Althouse: Does Michelle Obama hate Hillary?

February 6, 2008

Does Michelle Obama hate Hillary?

20 comments:

Peter V. Bella said...: She probably feels the same way about Hillary as Bill feels about Barak. Ain't no love lost.; 2/6/08, 7:10 PM
Unknown said...: I'm sorry, but isn't hate too strong a word here? Her husband is Clinton's rival, and they're fighting for the most important job in the world.

I'll say this: Michelle would make a far more more elegant first lady then Bill.; 2/6/08, 7:37 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Althouse- if you were Barack and you lost the nomination to Hillary, would you accept the VP slot?; 2/6/08, 7:49 PM
dick said...: If you were Barack and you won the nomination would you offer the VP slot to Hillary?; 2/6/08, 7:53 PM
George M. Spencer said...: She burns hot in a cool medium.; 2/6/08, 7:55 PM
Ann Althouse said...: AJ: Absolutely not. He needs to be independent of her. He's got strength in his newness and youth. I don't want to see that ruined by subordination to her.; 2/6/08, 8:05 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: According to the Democratic creed, hate is not a family value; unless...; 2/6/08, 8:07 PM
Jim Hu said...: What the spouse of a defeated candidate thinks of the nominee is pretty low on my list of factors to consider. If she does campaign enthusiastically for HRC, we'll say that's nice. If she has hard feelings it would be understandable but not particularly meaningful.

So...should we care?; 2/6/08, 8:07 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Strongly dislike? Yes. Hate? Might be too strong a word.

Anybody wonder what McCain's wife thinks of W?; 2/6/08, 10:06 PM
Cedarford said...: Ann Althouse said...
AJ: Absolutely not. He needs to be independent of her. He's got strength in his newness and youth. I don't want to see that ruined by subordination to her.

Plus side is that as VP, Obama could get the experience he lacks. If he goes back to the Senate, his days of voting "present" on important votes and touting his meaningless vote in Illinois on Iraq after 2 hours of debate as a sign of the highest wisdom - are over.
The slippery little bastard will have to go on record with controversial votes and not have his State Senate excuses or present excuse that he is involved in too much important campaigning to be pinned down voting on uncomfortable issues and making less than idealistically pure compromises that is an inherent part of the role of Senator...

The smart move is take the VP if offered - with some agreements between parties about executive appointments for some of Barack's people, Barack doing the expanded role plus a little more given to Gore in areas where Obama can both learn, stay in the public eye, and accumulate executive experience.

A third way is Obama says he will play the long game and refuse VP and run for Governor of Illinois to get executive experience...

And if Hillary tanks in an economic meltdown of America only Mitt Romney of the candidates was qualified to fight against....well, Obama can always scrap his governorship plans. Or say he is a one-term VP - get some Generals and admirals around him, and come back against the Clintons in 2012 as the new Aaron Burr.; 2/6/08, 10:07 PM
somefeller said...: Barack would take the VP slot, I suspect. There's no downside for him. Worst case scenario - Hillary loses, and the loss gets blamed on her, not him. Best case scenario - he's the Vice President of the United States. Hard not to like those odds.

If present trends continue, it'll be McCain/Huckabee vs. Clinton/Obama, with Clinton/Obama winning comfortably, but not in a landslide.; 2/6/08, 10:48 PM
somefeller said...: Revising and extending my earlier comment...

However, there's probably a 50/50 chance that present trends will not continue, and Obama will run the board for the next month or so, thus making himself the clear frontrunner and eventual nominee. And he and his running mate (who won't be Hillary) wins by a comfortable margin, but not a landslide. The country is too evenly divided for either side to pull off a Goldwater/Mondaleish blowout.; 2/6/08, 10:54 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Yes, hate, that's what it is. Right there under the surface. You can tell by the way she begins answering before the question is finished, stepping on the question, as it were.

^ Not really. I have no idea. Can't seem to follow a word of it. They lose me when they assume their listener accepts the axiom that change is being demanded. How does she know I'm not demanding persistency? Consistency?; 2/7/08, 12:48 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: Continuity.

If a senator really wants to affect social change, best to stay a senator, they're the ones with persistent power.; 2/7/08, 1:01 AM
ricpic said...: The real question is: does Michelle Obama hate America, or as she would spell it, Amerika.; 2/7/08, 7:52 AM
Der Hahn said...: A third way is Obama says he will play the long game and refuse VP and run for Governor of Illinois to get executive experience...

IIRC, GHWB is the only sitting vice-president elected President in 20th Century without having ascended to the Presidency by sucession first. Nixon (1960 version) and Gore are prime examples of what usually happens. The record for sitting Senators isn't much better. Obama would certainly improve his chances by focusing his attention on becoming IL governor.; 2/7/08, 8:55 AM
Swifty Quick said...: She's fed up with the Clinton operating style, a place where normal people were, oh, about 13 or 14 years ago. There are many who never got there, so better late than never.; 2/7/08, 9:36 AM
former law student said...: I think if Hillary were drowning, Michelle would toss her a life saver -- maybe even the whole pack.; 2/7/08, 3:37 PM
former law student said...: der hahn -- no IL governor has ever become President. Adlai Stevenson is the only IL governor who ever was nominated.; 2/7/08, 3:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Does anybody really think Michelle likes Mrs. Clinton?

I think Michelle loathes Clinton.; 6/5/08, 7:34 PM