In Hillary's Mind: America's Counterpart to the Heir & the Spare?
If ever there was a glaring example of the same old crass politics of cynicism and personal cruelty, it was Hillary Clinton's use of Bobby Kennedy's assassination as rationale to continue her own beleaguered campaign against Kennedy-esque and Kennedy-approved Barack Obama.
Sort of like the British press's reference to Princes William and Harry as the heir and the spare, Hillary Clinton seems lately to view herself as the indispensible, extremely capable spare if Democratic heir Obama meets untimely tragedy. Kennedy-esque style.
There's a word for such morbid political calculation: sick.
What puzzles me is why she would choose this particular analogy of a late primary season not once, but three times (on March 6, May 7, and May 23, 2008, per MSNBC's Keith Olbermann). Here are four plausible options as to why:
- Sen. Clinton was mentally unbalanced when she used the RFK killing analogy on three occasions.
- She was shockingly irresponsible when she uttered it.
- She was cynical far beyond the moral pale.
- All of the above.
Rick Moran wrote at Pajamas Media in a post entitled Hillary Plays the Assassination Card, "She's tried everything else. Why not stoke the fears over Obama being assassinated?"
And he's right, of course. She's tried everything else: she's repeatedly played the race card, gender card and the religion card. (See Clinton Spin Starts to Sound Like the Fairy Tale.)
But it's almost too much to grasp the depth of cynicism that would allow someone to conveniently cite (three times!) a horrible assassination as an example of a late-running presidential primary season... when MANY other primary seasons in the past twenty years have run similarly late.
What Are the Ramifications?For all practical purposes, Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign is over.
And Sen. Obama can't reasonably be expected to select, from among dozens of quite capable candidates, a ambition-addled vice-president who may, consciously or unconsciously, be anticipating his assassination.
Nor should he select someone who may be mentally unsound or wildly irresponsible, no matter how temporary the condition.
The question is: Is Hillary Clinton healthy enough to comprehend the reality that this race is over for her?
(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Comments
Today we got a glimpse of the dark place where Hillary’s mind has now gone. The youtube video a few weeks ago that compared her to Hitler in the bunker was meant just to be funny. But today demonstrated that the comparison is sadly much more apt than anyone thought. She is hunkered down in her own bunker, her own private hell: angry, bitter, unwilling to concede defeat, and losing her mind.
I am frankly disgusted with the double standard being shown to Hillary. As an African American, I am even more offended especially since I remained a firm supporter of her husband during the worst part of his presidency.
She has unfairly played the race card many times, then said sexism for a “white” woman is a worse problem than racism in America with full awareness of the dark history of the country. She has lied and manipulated the popular vote count, don’t forget her not outright rejecting the notion that Obama is not a Muslim. When you include her lame commander in chief threshold uniquely fashioned for obama and her suggestion for obama to be her VP even though he was ahead of her by all measure, she has just been too insulting.
she has shown a willingness to do anything to win that I have lost all respect for her. She has repeatedly said Obama cannot win and she harbors ill will towards him. She has exploited all of Obama’s misspeaks yet demands understanding for all her misspeak whether intentional or unintentional.
I do not want her as Obama’s VP because she will have him killed so she could be president. Her candidacy has no foundation for moving forward; her sole purpose is to cost Obama this election so she can run again in 4 years. She fails to realize that her scorch-earth tactics has forever tarnished the Clinton legacy and may end her political career as a democrat. I think she has forgotten that she is still an elected official.
It’s the Obama campaign that has crassly politicized this. As for Clinton playing the “race” card, Obama and his followers spin *all* criticism of him as racism. This is why this lifelong Dem will not be voting for him. Those of us who are sick of Karl Rove and all that he stood for in the Bush administration are not willing to sign up for another no-substance/all-spin-all-the-time administration.
This is the time for the ‘Distinguished Party Leaders’ to put aside any petty personal loyalties, take a stand, and do what is right for the party and for our country.
The Clintons have shown themselves many times, in many small ways, to be heartless nihilists. I’m disgusted by Hillary Clinton’s remarks, but I would be lying if I said that I were surprised.
DON’T BE DUPED AGAIN AMERICA !!!
IT’S ABOUT ELECTABILITY !!!
Large numbers of BUSH_McCain Republicans have been voting for Barack Obama in the DEMOCRATIC primaries, and caucuses from early on with the backing and help of the medical and insurance industry. Under the direction of the George Bush, and Karl Rove vote fraud, and vote manipulation machine. Because they feel Barack Obama would be a weaker opponent against John McCain. And they want to stop Hillary Clinton from fixing the HUGE! American, and Global mess they have created. shocking!!! isn’t it. Just gotta love those good old draft dodging, silver spoon Texas boys. Not!
You see, the medical and insurance industry mostly support the republicans with the money they ripped off from you. And they don’t want you to have quality, affordable universal health care. They want to be able to continue to rip you off, and kill you and your children by continuing to deny you life saving medical care that you have already paid for. So they can continue to make more immoral profits for them-selves off of you, and your children’s suffering.
With Hillary Clinton you are almost 100% certain to get quality affordable universal health care for everyone very soon. And you are also certain to see major improvements in the economy for everyone.
The American people face even worse catastrophes ahead than the ones you are living through now. It will take all of the skills, and experience of Hillary Clinton to pull the American people out of this mess we are in. Fortunately fixing up, and cleaning up others incompetence, immoral degeneracy, and mess is what the Clinton’s do very well.
Hillary Clinton has actually won by much larger margins than the vote totals showed. And lost by much smaller vote margins than the vote totals showed. Her delegate count is actually much higher than it shows. And higher than Obama’s. She also leads in the electoral college numbers that you must win to become President in the November national election. HILLARY CLINTON IS ALREADY THE TRUE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE!
Just look at Oregon for example. Obama won Oregon by about 70,000 votes. But approximately 79,000 Bush republicans switched party’s back in January to vote for Obama in the democratic primary. They are not going to vote for, or support any Democrat in November. Are you DEMOCRATS going to put up with that. Are you that stupid, and weak. The Bush republicans think you are that stupid, and weak.
As much as 30% of Obama’s primary, and caucus votes are Republicans trying to choose the weakest democratic candidate for McCain to run against. These Republicans have been gaming the caucuses, and open primaries where it is easier to vote cheat. This is why Obama has not been able to win the BIG! states primaries. Even with Republican vote cheating help. Except North Carolina where 35% of the population is African American, and approximately 90% of them block voted for him. African Americans are only approximately 17% of the general population.
Hillary Clinton has been OUT MANNED! and OUT SPENT! 4 and 5 to 1. Yet Obama has only been able to manage a very tenuous, and questionable tie with Hillary Clinton. This is even more phenomenal when you consider she has been also fighting against the George Bush, Karl Rove vote fraud machine in the DEMOCRATIC primaries, and caucuses. Hillary Clinton is STUNNING!.
If Obama is the democratic nominee for the national election in November he will be slaughtered. That is crystal clear now. Because all of the Republican vote cheating help will suddenly evaporate. And the demographics, and experience are completely against him. All of this vote fraud and Bush republican manipulation has made Obama falsely look like a much stronger candidate than he really is.
You will have another McGovern catastrophe where George McGovern lost 49 of 50 states. And was the reason the super-delegates were created to keep that from happening again. Don’t let that happen to the party and America again super-delegates. You have the power to prevent it. The only important question now is who can best win in November. And the answer is HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON. That fact is also now crystal clear.
And YOUNG PEOPLE. DON’T BE DUPED! Think about it. You have the most to lose. As do African Americans. Support Hillary Clinton. She will do her best for all of you. And she will know how to best get it done on day one.
The democratic party needs to fix this outrage. Everyone needs to throw all your support to Hillary Clinton NOW! So you can end this outrage against YOU the voter, and against democracy.
The democratic party, and the super-delegates have a decision to make. Are the democrats, and the democratic party going to choose the DEMOCRATIC party nominee to fight for the American people. Or are the republicans going to choose the DEMOCRATIC party nominee through vote fraud, and gaming the DEMOCRATIC party primaries, and caucuses.
Fortunately the Clinton’s have been able to hold on against this fraudulent outrage with those repeated dramatic, and heroic comebacks of Hillary Clinton’s. Only the Clinton’s are that resourceful, and strong. Hillary Clinton is your NOMINEE. They are the best I have ever seen. Probably the best there has ever been.
“This is not a game” (Hillary Clinton)
Sincerely
jacksmith… Working Class
p.s. Cynthia Ruccia - I’m with ya baby. All the way. “Clinton Supporters Count Too.”
This was not a historical analogy. She knows that Super Tuesday used to be in March and the CA primary used to be in June. In the context of her racial appeals, allegations of extremist ties by Sen. Obama & her claims that his victory over her is due sexism by Sen. Obama the unbalanced could very well take this as an invitation. The response of her supporters characterizing the Obama campaign’s tactful response to this as an attack on her indicate that they will act on her invitation.
If she did this without considering its implications she is unfit to be the President whose chance remarks can have global implications. If this was purposeful & her prior conduct militates against any presumption of good faith, the implications are horrific.
Either way, she should withdraw not only from the campaign but also from public life.
Hillary’s reference to Bobby Kennedy’s assassination is revealing in another way.
That convention was a melee, as Humphrey’s delegates, McCarthy’s delegates, Kennedy’s leftover delegates (rallied together to some extent by McGovern) collided with Richard Daley’s police and Chicago political machine in an explosion that destroyed liberalism and the Democratic party for decades. Is that what Hillary wants to happen? If Hillary pursues her current ambition to force Michigan and Florida votes to count (despite her joining the agreement that they wouldn’t), the only way she can win the nomination is to rip the nomination out of Obama’s hands, alienate almost all of his supporters, destroy the party’s decades-long support from African-American voters, and turn the convention into a repeat of the 1968 convention.
The media jumped on her for the use of the “assassination” reference. I am also appalled at her reference to Kennedy’s assassination for its association with what happened to the Democratic party as a result of the 1968 convention. That is precisely how she will leave the party this year if she takes this madness to the convention.
All I am think is that somehow, Hillary and Bill thought that this nomination belonged to them and Barack has stolen it. It is the only frame of mind that accounts for her bad attitude, culminating with the ludicrious assertion that the seating of delegations in states where she was not supposed to be running (and where Barack followed the rules that she had agreed to) is like Florida 2000 or Zimbabwe.
It is mystifying that more people don’t feel this way. Do they really think that seating these delegations would be fair to people who had to vote for “other” instead of Obama?
Every day that this goes on, my heart grows heavier. It is like watching a beloved old aunt or grandmother slide into dementia while lashing out at everyone around her. Where is Howard Dean? It feels as of the DNC is a runaway train without an engineer. I need a Prilosec!