Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton quickly apologized Friday after citing the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy as a reason to remain in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination despite increasingly long odds.
“I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever,” the former first lady said.
The episode occurred as Clinton campaigned in advance of the June 3 South Dakota primary.
Responding to a question from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader editorial board about calls for her to drop out of the race, she said: “My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know I just, I don’t understand it,” she said, dismissing the idea of abandoning the race
Yes, it was offensive, and yes, it was an awfully dumb thing to say. And while yes, she was quick to apologize, yes, she should have worded her apology more directly.
But honestly… it’s true. Who doesn’t fear for Obama’s safety above that of the typical candidate, and why wouldn’t that thought enter into Clinton’s calculation? I’ve always assumed that one of her reasons for sticking with this so doggedly—however small—is the desire to lay undisputed claim to the nomination should anything, scandalous or tragic, happen to Obama.
You don’t come out and say it—that was a fuck up—but you can’t blame her for thinking it.
She blew it. I’m not sure what she blew, but whatever it was, it’s blown right out the door. My support, for one thing. I will no longer make excuses for her. As of today, I’m an Obama supporter.
She could have suspended in March and still have been the disaster pick should such a thing happen. Assassinations are outside of politics, should not enter any reasonable calculation, and by no means be openly discussed as one would a policy consideration. I’d feel the same way if she had mentioned Wallace, except that he was running a spoiler campaign using racist dogwhistles, so I guess that doesn’t really apply today.
Which is to say that she has nothing coming to her, no Senate Majority Leadership, no Supreme Court nomination, nada, nothing, she should just finish out her term and leave. Let her make a bundle on K Street.
In the light of Huckabee’s joke about Obama at the NRA convention, and the general hysteria of the Right about their impending doom, I don’t blame her at all for thinking it.
Just for saying it aloud.
That’s what it took to push you over the edge? THAT? As long as it was something.
While, yes, one has to consider the possibility that someone might do violence to the first black man in position to take the Presidency…it doesn’t justify either Clinton’s remark or her staying in the race. She’s putting what should be a Democratic lock for victory in November at risk by staying in. If she drops out now and the worst happens…she’ll clearly be seen as the most deserving replacement at the top of the ticket. That she stepped aside for the good of the party would only reinforce her claim to lead it.
But now, imagine if something happens to Obama. Will you REALLY be ready to hand the nomination to Hillary? When she’d be on the short list of suspects to conspire to commit the deed, all else being equal? Afer admitting she’s calculating that she would be in position to be the nominee in such a case? I’d rather hand it to Edwards or Gore at that point.
Shades of the original Manchurian Candidate…
Just how creepy can Democrats get?
The Piper
she is toast and her arguments are toast:
Obama won white voters, working class voters and women in Oregon.
Here is the latest poll from Ohio – the critical swing state. Obama wins it with almost any VP and by a huge margin with Edwards.
http://www.surveyusa.com/index.....-matchups/
Here is what O-blah-blah will bring upon us:
This is from AWB’s newsletter…you know, the evil BUSINESS Association that represents employers who create jobs & pay huge taxes:
“Maine employers fight health plan bailout
Business groups have formed a coalition to fight recent tax increases designed to shore up Maine’s struggling DirigoChoice state-subsidized health insurance program for individuals and small business. The taxes include a first-ever Maine tax on soft drinks, a doubling of existing levies on beer and wine, and a 1.8-percent tax on health care claims paid by insurers and third-party claims administrators. The taxes are so unpopular that coalition members say they are optimistic they will get the signatures needed to get the repeal initiative on the ballot. Dirigo requires employers to pay 60 percent of the premium. How much Dirigo pays of the remaining premium depends on an employee’s income. See AWB’s Olympia Business Watch for details.”
Piper
What is worse, what Hillary said or Huckabee said?
Goldy,
You are wrong. You can blame her for thinking it.
If she hadn’t dragged this thing way beyond a rational basis for thinking she could win, she wouldn’t have needed to fantasize about outrageous tragedies or crimes that would lead to her nomination despite traumatizing the nation.
@9…PL…
What Hillary said…
Mike Huckabee said something in response to a noise. His statement was obviously in the abstract since BHO wasn’t there to actually do what it was HM said he was doing.
Hillary, on the other hand, engaged in serious speculation almost ala Angela Lansbury to Lawrence Harvey while James Gregory dithered in the background.
But she’s not the first…Remember rapper 50-Cent (some call him Fiddy Cent)? He talked about it months ago after he endorsed Hillary Clinton.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....85120.html
It’s one thing for a former contender to make a silly comment (Huckabee’s was silly – no question there), but it’s another thing entirely for a still active rival to openly speculate about the possibility of another rival’s murder.
The Piper
Are we all on the stupid pills? She didn’t cite his assination as a reason to stay in the race, she cited the date. Jesus Christ on the fucking cross.
@12…C…
The Clinton’s are King and Queen of alluders.
The Piper
Man, you are the horse’s ass after all. Saying what Clinton said is unbelievably crass and stupid–or else deliberately divisive. Many black voters (and white voters, too) are already nervous about Obama’s welfare. According to Time magazine, she has said this twice now; the first time was back in early March. Clinton is supposed to be a smart and savvy politician. A lot of people, including me, are going to find it hard to rule out the bomb-throwing alternative and the conspiracy theories that go with it. The result of this statement is going to be, at best, more uproar drowning out the sound of John McCain laughing.
Furthermore, are you seriously saying that she’s staying in the race just in case something happens to Obama? Bullshit. She would be available in case of emergency anyway. She’s staying because she can’t get her mind around the idea that she has lost the delegate race.
Incredible
This is an amazing story.
Hillary took what remained of Bill’s heritage after he rolled in mud, polished it, combined it with the loyalty many felt toward them as a couple and her own historic role in the woman’s movement and …………….
There is only one way she can survive now, she needs Obama’s support.
“Now I realized what makes our generation unique, what defines us apart from those who came before the hopeful winter of 1961, and those who came after the murderous spring of 1968. We are the first generation that learned from experience … that things were not really getting better, that we shall not overcome. We felt, by the time we reached thirty, that we had already glimpsed the most compassionate leaders our nation could produce, and they had all been assassinated. And from this time forward, things would get worse: our best political leaders were part of memory now, not hope…”
Hillary knows the potential of her recent target market really well.
re 12: True, Carl. I’m glad you said it. I’m also disappointed in the media for mocking her when she recounted her sorrow and anger at the assassination of MLK. I felt the same way at the time as what she described, so I felt mocked by proxy.
@16 Duncan
true enough but I would not downplay the importance of Dr, King’s death. I have trouble imagining his being as effective in the flesh as hew has been in spirit.
What strikes me as worse is the distruct we have come to habe for anyone who tries to be a leader. In Hillary’s case … it is almost as if she has chosen to play the role assigned by the Rad Right.
Other than Ron Reagan and Jimmy Carter, I do not think we have had a major pol until now who conveyed the “beleive in me” quality BHO conveys.
Hillary should have had that quality.
it’s not a reason to stay in. That’s the whole point of suspending a campaign. There was no reason to say it, no reason to mention a month.
@6 “Just how creepy can Democrats get?”
We are merely meek copyists of you guys. See, e.g., Hagee and Huckabee.
Selective outrage guy @6 (continued): So, where was your outrage at Hagee’s remark about God sending Hitler to help Jews get to the Promised Land? I don’t remember seeing it.
The first time I heard this topic broached was on a 60 minutes segment with the Obama’s. It’s already out there.
As the other 2 contenders have self-destructed this week, why don’t we skip the election and handle this by acclamation?
re 6: “Shades of the original Manchurian Candidate…”
Piper: I would submit to you that if anyone’s life experiences resemble that of the Manchurian Candidate, it would be John McCain.
He did admit that they broke his will.
@8 Employers don’t create jobs. Customers create jobs. And don’t you forget it.
@11 Silly? Try offensive. More offensive than Hillary’s, because Hillary was only tactless, whereas Huckabee made a joke of it and incited it (when you consider who he was talking to). Huckabee’s offense is far graver than Hillary’s, and all you can say is he’s “silly”? Typical wingnut apologia for a wingnut outrage.
@13 No, that would be McSame’s buddy Hagee and the right’s twin whores Coulter and Malkin.
It’s really sad that Sen. Clinton has gone the route of self destruction. She has been on this road for a couple of months by denying the mathematics that ruled out her getting the nomination. She has been destroying what political power she could still have held, and now she has cemented herself in a position that can only end sadly.
I hope she has the smarts to drop her candidacy now. She may be able to salvage something out of her disastrous run for the Presidency.
You guys amaze me. Why in the world should she be attacked by people in her own party for pointing out that campaigns over history go into June? She was defending her decision to campaign till the convention. Her reference to the 1968 campaign was not a raising of the assassination issue; it was a reminder that Kennedy had just WON the California primary (after losing in Oregon the week earlier). The horrible fact of the memory of his death being dominant over her point about the date of the primary is YOUR problem, not hers. She should not even have apologized for her point. And you good liberals raise the cudgel just as though you are neocons looking for something to use as a weapon. This willful refusal to see what she was really talking about is classic GOP demagogery (?). Why are you liberals joining in? Shame on you.
Cyn @ 8:
You’re smarter than the average bear, but we need to take you aside and explain the economics of health care to you.
1) By law, hospitals must treat patients who come to the ER, regardless of ability to pay (see fine print, etc. etc.)
2) As a rule, people who are uninsured that come to the ER will never pay their bills. They are a writeoff for the hospital.
3) Hospitals, like most other business, must at least cover their expenses, and preferably return a profit.
4) Therefore, when health care providers are faced with 20% of their patients not paying for services (yes, the number is that high), they must compensate by jacking up prices for everyone who does pay their bills. That’s you and me. This results in higher fees, which are reflected in higher insurance rates. Rates which you and I pay.
I’d like to also leave you with a thought. Conservatives are frequently against universal health care because it smacks of welfare, and conservatives are against welfare. Fair enough.
If welfare is handled badly, people are compensated for not working, which creates a disincentive to work, which is bad. Even a dumb lib like me understands that. Where we differ is how much tolerance we have for some number of people sitting on their ass drinking beer.
You cannot eat health care. You cannot drink it. You can’t sit on it. You can’t watch TV on it. You can’t drive it, can’t smoke it, and you can’t easily convert it into those things.
In short, I do not see a scenario where universal health care provides the disincentive to work which annoys so many conservatives about welfare.
@ 30 That is so cute. What did you hope to accomplish with that bit of doggerel?
McCain is going to have to pay more for his Trolls, you ain’t worth the dime he paid you.
(deleted. Dupe.)
30
Spike, you are right on. I think Hillary should stay in. She will take way more votes from “the maverick” McCain then Obama. It will be good for the race and give 2008 the diversity of candidates we liberals want and need.
Everyone is allowed to make a public fuck-up, and this one was Hillary’s. It’s pretty clear that Obama is going to get the nomination, so the clever Dems would acknowledge this fuck-up on Hillary’s part and start concentrating on the election in November.
While I like Obama, I won’t vote for the guy (or McCain, either). He just ain’t my cup of tea. He can’t win by simply getting the coastal states while ignoring the “fly-over” states. He’d do well to get John Edwards as his veep.
As for Hillary, she should be given a cabinet position after the election. The era of the Clintons is ending.
@1
Welcome aboard Roger!
Yup, what #29 said.
Total bummer that both the Clinton’s chose to go the negative route and flame out on a bad note
Rog – I guess we should credit Ford Motor Company for not being smart enough and for not creating jobs because of their decision to cut back production on SUV’s and Trucks. That stupid Fireman wants us to buy American, but the American Company can’t even protect the American People their jobs because they weren’t smart enough to figure out that people would no longer want a bahemouth vehicle that gets 12 MPG. So the Japs are selling more vehicles. You think a conservative would want to conserve gas instead of use more, more and more of it – hypocricy at its best.
Here’s what Ford has done with their assembly plants, copying the email I received today..
Ford Plant
@32 Here is the Achilles Heel of our party. It is very clear that Obama is going to get the nomination. That means there is a single intraparty need right now. The Obama supporters MUST stop attacking Clinton. They have to have the support of the current opposition, if they want to win in November. But there is a significant group in Obama’s camp who will do anything to attack Hillary, when they need to shut their traps. Today’s willful misinterpretation of her comment is incredibly dangerous to our party. Shut up, turn your anger on the GOP. Do whatever you can to embrace Hillary as an ALLY.
Ask Obama if that is not right. He is already being sweet to her and shifting his aim to John M. For you folks to continue attacking Clinton is suicide. And @32 is a good example. If anyone is a McC. troll it is someone putting down comments like that.
Spike and “concerned liberal” (# 30, 34 and 40), you are not only unconvincing, but you are a complete parody of the McCain attempt to infiltrate blogs and simmer FUD.
Your attempts are laughable, and you do more harm to the McCain campaign than any harm you feel you are doing to the Democratic party.
You are a blatantly obvious joke.
You need to realize that liberals are not blind ignorant sheep like the wingnut party you come from. We can see your ruse from a mile away.
Just ask “Wondering why I am a Democrat/ Reel in a newbie!!!” @ 39
The Smartest Woman In The World is NOT gonna give up. This is gonna go to the convention. She’s gonna figure out some scheme that includes superdelegates, Florida, and Michigan to steal the nomination.
As soon as it happens, every city in America is going to BURN. AMs will stay home, and McCain will win 49 states.
This talk about TSWITW being Hussein’s VP is fucking stoopid. If she’s “one hearbeat away” from being preznit, who the fuck would be his food taster? With all the dead bodies the Clintons have left behind, this “uppity Nword” would be nothing more than another one on a long list. Hussein knows this, and there isn’t any fucking way that he’s gonna take that chance and have her and Bubba looking over his shoulder and harassing him every step of the way.
42 – Nobody cares what you think. Just pay your fucking gambling debt and get the F out, welsher!
I see Mark the Redneck-welsher has not done what he should for the good of mankind.
It is a long weekend, MTR. You could actually become the patriot you aspire to be.
Just put the business end of your squirrel gun in your mouth and pull the trigger.
Your selfless sacrifice towards cleaning up the gene pool will be appreciated.
bet welsher and racist and misogynist. What a scumbag!
re 42: I always wondered what kind of an idiot would believe that the Clintons murdered people. Now I know. YOU are that kind of idiot.
With the $110 million taxpayer dollars that you Republicans spent investigating the Clintons, you would think you could do better than discovering an illicit blowjob.
I think you should return the money to the taxpayers because it was wasted on a fool’s errand (can Republicans perform any other kind?).
@ 44 is of course a joke. I would never attempt to compel a person to kill themselves.
But MTR-Welsher is famous for shooting his mouth off in spectacularly heinous ways. I just want to help him propel his crass act to a higher crescendo.
Only thing I can say about Keith Olbermann’s special comment…
DAMN!!!!
The following is a partial list of deaths of persons connected to President Clinton during his tenure as Governor of Arkansas and/or while President of the United States and thereafter. Read the list and judge for yourself.
BARBARA OLSON – Author of “Hell to Pay” – a book critical of Hillary Clinton, killed in the Pentagon bombing.
DARLENE NOVINGER – Former FBI operative, January 23rd, 2003. Novinger was known to hold sensitive information on the Clinton and Bush I administration’s drug operations. Her husband murdered March 1987 when she went public with initial reports. Her father died July 8, 1993 four hours after Darlene was a guest on the Tom Valentine show. Suffered retaliation after reporting discussions by government protected drug smuggler who described contacts with Vice President George Bush and his son, Jeb Bush.
DAN MULLONEY, a television news photographer who shot footage of the 1993 Branch Davidian siege.
CHARLES RUFF – White House Counsel and Clinton defense attorney during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment trial. Of apparent natural causes.
JAMES MCDOUGAL – Clinton’s convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. McDougal was a key witness in Kenneth Starr’s investigation.
MARY MAHONEY – A former White House intern was murdered July 6, 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown. The murder happened during the pre-trial publicity surrounding the Paula Jones lawsuit days after Newsweek’s Mike Isakoff dropped hints that a former White House staffer was about to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.
VINCENT FOSTER – Former White House counselor, and former colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little Rock’s Rose law firm. Foster was found dead July 20, 1993 of a gunshot to the head ruled a suicide. Rumours were that Foster and Hillary had an affair.
RON BROWN – Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported to the Bob Grant Radio Show a hole in top of Brown’s skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors.
C. VICTOR RAISER II – Former National finance Co-Chairman, Clinton for President Campaign and son MONTGOMERY RAISER died in a private plane crash in Alaska, July 30th,1992. Raiser was described as a major player in the Clinton organization by Dee Dee Meyers.
JEREMY “MIKE” BOORDA, President Clinton’s former Chief of Naval Operations allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a .38 caliber pistol on his front lawn in May 1996. The unauthorized wearing of valor pins was the alleged reasoning behind the suicide. By 1998 this reasoning was proved false after the Navy issued a report that said Boorda earned the right to wear the pins afterall.
PAUL TULLEY – Democrat National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock, Arkansas September 24, 1992, Described by Clinton as a “Dear friend and trusted advisor”.
ED WILLEY – Clinton fund raiser-found dead November 30, 1993 deep in the woods in Virginia of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide, Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed that Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.
JERRY PARKS – Head of Clinton’s gubernatorial security team in Little Rock. Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside Little Rock. Parks’ son said his father was building a dossier on Clinton. He allegedly threatened to reveal this information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house
JAMES BUNCH – Died from a gunshot wound. Reported to have a black book of people containing names of influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas.
JAMES WILSON – Was found dead by hanging May 18, 1993. Was reported to have ties to Whitewater.
KATHY FERGUSON – Ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson died in May,1994 was found dead in her living room with a gunshot wound to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she was going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Corbin Jones lawsuit. She was reported a possible corroborating witness for Paula Jones case.
BILL SHELTON – Arkansas state Trooper and Fiancee of Kathy Ferguson.Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee.
GANDY BAUGH – Attorney for Clinton friend Dan Lassater died by falling out a window of a tall building January, 1991. His client was a convicted drug distributor.
FLORENCE MARTIN – Accountant subcontractor for the CIA related to the Barry Seal Mena Airport drug smuggling case. Dead of three gunshot wounds.
SUZANNE COLEMAN – Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to back of head, ruled a suicide, was pregnant at the time her death.
PAULA GROBER – Clinton’s speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death December 9, 1992. She died in a one car accident.
DANNY CASOLARO – Investigative reporter, investigating Mena airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. Found dead with slit his wrists in the middle of his investigation.
PAUL WILCHER – Attorney investigating corruption at Mena Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 “October Surprise” was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his Washington DC Apartment. Had delivered report to Janet Reno 3 weeks before his death.
JON PARNELL WALKER – Whitewater Investigator for Resolution Trust Corporation. Fell to his death from his Arlington, Virginia apartment balcony August 15, 1993. Was investigating Morgan Guarantee scandal.
BARBARA WISE – Commerce Department Staffer, worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.
CHARLES MEISSNER – Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.
DR.STANLEY HEARD – Chair National Chiropractic Heath Care Advisory committee died with his attorney.
STEVE DICKSON – Died in a small plane crash. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton’s advisory council personally treated Clinton’s mother, stepfather and brother.
BARRY SEAL – Drug running pilot out of Mena, Arkansas. Death was no accident.
JOHNNY LAWHORN Jr. – Mechanic, found a check made out to Clinton in the trunk of a car left in his repair shop. Died when his car hit a utility pole.
STANLEY MUGGINS – Suicide. Investigated Madison Guarantee. His report was never released.
HERSHELL FRIDAY – Attorney and Clinton fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded.
KEVIN IVES and DON HENRY – Known as “The boys on the track” case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas Airport Drug operation. This controversial case where initial report of death was due to falling asleep on railroad track. Later reports claim the two had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many people linked to the case died (see below) before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.
THE FOLLOWING SIX PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE IVES/HENRY CASE:
KEITH CONEY – Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck in July, 1988.
KEITH McMASKLE – Died, stabbed 113 times, November 1988.
GREGORY COLLINS – Died from a gunshot wound, January 1989.
JEFF RHODES – He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in April 1989.
JAMES MILAN. Found decapitated-Coroner ruled death due to natural causes.
JORDAN KETTLESON – Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.
RICHARD WINTERS – Winters was a suspect in the Ives/Henry deaths. Was killed in set-up robbery in July 1989.
THE FOLLOWING FORMER CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:
– MAJOR WILLIAM S. BARKLEY JR.
– CAPTAIN SCOTT J.REYNOLDS
– SGT. BRIAN HANEY
– SGT. TIM SABEL
– MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM ROBERTSON
– COL. WILLIAM DENSBERGER
– COL. ROBERT KELLY
– SPEC. GARY RHODES
– STEVE WILLIS
– ROBERT WILLIAMS
– CONWAY LeBLEU
– TODD McKEEHAN
And finally, BUDDY, the Presidential Dog, killed when he was struck by a car after having escaped his kennel.
Anyone with half a brain can go to Snopes.com and see a complete and total destruction of the idiotic “Clinton Body Count.” Since it has long been debunked, then MTR must knowingly be spreading the usual GOP lies. They are about as low as they can get.
By the way, since you guys are always talking about how MTR is a welsher, can you explain what it is that he is welshing on, somebody?
@49
Even if it were true it would pale in comparison to the body count racked up by three generations (let’s not forget grandpa Prescott) of Bushes.
@44
Squirrel guns are generally .22 caliber, we want him to use something bigger than that to make sure the job gets done right. J/K.
As soon as it happens, every city in America is going to BURN. AMs will stay home, and McCain will win 49 states.
No way. If anybody has a chance at winning 49 out of the 57 states it’s Obama.
Who is this Piper Scott, anyway? She poisons the fine discourse in this comment section…
I sez, ignore her.
VINCENT FOSTER – Former White House counselor, and former colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little Rock’s Rose law firm. Foster was found dead July 20, 1993 of a gunshot to the head ruled a suicide. Rumours were that Foster and Hillary had an affair.
Wasn’t the entrance wound on the opposite side of where they found the gun in his hand??? Wasn’t this apparently self inflicted???? Rooftresting very rooftresting.
Mark is funny. The more I read of his material, the more I think he’s a construct. That is, someone is typing his BS, but it’s not a consulting engineer with a several advanced degrees, a triple-digit hourly billing rate, and an Escalade. It’s a grumpy old man with a tenth grade education in a shack out in Preston.
I can do that too. Watch!
Everything I may have said on this board about being a roving systems geek is a lie. I don’t do it. I don’t know anything about computers. What I may appear to know I’ve hired ghostwriters to fill in.
I am in fact a fabulously wealthy bond trader. I make money doing currency arbitrage and futures. I go bouncing around the world on a Gulfstream G550 and hobnob in Davos every year.
I routinely score in the 50s on an 18-hole golf course, and once shot three holes-in-one on the same day.
In addition, I have been published in the New Yorker, The Antioch Review, Harpers, and the London Review of Books.
On top of all this, women find me completely irresistible. I am constantly prying the poor dears off of me. I never get a moment’s rest from the constant attention.
Later folks. Bono is on the phone needing underwriting for a new social venture in Africa.
@54…Thorn…
You obviously ain’t been hangin’ round these parts that long, have you?
Even the looniest lefty HA Happy Hooligan knows that I’m a he, not a she.
That you weren’t around today says…we didn’t miss that much.
The Piper
It speaks volumes that Clinton wouldn’t just think about Obama’s safety, but would hold it up in public as a political asset. Hearing the audio from this, it sounds to me like a deliberate statement and not a slip of the tongue or whatever she wanted to make it out to be in her lame apology.
My first thought after hearing this, coming just as the Clintons are talking like they would “settle” for a VP nomination, is that both Clintons must finally have gone batshit insane at last. Throughout the campaign they’ve been trying to exploit fears and stereotypes in the most unabashed and, I must say, unDemocratic way.
If I were Obama, there’s no way in hell now that I would cave in and take Hillary as VP candidate. It’s clear that in such a campaign he would spend as much time trying to reign in the Clintons as he would fighting McCain.
@ 49
The following is a partial list of deaths of persons connected to President Bush during his tenure as President:
Sergeant John K. Daggett
Sergeant Victor M. Cota
Corporal Jessica A. Ellis
Specialist Joseph A. Ford
Specialist Mary J. Jaenichen
Private 1st Class Aaron J. Ward
Specialist Alex D. Gonzalez
Lieutenant Giorgi Margiev
Corporal Zura Gvenetadze
Private Corey L. Hicks
Lance Corporal Casey L. Casanova
Corporal Miguel A. Guzman
Lance Corporal James F. Kimple
Sergeant Glen E. Martinez
Specialist Jeffrey F. Nichols
The other 4000+ American deaths by GWB can be found here:
http://icasualties.org/oif/
The list is growing every day.
@19, referring to Dr. King: I have trouble imagining his being as effective in the flesh as hew has been in spirit.
SJ, that’s just a stupid thing to write. Go back and review what King actually accomplished DURING his lifetime. Shit, you should actually even remember when it was going on. Or do you need to go rent Eyes on the Prize or something?
And Carl @12, you really don’t think Hillary was alluding to the possibility of an Obama assassination? When I heard the comment, I was taken aback as in “wtf did she just say?!” If you didn’t pick up on the undercurrent of the remark (and it was tasteless in a couple of ways, in this week when Ted got his diagnosis), you are probably in a tiny minority. No stupid pills here. Even the New York Times said
Bless them all.
Never forget.
We will bring the traitors who threw their lives away to justice.
@56: LOL! Ha!
Call me, hon! ;-)
re 49: So, Republicans were killing people that knew the Clintons (or Reagan, or Bush I).
Good work Mark the Douchebag!
re 60: I agree with Carl. She was talking about June and presidential primaries — not about assassinations. I’m surprised that so much is being made out of this remark that you have to INTERPRET to make it mean what you want it to, Szlazyyodel.
Yet, Huckabee is getting a pass on his obvious reference to assassinating Obama. Maybe MTR can arrange to have the Clintons kill Huckabee just to protect Obama.
@31 Nothing creates a disincentive to work like owning capital.
@34 Just what this blog doesn’t need — another wingnut liar pretending to be a liberal.
Bush has trashed the GOP brand so badly it’s getting hard to find a Republican who isn’t pretending to be a Democrat.
@39 Spoken like the true-red anti-union, cheap-labor wingnut you are, Wingnut Hannah!
Well, guess what. When those high-paying American auto jobs disappear, so does the business those workers bring to their communities. No income, no consumer spending; no consumer spending, no economy. Would’ve been nice if those big-bucks front-office boys could have figured out a way to keep those jobs in America so they’d have a market for their cars.
he following is a partial list of deaths of persons connected to President Bush during his tenure as President:
Sergeant John K. Daggett
Sergeant Victor M. Cota
Corporal Jessica A. Ellis
Specialist Joseph A. Ford
Specialist Mary J. Jaenichen
Private 1st Class Aaron J. Ward
Specialist Alex D. Gonzalez
Lieutenant Giorgi Margiev
Corporal Zura Gvenetadze
Private Corey L. Hicks
Lance Corporal Casey L. Casanova
Corporal Miguel A. Guzman
Lance Corporal James F. Kimple
Sergeant Glen E. Martinez
Specialist Jeffrey F. Nichols
The other 4000+ American deaths by GWB can be found here:
That sure is a long list of republican soldiers. I am sure they would be turning in their graves if they knew how the commie left exploits their good name in their dumbass war protests. Oh well. rooof roof.
@49 Hey shithead … instead of freeloading on Goldy’s blog to spew Dickie Scaife’s lies, pay your fucking gambling debt!
JBD spewed @ 69
Yeah. and the fact that the Bush admin would just rather they never be named, remembered, or have their funeral services seen.
Happy Memorial Day, RUFUS. You fucking amoral traitorous troop hating scumbag.
Remember.
Honor.
Never forget.
@50 “By the way, since you guys are always talking about how MTR is a welsher, can you explain what it is that he is welshing on, somebody?”
MTR bet Goldy $100 that I-912 (the gas tax repeal initiative) would win by 10 points. I-912 lost, and Redneck reneged.
@55 The original version of that rumor has you humping a fire hydrant.
RR @ 68 I didn’t hear anything in that video that had ANYTHING to do with cheap labor, it had to do with a plant that has other vendors on the same facility so the build process moves along a lot faster, that is what the vid is about, the fact that the UAW won’t allow multi vendor relations in one plant, which reduces the cost…if they could do that here, maybe Ford would be able to pay the higher wages? And I am definately NOT anti-union, hell I belong to one, Mr Assuming.
@57 Why don’t you tell him about the ex-lawyer part of your bio? Oh, and also where the “Piper” nickname comes from?
Hint: He attempts to play bagpipes so he’s got an excuse to wear skirts in public, which is as close to being a “she” as he’s ever gonna get.
Piper, what I want to know is, when you “play” those awful pipes, do you wear fishnet stockings and heels too? Is this to get Republican boys to hit on you?
@74 I don’t have broadband so I can’t download video, Hannah. But your post at #39 seems to say the “problem” at Ford is union jobs. Which is consistent with your proclivity to parrot wingnut talking points on this blog. For someone who claims to be a Democrat, you do a damn fine job as a propagandist for the cheap labor conservatives.
RR @ 77 That is why I noted I was copying the email…so I could get the video link in there. It has to do with being able to combine vendors to speed up the manufacturing process and UAW doesn’t allow that here in the US.
@58 I could accept it as an inadvertent “thinking out loud” tongue slip if Clinton hadn’t run a tacky campaign. But she did.
No, boys and girls, Hillary is a Big Girl who has been Around the Block and, I believe, knew what she was doing. It doesn’t look like an accident. It does look like a seasoned professional politician test-marketing a provocative remark in a small out-of-the-way state to minimize any blowback. But if it was an accident, it was a horribly clumsy one, and calls into question whether she has the good judgment to be president.
I voted for Clinton in my caucus for several reasons — and despite several things I don’t like about her. I would have supported her to the end if she had run a tart but civil campaign. I still like her better than Obama on issues; but there have been too many gaffes, and this was the last straw for me. If she becomes our nominee, she’ll drag us all down.
@72 Thanks. I have wondered for some time what the bet was that MTR wasn’t man enough to pay up. It is amusing to me that you never let him forget, and he never responds to that particular needling.
@71 Why does war have such a good reputation and why does peace have such a bad name among your ilk? That looks like a social pathology to me.
@77
I don’t get how people can complain about Ford not making high mileage cars. I mean, the Ford Ka gets 55MPG on the highway. ‘Oh wait, never mind that model is only available in Europe.
The Vauxhall Corsa with a Diesel engine is rated at 74 MPG freeway. Vauxhall is owned by GM, but do they try to get their popular European car imported over here? No, they continue to make gas guzzlers and lose market share to Honda and Nissan .
Fools.
@40 Spike
Hillary, has as he said launched everything but the kitchen sink at Obama. I say “but the kitchen sink” because, to be fair, she has never sunk to the lows of Lee Atwater/Karl Rove.
One of her persistent tactics is to attack Obama and then if he defends himself claim HE is raising the (whatever) issue. Frankly, while there are certainly Obamites who have come to dislike HRC, I wold challenge you to find evidence that such stuff comes from the campaign.
@60 Tlazolteotl
Invoking the power of his matryrdom ought not in any way diminish the effects of what Dr. King accomplished during his life.
OTOH, the elevation of Dr. King to his present level of national hero is hard to imagine wihtout the horror of his death.
What is GOOD, i the acceptance bya ll Americans of King’s life as a lesson to us all.
@ 82
Michael, we are sheep. A remaining middle class of sheep fit for fleecing. It is the same reason we pay 10 times the market rate for pharmaceuticals. As long as the corporate neocon market feels there is a little money left to bleed from us, before we become just another third world slum, they will shear the sheep.
No other nation of free people would stand for this. But just as “wondering why I am a democrat/Reel in a newbie!!” apologists exist, they will bleed us.
They will try to throw the blame on “unions”, and “environmentalists” and people who value the Bill of Rights. They will divert us like lobsters in a slowly boiling pot. They will send our sons and daughters to die for oil interests With no regard for the future.
They think we are all like MTR, and Pooper.
They value nothing but their own greed.
And maybe they will win.
But not without a fight from the patriots.
Not that anybody’s going to make it far enough down this thread to read this, but here it is anyway:
Some number of years back, our son was in CYO soccer with another kid whose mother was an eminent trauma surgeon who’d been recruited to work in the Harborview ER.
Once during a game, a converstation broke out between the parents about health care, and someone spoke about the popular misconception that it’s a horrible waste of hospital resources and high-ticket caregivers’ time that people with minor ailments and no money clog up the emergency rooms. Somewhat to my surprise, this woman almost exploded with her frustration over how that was total bullshit. She explained that she and her colleagues and the facility had to be there 24×7, because there was no predicting exactly when there’d be a big fire or shooting or a dozen busted-up rich kids from Bellevue hauled in after smashing their parents’ Lexuses into each other. She said that just because she had the chops to put horribly mutilated bodies back together, didn’t mean she didn’t give a prayer of thanks for every hour that passed when it was relatively quiet, and she actually enjoyed it when she could spend the time dealing with drunks with sprained ankles and kids with the sniffles instead. If someone shows up with something minor when they’re busy, they’ll have to wait. That doesn’t mean the staff’s too proud to treat them when the time comes, or that it’s anything but making the most out of the facility for the greatest benefit.
Please note that Harborview is a government-run facility. In spite of that, if Mark the Sanctimonious Jerk ever gets hit by a car I’ll bet he won’t mind being taken there–it’ll be his best chance for survival. Other hospitals are nominally “non-profit” or run by insurers under the “HMO” moniker, and those outfits, as a matter of fact, have been lobbying their butts off to get the Good Samaritan laws overturned so they can turn away people who don’t have the cash, no matter what shape they’re in.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
Hillary has put up with a lot of shit–even too much shit–in her lifetime. She has also been blessed with far more favor than most. I mean, for God’s sake, her husband got elected president. Twice. What are the odds of that? Sometimes you’ve got to just count your blessings. Hillary’s blessings have been many. She now needs to bestow her blessings on Obama.
Art @ 86
Good story. A story that proves we are a community. What is wrong with the Republicans like Mark the Redneck is that they think whatever they have achieved, they achieved on their own. They believe they are above and beyond any sort of community. I believe in community. If we ain’t got such, then what’s the point? People like MTR will, of course, fall into the ash heap of historical insignificance.
Art @ 86
Thanks from me too for sharing that insight! Interesting. I believe as well that Harborview is also the triage center for about 4 neighboring states because they have the best outcome and experience in dealing with all the varied emergencies training via Welfare patients.
I always moan about incoming Levies, as you know. But when they had that Harborview levie to upgrade and earthquake retrofit Harborview, I didn’t think twice before voting FOR it. Had never thought about the fact that dealing with smaller issues might be refreshing escape for the Trauma Folks, probably prevents burnout.
It is what it is…an open call for the assasination of Obama. Wasn`t it Shakespeare who phrased it better,,,`with all these friends around, will no one rid me of my troubles`?
It makes you wonder if Vince Foster was `suicided`.
@89 FricknFrack
As a memeber of the UWSofMed , thnk you.
We get far to little recognition.
Tlazolteotl @ 60:
From the same Times article:
Carl, I still think it was in pretty poor taste. And while it’s nice that Jr. is defending her, it still doesn’t change the fact that almost everybody else had the same reaction I did on hearing her say that. Now, I know that a lot of people in the country are over-medicated, but I don’t happen to be one of them.
All this back and forth about some gambling debt is getting old. Funny how it is dragged on by two unemployed posters: YLB and Roger Rodent. Where’s the irony in that?
re 94: Pay your gambling debt, you lying sack.
Where’s the irony in that?
@95 Duncan dumbazz:
Hey fuckface, wrong Mark. Try the other one.
I finally saw this morning the video of HRC’s “assassination” mention in SDak (having only heard it before). I don’t believe for a second that any unbiased or thoughtful person could see it as anything other than what it was, a reminder that primaries do indeed go into June, when the 1968 California primary was so sadly experienced. Her whole comment was directed to the naturalness of campaigning into June. Robert Kennedy, Jr. said this himself, and if anyone has a right to object it is he.
For me, the high antagonism of the Obama supporters on this site are a sign of a personal animosity towards HRC that Obama has never shown. He knows that half the voters in the party support her. He is also smart enough to know that virulent and unreasoning attacks on her are likely to have serious negative consequences when he needs their votes.
Personally, I have also observed that the Obama supporters I know take a messianic attitude toward him, give him an untouchability that I haven’t seen in many years. It is not an attractive trait in his supporters. Luckily, he himself does not show that strain of personal perfection that his supporters seem to feel is an essential element of his attraction.