black man running for Congress isn’t a Muslim, as far as she knows. I don’t think she was deliberately sticking the knife in, but it was a remarkably tonedeaf statement, and if it doesn’t play in Appalachia and the Southern states this fall, I’ll be very surprised.
But you’re absolutely right, there are some fine Republican attacks on McSame. And you know who will hunt them down and air them? Not the corporate-paid-for-and-bought-media, but the bloggers. The people who get the facts, and do the work. In retrospect, building up a Web-based campaign as Obama and his supporters did was frankly brilliant, but it was based on the progressive blogistan that has been going for a few years, now. If anything is going to counter McSame, I look for it here.
passerby
Au contraire demi, I don’t belong to a political party and even if I did, I reserve the right to question, criticize and/or mock any and all politicians, political wannabes and political prendabes.
T
ThymeZone
“I’m a war hero who loves to serve his country. Surely my friends you are not going to vote for that young black fellow?”
{ rictus smile }
“That’s not change we can .”
{ rictus smile }
I’m John McCain, and they told me that I approve this message.
kind of an off white
Oh for the love of Pete. Has anyone actually seen the tape? She says a flat “no” 900 times, and when the interviewer won’t let it go, she crinkles her face up and says “as far as I know” the way you’d say “dude, are you fucking with me?”
That applies to many, many things she’s said, and it sums up her entire speech Tuesday, but the Muslim smear was bullshit from the get-go.
(I’m not trying to be a dick to you personally, Balakirev; I understand that your take is the CW, but it just ticks me off when people worthy of blame get blamed for the wrong stuff)
Just Some Fuckhead
Based on your description of the 60 Minutes interview, I’d say you are the only one who hasn’t seen it.
Just Some Fuckhead
For demimondian.
demimondian
Because koaow actually describes the interview accurately? That *is* what happened, you know — contrary to the urban legend, Clinton was asked three times, denied the allegation directly twice, and, on the third time, hedged, presumably assuming that there was about to be a 60 minutes-style gotcha sprung on her.
Just Some Fuckhead
That’s two different descriptions now in as many times described.
Kevin K.
John, the amazing thing is that it’s been getting a lot of press. I know CNN did a story about it and I think Fox (surprise!) covered it, too. Here’s an article on Wired about the site.
ThymeZone
Yes, if we could only do away with one pundit, Broder would be the one. If there is a Perry Smith to Karl Rove’s Dick Hickock, it is David Broder.
HRA
“So Obama goes out golfing during Hillary’s speech.”
So? At least he was not in a bunkerlike setting the way Hillary was last Tuesday.
Sorry, Demi – free speech and thought are part of our rights.
I saw the possibility very early of McCain being bumped out at some point in this “presumptive” phase and maybe even at their convention. Yes, I was thinking of Jeb Bush, too.
Taking into consideration his ineptness, it looks more possible now.
Hillary’s speech was good.
I saw the video of the Clinton’s arrival at the hall and my first thought was “why are they all wearing black?” I am sure a lot of others had the same thought.
Just Some Fuckhead
Obviously to show solidarity with the black man. Wonder if the runner-up choice for wardrobe was sackcloth and ashes?
kind of an off white
Not if you mean demimondian’s and mine, it’s not, although I was admittedly highballing the figure at 900. I wouldn’t have said “hedged,” only because I found her tone too incredulous for that to be the case, but yeah, she was clearly wondering what the host thought he had up his sleeve.
Look, if it’ll make you a little more receptive to a different take on her 60 Minutes performance, I can list all the wack-ass GOP-style shit she actually pulled during the campaign.*
*Rhetorical flourish. Making said list would interfere with pretending I’ve got better things to do on a Saturday.
Chuck Butcher
This speech couldn’t have been made Tue, not in any way. That doesn’t mean the Tue speech shouldn’t have been graceful enough to acknowledge what was happening.
The Clintons can’t pivot on a second’s notice and especially their supporters can’t. What I trust Hillary to do is take a short term measure of a situation as always. As long as it is not to her immediate deficit this will work well for Obama. What you don’t want to do is stake anything long term on Hillary.
If you are surprised by Hillary’s ability to pull this off, you have not paid attention to her or her husband. They are very good at politics of a certain sort, masters of the game. She’s one hell of a lot better on your side than not, provided you keep an eye out.
People looking for secret meanings or weasel factors aren’t going to find them, this was designed to do exactly what it is, a political life saving endorsement. She will do this very well in the coming months as it serves that interest.
Just Some Fuckhead
Here’s the relevant piece of the interview.
The reason Kroft pressed the issue is because it was pretty common knowledge in insider circles that Clinton campaign operatives and/or backers were actively pushing the Muslim thing. Of course, that turned out to be the case. That’s why this post-concession effort to rehabilitate HRC is bullshit. Best to just let her fade quietly away else folks like me will continue to provide the awful context for her many sins.
Chris Johnson
She’s such a political animal that she can do anything with the right motivation, and make you believe it. I haven’t seen this concession speech but I’m heartened by the reports that she’s turning her powers towards talking her people off the ledge. They ARE ‘her people’ because they say so- she hooked ’em fair and square with as much expertise as anyone has ever had in politics. But what she does with them IS up to her.
She will have a longer and more glorious career (which is all she really wants) by reinventing herself as a perfect example of all Obama is selling. The fact that her history is that of a DLC triangulating hack matters very little, and she’s gonna have to come up with a way to hose her corporate puppetmasters instead of her voters for a change.
And I think she’s up to the task.
So for as long as she sticks with it, I like Hillary Clinton again.
Just don’t fuck it up, Hil- you can have the love, and you’ve already got reasonably enough money. Look where the money got you. Bitterness and defeat! Give that up and go for the love. Times have obviously changed.
nightjar
I agree with you JSF on the 60 minutes interview. but not on the HRC effort to rehab herself. Time will tell if she’s sincere in her promise to help Obama get elected. And she can help more than anybody else right now. Until she’s shows otherwise, I’m giving her a break from past transgressions, and her supporters. Minus the ones who become wingnuts.
KRK
Can we all agree now that, as great as Rachel Maddow is — lightyears ahead of her peers in the political pundit pool — she doesn’t have special knowledge about how things are going to go down? For the past few weeks I’ve seen lots of smart people saying that “no one is listening to Rachel Maddow” about the going-to-Denver issue. Well, Maddow did call things right after IN/NC when everyone else was thinking that Clinton would tone it down. But she has been just as wrong more recently with her certainty that Clinton would never give up before the convention.
I raise this because Maddow is something of a public fretter in general and has already made comments about McCain being sure to win.
Just Some Fuckhead
She did all she needs to do which is to signal to the sane Clinton supporters that it’s over; they lost. There is nothing else for the Clintons to do. This is a change elecion and, really, the last thing Obama needs is the DLC Clintons and their Iraq-war-lovin corporate surrogates out there stepping all over his dick. We don’t need their money or their connections. The 90s – and operating within a center-right frame created by Republicans – ended today.
Joe Max
Dumbfoundedx2:
A fake “Hillary” site run by right-wing Republican operators as a disinformation ploy.
Don’t believe the hype.
OriGuy
Forget it. He was in Puerto Rico and he picked up Bacardi? No taste.
Rome Again
Are you suggesting she never said McCain was a better choice for the presidency than Obama? I will never forget that.
No, I wasn’t wrong – but, now that she has endorsed Obama, I will not keep digging it up. I am happy she finally endorsed the Democratic candidate and I will only have contempt for those who are hanging on and willing to vote for McCain.
Andrew
I am more than willing to buy into the alternate theory:
(rabid ferrets + crystal meth) * internet access
Joe Max
John Cole Says:
pillsy
The more the GOP relies on the soundbytes that failed to stop Obama in the primary, the worse McCain will get his ass stomped in the general.
Justin
Seriously, fuck you. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
ThymeZone
Um, it’s all those other pundits who have been getting this election cycle right that make her look so bad, right?
Ease up. The pundits are about 6 months behind the reality in this cycle, they have no idea what is happening, they are all guessing, and we should at the same time enjoy, and ignore, just about everything they say.
This is a cycle where the people are out ahead of the government and the media and the pols. Personally I am enjoying it.
Maddow is a brilliant person, she doesn’t have to guess right all the time. Let her work.
Just Some Fuckhead
So she wasn’t? :)
Just kiddin’ ya Justin. Hehe. BTW, you got a big koolaid stain around your lips.
mrmobi
First, that was a pretty terrific speech by Hillary. She did what she needed to do, with great style and composure. Hopefully, she’ll keep this up. I also stand by my conviction that the Unity ticket would be unbeatable.
However, I just went over to visit at Talk Left, and the quote above made me wonder whether many of the posters over there are not, in fact, agents of Republican disinformation. Am I becoming a tinfoil hat guy?
I know some Hillary supporters, and none of them are like the folks at TL. Big Tent put up a thread today about the Obama campaign response to Hillary’s speech, and 80% of the comments are about how Obama disrespected her by going golfing! Seriously?
Jeffrey
Sure, because no one thought that Clinton’s own campaign team had to get her closest supporters to talk her out of it.
Church Lady
Media Matters has an excellent article on Hillary’s 60 Minutes interview with Steve Croft. Read it – it not only has the transcript of the Muslim question, but also takes on the pundits and their ever changing views of what she said/didn’t say and meant/didn’t mean.
OriGuy
Seventeen million people voted for Hillary. Maybe a thousand of them blog at the Hillbot sites. A homeopath would think that proportion was way over the appropriate dosage. The vast majority will take a deep breath, watch Barack sweep the floor with McCain in the townhall meetings, and do the right thing in November.
LiberalTarian
Out of the ballpark. The crowd goes wild.
Seriously, a sore loser is bad enough. A sore winner? Ugh. Like Republicans when Bush II was reelected. UUUUUUGLY. In this case, sore winner behavior is particularly stupid if you are trying to woo HRC supporters. BHO won, HRC lost. Try to be gracious. If you can’t manage that, just STFU.
Pooh
+1 for the Demi platform.
HRA
“my first thought was “why are they all wearing black?”
“Obviously to show solidarity with the black man. Wonder if the runner-up choice for wardrobe was sackcloth and ashes?”
My latter thought after I wondered “why are they all wearing black” was it’s a not too subtle message to the faithful of showing mourning for their loss. Staging is not a stranger to the Clintons.
I watched and listened to many Clintonite comments tonight. I am not entirely convinced about “solidarity” being in the Clinton’s plan book. Still, I will hope they have turned the page.
LanceThruster
They say nobody remembers second place. They will this time.
Conservatively Liberal
I finally got time to watch the speech (busy day and evening!) and I have to admit that she stepped up and hit this one square on. I did think it was odd about no references to McCain, but the focus was on closing the primary race between her and Obama. While I enjoyed Hillary stepping up and delivering, paraphrasing what she said herself about Obama, ‘All she has is a speech’ so far. We have a lot of time between now and the convention, and I hope that Hillary (and Bill) do everything they can for Obama.
After all that has transpired, I will reserve my final judgment for after the convention. But Hillary delivered with this speech, and this Obama supporter thanks her for having done so. If the roles were reversed, I have no doubt that Obama would have done the same for her. That is just the kind of person he is, IMO.
Of that I have absolutely no doubt. This is one primary that will go in the history books, and it should. Both candidates ran races that were historical firsts, and I am glad to have been here to see it happen.
I wouldn’t want to go through it again, but I am glad I witnessed history.