Hillary, reassessed

[metta 0]

source

By Richard M. Scaife

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Hillary Clinton walked into a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review conference room last Tuesday to meet with some of the newspaper's editors and reporters and declared, "It was so counterintuitive, I just thought it would be fun to do." The room erupted in laughter. Her remark defused what could have been a confrontational meeting.

More than that, it said something about the New York senator and former first lady who hopes to be America's next president.

More than most modern political figures, Sen. Clinton has been criticized regularly, often harshly, by the Trib. We disagreed with many of her policies and her actions in the past. We still disagree with some of her proposals.

The very morning that she came to the Trib, our editorial page raised questions about her campaign and criticized her on several other scores.

Reading that, a lesser politician -- one less self-assured, less informed on domestic and foreign issues, less confident of her positions -- might well have canceled the interview right then and there.

Sen. Clinton came to the Trib anyway and, for 90 minutes, answered questions.

Her meeting and her remarks during it changed my mind about her.

Walking into our conference room, not knowing what to expect (or even, perhaps, expecting the worst), took courage and confidence. Not many politicians have political or personal courage today, so it was refreshing to see her exhibit both.

Sen. Clinton also exhibited an impressive command of many of today's most pressing domestic and international issues. Her answers were thoughtful, well-stated, and often dead-on.

Particularly regarding foreign policy, she identified what we consider to be the most important challenges and dangers that the next president must confront and resolve in order to guarantee our nation's security. Those include an increasingly hostile Russia, an increasingly powerful China and increasing instability in Pakistan and South America.

Like me, she believes we must pull our troops out of Iraq, because it is time for Iraqis to handle their own destiny -- and, more important, because it is past time to end the toll on our soldiers there, to begin rebuilding our military, and to refocus our attention on other threats, starting with Afghanistan.

On domestic policy, Sen. Clinton and I might find more areas on which we disagree. Yet we also agree on others. Asked about the utter failure of federal efforts to rebuild New Orleans since the Katrina disaster, for example, she called it just what it has been -- "not just a national disgrace (but) an international embarrassment."

Does all this mean I'm ready to come out and recommend that our Democrat readers choose Sen. Clinton in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary?

No -- not yet, anyway. In fairness, we at the Trib want to hear Sen. Barack Obama's answers to some of the same questions and to others before we make that decision.

But it does mean that I have a very different impression of Hillary Clinton today than before last Tuesday's meeting -- and it's a very favorable one indeed.

Call it a "counterintuitive" impression.

Richard M. Scaife is the owner of the Tribune-Review.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[Ban Hammer 13,656]

[GaryC 7]

Edited March 30, 2008 by GaryC

[Ban Hammer 13,656]

those two are priceless

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Hillary Says She ‘Misspoke’ About Wrestling Bin Laden

Was Greeting Students in Orlando, Clinton Admits

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has been accused in recent days of padding her foreign policy resume while First Lady, admitted today that she may have exaggerated about an encounter she said she had with al-Qaeda terror mastermind Osama bin Laden in 1998.

In an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Sen. Clinton told host Tim Russert, “I wrestled bin Laden in his cave in 1998 and had him pinned to the ground before the ####### got away.”

But a review of Sen. Clinton’s official White House schedule from that period revealed that the then-First Lady was nowhere in the vicinity of Mr. bin Laden on that day, but was instead greeting a group of honor roll students at Disney World in Orlando.

“I may have misspoke about what went on that particular day,” Sen. Clinton said today. “But it was a very busy time for me, what with having that knife-fight with Kim Jong-Il and all.”

Reporters peppered Sen. Clinton’s new press spokesman with questions about another purported exploit of hers, in which the senator claimed that she and a ragtag team of blue-collar drillers deflected an asteroid on a collision course with the Earth.

“Everything Hillary Clinton says is true,” said her new spokesman, the author James Frey.

Hillary Says 8-Year-Old Bosnian Girl Was Actually Sniper

Bouquet of Flowers Hid Semiautomatic Weapon

Accused in recent days of embellishing her story of a brush with sniper fire in Bosnia, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton today said “don’t be fooled” by photos showing her being greeted at the airport by a pony-tailed 8-year-old Bosnian girl with a bouquet of flowers.

“That was no little girl,” Sen. Clinton told reporters in Gary, Indiana. “That was a covert ops midget sniper.”

The New York senator said that moments after the “so-called little girl” presented her with the flowers, she revealed what the bouquet had been hiding: “a tiny semi-automatic weapon.”

“Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to use some of the Tae Kwon Do techniques I had learned in preparation for the Northern Ireland peace talks,” she said.

Defending his wife against charges that she had yet again fabricated her exploits while First Lady, former President Bill Clinton told CNN’s John King that “Democratic voters have a clear choice this election: do they want a liar or a plagiarist?”

“Hillary tells some real whoppers, but at least they’re original,” he said.

In response to a question about whether he believes his wife’s account of the events in Bosnia, Mr. Clinton said, “All I have to say about that is Reverend Wright Reverend Wright Reverend Wright Reverend Wright Reverend Wright.”

Hillary Vows to Stay in Race 100 Years

Nixes Exit Strategy

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stunned voters at a town hall meeting in Erie, Pennsylvania today by telling them that she was prepared to stay in the nomination fight for an additional century.

“How much longer will I stay in the race?” she responded to a voter’s question. “Fifty years? How about one hundred years?”

When asked to clarify, Sen. Clinton replied, “I’ll stay in this race for a thousand years. A million years. A billion years.”

Sen. Clinton added that she was refusing to announce an exit strategy from the race because “that would send the wrong message to the enemy.”

The New York senator’s comments echoed a strategy outlined in a recently leaked internal campaign memo, which calls for her to remain in the race long after the Democratic National Convention, even if Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) becomes the party’s official nominee.

According to the memo, Sen. Clinton plans to follow Sen. Obama’s campaign bus around in a Chevy Suburban in the hopes of running it off the road.

“If necessary, we will sideswipe or ram into his bus,” the memo said. “Just really mess him up.”

For her part, Sen. Clinton remained resolute at the town hall meeting, responding to a question about the recent surge in negative attacks her campaign has lobbed in Sen. Obama’s direction: “What can I tell you? The surge is working.”

Source

[Peikko 1,575]

Yes, the cartoons are funny.

However, reading the actual article was interesting. Someone who expected to find fault, to discover at least some of the negative sterotypes and inuendo that surrounds Hilary to be true, actually came away from a real meeting with the real person with a favourable impression. They discoverd someone of subtance, capable of answering real questions on the spot (not having to refer to an aid for what she thought about things) someone who faced an uncomftable situation and came out on top. Rather admirable for what it was - of course, she probably just gave the guy a ####### which explains everything.

[metta 0]

Yes, the cartoons are funny.

However, reading the actual article was interesting. Someone who expected to find fault, to discover at least some of the negative sterotypes and inuendo that surrounds Hilary to be true, actually came away from a real meeting with the real person with a favourable impression. They discoverd someone of subtance, capable of answering real questions on the spot (not having to refer to an aid for what she thought about things) someone who faced an uncomftable situation and came out on top. Rather admirable for what it was - of course, she probably just gave the guy a ####### which explains everything.

What is not only interesting by truly remarkable about this article is that Richard mellon Scaife, the writer

of this article owns the "Tribune-Review" and is the archenemy of the Clinton. Infact, he is the money man behind the scurrilous stories on the Clintons.

This is from Meet The Press this morning:

MR. RUSSERT: One of the more interesting photographs from the week was this. This is Hillary Rodham Clinton talking to Richard Mellon Scaife, who owns the Pittsburgh paper, the Tribune-Review. That is the same Richard Mellon Scaife who basically funded the investigations of Troopergate, Whitewater, through American Spectator contributions. He had suggested that perhaps Vince Foster did not commit suicide. One theory was that Hillary Clinton paid for an apartment, rented an apartment where he was killed, that Ron Brown did not die accidentally in a plane crash. What did you make of that meeting?MR. BEINART: Well, it is remarkable. I mean, the Clintons have spent a lot of time, since she entered public life, trying to reconcile with their former opponents. You remember, she co-sponsored a lot of legislation with people who were involved in, in her husband's impeachment. So it may be that this is simply that. There are others who see more nefarious things involved. But I think it may simply be part of Hillary Clinton's effort to win everybody back over to her side.

MR. BROOKS: There's a joke, a Woody Allen joke, in "The End of Days." "The lion will lie down with the lamb but the lamb won't get much sleep." I'm not sure who's the lamb is in that picture. They're both kind of lions. Obama told us he would be the unifier but maybe she's actually the unifier.

Coming from a bitter enemy, this article tells us a lot about the real Hillary..

[SqdnGuns 21]

Hillbots = Myopic

[metta 0]

Hillbots = Myopic

Myopic like this? B)

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yes, the cartoons are funny.

However, reading the actual article was interesting. Someone who expected to find fault, to discover at least some of the negative sterotypes and inuendo that surrounds Hilary to be true, actually came away from a real meeting with the real person with a favourable impression. They discoverd someone of subtance, capable of answering real questions on the spot (not having to refer to an aid for what she thought about things) someone who faced an uncomftable situation and came out on top. Rather admirable for what it was - of course, she probably just gave the guy a ####### which explains everything.

What is not only interesting by truly remarkable about this article is that Richard mellon Scaife, the writer

of this article owns the "Tribune-Review" and is the archenemy of the Clinton. Infact, he is the money man behind the scurrilous stories on the Clintons.

This is from Meet The Press this morning:

MR. RUSSERT: One of the more interesting photographs from the week was this. This is Hillary Rodham Clinton talking to Richard Mellon Scaife, who owns the Pittsburgh paper, the Tribune-Review. That is the same Richard Mellon Scaife who basically funded the investigations of Troopergate, Whitewater, through American Spectator contributions. He had suggested that perhaps Vince Foster did not commit suicide. One theory was that Hillary Clinton paid for an apartment, rented an apartment where he was killed, that Ron Brown did not die accidentally in a plane crash. What did you make of that meeting?MR. BEINART: Well, it is remarkable. I mean, the Clintons have spent a lot of time, since she entered public life, trying to reconcile with their former opponents. You remember, she co-sponsored a lot of legislation with people who were involved in, in her husband's impeachment. So it may be that this is simply that. There are others who see more nefarious things involved. But I think it may simply be part of Hillary Clinton's effort to win everybody back over to her side.

MR. BROOKS: There's a joke, a Woody Allen joke, in "The End of Days." "The lion will lie down with the lamb but the lamb won't get much sleep." I'm not sure who's the lamb is in that picture. They're both kind of lions. Obama told us he would be the unifier but maybe she's actually the unifier.

Coming from a bitter enemy, this article tells us a lot about the real Hillary...

Hillary the uniter? Are we talking about the same divide and conquer Hillary that's been running a campaign that's ever more of a mudslinging fest than anything? Hillary the uniter. Ha. That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard thus far. Hillary clearly is the most divisive candidate out there. Divisiveness is the only dimension in which she'd have the lead over Obama and McCain combined. Geez, this is getting more hilarious by the minute.

[SqdnGuns 21]

Hillbots = Myopic

Myopic like this? B)

Demoncrats = Myopic

[metta 0]

Yes, the cartoons are funny.

However, reading the actual article was interesting. Someone who expected to find fault, to discover at least some of the negative sterotypes and inuendo that surrounds Hilary to be true, actually came away from a real meeting with the real person with a favourable impression. They discoverd someone of subtance, capable of answering real questions on the spot (not having to refer to an aid for what she thought about things) someone who faced an uncomftable situation and came out on top. Rather admirable for what it was - of course, she probably just gave the guy a ####### which explains everything.

What is not only interesting by truly remarkable about this article is that Richard mellon Scaife, the writer

of this article owns the "Tribune-Review" and is the archenemy of the Clinton. Infact, he is the money man behind the scurrilous stories on the Clintons.

This is from Meet The Press this morning:

MR. RUSSERT: One of the more interesting photographs from the week was this. This is Hillary Rodham Clinton talking to Richard Mellon Scaife, who owns the Pittsburgh paper, the Tribune-Review. That is the same Richard Mellon Scaife who basically funded the investigations of Troopergate, Whitewater, through American Spectator contributions. He had suggested that perhaps Vince Foster did not commit suicide. One theory was that Hillary Clinton paid for an apartment, rented an apartment where he was killed, that Ron Brown did not die accidentally in a plane crash. What did you make of that meeting?MR. BEINART: Well, it is remarkable. I mean, the Clintons have spent a lot of time, since she entered public life, trying to reconcile with their former opponents. You remember, she co-sponsored a lot of legislation with people who were involved in, in her husband's impeachment. So it may be that this is simply that. There are others who see more nefarious things involved. But I think it may simply be part of Hillary Clinton's effort to win everybody back over to her side.

MR. BROOKS: There's a joke, a Woody Allen joke, in "The End of Days." "The lion will lie down with the lamb but the lamb won't get much sleep." I'm not sure who's the lamb is in that picture. They're both kind of lions. Obama told us he would be the unifier but maybe she's actually the unifier.

Coming from a bitter enemy, this article tells us a lot about the real Hillary...

Hillary the uniter? Are we talking about the same divide and conquer Hillary that's been running a campaign that's ever more of a mudslinging fest than anything? Hillary the uniter. Ha. That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard thus far. Hillary clearly is the most divisive candidate out there. Divisiveness is the only dimension in which she'd have the lead over Obama and McCain combined. Geez, this is getting more hilarious by the minute.

Well, do Barackis have anything to substantiate your claim that Obama is the uniter other than the congregation of Pastor Wright?

He even blew it with the Edwards why Edwards didn't endorse Barack

[GaryC 7]

Yes, the cartoons are funny.

However, reading the actual article was interesting. Someone who expected to find fault, to discover at least some of the negative sterotypes and inuendo that surrounds Hilary to be true, actually came away from a real meeting with the real person with a favourable impression. They discoverd someone of subtance, capable of answering real questions on the spot (not having to refer to an aid for what she thought about things) someone who faced an uncomftable situation and came out on top. Rather admirable for what it was - of course, she probably just gave the guy a ####### which explains everything.

What is not only interesting by truly remarkable about this article is that Richard mellon Scaife, the writer

of this article owns the "Tribune-Review" and is the archenemy of the Clinton. Infact, he is the money man behind the scurrilous stories on the Clintons.

This is from Meet The Press this morning:

MR. RUSSERT: One of the more interesting photographs from the week was this. This is Hillary Rodham Clinton talking to Richard Mellon Scaife, who owns the Pittsburgh paper, the Tribune-Review. That is the same Richard Mellon Scaife who basically funded the investigations of Troopergate, Whitewater, through American Spectator contributions. He had suggested that perhaps Vince Foster did not commit suicide. One theory was that Hillary Clinton paid for an apartment, rented an apartment where he was killed, that Ron Brown did not die accidentally in a plane crash. What did you make of that meeting?MR. BEINART: Well, it is remarkable. I mean, the Clintons have spent a lot of time, since she entered public life, trying to reconcile with their former opponents. You remember, she co-sponsored a lot of legislation with people who were involved in, in her husband's impeachment. So it may be that this is simply that. There are others who see more nefarious things involved. But I think it may simply be part of Hillary Clinton's effort to win everybody back over to her side.

MR. BROOKS: There's a joke, a Woody Allen joke, in "The End of Days." "The lion will lie down with the lamb but the lamb won't get much sleep." I'm not sure who's the lamb is in that picture. They're both kind of lions. Obama told us he would be the unifier but maybe she's actually the unifier.

Coming from a bitter enemy, this article tells us a lot about the real Hillary...

Hillary the uniter? Are we talking about the same divide and conquer Hillary that's been running a campaign that's ever more of a mudslinging fest than anything? Hillary the uniter. Ha. That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard thus far. Hillary clearly is the most divisive candidate out there. Divisiveness is the only dimension in which she'd have the lead over Obama and McCain combined. Geez, this is getting more hilarious by the minute.

Well, do Barackis have anything to substantiate your claim that Obama is the uniter other than the congregation of Pastor Wright?

He even blew it with the Edwards why Edwards didn't endorse Barack

In reality the only candidate that has ANY track record of uniting is McCain. Neither Obama or Hillary have never tried to work with people from the other side.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yes, the cartoons are funny.

However, reading the actual article was interesting. Someone who expected to find fault, to discover at least some of the negative sterotypes and inuendo that surrounds Hilary to be true, actually came away from a real meeting with the real person with a favourable impression. They discoverd someone of subtance, capable of answering real questions on the spot (not having to refer to an aid for what she thought about things) someone who faced an uncomftable situation and came out on top. Rather admirable for what it was - of course, she probably just gave the guy a ####### which explains everything.

What is not only interesting by truly remarkable about this article is that Richard mellon Scaife, the writer

of this article owns the "Tribune-Review" and is the archenemy of the Clinton. Infact, he is the money man behind the scurrilous stories on the Clintons.

This is from Meet The Press this morning:

MR. RUSSERT: One of the more interesting photographs from the week was this. This is Hillary Rodham Clinton talking to Richard Mellon Scaife, who owns the Pittsburgh paper, the Tribune-Review. That is the same Richard Mellon Scaife who basically funded the investigations of Troopergate, Whitewater, through American Spectator contributions. He had suggested that perhaps Vince Foster did not commit suicide. One theory was that Hillary Clinton paid for an apartment, rented an apartment where he was killed, that Ron Brown did not die accidentally in a plane crash. What did you make of that meeting?MR. BEINART: Well, it is remarkable. I mean, the Clintons have spent a lot of time, since she entered public life, trying to reconcile with their former opponents. You remember, she co-sponsored a lot of legislation with people who were involved in, in her husband's impeachment. So it may be that this is simply that. There are others who see more nefarious things involved. But I think it may simply be part of Hillary Clinton's effort to win everybody back over to her side.

MR. BROOKS: There's a joke, a Woody Allen joke, in "The End of Days." "The lion will lie down with the lamb but the lamb won't get much sleep." I'm not sure who's the lamb is in that picture. They're both kind of lions. Obama told us he would be the unifier but maybe she's actually the unifier.

Coming from a bitter enemy, this article tells us a lot about the real Hillary...

Hillary the uniter? Are we talking about the same divide and conquer Hillary that's been running a campaign that's ever more of a mudslinging fest than anything? Hillary the uniter. Ha. That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard thus far. Hillary clearly is the most divisive candidate out there. Divisiveness is the only dimension in which she'd have the lead over Obama and McCain combined. Geez, this is getting more hilarious by the minute.

Well, do Barackis have anything to substantiate your claim that Obama is the uniter other than the congregation of Pastor Wright?

He even blew it with the Edwards why Edwards didn't endorse Barack

In case this is directed at me, where did I refer to Obama as a uniter? To the other point, Edwards hasn't endorsed any candidate - yet. And I'm willing to bet big time that he sure as hell won't endorse your gal. He either won't endorse anyone or he'll endorse Obama. Those are the two possible scenarios.

Edited March 30, 2008 by Mr. Big Dog