Monday, March 10, 2008

Campaign Droppings -- VIII

Spitzer? He Doesn't Even Know Her!

Thanks to Keith Olbermann for the header. And thanks to an old colleague of mine who wrote, about Eliot Spitzer, temporarily still the governor of New York:


"I feel sad when I hear about politicians and prostitutes. I mean, here we've got this totally immoral, completely debauched and depraved, pitiable creature who'll do anything -- no matter how disgusting -- for money. And on the other hand, we've got this young woman who happens to be a hooker.”



Here are some headlines to look for in New York tabloids:

Love Client No. 9
Holy Spitz
Governor Lovin’ Her
Crusader Governor More of a Rabbit
Eliot Mess

The Audacity of Audacity

Thanks to Gail Collins of the New York Times for the header.

I had earlier compared Barack Obama to Ronald Reagan in terms of his ability to connect with audiences while masking any serious policy ideas. At the time, Hillary Clinton was comparing herself to LBJ, without the latter’s “sonuva” prefix to her sobriquet. Really, she is Karl Rove – taking her own weaknesses and trying to make them into strengths and assailing Obama’s strengths and trying to turn them into fatal flaws.

While Obama has the burden of not being able to fight dirty without negating the entire premise of his new politics, Clinton has the burden of making absurd excuses, claims and promises. When her chief spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said that Obama is not qualified to be president now but could be by the time “nominee” Clinton chooses him as a running mate, the national hyena laugh was drowned only by the troubles of “super delegate” Eliot Spitzer – a Clinton supporter. As Chris Matthews put it, she had nothing to do with Spitzer’s problem, “as far as I know.” This was an in-kind reply to Clinton’s execrable comment on the nation’s most-watched news program, “60 Minutes,” that Obama is not a Muslim, “as far as I know.”

So, Clinton, who could not manage a health care proposal, any Senate bill of consequence, her own husband or her own campaign believes Obama cannot pass the “commander-in-chief test,” of which, of course, she is the sole administrator. She believes only she and Republican John McCain, can pass it. Thus, she would prefer to have a Republican president than a Democrat who isn’t her. For that, alone, she ought to be drummed out of the party.

Her “experience” is now being examined and found to be thinner than piss on a slate rock. She claims to be a “fighter.” But fighting for what, other than for the sake of fighting. Remember the “now the fun part starts" crack when she decided to start attacking her opponent when he started winning primaries?

Clinton and her surrogates spent the weekend tantalizing voters with the prospect of not having to choose between her and Obama by having him on “her” ticket. Well, Obama answered that one today with the appropriate amount of ridicule.

Neither would be a good vice president; Clinton having the prospect of being a Senate leader if she is not nominated for president and Obama having the prospect of being president in 2012 if he is not nominated and McCain is elected.

The vice presidency under Clinton is worthless to Obama because she doesn’t need one. She has Bill. And if not him, the face she isn’t using.

As I see it, while Clinton might beat McCain in a year in which any other Democrat could win, it is Obama who not only has the better chance of beating McCain but of bringing in a 60-member Democratic majority in the Senate, which could actually move his legislation without threat of a Republican filibuster. Clinton, if she wins the presidency, would have won it with no mandate and half of her own party waiting for her to fail, just as she failed on health care reform, failed in railroading the White House Travel Office chief into prison, failed to avoid the Paula Jones scandal by counseling a fight instead of a settlement, failed to keep her husband from pardoning sleazebags like Marc Rich and failed to act in accord with her own principles by supporting a bill to make flag-burning illegal.

Her “experience” of watching her husband succeed in 20 years of elective office make her no more qualified to be president than Deanna Favre is to be quarterback of the Green Bay Packers next year.

No comments:

Post a Comment