The Bush/Cheney/Rove GOP can’t win on the issues and has only two moves: fear and smear. They’re already rolling out both against Obama.
Fear:
BILL KRISTOL: Look, she needs to take Obama down, but the way to take him down is not to have a debate on his tactics. That’s the huge mistake here. “Shame on you, you’re running a campaign inconsistent with your message, you’re a little misleading in some leaflet you’re distributing, some flyer on health care” — that’s ludicrous at this point.
He’s riding a wave of euphoria. She needs to puncture it. The way you puncture euphoria is reality or, to be a little more blunt, fear. And I recommend to Senator Clinton the politics of fear . . . She needs to say not, “Ooh, this campaign tactic’s a little out of line.” She needs to say, “Let’s wait a second here. Is this man ready to run against the Republicans for president of the United States in a time of war? And is he ready to be president? He wants to negotiate on January 21st with Ahmadinejad. Here’s what Ahmadinejad has said about blowing up Israel. He’s never run a serious race. He’s not ready for the job.”
Conservative Republican consultant Keith Appell, who worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said Obama’s opposition to the war will create a "striking contrast between McCain the war hero and Obama the poster child for the anti-war movement."
"If you are McCain, you want to play up the decorated war hero, loves his country, served his country," Appell said. "You want to play those themes up as much as possible, especially in comparison to Obama and his role in the anti-war movement."
They barely eeked eked eeked out a win in ‘04 using fear and smear against Kerry, and even though they got their asses handed to them running the same playbook in ‘06, they seem to be in complete denial about that trouncing, blaming it on everything from Ted Haggard to pork. And obviously they can’t run on Bush’s awesome record.
So, expect a lot of "Obama hates America" and "Your children will die if you vote for Obama" leading up to November.
Related posts:
- Group Tied to Swift Boat Veterans, Willie Horton Ads Supporting Blue Dogs
- Conservative Blogger Rick Moran Calls on the Right to Condemn “Crazies”, Sees Racism in Attacks on Obama
- Early Morning Swim: KO Documents Racist Attacks on Obama
- Early Morning Swim: Steve Doocy, Glenn Beck, William Kristol Worst Persons in the World
- Lieberman Says He’ll Filibuster Health Bill; What’s Obama Going to Do?
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present.
and accounted for.
That’s Bill Kristol pontificating from the pages of the “liberal” NYT, right?
But, don’t you realize our children will all die if we elect Obama?
Great point. How long before the electorate has had enough of it? I guss we’ll find out soon enough.
Fuck em
I like that. But I suspect you meant “eked.”
Listen up Kristol and Appell…
America will never pay attention to people like you again.
America is not afraid of Obama.
America is not pro-war.
So, go Cheney yourselves.
I don’t see any scenario where the war becomes a positive for the goopers in the fall. The best they can hope for is a “nuetral” based on reduced casualties- and if casualties escalate again, they might as well take down their tents and go home.
What Maddy said.
Oh please keep it up Noize Machine. Please!
The more Hillary ratchet ups this crap, the more ground she loses. It’s a whole new era fellow Liberal soldiers. The old tricks do not work anymore.
Now Barack, whatever you do, don’t take the bait!
The smirk sails!
If the candidate is Obama, he will need to thread the needle carefully- supporting withdrawal from Iraq while countering the perception that he won’t protect american interests with military force if that is required of him.
Nice to see Kristol’s bankrupt approach to policy being expressed in words of one syllable and simple declarative sentences.
They will do everything in their power to keep the war from being the issue in the fall, unless they can make the war the Democrats fault. With leaders like Pelosi and Reid on the Democratic side, the Republics might just pull that off. The Republics will probably also mount an assault on gay marriage, just to be safe.
What Maddy said.
The Repubs have to be careful, too. Was reading at Huff that they are running polls to see how far they can go without seeming to be racists or sexists. How’s that for planning?
The good ol southern strategy eh? If McBush picks a southerner- like Barbour- that may be a hint that the game is on.
He has made it clear on many occasions that he does not oppose military action when needed to defend the country, he has always been opposed to the Iraq war because it is a wrong war.
I guess the Republics should be proud of finding just the right amount of racism and sexism.
When you mention Barbour you have to wash your mouth out with soap! Don’t think he will be picked though. He’s doing so well looting his state treasury.
LS
I know- and he will need to keep sayin it cause that’s where the attacks will come from.
I agree. It can’t be repeated enough.
Obama has a good response currently to the charges of “soft on national defense”- we need to get out of Iraq to concentrate on Afghanistan militarily. Might work (politically that is).
The real nightmare, of course, is Pakistan. Candidates better have a solution in their pockets if that one goes up in flames.
Bloody Bill is a one trick pony well overdue for a one way trip to the glue factory.
so… this is the beginning of a very ugly and divisive campaign….
Swift Boating is in full swing and the South is in the lead of this nasty campaign. They flood cyberspace with Obama Muslim spam. Fear. Fear. Fear. And, they pass these e-mails around with great gusto.
I’ve received them from southern relatives. They are vile. Not only is the message fear but violence.
To the Clintons and Bill Kristol:
You have been outed
I think goopers have faith that america will not elect a black president- they want Obama- but they may be miscalculating.
Worst campaign season ever to come.
If this crap sells and America elects John McCain, much of the rest the rest of the world will just write off America as a lost cause and move on.
I think most Americans intuitively know this and are not going to vote based on nonsense about lapel pins, hands on hearts or patently false emails about Muslim mole candidates. There are zones where such things have traction, but they are small and aging zones and I like to think that they will be buried once and for all in November. The media will try to help it sell, but this time I think they will fail miserably.
Is the “eeked” meant as a pun or is it a misspelling of “eked”?
McCain: Our party is to blame (Hey Kristol – that’s your party). We let spending get out of control and it led to corruption. (or something to that effect).
Funny.
If McCain gets elected, and Congress gets a wide-margin Dem majority…there will be stalemate…and he will be pretty powerless.
With McCain trying to out-Bush Bush and shrub has a seriously low rating, who are these vast numbers of Americans eager to put McCain in office?
When a McCain advocate was on Washington Journal this morning praising McCain, the Republican callers were not pleased with McCain as the choice. So, how can they boost McCain? In rides Mitty on his corporate white steed as veep to fill in the McCain blanks.
Never quit. Just suspend.
Blue Texan:
“They barely eeked out a win in ‘04 using fear and smear against Kerry”
This is Democratic Kool-Aid talk. Kerry voted for the war and ran as a pro-war candidate. Maybe that was part of the problem.
While the attacks on Obama (the wog-jihadi sleeper candidate) will be far worse anything a Kerry or Clinton ever had to suffer, the fact that he didn’t sign on to this war will be his armor. Everything that reminds voters at all about foreign policy generally will remind them over why they don’t want to vote for McCain.
Koolaid talk?
You had Cheney saying we were “going to get hit” if we elected Kerry and we had the Swiftboat liars.
Kristol and the wurlitzer are cranking it up: be very afraid; OB is black, he has two funny names, his wife talks too much and doesnt know her place, they both really hate America cause they are black and hold a grudge, they are shifty, what do we really know about them, they both went to elite eastern schools, his mom is into miscegination, he doesnt salute, he doesnt tap dance, he hates the jews, his church hates the jews, he has fooled white people for years–even those folks at Harvard, he won’t fight, he is really a trojan horse, he is a surrender monkey.
Rinse & repeat.
* yawn *
What maddy said as well– best.succinct.comment.ever. :)
Geez, so many spelling trolls. :)
I like “eeked” better.
swift-boating obama will charge him with not be a “a real” christian whatever that means….. and his wife is becoming a target – its going to be quite ugly jus sayin……….
lol, i dunno, i always use “eek!”
I seriously can’t wait to get to the general campaigning. I hear Mittens might be ‘unsuspending’ his campaign. I laugh in his general direction!
get your eek on.
and the ekk shall inherit the earth.
I went EEK! when I realized in early afternoon – Alaska time – a huge divergence was showing up between exit poll data and results being posted by the networks. It might happen again, folks…
A time of war, right.
1,768 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen rwcole and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
“If the candidate is Obama he will need to thread the needle carefully…”
With all due respect, I think that if “threading the needle carefully” means equivocating on hard pullout dates or opposition to ANY continuing military presense in Iraq then that’s precisly what will get a close election and throw away the very real possibilty of a watershed election and governing majority. Obama is VERY smart and the folks who are advisdin’ him are just as smart. Obama has inherited the collective experience of over 300 years of dealin with these murderous bastards and those who are advisin’ him understand that in a democracy the power of the people can not be invested when given, it must be used immediately. 70% of the votin’ population wants us out of Iraq and wants our country back, Obama knows this and he will use it both on the campaign trail and in the first 100 days.
Obama has started somethin’ that can only be stopped by a bullet and he knows it.
KEEP THE FAITH AND GET HIS BACK…THEY CAN’T GET US SO THEY’LL TRY AND GET HIM!!
“Let’s wait a second here. Is this man ready to run against the Republicans for president of the United States in a time of war? And is he ready to be president? He wants to negotiate on January 21st with Ahmadinejad. Here’s what Ahmadinejad has said about blowing up Israel. He’s never run a serious race. He’s not ready for the job.”
The time has come to flip this argument. Invert it.
Why are American kids dying for Israel?
They will also call him unpatriotic and show that pic of everyone but he having their hand over their heart (course they don’t tell you that at the time the national anthem was being played but why bother with facts), link him to militants (black and/or muslim), etc.etc.etc
I understand the ‘concern’ but none of us are naive enough to think that the repugs are going to be anything but repugs. It’s already started and more is to follow and we counter with the ‘truth’, ‘facts’ etc. I think enough folks in this country can smell the shit the GOP is slinging.
oil profits would ring more a bell, imho
sadly this is what america does – clean the swamp – obama best double his protection…. even that may not work…. as i said its getting ugly here
A Meskin terrrist gonna move in next door, gay-marry a muslin, burn the Merkan flag and steal yer job.
Eeek!
McStain can protect you as long as you keep the covers pulled up tight and the closet door closed. Really? This is what they are going with? You betcha, because St John really has nothing else to offer.
Another argument due for inversion.
Just like the GOP misunderestimated how much independents and and some GOP voters are getting pissed about GOP corruption, so Kristol and Appel, two of the most egregious war supporters, are now underestimating how fucking tired the entire country is with the mismanagement of the war and foreign affairs by that same party.
The question is will the ugliness against Obama change the minds of his avid supporters? Personally, I don’t think so. The people who already hate him because he is, well, he is Barack Obama, will continue to hate him no matter what anyone says. Obama could meet such persons on the road, save their lives, and they would hate him.
I don’t worry about Hillary. They are in competition and campaigns get desperate. She will not sink him by wagging her finger in the manner of Condi Rice. The media loves mud wrestling especially if a women is involved. Hillary and Obama are not each other’s worst enemy.
My focus is on McCain and his veep. The important person is veep. McCain will be a figurehead. That was the agreement he made with the devil.
ok TSF dont make me laugh!!
Heh. I liked it too. Picture a Republican, standing on a chair, eyes wide with fear, hands to mouth, screeching “E-E-E-E-K!” as a mouse with “terrorist” helpfully written on its side scurries past.
Bob in HI
spot on! I couldn’t agree more.
I think its really about oil. Maybe the neocons got israel on the brain, but there is no way GOOPER INCand that whole clack care whether jews burn or die.
see prescott bush
[Mod Note; let’s be very careful where we let this lead and how we phrase our replies. Thanks]
They did not eek out a win they committed election fraud to win, and then eeked out a win.
unelected presidentX2=revulsionX10 to the 10th poser of magnitude
Like Raven said if serious, which is how I take it
This is freakin’ war.
1,768 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen juslin:
“sadly this is what America does…”
No dear, this is not what America does, this is what the ruling oligarchy in America does…and that is what is at stake in this election.
This is the election that can finish the Civil War and complete the reconstriction of America that the northern banks and the ruling families stopped in 1877.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION AND REMEMBER THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF THEM!!!
Obama has started somethin’ that can only be stopped by a bullet and he knows it.
‘Twas his destiny.
So how does all that play, this decorated war hero stuff, imprisoned and tortured for five years by the enemy with turning around and condoning torture and rendition?
I think the Repugs just don’t get how repulsed many ordinary Americans are with what has been done in their names. To say nothing about how the rest of the world views America for having done it.
It looks like circumstance will play right into our hands, though, and make the economy THE issue in the fall. Admittedly, McBush is lacking in that arena. Should be an interesting fall, but I’ve become convinced that Obama can hold his own.
As to Hillary, I feel kinda sorry for her. She’s running against a somewhat more talented politician. You might say, she’s running against another version of her husband. She’s good, but she ain’t that good, and she knows it. The thing that really bothers me is, all she keeps criticizing him about, the “hope” stuff, that’s what her husband ran on, IIRC. Remember, he was the man from Hope?!!
Kerry actually won the (I) vote in 2004. GOP just won on GOTV.
Probbly right.
But Dastardly Dick has a real hard-on for Mossad.
“RECONSTRUCTION”
Heh indeedy!
Thank BT!
This is still me favorite picture of Kristol
“The old tricks do not work anymore.”
Unfortunately, the first thing this brought to my mind is the saying, during the Tech bubble of the 1990s, that “The old rules of investing don’t work any more.” Well, for about five years when Tech Euphoria was running rampant through Wall Street, the “old rules” got left behind. But those who stuck to the old rules looked a lot smarter when the bubble burst.
The “old rules” don’t work as long as the “old countermeasures” continue to be used to sap the air out of the fear balloons. There’s a “quid” as well as a “pro quo” involved.
Bob in HI
i take your point – but i repeat – this is going to be a vicious election time – wait til the repugs get going!! we aint seen nothing yet!!
lol! That is prize :D
You’re right…but I don’t fear the fascist rhetoric, after all words don’t vote – people do…the only way they take this movement out is to take the candidate out. Barak needs Al Gore as VP…assiniation insureance, the families know old Al will put a Sherman’s march on ‘em.
“The real nightmare, of course, is Pakistan. Candidates better have a solution in their pockets if that one goes up in flames.”
Nice piece on NPR this morning about how the system of public education is collapsing in Pakistan. Typical Bush. “We don’t need no GDMF education! What we need is more bombs!!!” So what happens? The Taliban step into the vacuum with their own version of public education.
If they would devote a few of the billions that they devote to bombing to the Pakistan public education system, it would do more for American security than ten times the equivalent in bombing.
Bob in HI
Tbogg:
Please forgive an OT. In a Bloomberg article today:
Auction-Rate Bonds Force `Predatory’ Yields on Cities
the predatory interest rates that municipalities are being forced to pay to float their bond issues are bemoaned. The article goes on to talk about the horrendous 12% rate that Delaware River Port Authority has had foist upon it.
What irony. According to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the average American pays an interest rate of 15% on his credit card debt and in some cases credit card interest is as high as 36%.
Of course, the ultimate irony is that ordinary citizens will also eventually foot the bill for the higher municipal bond rates.
The problem is that with the cold war over, there is no arch-enemy powerful enough to cause a reasonable person perpetual existential fear. Several thousand nuclear warheads that can blow up half the world in 20 minutes will do that.
Now the fear mongers are scattered. Remember before 9/11 it was China that was the big enemy. The warmongers tried to work a war over the incident involving some plane that was grounded or something.
So, one day the big enemy is China, then maybe Iran, or no, today it’s stateless Islamofascicommuniliberalsecualrism (which makes not sense).
One moment they are yelling that we need to be strong and intolerant like them to match their strength, then they say they hate us for our freedeoms, then yelling about how if we do this or that in response to them, we have lost and the terrorists have won.
Their pititful postering and pretending will not work over the long term. IT is too artificial and silly, incoherent, self-contradictory, and too fantasy-based.
oooh, boogga, booggaa, just heard the latest framing: “tell Congress to pass the terrorist surveillance bill…”
On the other hand, commenters are correct that Democrats are still not aggressive enough in combating the smears and fantasies head on and directly. A strong direct attack on the fear mongers is needed. Like extra-constitutional government, the fear-mongering smears is not some unpleasantness that will go away on its own some day. It is a conscious smear and fear mongering tactic that has been successful for over 50 years now. It will never go away until Democrats go out to do battle and defeat it on its own ground.
Obama could meet such persons on the road, save their lives, and they would hate him.
the “Crash” of 2008?
so true, so very very true
“My focus is on McCain and his veep. The important person is veep. McCain will be a figurehead. That was the agreement he made with the devil.”
Excellent point. The Veep will certainly be a right-wing slave, but the beltway crowd won’t want Huckabee, and I don’t think they want Romney either. The search is on for a Neo-con with election credentials.
Who might fit the bill?
Bob in HI
And sharks, remember the shark hysteria right before 9/11.
lol, actually, yeah.
Great Post Blue Texan. I spent the weekend correcting my Right-Wing inlaws about an email smear being put forth on Obama. They claim his mother was an Atheist, that he is a muslim and that he attended a muslim maddrass where all the extremists send their kids. That he refused to take the oath of office on the bible. That the church he attends gave an award to Farrakan. That he refuses to put his hand on his heart for the national anthem. Will not wear an American Flag pin. All the ususal B.S. The GOP is already worrying and trying the smear tactic. The titled email I have seen is be careful who you vote for. As we all know the Republican never allow for facts to get in the way of any of their wedge issues. One simple tactic I used was to point out that Obama is a self-proclaimed Christian. By proclaiming to be a Christian he would be forever labeled an infidel and a non-believer by Muslims.
I feel a lot of what’s happening right now with Obama is also a function of Howard Dean’s 50 State Strategy. There is a grassroots groundswell that’s happening larger than anything I’ve seen, and I would guess not seen in America judging by the unbelievable numbers. Much of this is happening because of the new media and fund raising models brought on by the Internet.
Doesn’t seem a fair comparison between the Obamatron/DemocratIC movement and the Tech Bubble of the 90s. Economics is driven much more by the harsh realities of numbers, and frankly I certainly was not saying “it’s a whole new era and the old tricks don’t work anymore…” back in the 90s. I remember thinking then that everyone was rushing to get every dollar possible for short term gain, and I understood that it was not sustainable over the long term.
What’s happening now is totally different IMHO. Gotta run….
I have to wonder how well people will react to any Vietnam war hero who is running. John Kerry; Silver Star… Preznit Poops N. Pants — deserted. I don’t know that the Vietnam War service will be a deciding factor especially when one candidate is batshit-crazy and wants to stay in Mess O’Potamia for the next century. People are tired of the Iraq Follies, and St. McVains attempts to perpetuate it will not endear him to most Americans who just want it to end.
Who might fit the bill?
would they dare trot out Condi?
Thank you for that most excellent talking point. I will use that.
Tee hee. Great goings on on the Straight Talk Express today:
Good to know how much McCain thinks before he opens his mouth on the bus. We need to hammer on this one big time.
I said this in November 2005. (And if no one is going to pay residuals, then perhaps a trophy of some kind? a hat tip? a pat on the back for omniscience well done? – omniscience is all well and good, but sometimes the little things matter).
PS – World’s cutest puppy – idependently verified by everyone who’s met him. His name is Che, since I expect him to be a failed socialist romantic. http://farm3.static.flickr.com…..c171_b.jpg
OT-And this true or not true?-food for thought
http://www.whatreallyhappened……tades.html
And killer bees.
Brown hordes from the South, West, North and East and somewhere round about the NW of Baghdad.
Then there was tinky-winky or what it winkty tinky? the purple tele-tubby.
And then all the Wizard of Oz re-runs. They pop up in suspicious patterns, you notice? Gets the theocrats all worked up about wicked witches. And… lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
Then, there is OOOoooooooo-GGGOOHHHHH the oil despot, pointing oil at our vulnerable underbelly.
Lots is going to happen in the next few months.
Clusterfuck has already handed to keys to congress over to the dems- now he will hand the reins of the party over to McBush. He will have little influence over the political futures of elected goopers- he will have little influence over legislation. He will be unable to do much to help anyone- unless a six month gig as ambassador to Nigeria is their idea of a good time. He will slowly deflate and come to rest in his own pile of shit.
Mc Bush will inherit a party apparatus that is next to dead- he’ll have to clean house in order to have anything viable.
Obama will probably inherit the dem party apparatus and will begin to have clout inside the party. He will help determine which congressional races will be supported and with how much money. His ass will be kissed.
It’s just starting really- but Labor Day it will be in full swing- and there are few rules when it comes to politics.
The knowledge that there are people like Bill Kristol in our country gives me a deep hurt in the depth of my gut. He is one very sick person. There is no excuse for the NYT giving him free space to spout his pathological crap as a form of epistolary therapy. He should just go out and hire a shrink.
My money’s on Haley- southern gooper’s gooper.
Sorry, meant to type:
Brown hordes from the South, West, North and East and somewhere round about the NW of Baghdad, SOMEWHAT.
Was that what Rummy said at hit hysterical press conference?
I’m positive this campaign season will be negative no matter who the democrats front runner was. Obama, Clinton, or even Edwards or Biden would have had smears coming their way..
..This is just how the GOP does their elections.
According to TPM, Hillary sent out a picture of Obama in a turbin.
I guess I may have to vote for Cynthia McKinney.
So can McBush be Swift Boated? Attack his war record–which apparently consists of getting shot down? Was he a big Hero as CO in Florida- or did he fuck it up as seems likely…
Get a dozen retired sailors to say he fucked it up and it’s clear sailing from there!
The other agenda item is to kick the shit out of him in terms of his signature issue- clean politics….follow the money!!
Funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing the other day — Al Gore as Obama’s insurance policy. I wonder if Al would be willing to do it? He’s patriotic enough. I am very afraid of an assasination attempt. The thugs will stop at nothing.
Sheik bin al BaraBlackHusseinOsamBama!
That’s how I always snarkily refer to him now.
Jane has a new post ready upstairs!
EPU! – one of the great sages of firedoglake.
I agree on your genius point. NeoCons call each other genius. I throw my head back and laugh. Too funny! Billy Kristol is hardly Leonardo Di Vinci. Condi Rice is no Galileo. They even called shrub “brilliant”. I guess you could call him brilliant compared to a used match stick.
“I wonder if Al would be willing to do it.”
In a heartbeat…but he’s extract a price, and that would be on a direction in policy on the environment and enery…and he’s get it.
Che very cute!
And would these attacks have worked the same way if Kerry had voted against the war and, more importantly, campaigned against the war? Thank God we’ll get to find out, more or less, now that Clinton has lost the nomination.
Obama is going to inherit not only the apparatus of the Democratic Party, but the team he is currently building to run this campaign. These are highly motivated young people. They are not going to go away, and I don’t think he is going to let the organization simply melt away or be submerged in the Democratic Party (unless it takes it over).
EPU, the puppy is adorable–and so are you! Here’s an attaboy, for ya!
Obama will BE the democratic party for at least the length of his campaign.
Quite to the contrary, Al has already totally eliminated the idea that he would ever even consider a VP position again…he said “Been there; done that.” Not on a cold day in hell! Ain’t gonna happen. Mark my words.
November of 2005 . . . now, that’s what I call getting epu’d, bigtime! (;>)
ET – Thanks
And as for Che – cars have literally stopped in the middle of the street to say he is the World’s cutest dog :-)
OR Dave – That was the original EPU post.
and NPR was priming OBL and NO flood way before the events.
Trust me sister Ann, Big Al would do it in a heartbeat if he got what he wanned…and he would. He’s on the cuttin’ end of new energy investment…ya think he wouldn’t like ta be the hydrogen powered Dick Cheney…of course he would,he’s not stupid.
Ann AZ – Thanks. An “attaboy” is a good start ;-p
But it’s pretty clear that some in the Clinton campaign are following Kristol’s advice. That’s clearly why they released a photo to right-wing blogger Drudge showing Obama dressed in ceremonial Somali apparel.
For awhile I thought that the Clinton campaign may have had just a few overzealous staffers operating on their own in providing this picture…but it’s clear from the pseudo-”outrage” by the Clinton camp at being caught out that its distribution came with the consent of those highest in her campaign.
Clinton Campaign Leaks Pics of Obama as Muslim
They can cry all the want about how the photo “simply” showed Obama in traditional costume…the question they should be answering is WHY they released the photo if they didn’t think it hurt his image. Obama’s campaign didn’t pass off photos showing Hillary dressing in a sari while rumors were rampant about her being a Hindu. It’s pretty clear that this was precisely what was intended…to slur Barack as a “secret Muslim”. And the fact that earlier in the campaign Clinton staffers were caught distributing the email asserting this rumor indicates that her campaign hasn’t learned a thing.
It’s desperate…and their efforts to reverse this back on the Obama campaign in a manner reminiscent of Rush Limbaugh indicates the desperation they are in.
If Obama is the nominee, he needs an articulate, foreign-policy-knowledgeable, tough guy VP like Joe Biden, who will spit the Republican B.S. back in their faces.
I will be so disappointed if Obama picks some Red State lady Governor.
This better be a joke.
I get chills when I read stuff like this.
Okay, so it’s not a joke.
Please tell me how you came to the conclusion that the Clinton campaign ”released” this photo? Drudge says he ”obtained” an e-mail that contained the photo, with a very specific message about the disparity in the way the prss treats Obama and Clinton. Nothing in the e-mail that I’ve seen said anything disparaging about Obama, and there’s no indication that the Clinton campaign sent the photo to the press. The photo has also been up on the Internet for some time now, and the fact that we’ve never seen it offers some validity to the message of the e-mail. The only source that says the Clinton campaign distributed it is the Obama campaign, which knows its own Wurlitzer will start cranking about the vile tactics of the Clinton campaign. Hardly an objective source.
Do you have other information to support your assertion that the Clinton camp ”released a photo to right-wing blogger Drudge”?
And by the way, it wasn’t ”Clinton staffers” who sent the Muslim e-mail in Iowa. It was a precinct captain. If you’ve ever been around a campaign, you’ll know that the way to become a precinct captain is to raise your hand and say ”I’ll be a precinct captain.” It’s about the lowest position in a campaign (I know, I was a precinct captain for Deval Patrick) and I can assure you that no one in that position speaks for the campaign. I’d be surprised if anyone at the state headquarters even knew who that woman was.
Not completely disagreeing, but I think it’s funny that you used the word ‘articulate’ to describe Biden, since he got in trouble for calling Obama that.
I like Biden, but I think he’s more of a SOS, not a Veep.
Who does TPM cite? Drudge! For crying out loud, I get it: y’all love Obama. Fine, but don’t fall for right-wing smears, damn it. Remember when we used to believe in goddamn evidence? Jesus! Her camp has already denied any involvement and even in their first reply they said there’s nothing wrong with any politician wearing the clothing of a foreign country when traveling, citing how HRC herself has donned various outfits as First Lady.
Unbelievable! If you want to be outraged over this why not go after the likes of Andrew Sullivan who not only use Obama’s middle name but claim that his childhood in a Muslim country will be a great weapon against terrorism? Oh, that’s right: because it’s a positive. Obama will face this in the GE and he can’t have it both ways: My family ties to Muslims and living in a Muslim country is a good thing–except when it’s not. There’s nothing wrong with being a Muslim! That’s the only way he can fight back and yet he refuses to. A mere photo–one that has been around for years now!–is shown by DRUDGE of all people and you throw a goddamn fit–and blame Clinton?! Come! On!
I agree. What I wonder is what the heck happened in the Iowa primary of 2004 that resulted in him winning. We’ve
spentwasted a lot of money and lives in the last few years because of their decision/choice.At least this year the candidates felt safe running anti-war.
BTW, why would we want to be in Afghanistan? We were only in there originally because that’s where Al Qaeda was and we only opposed the Taliban because they wouldn’t deliver out Bin Laden. Now we figure AQ is in Pakistan, so let’s forget Afghanistan and go after our enemies…where they are.
Don’t bother reasoning with them. When it comes to Clinton it’s “verdict first, trial later.” Every. Single. Time. They blame her for releasing an innocuous photo of him that is years old (Notice HRC didn’t attack Obama after the Times released photos of her and Chelsea in Pakistani garb; mind you, the GOP slammed Pelosi for wearing a hijab while refusing to attack Laura Bush for doing the same thing so Clinton is just as vulnerable to the unhinged right wing). Incredible.
What an odd coincident that whenever she starts landing blows or the media isn’t universally swooning over Obama this nonsense comes out. And again, this photo “controversy” is a joke. That photo is real, it’s not taken out of context, and there’s nothing wrong with it. They should “blame” Drudge.
I should stress again: there’s no evidence whatsoever her camp even did this and they have denied involvement.
Whatever. Obama’s going to win on exploiting irrational Hillary hate. Insane.
Have a cow man :)
If one wants to piss off almost every Viet Nam vet out there the best way would be to attack McCain’s war record. To say that he was shot down by a SAM because he screwed up would be a misrepresentation of the facts. He wasn’t able to avoid a hit but that doesn’t warrant a personal attack on him. Personally I can’t stand the guy but I wouldn’t put up with a personal attack based on his combat experience. This was not his first combat sortie and I imagine a lot more former carrier sailors would come to his defense than would line up behind the smear merchants. The first Swift Boaters may have caught us unprepared but it won’t work this time. We Nam vets are kind of a touchy bunch. We don’t like being ambushed and payback’s a m*****f*****.
I think there’s probably enough stuff on record that some dedicated research would provide material that would be more damaging to his campaign than any Swift Boater type action.
Peace Love Light
No, I don’t believe that for a second. I think the Bush family mafia have been running the Republican show for quite a while now and they’ve simply had their party and now we’re left with a mess. We didn’t stop them at all.
Now we have a chance for a fresh start and Obama appears to be the first to have a go. He’ll have a mess to deal with, but at least the Union is still here.
Big question is whether the Bush mafia can make a comeback later or if this is the end of their run. If they think they can come back again, then they will have to decide whether to try and ruin Obama so he only gets 4 years or whether they let it go 8 and try to win next time when there’s no incumbent. A lot depends upon who might be their candidate too.
Don’t give Obama too much credit. He’s just a traditional Liberal politician who gives nice speeches and moves to the ‘center’ to win more votes for the general election.
His team should find some nice photos of him in a Christian church, ’saluting’ (hand over heart) with an American flag lapel pin. Pictures are pretty solid proof. Then they could perhaps have his mother interviewed by some ‘journalist’.
these are not insurmountable problems on the face of it. It’s only the underlying racism among Republicans who will continue to accept the ‘proof’ e-mails to bolster their pre-existing feelings.
But, Obama was never going to get those votes anyway, so it doesn’t matter much. The broader electorate has apparently already decided race doesn’t matter with Obama and he’s not gonna have much of a problem with smear campaign garbage. Heck, I don’t even think Clinton or Edwards would have had trouble with any Repub smear campaign in this election.