1. If the president is reelected, do you want to serve a second term as secretary of state?
2. Would you like to serve as secretary of defense?
3. Would you like to be vice president of the United States?
4. Would you like to be president of the United States?
Expanding on the 4th option, I will fictionally channel the mind of Hillary Clinton with respect to the interesting question, question 4, as she justifies answering "no" if in fact she does plan to run:
You know, this question of wanting or liking to be President... I don't think one should ever want such an awesome responsibility. One always hopes that there is some far greater, far more experienced woman or man who will take on the overwhelming responsibilities of the presidency. It's not about liking to be President. The Presidency is a profound duty, never to be undertaken for personal satisfaction. What I would like would be for Barack Obama to measure up to the trust the American people have put in him. That is what I want. But if, for whatever reason, the American people desire a change — and Wolf, it is what the American people want that is essential here — and if the American people turn to me, because I am the most able, best experienced person to move into the role of President, I would not turn away from them. By the grace of God, I would endeavor to serve them.
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65 comments:
Remember what she said during her campaign. You cannot listen to what she says. You must read what she says.
She may want #4 or like to be #4, but, after the last 4 years, the Demos will run Slobbering Barney before her.
4 nos. There are other significant things for HRC to do with her life. President of a major university or institution come to mind. Or, she might surprise us with her choices, but politics is out.
It doesn't matter. Wolf still loves her.
I would prefer a current President Hillary to the guy semi-doing the job right now.
Ok... first of all Wolf Blitzer is asking the questions... Wolf Blitzer!!!
If Bozo the Clown were asking you questions, would you answer seriously and honestly? Blitzer is two steps below the hypothetical Bozo on the seriousness ladder.
Secondly, you need to speak Clintonese. "No" when being asked if she would like to be President means "yes". Remember "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"?
Third, it often seems that everyone involved in the fucking Obama Administration will take any opportunity to lie as long as they think it looks good. And they'll completely ignore the promises Obama made during the campaign. Honesty and integrity are just not important-- not important at all. Hillary is right there in the nuclear core of Team Obama; she's been there since day one.
I read somewhere-- can't remember where-- that conservatives fear their base, while liberals despise theirs. I keep on coming back to this quip because it seems so terribly true.
Gawd, I hate the Obama Administration. HATE! HATE! HATE! (And I voted for them... last time I make that fucking mistake...)
She'd settle for President, but what she really wants is to be The Ruler of the World!
It may well be that none of them are lies. Just because she truthfully says she doesn't want to, doesn't preclude her from reluctantly and unwillingly assuming any of those positions.
People find it easy to convince themselves they are the only ones for a job.
Who cares?
I mean, really.
She is completely truthful. She doesn't want to be president. She wants to be empress.
@E.M.Davis - Hear hear.
Hillary! has had work done on her face. Why? I'll bet it wasn't done to please Bill.
I betcha Hillary! will be back on the scene for the 2016 election.
There can't be a moment in a day where she doesn't think how she could be doing a better job than Barry. Even the Republicans lobbed up a sofball for her and she never made it to the plate.
#4.
Methinks Ms. Hillary (named after the famous 'Sir Edmund' ;-) ) is power hungry enough to want to be the 1st woman president.
@edutcher
Slobbering Barney? I don't think Kid Lollipop would get a sniff. Too taxing on the ears, and what cabinet member would want to have to use a spit shield during meetings?
wv - flatings
Althousian utterings
I would prefer a current President Hillary to the guy semi-doing the job right now.
Why? I don't see where she's demonstrated any more competence than any other former Senator.
Or are you thinking Bill's support/advice can fill the competence gap? Could you be hoping for a third Bill Clinton term of sorts?
@Julius
"Gawd, I hate the Obama Administration. HATE! HATE! HATE! (And I voted for them... last time I make that fucking mistake...)"
I 'held my nose' and voted McCain.
Not because I 'absolutely loved' McCain, but because I KNEW Obama was the diversity pick the day Joe fucking Biden talked about how 'clean' he was. Talk about a whiff of racism!
I'm unrepentant in wishing she'd won in 2008. I was never convinced that Obama was anything more than an empty suit and a lot of projected wishful thinking.
Say what you want about her, Hillary wouldn't be playing golf and fantasy basketball in the middle of multiple crises and stuck on advancing her private hobby horses at the expense of everything else.
(the group the republicans fielded was pretty much proof they intended to sit out the current four years and maybe get serious in 2012).
While here, I was never concerned about Bill being around had she been elected. She's probably the only person on earth he's afraid of and there is _no_ way she would let him anywhere near anything sensitive.
She didn't rein him in enough in the campaign (a mistake) but I'm pretty sure she would have.
The former first lady thing that was such a bug to Ann never bothered me and I still don't understand why it bothered her.
Obama's victory was a triumph for the MSM that sat on known negatives about him until it was too late and the nail in the coffin for their legitimacy.
A new topic!
As to Wolf Blitzer's questions, I think he misses the point. Hillary's career has gone up in smoke, right in front of all of us.
I also think Obama is now certifiably NUTS. This is known by all who are inside the White House. But they're keeping this information under wraps. Don't go by the fact that he can play golf.
I'd also point out that Nancy Pelosi's career curved downhill. "Winning" San Francisco is not on par with winning America.
Get past The View audience and what's Hillary's base? Your moment is over you horrible hate filled yenta from hell.
Lord of the Thighs
You must have come here to find me
You've got the look in your eyes
Although you really don't mind it
I am the Lord Of Your Thighs
You must have come here to find me
You've got the look in your eyes
Although you really don't mind it
I am the Lord Of Your Thighs
Based on her deteriorating appearance, it seems Hillary has thrown in the towel.
A lifetime of ambition and sacrifice, for naught.
(and to think, she could'a done even better on her own)
I remember this story from when Hillary was First Lady. People in the White House recognized the tapping of her shoes as she'd veer into Bill Clinton's East Wing. And, ya know what?
Hearing her coming people would open doors wherever they were. And, hide inside. Sometimes? The broom closet. Sometimes? A person's office with a meeting in progress.
But AVOIDING Hillary was something done by "friends of Bill."
Now? Isn't she isolated? You think Obama answers her phone calls?
Yes, I think Obama is certifiably nuts. And, Hillary can hang "her gloves up." Her career is even in worse shape than Nancy Pelosi's. (But that's just me.)
Is Obama the candidate for 2012? What if the left (Nancy's buggers), try to field a primary candidate?
Are we having fun, yet?
Almost Ali thinks she coulda done better on her own. That's right, Miss Zero Charm woulda gone right to the top without the drag-weight of Mr. Charm The Birds Outta The Trees Bill at her side. Sure she would.
Ex-wife once suggested that names across the country be chosen at random: knock on the door, "Are you Mr/Miss/Mrs X?" "Yes" "You've been chosen to serve as the next President." Anyone who says "Yes!" or it enthusiastic is disqualified; you'd want somebody who says "NO! I've got a business to run/job to do/family to raise!" And who preferably despises politicians in general.
Professor Althouse writes:
"One always hopes that there is some far greater, far more experienced woman or man who will take on the overwhelming responsibilities of the presidency."
Eh, didn't you just admit on a recent radio interview that you have voted for Obama?
What was this great "experience" that you felt he had over his opponent? Length of time in the Senate? Great legislation written while an Illinois senator? Federal bills written during his short tenure as a federal senator? Or maybe his ability to lead people. I realize that being a community organizer is so much better than being an officer in the U.S. military, where you have to make life and death decisions for others.
Then you go on to say:
"What I would like would be for Barack Obama to measure up to the trust the American people have put in him."
Well, Ann, not ALL of us bought into the "hopey change" motto. We did our homework; we researched the bills Obama wrote as a state senator, we researched his voting record on both a state and a federal level. We read his books and understood that this man was pretty much an empty suit being created out of fairy wings by David Axelrod. In other words, he is acting exactly the way we expected him to act, not as a leader, not as someone who can govern, or even have a deep hand into the laws passed by our nation.
So............
perhaps you are suffering from buyer's remorse. That's fine, but admit it. Understand that you willingly walked up to the voting booth and bought the snake oil. There is NO shame in admitting you were wrong.
I think that the fact this post has generated so few comments is proof that Hillary is yesterday's news. Four years ago a post on the question of whether she'd run for president would have generated a lot more interest. Kinda like the question of whether or not Teddy Kennedy would run for president. After he ran against Carter, people would ask every 4 years whether Teddy would make another run -- but it was just the polite thing to do. His moment had come and gone, so no one really cared about the question of whether he'd run again because the answer didn't matter. If he ran he wouldn't win.
The same goes for Hillary. Her time has past, but it'd be rude to not ask if she's considering a run.
I don't think any of them are lies, but she may do any of them.
English recognizes that there's no such thing as a present intention.
(How would you find out what your present intention is?)
Intention is a token in an account of the past, a place-holder in a story, and one that is allowed for by surrounding words.
Ricpic - Listen, give Bill the credit for stringing her along for near-on a lifetime. Give Obama even more credit for stringing her along from a golf course. And give our enemies credit for stringing her along without even trying. It's no accident that Barack kept her far from the action. That goes for Bill, too, obviously.
And to add insult to injury, you certainly don't want to hear what the religioneers of peace haven't been calling her. I mean, it requires a special "talent" for a woman to be discounted and ignored by the Muslim community - a sloven, female infidel in their midst.
@Michael Farris
Say what you want about her, Hillary wouldn't be playing golf and fantasy basketball in the middle of multiple crises and stuck on advancing her private hobby horses at the expense of everything else.
Oh good gried. She claimed being First Lady was sufficient qualification to be President. Of course she'd be stuck on her hobby horses, she didn't have (and doesn't have now) the experience to be anything else.
Intention, from J.L.Austin:
"[W]e ask this young man who is paying attentions to our daughter to declare his intentions. What are his intentions? Are his intentions honourable? Here, would it make any difference if we asked him what was the purpose of these attentions, whether he has some purpose in view, whether his is doing these things on purpose or for a purpose? This makes his conduct seem more calculated, frames him as an adventurer or seducer. Instead of asking him to clarify the position, perhaps to himself as well as to us, are we not now asking him to divulge a guilty secret?"
(Three Ways of Spilling Ink, Philosophical Papers, p.176)
"Perhaps to himself" is the insight.
How quickly forget. Prior to the advent of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin on the national scene Hillary Clinton was regarded as the most divisive politician from either party. She couldn't have been elected in 2008 and, if she chose to run in 2012, she couldn't be elected except against a tiny handful of potential Republican opponents (Christine O'Donnell comes to mind).
On the other hand, if Hillary Clinton was president she could probably recruit a more competent Secretary of State than the one Obama picked.
Disparage Hillary all you want. I myself think she has no qualifications, but she's all that the left has got, she has only one more shot.
The MSM will campaign for Hillary as they did for Obama if he continues to damage himself beyond repair.
She is the only alternative for the left.
Remember, in 2016 she's still younger than Reagan in 1980.
Whatever else you think about Hillary, I've no doubt she's *driven*-- she'll be driven to go for it as long as she lives. Not for her to go skulking around like a ghost, complaining to anyone who'll listen about how she was in the right, and how she should've gone for it, blah blah.
I try not to go in for cheap ad hominems, even against someone I so viscerally dislike as Obama, but I'm curious that people are starting to pick up on a mental-issues vibe. Because it really does look, right now, like he's not even going through the motions. Two-termers often get into a mental sinkhole about 6-9 months after the relection, and have to get jolted out again (generally this happens nicely through Executive Branch scandals). But the world is shaking all around, and what the hell is Obama doing?
His massive lack of 'equipment', in experience or in temperament, for executive decision-making is showing even more epically now that he can't hide behind the mantle of Progressive legislative wish-listing. Even Carter and Clinton were never this frivolous.
"Whatever else you think about Hillary, I've no doubt she's *driven*-- she'll be driven to go for it as long as she lives. Not for her to go skulking around like a ghost, complaining to anyone who'll listen about how she was in the right, and how she should've gone for it, blah blah."
Good assessment.
And I have no patience with people dissing her on looks, weight, or dress. I'd like to see any one of them keep the schedule she does. As the old saying goes, Ginger did it backwards, and in heels.
I'd like to see any one of them keep the schedule she does.
Well most of us have to you know, work for a living, raise a family, keep house, pay the mortgage. The kind of mundane shit that doesn't allow us to jet set around the globe for state luncheons and rote speeches.
Better jaw-jaw than war-war. That's why they call it schmoozing.
You have to assume Mrs. Landing-Under-Sniper-Fire-Oops-I-Mispoke is always lying. Always.
A little slow on the draw there, Scott :)
They're all lying.
And I don't think she was lying in this instance, but in error due to being seriously fatigued.
This isn't a prediction, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if sometime in the next six months Hillary announced that:
(1) she is profoundly shocked / disappointed / disillusioned / alarmed / pissed off by the way the Obama administration is handling or not handling some crisis on another, and
(2) she is resigning as a matter of principle.
Shortly after that there would be a spontaneous, grassroots demand for her to run in 2012, and she would reluctantly form an exploratory committee.
"she is profoundly shocked / disappointed / disillusioned / alarmed / pissed off"
lol. Probably. The Kzinti always attack before they're ready. She should probably go for it, cause if Obama wins in '12, the Reps are a given in '16.
And I don't think she was lying in this instance, but in error due to being seriously fatigued.
Now thats laugh out loud funny. Serious fatigue could explain forgetting a birthday, when Columbus discovered America or who won the 2010 World Series but scampering across a runway tarmac to avoid sniper fire? That requires suspension of disbelief on a galactic scale or simple stupidity.
I might have to go with number 2.
It is not that complicated. She was obviously lying when she said she would not like be president. The proof is in the two follow up questions and answers, in which Clinton was first incoherent and then non-responsive. Any reasonable and ojective person looking at the follow up answers would conclude she lied (the first follow up answer was so bad even Wolf Blitzer was able to ask an effective follow up).
Q- Would you like to be president of the United States?
No
Q- Why not?
Because I have the best job I could ever have. This is a moment in history where it is almost hard to catch your breath. There are both the tragedies and disasters that we have seen from Haiti to Japan and there are the extraordinary opportunities and challenges that we see right here in Egypt and in the rest of the region. So I want to be part of helping to represent the United States at this critical moment in time, to do everything I can in support of the president and our government and the people of our country to stand for our values and our ideals, to stand up for our security, which has to remain first and foremost in my mind and to advance America's interests. And there isn't anything that I can imagine doing after this that would be as demanding, as challenging or rewarding.
Q- President of the United States?
You know, I had a wonderful experience running and I am very proud of the support I had and very grateful for the opportunity, but I'm going to be, you know, moving on.
Would you like to be President of the United States?
Here, I will fictionally channel the mind of Hillary!.
Let's see, for the Sec'y of State to become President, both the President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House and President Pro-Tem of the Senate must die. I would become President in the middle of a tremendous crisis, likely the start of a war. Do I want that? No.
Hoosier, I just don't think she would have been stupid enough to make such a bold claim that could be easily checked.
I think you're onto something, MM...
deborah--
It's not so stupid if the press has always covered for you in the past. She didn't realize yet that she had to be eliminated.
blake, IIRC the media had been drooling over Obama way before then. Beside, Fox could have checked. The Right blogs could have checked. Anyone could have checked.
--Yeah, I'm waiting too for Hillary to pull her Cyrus Vance and announce a 'conscientious' resignation over some Obama decision that is just too, too shocking. . . .
In the short run after such a call, the MSM would probably give her hell (they won't buy it, of course) but really, in all realpolitick I could hardly blame her. Obama has *earned* her resignation, in my book; he knows damn well she owes him no fealty for giving her a crap job (has Sec State been anything but an emasculated outreach program post-James Baker?). And she understands the world-- and power-- much better than he.
And the populist remnants of the Trumanite persuasion would go mad for it. Hell, she's the Palin of the center-left!
Could she have a shot for 2012 if Obama's running? I think she'd at least do as well as Teddy in '80, maybe more like Reagan in '76. Obama's progressive supporters have to be much lower on passion now: and they're just not the kind of people who understand that personal loyalty thing.
The DNC and MSM can prevaricate about liberal unity all they want: I *know* Hillary Dems who are just biding their time! . . .
Yes, Lucius, she would split the vote and then run against the Rep in '16. She's a political master-mind, I tell you.
I do not take anything the Clintons say, at their word. Full stop.
Having said that, let's pose some questions:
- Why did she take the position of Secretary of State?
- Was it to prop up her future ambitions for President, in case Obama faltered in his first term?
- Or was it to further pad her resumé, since she and her husband have an informal but extremely competitive professional partnership (I hesitate to call that a marriage)?
Maybe, just maybe, Hillary wanted to be appointed to to SCOTUS, and her reaction now is disgust at being passed up twice by two clearly less important women (in her eyes, at least).
I don't think we've heard the last of Ms Rodham.
Would not "like" to be president but would undertake to shoulder the burden when her party and the country beseech her to save them from that guy over there who is busy filling out his brackets, playing another round of golf, and preparing for a trip to Rio - I think that's how she sees it.
Yes, vbspurs, being passed up twice by a couple of inferior dorks for nomination to SCOTUS probably hurts even more than traipsing around the world apologizing for the feckless indecision that now constitutes our foreign policy.
Ooh, the usage of feckless reminds me to comment on that other thread, Cokaygne, thanks.
She is serving an ineligible POTUS (his father was never a US Citizen).
Re-Elected? What kind of "Law Prof"
are you?
The kind that says "he is there so he must be eligible" I assume.
Does that mean that if I sit in your class that I have a right to be there?
I can imagine your discussions of the "Commerce Clause". Let me guess, they go like this. "We lawyers have said what it means for the last 150 years, and stare decisis overrides the original intent, because we lawyers are so smart.
The scourge of Academia is relativism.
Your dad must be an US citizen to be eligible as POTUS?
vbspurs said...
"Your dad must be an US citizen to be eligible as POTUS?"
Yes. Natural Born Citizens are Born of 2 US Citizen parents on US Soil.
Obama's father was Kenyan, and Obama admits to British Citizenship at birth due to the British Nationality Act of 1948. He may be a British Citizen to this day, but we are not allowed to see his passport records. The last person who did see them was murdered.
How can a natural born Citizen, eligible to be POTUS, be born a British Subject? Do you think the founders would be OK w/ that?
And no the presidents that were born British were grandfathered in by the "grandfther clause": "or a citizen at the time...." So I'll cut you off at the pass there.
The first natural born Citizen was Van Buren, born after the Declaration of Independence to American Citizens in NY.
"Maybe, just maybe, Hillary wanted to be appointed to to SCOTUS, and her reaction now is disgust at being passed up twice by two clearly less important women (in her eyes, at least)."
I would have thought that SCOTUS was Hillary's for the asking right after the election. I think she wanted the different sort of prestige that comes with Secretary of State.
Hoosier, I just don't think she would have been stupid enough to make such a bold claim that could be easily checked.
Sorry but creating a fictitous story like that isn't from fatigue, its from telling bald faced lies so often one no longer can distinguish fantasy from reality.
Maybe Hillary would prefer to appoint Barack Obama to the SCOTUS?
At least that'd silence the endless stream of Pultizer-winning memoirs we'll all be submitted to.
Unless they give him the Nobel Prize in Literature for his dazzling, more-than-Kennedyesque dissenting opinions.
"Sorry but creating a fictitous story like that isn't from fatigue, its from telling bald faced lies so often one no longer can distinguish fantasy from reality."
Does this make us both correct? :)
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