I've had enough
I tried, really I did. I did my damnedest, bit my tongue, and kept from launching anti-Hillary tirades. I even stopped short of posting the mash-up of Hillary’s bald-faced lying about her Bosnia trip.
But while I can knock unfair blogosphere attacks on either candidate, and refuse to use or transmit them, it is a far different thing when it’s the candidate themselves doing the smearing. After being mostly civil and acting like she actually gave a damn about the Democratic Party’s chances rather than just her own for the last couple weeks, Hillary is back on the smear track, breathing new life into the Wright controversy.
"He would not have been my pastor," sniffed La Clinton. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."
The obvious reply is that you also choose which ministers receive the honor of an invitation to a White House prayer breakfast addressed by the president of the United States. Well, OK, maybe you don't, but the Clintons did, back in 1998, when Bill Clinton was seeking political absolution for his affair with a White House intern. As the Obama campaign is all too happy to point out, Wright was invited to that breakfast. (Click here for a picture of Wright shaking President Clinton's hand.)
And the real fun part of all this is just who Hillary is talking to about all of this; the very centre of the vast, right-wing conspiracy himself, Richard Mellon Scaife, who, among other things, accused Hillary of killing Vince Foster. If anyone needed to know how deep into the mud Hillary was willing to go to try and tear down Obama, there probably isn’t much lower she could sink.
Steve Benen does a pretty good job of describing the low road Clinton has taken:
This may sound cynical, but my guess is that media interest in Clinton’s debunked Bosnia story had become too great a distraction. The controversy (and damaging videos) undermined Clinton on two fronts — credibility and national security experience — both of which are of critical significance.
So, how better to change the subject that to revive the Jeremiah Wright story with brand new criticism?
Clinton has been offered repeated chances to comment on the Wright controversy for three weeks. She’s not only declined, she’s avoided saying a single word. Today, all of a sudden, Clinton has all kinds of concerns she’s anxious to share. What a remarkable coincidence.
What’s more, we now have a situation in which John McCain defended Obama against Wright-related charges, and Mike Huckabee defended Obama, but Hillary Clinton sat down with editors of a conservative newspaper to reignite a fire that had already largely gone out.
Less than a week ago, former Mondale campaign manager Bob Beckel said, “Many liberals like myself, who would be happy to support Hillary Clinton if she earned the nomination, would abandon her if her campaign seeks to exploit the Wright controversy either in the remaining contests or with superdelegates.”
Now, it appears she’s doing both. I’d hoped Clinton was above this.
And John Cole, though speaking about another tactic before the Wright story was resurrected by Clinton, sums up my feelings nicely:
I really tried to give them a chance. I chided Sullivan for his full-on Clinton Derangement Syndome (something he admits to having), I defended Hillary from bullshit attacks. I recognize there has been a lot of sexism chucked her way.
But I simply can not be alone in thinking the entire Clinton team has gone insane, and it bothers me when I read David Brooks and he sounds like he is right. David Brooks sounds sane. David Brooks was the dumbest man at the NY Times before they hired Bill Kristol. And now he sounds sane.
Meanwhile, the constant drip of nonsense from the Clinton camp has me wishing I had never even started to follow politics. I am so turned off by a group that simply can not face reality, simply can not be honest. They can not even admit the Bosnia statements were bullshit, something that even Taylor Marsh recognizes was a mistake. Instead of saying I was wrong, it is “I misspoke” or Hillary made a “misstatement.” And I won’t even dwell on the fact that this means fucking Sinbad has a better memory and a better grasp on reality than a potential President. Think about that for a minute.
Even those who called for unity are getting fed up with Clinton. For myself, it is no longer a question of whether or not Hillary is trying to destroy the Democratic Party, because she is, at least so far as the presidential race is concerned.
Polls like this are the proof that the longer Hillary battles on, and she's indicated that she'll keep slinging mud right up to the increasingly bitter end, the more likely everyone will be singing "Hail to the Chief" to President John McCain.
If the Democratic Party had any balls, they'd end this bloodletting before it becomes irreparable. Instead, the uncommitted stand around wringing their hands about how damaging this all is and how somebody should try and stop the bloodletting before it becomes too damaging. Here's a hint: get off the damn fence and choose! Sooner is better than later and sooner could be right now.
It won't be, of course. The spineless wonders that make up the Democratic leadership will watch the train-wreck continue until its too late. Leave it to the Dems to figure out a way to screw this up and hand the presidency over to someone who will continue Bush's legacy for another four years.
