October 12, 2009

"Hillary Clinton says she won't run for president again."

What an inaccurate headline!
Clinton, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, said "No" three different times when asked by NBC's Ann Curry "Will you ever run for president again? Yes or No?"

"This is a great job," Clinton said in the interview broadcast Monday. "It is a 24-7 job. And I am looking forward to retirement at some point."
That's not "no." Does that count as one of the "three different times"? When the question even includes a "yes or no" prompt and there's no "yes/no" then that means it's not not no or yes.
"... You know, I am not one of these people who feel's like I have to have my face in the front of the newspaper or on the TV every moment of the day. I would be irresponsible and negligent were I to say 'Oh no everything must come to me.'"
Of course, not. How could you? Say that, I mean.
"Now, maybe that is a woman's thing. Maybe I am totally secure and feel absolutely no need to go running around in order for people to see what I am doing. It is just the way I am. My goal is to be a very positive force to implement the kind of changes that the president and I believe are in the best interests of our country. But that doesn't mean it all has to be me, me, me all the time. I like lifting people up."
Until you feel like lifting Barack Obama up and heaving him out of the White House, where you know you belong.

ADDED: Here's the video...



... and — though the quote is missing from the article I read — she does say "No, no, no." Of course, I still don't believe her.

(Via Instaputz.)

84 comments:

JAL said...

Probably just me, but I think I detect a not so subtle put down of our celebrity POTUS.

MadisonMan said...

Why can't you just trust them? I'm so sure that she was asked the question in the interview and answered just like it was reported.

chickelit said...

That's not 'no.'

not no ≠ no no

AllenS said...

When Hillary starts out with an answer of "... You know..." She's not telling the truth.

JAL said...

And comments like that may mean she will retire under the Chicago Metro Greyhound (local and trancontinental services) sooner rather than later.

Of course, if she weren't in the basement at Foggy Bottom, who could keep an eye on her and the duct(k) tape handy?

wv mjhum
Hillary's new chant:
mjhum mjhum mjhum

JAL said...

Allen S -- just like when POTUS says "As I have repeatedly said .."
and "Let me be clear ..."

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.

Anonymous said...

As JAL noticed.

""... You know, I am not one of these people who feel's like I have to have my face in the front of the newspaper or on the TV every moment of the day. I would be irresponsible and negligent were I to say 'Oh no everything must come to me.'""

Who is Hill talking about?

john said...

When Barack Obama, with the NPP under his arm and secure in the knowledge that he has the enthusiastic backing of the full Noregian parliamant, appoints HRC as replacement VP for an ailing Joe Biden, then announces he will accept after all the acclamation of both the European world and the UN General Assembly to be it's next Secretary General (thus aceing out Bill, again), and therefore will not complete his second term, HRC will fulfill her dream and keep her promise.

A fella can dream.

Rialby said...

Althouse - "where you know you belong"

Does that mean - where you, Hillary, think you belong?

OR

Does that mean - Damn it, I - Althouse - am already sick of this guy that I trusted enough to vote for and now I'm prepared to throw my support to HRC because *we* know the White House is where she belongs?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

@ Lem, lol.

echos of "White House" "White House" "The Presidency! Its the only thing that matters. Its the only thing that lasts."

Now if she can just get Bill out of Bell Watley's place long enough to put together a plan.

Unknown said...

Anytime Hillary is speaking you have to parse the language very carefully. I think she is saying that she has a full-time job that she enjoys doing. Now if something changes and she doesn't like her job or if she were to lose her job then she would be in a position to run against him.

Refusing to answer "no" is a maybe. She is so threateningObama with these comments.

Eric said...

Refusing to answer "no" is a maybe. She is so threateningObama with these comments.

How is this threatening to Obama? Sitting presidents always get the nomination for a second term, so if she runs it'll be 2016.

She can certainly run in 2012, but it's virtually impossible for her to actually win.

Elliott A said...

Shortly after the 2010 election, the Dems will be asking themselves, "What were we thinking?" Pres. Obama will pull an LBJ and not run again and Hillary will be crowned nominee. None of the current Republican lightweights could beat her.

tjl said...

Clinton-phobes should be thankful O's in the White House instead of Hillary. Imagine what she would have done with Dem majorities in both houses, ably assisted by Bill and his unmatched infighting skills. The entire Democratic wishlist would already have been enacted by now.

The only consolation would be a less groveling stance in foreign relations. No Nobel Prize for her.

Awesome said...

God I wish Hillary were president instead of BO.

Automatic_Wing said...

Until you feel like lifting Barack Obama up and heaving him out of the White House, where you know you belong.

Time to cue the Joe Cocker music.

kjbe said...

I believe that's the correct translation in the language of politics (and it drives literalists crazy).

paul a'barge said...

"Yes" means "No" and "No" means "Yes" and don't forget about the Rape-rape.

Because those lib-tards are nothing if not master communicators, right?

Fred4Pres said...

Run Hillary Run.

Just don't wear shorts or you will lose Althouse.

Fred4Pres said...

Oh oh, too late, Hillary wearing shorts...

Scroll down and there is a photo of Hillary wearing shorts. It looks like it was taken a while ago, so maybe Ann will give Hillary a pass.

Unknown said...

Eric --

I think Hillary would oppose Obama in 2012 if she thought she could win. In 2016 she would be about 70 and maybe too old.

My point isn't that she will or won't run. My point was that she is not above blackmailing Obama to be sure she keeps her job and. power at SoS.

And if the wheels come off this administration she would not hesitate to run a primary challenge. There are a lot of Dems saying that Hillary would not have made so many rookie mistakes. She may be able to tap into a buyers remorse.

The point is she is keeping her options open.

cubanbob said...

Hilary is as likely to get elected president as I am.
She is an idiot. She is done, put a fork in her.

ricpic said...

Think there'll be an appetite for hard lefty Hillary after the shambles Zero will leave behind? Of course Comrade Hussein's natural following will always go for more tit. But the moderately intelligent competents will be cured of the lefty temptation for at least a generation. Comrade Cankles is shit out of luck.

G Joubert said...

Unless something totally unforeseen but devastatingly bad happens between now and 2012, Obama is going to be the Dem nominee and no other Dem is going to wrest it from him. Not Hillary, nor any other. It would take something much worse than the current flow of Marxist ideas and ineptitude we see now.

Bob Ellison said...

Prof. Althouse: Clinton really did say "no" three times when Curry asked for a "yes or no" response. Watch the end of the video here:

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/10/12/clinton_says_she_will_not_run_again.html

The fault lies with CNN for failing to transcribe the money quote.

kent said...

That's not "no."

It's "no," but it isn't "NO-no."

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If Hillary were president would we still be talking about gays in the military?

Hell when Bill was the president she would often say WE are president.

You know Hillarry would have gone in there and told the generals 'get it done or i'm getting some new generals who can'.

bearbee said...

Fred4Pres said...
Oh oh, too late, Hillary wearing shorts...

The one of many that caught my eye was her as a member of the high school 'Cultural Values Committee.'

A prescient PC-er. Although not the chairperson (that must have stung) she manages to sit smack dab in the middle of the photo.

Kirk Parker said...

"Sitting presidents always get the nomination for a second term"

We can certainly Hope that will Change.

John Lawton said...

Hey CNN, who the heck "feel's" like putting an apostrophe in "feels?" Ever?

Penny said...

Is anyone else surprised she mentioned the word "retirement"?

Doesn't she know that word never crosses the lips of a true politician, no matter how much the rest of us wish they would retire in mass.

Eric said...

My point isn't that she will or won't run. My point was that she is not above blackmailing Obama to be sure she keeps her job and. power at SoS.

But that's just it - he has no reason to fear a Hillary primary challenge. It's not like the Republican primary, where because there's no incumbent you can act as a spoiler (like Huckabee in 2008). Nothing Hillary does in the primaries will affect Obama's reelection chances, so he has no reason to make any deals.

Now, he has plenty of reason to fear a Hillary third-party run, siphoning votes like Perot did to Bush in 1992 or Nader to Gore in 2000, but I just don't see that in the cards.

former law student said...

"Hillary Clinton says she won't run for president again."

More like "Hillary Clinton won't say she'll run for president again.

How old was Reagan when he was elected? Hill's just a spring chicken.

Roger J. said...

I think it is WAY to early to speculating about either a third party challenger or a challenger from within the democratic party--President Obama has a couple more years in office before his peformance will be weighed by a potential challenger.

miller said...

Unfortunately for you libs, Hillary didn't win the primary.

And you got the ineffective Boy President instead.

Hillary would have done far more to get liberal policies enacted. Which is why I rooted for the Boy President to win the nomination.

Well, you guys voted him in, and now you deal with his ineffectiveness.

But you should be happy with your consolation prize, the NPP.

kent said...

Nothing Hillary does in the primaries will affect Obama's reelection chances

Heh. Do ask a critically wounded (electorally speaking)Jimmuh Carter how he felt about Teddy's run for the primary roses, circa 1980, sometime. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)_presidential_primaries,_1980

Jeremy said...

And now...Ann provides the daily wing nut chum to initiate the whining and bitching about Hillary.

Methadras said...

Of course she won't. [rolleyes]

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
traditionalguy said...

Let me try again...Jeremy...We all love Hillary now for her new role as the Lady snake in the grass in waiting inside the Administration of the Big Serpent in the Grass, who is watching her like a cobra.

Michael Haz said...

That statement could mean that HRC isn't going to run for president again. Or it could mean either of these two things:

-Okay, Rahm, I've said I'm not going to run, so take the handcuffs off of me, get rid of the special envoys to the mid-east and North Korea and let be be the effin' Sec of State.

-My next run will be for something other than the presidency, and I'm not going to tell you yet. Maybe Gov, maybe Senate, but it won't be the White House.

-I'm tired of this shit and I want to be a university president. Have your people call mine and we'll talk.

Michael Haz said...

*three* things

Anonymous said...

"Will you ever run for president again? Yes or No?"

Her response to this was:

"No! No! No! No!"

That seems pretty clear.

chickelit said...

Will you ever run for president again? Yes or No?

She should consider it. Bill is awfully good at shmoozing with the opposition, and pissing off the right (left?) people. Link

bearbee said...

traditionalguy said...
...We all love Hillary now for her new role as the Lady snake in the grass in waiting inside the Administration of the Big Serpent in the Grass, who is watching her like a cobra.

Reminded me of The Little Prince and the boa constrictor

Chip Ahoy said...

The thought of enduring another two-year campaign has caused me to roast a whole chicken the make chicken soup with matzo balls from sourdough crust crumbs instead of crushed matzo bread.

reader_iam said...

Is "chum" the word of the day or something?

Unknown said...

NBC posted the transcript and she does say no 3 times, albeit one with a laugh:

Ann Curry: Will you ever run for President again? Yes or no?

Hillary Clinton: (LAUGHS) No.

Ann Curry: No?

Hillary Clinton: No. No. I mean, this is—this is—a great job. It is a 24/7 job. And-- I'm looking forward to retirement at some point.


http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33277950/ns/today-today_people/

reader_iam said...

Chip: In the past couple of years, I've come across a whole number of people who use pressure cookers (who are not also from my parents' generation or older). They have either been from Colorado, or (more often) homeschoolers, and in two cases, both. No clue as to the correlation, much less about causation, but the coincidence is striking.

And now we're ordering one ... .

Unknown said...

The conversation also includes:

Ann Curry: But I can't help but think nine months into this administration, having campaigned so fiercely to be President yourself, that there can't be moments for you where you wish you could make the decisions yourself.

Hillary Clinton: I have to tell you, it never crosses my mind. In--

Ann Curry: Never?

Hillary Clinton: No. Not at all. My-- I am part of the team that makes the decisions. And that is the way it should be. You know, usually, in the past, not always, the Secretary of State was in constant battles with the White House. Or with the defense department. And some of it, to be very honest, was nothing but ego. It was, "No. This is me. I'm supposed to be the important person here."

I find that absurd. And ridiculous. And totally out of keeping with dealing with the multiple of challenges that we have to face every single day. You know, I get up early in the morning. I meet with people all day long. To try to set policy to hold ourselves and others accountable. And I-- I think that's the way it should be done. So people can say, well, why why don't I do this all myself? But I think that is a grave, and, you know, possibly counterproductive assessment of how to do foreign policy in the world that we fact today.



(Ironically, the word verification I am to type in to get this comment posted is "gripestr")

Unknown said...

Sorry to keep commenting on this, but just saw that the NYTimes (yep, the same NYTimes that Ann writes in from time to time) credits Hillary with saying No 4 times.

Penny said...

She really had no choice but to answer "no", and be part of Obama's team.

It would be the same as asking someone's husband or wife in an interview if they planned to divorce.

The Real Barack said...

You are in meetings with people all day? Managers who are in meetings all day don't get much done. An what people ?

Hillary- call me asap.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to keep commenting on this, but just saw that the NYTimes (yep, the same NYTimes that Ann writes in from time to time) credits Hillary with saying No 4 times.

That's what I said before, but the NYT and I were wrong. The Washington Post gets it right. Clinton says, "No!" Then the interviewer asks "No?!" Then Clinton apparently decides that she needs to be clearer by saying it twice in a row, so she says: "No, no!"

Peter V. Bella said...

She has a great job. She was appointed to do and does nothing. This has been her whole story during her so called decades of service. Obama trusts her with foreign policy about as far as he can throw her- if he ever figures out what foreign policy is. Big hint O, foreign policy is not running around the world on apology tours. Hillary is collecting a check and a pension and that is it.

As to running again? Her whole campaign was one big joke. It was a fairy tale. Hey, if she wants to entertain the American people, why not.

J. Cricket said...

Joe says: Prof. Althouse: Clinton really did say "no" three times when Curry asked for a "yes or no" response. Watch the end of the video here:



Silly Joe! Don't confuse the professor with the facts! Little things accuracy aren't important here!! Snark and sarcasm--at the expense of Democrats only, please--are the order of the day.

ricpic said...

Chip Improves On My Mother

A darker sexier matzo ball
One packed with fiber and flavor
Not the dead white spongy floating blob
That preceded the over boiled chicken sans savor.

JAL said...

And Barack Obama said “If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.”

Why are we even having a discussion over what politicians say?

Even when they lie it doesn't matter.

Anonymous said...

In 2016 she would be about 70 and maybe too old.

Not at all. In health and fitness terms, 70 for a woman is equal to 60-65 for a man. No one would think a man in that age range would be too old.

Peter

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If no means no then it must be rape rape.

Obama is having his way with her ;)

Peter V. Bella said...

If a Clinton says no, does it really mean no?

Anonymous said...

That funny. I just posted the following today on my blog:

I'll go out on a limb and make a prediction. Hillary Clinton will resign in protest over some botched diplomacy that Obama bungles. She now has the credentials for foreign affairs, having served as Secretary of State. She will challenge Obama in 2012, since he will be fading fast in the quagmire of his failed administration. I'll even go so far as to predict that she will defeat him, as he will be at his weakest, and those Clintons sure are scrappers.

Michael Haz said...

It depends on what the meaning of "no" is.

ricpic said...

Hillary will still be fighting her age at seventy, an unsettling spectacle. Seventy on a serious person like Golda Meir is one thing, on a perpetual performer like Hillary it's something else.

RLB_IV said...

2012.. Hill fights Obama for the nomination and we see a huge floor fight...blood everywhere. It's brutal. Hill wins. Meanwhile, Romney reaches for the Republican nomination. Palin gets thrown in at the last minute as a last resort. Huge fights ensue but Palin gets the nomination. Blood everywhere.
There could no better theater in the World than a Presidential election involving these two women. Oh please, let be be so...

I'm Full of Soup said...

Obama's election has set a precedent that the Americn people may support and elect anybody who sounds good.

By 2016, there are going to be a bunch of youngish, former military officers with wartime experience.Many will be dabbling in politics and a few, at least, will look way better, to the voters, than an Obama or an old, wrinkled Hillary.

That said, I agree there is a chance Hillary will bail on the Sec of State job to mount a primary challenge to a failed Obama presidency.

RLB_IV said...

I cannot recommend any other pressure cooker than the Fagor Pressure Magic. In Marine, Recreational, or Disaster applications, the ability to make fresh drinking water can be life saving. Makes awesome fried chicken and hooch. The Rapid Chef SuperCooker lids have an extended valve stem. This will allow for attachment of a hose or tubing.

Fill pressure cooker to just below rivets with sea water, pool water, toilet, or any water. Attach 3 inches of 5/16" diameter plastic hose to the valve stem on the cover of the cooker.

To the other end of the plastic hose, attach 7 - 10 feet of 1/4" copper or stainless tubing coiled to fit into a container of ice (if available) or water. The colder the coils the faster the condensation will occur. Place the other end of the metal tubing into a clean receptacle to collect the fresh water. Makes 1 quart hour.

But the best part is hooch!
I am so thankful that I was born in the USA.

Methadras said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Methadras said...

Jeremy said...

And now...Ann provides the daily wing nut chum to initiate the whining and bitching about Hillary.


Buddy, the only chum you hope for is the one Titus leaves in your mouth or on your front porch in the event you aren't home.

J. Cricket said...

The Althouse non-correction: "she does say "No, no, no." Of course, I still don't believe her. "

But your initial observation, complete with exclamation mark, was about how inaccurate you found the headline. Not about your belief.

The headline was accurate and your observation about the headline was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

But being wrong is never a problem in the Althouse household, is it? Boring, is a problem. but not wrong!!!

Rialby said...

AJ - good point. You think media liberals like Meredith Viera would vote for a veteran and a Republican if he looked like this?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Rialby:
That was hilarious but to answer your question. No, I doubt libs in the MSM like her would ever vote Republican.

Big Mike said...

Of course, I still don't believe her.

Nor should you.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

You think media liberals like Meredith Viera would vote for a veteran and a Republican if he looked like this?

As long as he didn't open his mouth and say any of the stupid things that Republicans seem to love saying.

Peter V. Bella said...

Hillary will not resign. Secretary of State is the only real job she has ever held. Obama appointed her only because her resume was as non-existent as his. She needed the cachet so she could truthfully say she was somebody besides Bill's doormat.

Eric said...

Heh. Do ask a critically wounded (electorally speaking)Jimmuh Carter how he felt about Teddy's run for the primary roses, circa 1980, sometime. ;)

And yet there's no evidence Teddy's run had any effect on the general election. You're right, Jimmuh was critically wounded, but that occurred before the primaries, and even though it was clear Carter probably couldn't win the general election the party still nominated him. That should be a cautionary tale for Hillary.

blake said...

Boy, last night you leave us with hairy legs, and tonight you leave us with...hairy legs?

(Does Hillary shave?)

reader_iam said...

I'd bet serious money she shaves, uses depilatory, or whatever. Or maybe she's lucky, in one sense, in that at this point in life, she doesn't have to spend *too* much time with regard to leg hair.

AllenS said...

What else could Hillary say? Can you imagine the uproar that would have taken place had she answered "Yes"? Here's what I've been wondering. If things keep going the way the are, would Obama want a second term? If there is no recovery, and things actually keep getting worse, like employment, why would he want to run again. Who would vote for him? Looking at his past, I've noticed that he doesn't do anything for very long. He has a record that we can look at and come to the conclusion that he accomplishes nothing in the jobs that he has chosen, or been assigned. So, therefore, Hillary will run again.

Anonymous said...

Boy, last night you leave us with hairy legs, and tonight you leave us with...hairy legs?

(Does Hillary shave?)


Christ Almighty, I hope not. That would be ... oh wait, you're talking about legs. Never mind.

Peter

gawker said...

You can tell Althouse is fast running of ideas. But not to worry, her readers will swallow whole any trivial, demonstrably false crap she writes, regardless.

rhhardin said...

Halloween decoration that's probably not actually a Hillary allegory.