Clinton: Gore And Kerry Lost Because They Were Viewed As Elitist

Speaking to reporters in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said that previous Democratic nominees lost in the general election because they were viewed as out of touch with the nation:

Pressed on whether she truly believes Obama is an elitist, Clinton called him "a good man," but recalled the narratives of the 2000 and 2004 president election.

"You don't have to think back too far to remember that good men running for president were viewed as being elitist and out of touch with the values and lives of millions of Americans," she said.

Clinton later reiterated the argument at a CNN sponsored forum. Watch the video:

At the same CNN forum, Barack Obama said that he thought Gore had won the 2000 Election. Watch the clip:

Related: Clinton Says It's Not Relevant Last Time She Went To Church Or Fired A Gun

Comments

[plages]

Won't someone go and retrieve the hook, and get these two off of the stage! Could be that Randi Rhodes was correct in her stand up comedy performance!

[robXdion]

So she went to church on Easter but doesn't go otherwise? And Gore and Kerry lost because they were seen as too intellectual in an anti-intellectual country. Americans feel more comfortable with a leader just as dumb as them. Many have security issues (bigger car, house, breasts, etc) and are easily offended by someone smarter and classier than them. US history is littered with great minds that weren't elected President because the other guy was a more on the peasant level. Enter George Dubya.

[bish66]

At least she went to church on Easter. Obama went to the Virgin Islands for a week and has not visited his church all year. And I thought the Trinity Church was soo dear to his heart....

[CindyM2008]

I'm going to correct this LIE that the above poster just falsely and deliberately stated.

Senator Obama was on vacation in the Virgin Island for THREE days. Now I'm sure that somewhere in la-la land three days equals a week, but to those living on earth and can actually THINK and do basic math, we know differently.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/24/obama-hits-st-thomas-meets-with-governor-unofficially-2/
Oh and last I heard, he attended his church in Dec 2007.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/17/america/Obama.php
So again, you've made another error in your calculations.
December 2007-April 2008 = 4 months NOT 1 year as your earlier post asserted.
OOPS!

[SCG]

dis·in·gen·u·ous (dsn-jny-s)
adj.
1. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating: "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who ... exemplified ... the most disagreeable traits of his time" David Cannadine.
2. Pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated; faux-naïf.
3. Usage Problem Unaware or uninformed; naive.

disingenuous vs. elitist

I know which I'd choose.

[moderationsmuse]

I think Gore and Kerry viewed themselves as elitist, as does Mrs. Clinton as well. She wants to "fight for us," she says in a recent ad she approved. She cannot understand people not wanting her to "fight for" them, but rather to listen TO them. Clinton and these other elitists believe that political ideas arrive from the top down. They no longer "represent" the people, they "empower" them.
Now, what is this puzzling thing she says about Gore losing because he was out of touch. He very nearly won. (I voted for Bush, by the way.) The election was for all practical purposes a statistical tie. It had to be resolved in court because of the slim differences between vote counts and the competing strategies for interpreting them by each party.
Mrs. Clinton is a mystery! That's for certain. She sees things in a most peculiar way. It reminds me of her 35 years "experienc­e." I'd be more willing to believe she had dodged sniper fire in Bosnia than that she has 35 years experience.
She was first lady lots of times, first in Arkansas and later in Washington. It still never fails to amaze me that she has gotten this close to the White House. Oh, Democrats! What has become of you!

[HumeSkeptic]

What a dumb thing to say.

[TroubleNYC]

She's stating that the reason Gore and Kerry lost (note, Gore didn't REALLY lose) was because they were viewed as elitist?

Really Hillary? REALLY?

[CaptainSunshine]

Has anyone loved this party any more than Bill and Hillary Clinton? *sarcasm*

We all know that Kerry ran an elitest campaign of getting rid of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. *sarcasm*

We all know that Gore lost because of his elitest views and not the Lewinsky scandal. *sarcasm*

If she wanted to put the truth out there, she would have agreed with Senator Obama and said that the Republicans have been able to manipulate bitter blue collar American voters by using wedge issues such as immigration, gay marriage, gays in the military, and gun control.

Somehow posing with a gun and pretending to be a gun lover is a better than telling the truth.

[naschkatze]

And Ohio was to Kerry in 2004 as Florida was to Gore in 2000. Kerry won, but Ohio was stolen from him.