Mr. Obama has come the closest to delving into Mrs. Clinton's past, though you need an Enigma machine to decode it. His campaign slogan is "Change We Can Believe In." (Translation: If you elect her, don't be surprised what she discovers in a box under a table.) He's mused about "character and judgment." (Translation: I don't trade in cattle futures.) Freudian psychology this is, Mortal Kombat it is not. Yet while the squeaky clean Mr. Obama may be best positioned to make a moral case against Mrs. Clinton, his own "politics of hope" has made it difficult to pull out the brass knuckles.This made me want to go study the video myself, but I couldn't find it. Is it just me, or is that video hard to find on line? Does she really act "flinching" and "defenseless" after Lazio's idiotic invasion-of-the-space? In any case, her "repeat act" about "the boys" ganging up on her failed miserably, so what is Strassel's point?
The rest of Mrs. Clinton's opponents fear an attack on her ethics would backfire, allowing her to paint herself as a female victim. You can bet they've studied the video of Rick Lazio, Mrs. Clinton's 2000 Senate opponent, invading her debate space, and Mrs. Clinton's ensuing performance as flinching, defenseless woman. (Mr. Lazio sank like a rock.) She has suggested she's not above a repeat act, dispatching Bill to warn that "the boys" were being awfully "tough" on his wife.
Some Democrats seem to be relying on Republicans to raise the character question. But liberal voters aren't listening to Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, and if they were, they'd view GOP persecution as added reason to vote for her. Mrs. Clinton thinks so, having just unveiled an ad featuring Romney and McCain attacks.Come on, Democrats, please, attack Hillary!
The Democratic debate has grown more personal in past days, with the barbs hitting ever closer to home. Whether this carries into a tougher discussion on Mrs. Clinton's character, who knows? It may just be inevitable.
Sorry, Hillary made me say that.
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Translation: I don't trade in cattle futures.
There's nothing wrong with cattle futures trading. It's that somebody is using it to launder a payoff to your husband.
Somehow that didn't make it into the article.
Come on, Democrats, please, attack Hillary!
That's like asking the folks who work at Pepe's Appiz' to start attacking Signor Gambino ...
Dude, Carlo Gambino owned Shoprite,
not Pepe's Appiz' Let's be more precise.
"With a war and a tough economy, we need a President ready on Day One to bring our troops home from Iraq and to handle all of our other tough challenges."
Notice she says she'll be "ready" to bring troops home, not that she will do it. She'll also "handle" challenges, not necessarily solve them.
"I offer my credentials, my experience, and qualifications which I think uniquely equip me to be prepared to hit the ground running on Day One. And I offer the experience of being battle tested in the political wars here at home. For 15 years, I have been the object of the Republican attack machine and I’m still here."
Look at the word choices....
Equip...Hit...Running...Day One...
Battle tested...Political wars...home...
attack machine.
She sounds like this woman.
"...her 'repeat act' about 'the boys' ganging up on her failed miserably..."
Sez who? Hillary and Co. have made the calculation that an indeterminate but significant number of females will automatically close rank behind a sister under attack, or more accurately, claiming to be under attack by "the boys". I happen to think that calculation is correct. Only election day will tell.
The Democrats are just caught between a rock and a hard place, this time around. Obama is black; Clinton is a woman, and also a Clinton. They can't really get their hate on for either of them without looking like hypocrites--and while the netroots have decided that they no longer care about that, the netroots are (still) a small portion of the overall vote.
As to the article: I certainly don't think Hilary is above playing the Broad Card, but I don't think she's dumb enough to play it as "oh poor little me the big bad boys are beating me up!" That would sink her in the general election, because the Republican candidate would make it the centerpiece of their campaign--"when pressured, the Democrat candidate folded like paper."
I'd expect to see something like "they think I can't do the job because I'm a woman. That's a traditional male way of thinking. And you can see where traditional male thinking has gotten us..."
You claim to be a Democrat (or at least an alienated one). You are doing quite well all by yourself.
Why are you seeking help?
"That video is impossible to find."
Conspiracy theory time!
Speaking of conspiracy theories, this morning, when accessing Althouse on the hotel-lobby computer, the comments sections attached to posts talking about Democrats are open. But those attached to posts talking about Republicans are blocked!
Hmmmmmmmm..........
The way to attack Hillary is not through hate but love. You happen to be in a diner in Iowa when she comes in with her entourage. She sees you in the corner reading the paper and enjoying a cup of coffee. She is immediately intrigued. She sends over a plate of onion rings. You look up surprised. She smiles at you from across the room. You slowly pick up and onion ring, hold it up to your mouth, and dart your tongue through the middle of the ring. You take the next ring, hold it up and slowly lick the inside of the crusty appetizer until only the bare onion remains. She can’t believe what she sees. Hillary is totally distracted. Even though you never meet, as she leaves she takes a long lingering look over her shoulder as they rush her out to her next campaign stop. Hillary is so discombulated that she makes a major error in the debate that night. She comes out in favor of illegal immigration because she wants more migrant workers, who will pick more onions, so there would be more onion rings. You lean back in the booth of the diner as you watch the debate. You smile to yourself. You are Chuck Norris.You call Governor Huckabee, and say “Mission Accomplished.”
Trooper,
I'll have whatever you're having!!!!
ROFL!
As if we needed more people attacking Hillary. The whole smear campaign against her is making me sick.
Trooper, fortunately for Hillary, Indiana isn't an early primary state or I'd be showing up makin' eyes at her. ;)
Still, you do raise a good heckling tool. Traditionally, eggs are thrown at political candidates; perhaps onion rings ought to be thrown at la Clinton instead.
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