September 19, 2015

Clinton laconic in Laconia.

"Hillary Clinton left some young fans upset Thursday in New Hampshire after she canceled a planned appearance at a Boys & Girls Club location in Laconia, New Hampshire. Between 30 to 35 children who participate in the club's programs, all of them between 5 and13 years old, waited, and waited, and waited. They had written letters to the former secretary of state and devised questions to ask her. They drew her pictures and painted welcome signs.... Clinton was in Laconia to speak at a public forum about drug addiction. But instead of meeting the kids, her campaign whisked her off to a separate speaking engagement at a different Boys & Girls Club location in Concord, 30 miles away."

laconic (adj.)
"concise, abrupt," 1580s, probably via Latin Laconicus, from Greek Lakonikos, from Lakon "person from Lakonia," the district around Sparta in southern Greece in ancient times, whose inhabitants were famously proud of their brevity of speech. When Philip of Macedon threatened them with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground," the Spartans' reply was, "If."
Meanwhile, also in New Hampshire, the other woman, Carly Fiorina, is topping a poll.

22 comments:

Laslo Spatula said...

"...the other woman, Carly Fiorina, is topping a poll."

Topping the poll is fine,but can she swing around it wearing nothing but five-inch heels and a belly-button ring?

I am Laslo.

AmPowerBlog said...

Althouse, she barely fills a cafeteria these days. Her campaign's a joke. More here: 'Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire Town Hall Sparsely Attended (PHOTOS)'.

Humperdink said...

I would pay large money to watch a Carly v. Hillary debate. I would suggest Hannity and Chris Matthews as moderators, each with equal time (an impossible task). Questions would need to limited in length.

Pay-per-view.

clint said...

The ad positively writes itself -- crying, disappointed children... a candidate who is already breaking her campaign promises...

Bay Area Guy said...

@Humperdink

Agreed, that would be epic. Do you think Carly should invite, or perhaps challenge Hillary to a debate? We know Hilllary would dodge it, but perhaps Carly could get some political mileage out of the dodge.

Michael K said...

Who those kids think they are ? Donors ? Voters ?

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Miochael K,

Exactly. They can't donate, and they can't vote, so they don't matter. OTOH, she did ditch this one for another kids' event, so maybe not. Scheduling snafu of some kind?

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Michael K, sorry about mangling your name :-)

I am confused about Hillary's "cancel[ing] a planned appearance." If the campaign had mentioned the cancellation to the club at Laconia, would the kids have been "waiting, and waiting, and waiting"? It sounds more like Hillary just blew them off without anyone at her campaign giving so much as a word in advance.

jacksonjay said...

Not a single transgender, clock-making, pro-choice Girl Scout, child in the group. Move-On!

Phil 314 said...

Kids don't write checks

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Kids don't write checks"

Their parents do. And they never forget a slight to their children. Parents are like freakin' Albanians. Unless they're liberals, then they're like freakin' retards.

amielalune said...

Bah. The kids were excited because their idiot teachers had whipped them up. I promise you none of them cried themselves to sleep over it. (The kids, that is....some of the teachers probably did. Which makes me smile.)

Static Ping said...

The greatest Laconic phrase, which still resonates strongly today (and stolen from Wikipedia):

When Leonidas was in charge of guarding the narrow mountain pass at Thermopylae with just 7,000 Greek men in order to delay the invading Persian army, Xerxes offered to spare his men if they gave up their arms. Leonidas replied "Molon labe" (Greek: Μολών λαβέ), which translates to "Come and take them".

My favorite burn:

King Demaratus, being annoyed by someone pestering him with a question concerning who the most exemplary Spartan was, answered "He that is least like you."

The best modern equivalent is probably "Nuts!" from the Battle of Bastogne. Wikipedia has a list of worthy nominees.

Michael K said...

Molon Labe is a popular Tea Party expression.

hombre said...

Carly and Carson will have difficulty getting support from PACs controlled by old white guys.

Birches said...

Color me skeptical that the kids were heartbroken. More like, "You guys made us write dumb questions down and dress nicely and sit still and it was all for nothing?!"

Parents who have children that attend the Boys and Girls Club generally aren't the check writing type, I'd guess.

Big Mike said...

Republican rank and file voters have been waiting to see who will be the "anybody except Trump" candidate, and the Democrat rank and file are waiting to see who the "anybody except Hillary" candidate will be. In 2008 the ABH candidate was Obama. In 2016 it might be Sanders.

Achilles said...

Big Mike said...
"Republican rank and file voters have been waiting to see who will be the "anybody except Trump" candidate, and the Democrat rank and file are waiting to see who the "anybody except Hillary" candidate will be. In 2008 the ABH candidate was Obama. In 2016 it might be Sanders."

Note that out of the republicans Rubio is the highest polling politician. He is never in double digits. The republican's base is looking for answers and finding some. The democrat base is also looking for people outside their establishment but they are kinda slow and dumb.

traditionalguy said...

SPARTA!

khesanh0802 said...

It must be driving the Dem feminists nuts that the woman who is getting positive feedback is Carly. I think it's great and I would almost like to see a Carly v. Hillary presidential except that would mean that Hillary lasts past this Christmas which I hope doesn't happen.

phantommut said...

Scheduling snafu. Flyover country. How many Boys and Girls clubs can one state have, anyway?

Quaestor said...

You want laconic? Hillary is not laconic. She is untruthful.

How's that?