Clinton Ignores Questions About Wright And Superdelegates

NY Times:

Ever since Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton started running for president, her team has argued that she is more electable than Senator Barack Obama: more experience, as first lady and senator; more spine, after years fighting Republicans; and more popular with key voter blocs, like women, Hispanics and the elderly....

Mrs. Clinton, of New York, sidestepped reporters' questions on Thursday about Mr. Wright and electability. At one point, she turned from a reporter, pursed her lips and shook her head no. A spokesman said later she was unaware of anyone involved in the campaign pushing the Wright issue with superdelegates.

As a matter of strategy, top Clinton allies and advisers said Thursday they were treading carefully when it came to talking about Mr. Wright with superdelegates, the elected officials and party leaders whose votes could determine the Democratic nomination. They said they were aware of the potential repercussions of pressing the issue too directly but were convinced this was going to be a key factor in superdelegates' making a judgment on Mr. Obama's electability.

Read the whole story: NY Times

Comments

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

What I'd like to know is who gave these tapes to Hannity? It's not like he's figuring out things on his own. It was either the Clinton campaign or the GOP. We know there is no investigative journalism at FOX.

[mix2007]

Brian Ross of ABC broke this. Word at Politico was that his "opponents" were pushing this and ABC finally ran with it.
The timing suggests they wanted it before Ohio, but ABC waited so it wouldn't affect the election.

I'd say this is HRC, because the GOP would have loved to use this in October.

But ABC probably won't give up who their sources are.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

Thanks for the information. The Clinton camp must have bought the tapes a long time ago and poured through them so they could spoon feed it to Brian Ross. These people will resort to anything.

Clinton's "fellowship" is pretty weird:

Mother Jones article on Clinton and "The Fellowship":

http://www.motherjones.com/cgi-bin/print_article.pl?url=http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html

The Atlantic article on Clinton and "The Fellowship"

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200611/green-hillary

Harpers article on "the Fellowship"

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2003/03/0079525

[darlamc]

Wow- HUFF PICK actually picked a pro Hillary comment.

According to Senator Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe, "If Sen. Clinton wants to have a discussion about electability and vetting, we're happy to have it".
www.politicalamnesia.blogspot.com

[bitabingbitabangbitaboom]

The Clintons only true validity might well be an egocentric view of reality...­..........­..........­....

[snowcat]

Clinton campaign raised 16 million LESS than claimed in February!!!

http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=926

[NeverRepublican]

I think Hilliary should get 30 minutes of FREE AIR TIME ON TV...just like Obama did for his "religion " speech.

Why did Obama get 30 minutes of free air time? And to make it worse he spoke about "religion" and race. I can see the race piece...however, re-run Martin Luter King anyday...this is a new era.

RELIGION DOES NOT BELONG IN GOVERNMENT

Obama did not deserve a FREE RIDE on TV. If Obama would have paid for that spot then I would have respected it.

Now...to keep it fair...let Hilliary have 30 MINUTES OF FREE AIR TIME..and I supose, McBrain-less should get 30 minutes as well to reiterate his incompentencies.

[LeftLeaner]

Very good point, surprised I didn't think of it.

You are correct.

Equal time for ALL candidates.

BRILLIANT

[resonate]

PLEASE! What about her two hours paid time on the hallmark channel. You call that fair usage?! Mass media has bashed Obama and highlighted Clinton. Thank god he got that 30 minutes of air time because that was an important speech for the American people to see. Too bad most media outlets cut it to crap after the original delivery and only gave out of context excerpts that favored clinton and shaded Obama as the "black candidate" as if that is undesirable.

Obama 08!
Watch videos of Obama on all kinds of issues PLEASE:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=900C5EDCAF3C292A

[Eminem]

How elementary do you sound? Like a kid whining that he didn't get the same amount of time on the slide as another kid. Do you know for a fact that it was FREE AIR TIME or is it easier to speculate like it's the gospel truth! That's a huge problem with the mainstream and anonymous comments on blogs. People think if it's said on the "news" (and I use the term loosely) or posted on a website, then it must be true. Do yourself a favor and know the facts before spouting off on something!

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

Apparently Obama supporters are the children... Could have fooled me with all the whining and tantrums on this site by Clinton supporters.

[rojo7449]

Obama got all 60 minutes with Larry King last night, and all kinds of air time the Friday before. These controversies create a great deal of face time for Obama. I would like to see equal time for all the candidates.

[sedonakaren]

The reason you've seen more of Obama this week is because of all the trash that's going around about him. I venture to say he would have been perfectly happy to not have had to deal with the issue of race at this time.

Obviously it had to come out at some point, however, and he dealt with it like a true leader.

Hillary and Bill Clinton have been "sucking the air" from the media for months. Are you kidding in asking for "equal time?" They are ALWAYS getting their faces into the news, because they're so controversial. McCain is not in the news much because he's finished with his run for the nomination, did you notice?

I would personally like to see a whole lot less of all of them and get this over with.
OBAMA 08

[efranklin]

Explain to me why Hillary can't give a similar speech on race or gender? I'll tell you why. For one, she opposes speeches as a matter of course. Her slogan right now is "solutions *not* speeches". Perhaps she recognizes the immense power of a well-crafted speech now?

[sedonakaren]

Hillary continually talks about all her "experience" and "solutions." Well, some of us don't see either one from her. If we allow that she has "35 years of experience, " wouldn't one think she would have accomplished something major by now?

I used to admire the fact that she attempted to give us a health care package. She failed because she did it as the Clintons always do things....secretly. That's the reason when she went to offer it, nobody would buy in. She had never included the opinions or suggestions of anyone else in crafting it.

Did you ever wonder why, after learning what she did wrong, she never tried again? I'll tell you why. She began to accept large sums of money from the insurance LOBBYISTS to help convince her to leave it alone the rest of the Clinton presidency. We might have had insurance for everyone 16 years ago, had she not be bought off by special interest groups.

[madridwontgodown]

some of these comments are just getting stupid. I refuse to believe some peoples bulbs arent that bright. Anybody with half a brain would NOT step on a landmine (wright) after seeing what it did to someone else. Common sense, thats all, no special black arts, special african or haitian witchcraft, druid potions, rovian tactics or clintonian machinations. ITS JUST COMMON SENSE.

[fatherof5women]

Obama Campaign: Just Words
At this point, it’s no secret that the Obama campaign is in political hot water given the news stories of the last few weeks and is desperate to change the subject.
The ground is shifting away from them and their response?
First, disenfranchise voters - Prevent new votes in Florida and Michigan. Stop voting in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Oregon, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, Kentucky, South Dakota, Montana, West Virginia and Indiana.
Second, peddle photos of President Clinton shaking hands with Reverend Wright less than 48 hours after calling for a high-minded conversation on race. Well, President Clinton took tens of thousands of photos during his eight years as president. Stop the presses.
Third, accuse our campaign of having something to do with Senator Obama’s passport file being breached, a reckless charge that has zero merit.
Fourth, continue attacks on Senator Clinton’s character in an effort to implement what the Chicago Tribune called a full assault on her ethics.
Fifth, stonewall the press: no tax returns, no state records, no answers about the inconsistencies in the Rezko story.
So it’s not a pretty sight - it’s all part of a pattern of just words.
Senator Obama talks about voter participation while actively disenfranchising millions.
He calls for high minded debates while practicing lowdown politics.
He promises a different kind of campaign while attacking Hillary’s character.
He promises transparency while hiding basic info and stonewalling the press.
It’s no wonder that Americans are coming to see that for all of his lofty rhetoric, Senator Obama’s candidacy is really just words.
It’s no surprise that Americans are expressing serious doubts about his ability to answer the 3am call.
It’s no wonder that top journalists are calling the Obama campaign desperate, saying that it’s amateur hour in Chicago.

[NeverRepublican]

Thank you...I agree totaly.

Clinton '08 for me.

[Jimmyboyo]

Your support of your candidate is admirable

BUT

It is reality time

-Obama leads the pledged delegates by an insurmountable margin
- Obama leads the popular vote by 703,000+ which is also almost insrmountable
-ALL interviewed supe D's that have not comited yet have ALL said that they will NOT overtrn the will of the people

It is over. Kudos to Hillary for going farther and higer than any woman has in ameican history.

Obama is the dem nominee

[Eminem]

You say "our campaign" like you have some key position. Hillary Clinton doesn't give two cents about you unless you're the ONE vote that could win her the election and big hint...YOU'RE NOT! Like I've said before, just because you type a long post full of innuendo and un-verfied gossip doesn't make it the truth. Unless you've got documents and firsthand knowledge of all this MESS you allege, then do me a fovor and go read a book...get some REAL knowledge and improve your life.

[clemo]

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html

There's a reason Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she's a lot more vulnerable than Obama.

You can find all about it in a widely under-read article in the September 2007 issue of Mother Jones, in which Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet reported that "through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as "The "Fellowship," also known as The Family. But it won't be a secret much longer. Jeff Sharlet's shocking exposé The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power will be published in May.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080331/ehrenreich

[atila]

i'm sorry this is stronger than me....i really respected her in the past,i can't understand this urgency to win whatever it takes...she became her worst enemy.....

[NeverRepublican]

Tell me what person running for president has NOT HAD THE ATTITUDE of COMPETETION to win the nomination?

I don't and have not EVER seen one campaign with "glad hands" complimenting each other all the way to the final vote.

Is this the first campaign you have ever payed attention to?

[frustratedinohio]

Atila, Can you say "close race". He has 49.5% and she has 46.9%. If she pulls out of the race it's a big deal for 12,577,409 people who want her to be President.

[Jeffomil]

As in ALL races, close doesn't count. He's got 10% more delegates. That's NOT close. He's got over 700,000 more popular votes. That's NOT close. And he's won TWICE as many states than Clinton. THAT'S not close either. "Close" is in your hopes and dreams, NOT in reality. I tell you what IS close: with the above numbers, she's thinking of him for her Vice President! That's insulting, arrogant and pretty CLOSE to MORONIC!!

[harriscrl3]

I find Hilary to be such a joke. See Obama's pastor for 20 years was controversial and still on Obama's campaign. Rezco was fuzzy but people felt that it was another achilles heal of Obama's. These are suppose to be Obama's problems that is KNOWN and BOTH have a Clinton connection that is UNKNOWN but for some reason Hilary thinks that make her more electable. Hilary should be grateful that Obama isnt wallowing in the mud like she is. Because if there is two things about Hilary that was Unknown how many more are there. How many more lies and deception of Hilary's that we dotn know about. That the republicans are salivating at revealing. If anyone who is vulnerable to being swiftboat is her and Bill Clinton. SO far they have been shown to be the RISKY deal. Hmm what's in those taxes another Bombshell?. I worry about the future I really do because this woman might find a way to get back into the White House and its a choice between her lies deception and making a mockery of the Executive Branch yet again Vs McCain war mongering and grouping of Al Queada terrorist, and extremist together. Either way it doesnt paint a hopeful future.

Carol

[snowcat]

could this photo of Hillary and Wright together be why?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/21/95038/2607

[RISEUPAMERICA]

that photo is taken at the same prayer breakfast meeting that Obama got their photo of bill and wright
and it is the obama camp that is pushing this "guilt by association" crap

obama is the one with a disgusting 20 yr relationship with this racist bigot!!......end of story

[Insignificance]

She's smart enough to avoid the questions because the media are just looking for more conflict to sell toothpaste with -- and to answer would allow the Obama supporters to say she is the cause of his problems when it's clearly of his own making. To sit there in that church for so many years, to take his children to that church so they could learn that hate too, I'll never understand it and it is no reason to trust Senator Obama. In fact, is it something the Senate Ethics Committee should look into because the pastor's remarks were clearly anti-American and shouldn't a Senator not participate in unAmerican activities?

[unsolved999]

First they tried to sell Obama as the "Black" candidate, then they tried playing off the Latino vote against the Black vote, now they are piling on Reverend Wright to scare off the working class white voters and get the Super Delegates.

[jorge999]

Hillary is like Bill, shameless.

[MNDADDY]

What does Clinton know anyway? She is just another "TYPICAL WHITE PERSON."