There will be blood...
Yep, the Dem fight is just heating up.
From washingtonpost.com/fact-checker:
"While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at WalMart."
--Barack Obama, Democratic debate on CNN, Myrtle Beach, S.C., January 22, 2008.
"While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at WalMart."
--Barack Obama, Democratic debate on CNN, Myrtle Beach, S.C., January 22, 2008.
"I was fighting against [Republican] ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."
--Hillary Clinton, Myrtle Beach debate.
--Hillary Clinton, Myrtle Beach debate.
This mean-spirited exchange between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Monday night's CNN debate provides two excellent examples of the rhetorical device of false comparison. Compare my record on (insert something positive you have done) with (insert something negative about your opponent.) Even if the underlying facts are more or less accurate, it is still a dishonest form of argument because it contrasts your best points with your opponent's worst ones. [..]"
Looks like Hillary and Obama are going to destroy each other, or die trying. She hits Obama with a radio ad implying he's a fan of Ronald Reagan, and he's hitting back with a radio ad saying she's a liar and it's her fault we're in Iraq. Absolutely fascinating how nasty it's gotten. And equally fascinating will be how the voters react to either or both of them.
The Righties are positively gleeful...and I would be too if it were a couple of theirs.
Nietzsche wrote (Beyond Good and Evil)--"In fighting monsters, one can become a monster. Stare long enough into the abyss, and the abyss begins to stare into you."
Some people say that the Clintons have been so relentlessly hammered by lies and distortions, shamelessly repeated over and over and over again, that they think this is the only way to win in politics.
There are also signs of a backlash in the Democratic party, especially among African-Americans, at the way Hillary and Bill have taken on Obama. Especially Bill, who is acting like a Little League parent on steroids.
Some people say that we Democrats just haven't seen a successful Presidential campaign since 1996, and we forgot what one looks like...that all the Clinton muscle-flexing should give us confidence that they will do what it takes to beat the GOP in the fall. Something that both Gore and Kerry failed to do. And were called wishy-washy because they didn't fight back nasty enough.
Maureen Dowd's column yesterday was really snarky -- "It’s odd that the first woman with a shot at becoming president is so openly dependent on her husband to drag her over the finish line."
I would like Hillary to muzzle Bill and see if she can win on her own...just like I said recently about wanting her to lose on her own, not just because the press bashes her more than anybody else, causing women to rush to her in sympathy.
Obama is treated with kid gloves by the media. And maybe his "golden boy" image went to his head. He certainly gets into trouble with his easy willingness to straddle all lines in order to be all things to all people.
Hillary's attacks were effective in that last debate...even though he had a good comeback or two, she had him stammering and stuttering. It's plain to see that Obama needs to learn how to defend himself better. That’s hard for me to ignore when thinking of him as a general election candidate.
If he's showing himself kind of rattled by both Clinton's as well as Edwards's criticisms, how is he going to hold up when the real swiftboaters slice into him?
For all of his likeable and inspirational qualities, I'm beginning to worry that Obama is still a little green at this stage. A debate is a verbal fight and you don't have the luxury of avoiding attacks. So, one can't "rise above it all" and stick to one's own uplifting speech. Instead, you have to parry and thrust quickly...get back to your positive message. Hillary is very good at that.
Well, if Hillary and Obama shoot each other down in flames, maybe they'll make a path for Edwards...no one could go wrong with him. Edwards will also pull over some moderate Republican voters who don't like any of their candidates. Not so with either Hillary or Obama. Edwards is the only consistent winner in polls pitting him against McCain.
Anyway, after the last 7 years who could possibly complain about any of these Democratic candidates -- it's mind boggling how apathetic most of our country has been to the most screwed up administration we've ever had.
