Leaked Clinton Camp Memos: Paint Obama As Foreign

On Friday the Washington Post reported that The Atlantic magazine got hold of internal Hillary Clinton campaign memos. Today the Politico posts a sneak peek. Some highlights:

On Jeremiah Wright: "Does anyone believe that it is possible to win the nomination without, over these next two months, raising all these issues on him? ... Won't a single tape of [the Reverend Jeremiah] Wright going off on America with Obama sitting there be a game ender?"

On attacking Obama's foreignness: "All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting that in a new light.

"Save it for 2050. ... Every speech should contain the line you were born in the middle of America American to the middle class in the middle of the last century. And talk about the basic bargain as about the deeply American values you grew up with, learned as a child and that drive you today. Values of fairness, compassion, responsibility, giving back.

"Let's explicitly own 'American' in our programs, the speeches and the values. He doesn't. Make this a new American Century, the American Strategic Energy Fund. Let's use our logo to make some flags we can give out. Let's add flag symbols to the backgrounds."

On Clinton's confused message: "The internal discord over whether to attack Obama led some of her own staff to spin reporters to try to downplay the significance of her criticisms. The result for Clinton was the worst of both worlds: The conflicting message exacerbated her reputation for negativity without affording her whatever benefits a sustained attack might have yielded."

On the much-criticized 3 AM ad: "In the days leading up to Ohio and Texas, the campaign kept arguing over whether to air the [3 a.m.] ad. With the deadline looming, Bill Clinton, speaking from a cell phone as his plane sat on a runway, led a conference call on Thursday, Feb. 28, in which he had both sides present their case. As his plane was about to lift off, it was Bill Clinton -- not Hillary -- who issued the decisive order: 'Let's go with it.' "

Comments

[Sloppyseconds]

Typical Clinton behavior: blame everyone but yourself.

[NoToGOP08]

Its a political campaign! What were you expecting? Valentine's cards?

[kay]

No. I'm actually ok with the strategy.

What surprised me is that the feminist icon deferred to every man on the campaign plane.

[SCG2]

PS Obama foreign policy adviser now speaking on C-Span Retired Capt. Paul Bucha

[SCG2]

With Michelle.

[Bettysdad]

Feminist icon?

I've been involved with the feminist movement for almost 40 years.

None of the women friends I've made all those years know of a single achievement Mrs. Bill Clinton has made.

[jamaica4obama]

bellepeppe­r02.. Do you recall Bill repeatedly saying "if you cant take the heat in the kitchen GET OUT"..it is all politics..­are you suggesting censorship­?..maybe she should have employed staffers who have some sort of integrity.­.

[bellepepper02]

This is not about censorship. It's about the legality (and the ethics informing it) of intercepting communications, about laws of privacy, laws concerning political sabotage. If you think reporting on leaked memos is legal and ethical because it has political value, then you must also think that it is both legal and ethical to plant a bug in the Clinton bedroom to find out what the Clintons 'really' planned to do about Obama. And that, while it was illegal for Nixon to wiretap the opposition party, it is perfectly ok for media to bug party HQ and campaign HQ. Doesn't there have to be a line drawn somewhere?

Campaign memos are closed door. Nobody should be allowed to get these memos/documents without a court-issued warrant. The media cannot sneak into closed door forums and report on them without the permission of the forum owners. If they do so, they can and should be charged with misconduct.

It's acceptable if some campaign insider had given an interview to the press and verbally gave an account of campaign memos. But to actually pass on the memos--that's not acceptable. It's campaign property. Much as I've come to dislike her, I hope Clinton takes the media to court on this.

As for the argument that it was Hillary's responsibility to employ staff with integrity--can anyone really know somebody else enough to vouch for their integrity come hell or high water?

So remind me again--why was Watergate impeachable?

[Bettysdad]

Your problem is with the CLINTON staffer(s) who gave the material to the media.

But, they're Clinton people, so there's pretty low expectations. If any.

Watergate was about obstructing justice, not the wiretaps, or the burglary.

Next time you want to post a long piece, find out what you're talking about.

[saltysea]

unless whomever leaked these memos signed an enforceable contract to not leak them, i'm not sure there's anything illegal about it. but it's a good question.

mayhill fowler leaked obama's clingy/bitter statement from a closed forum.

[jamaica4obama]

She have some nerve to accuse BO supporter of not helping her debt after her Gutter campaign meltdown.. Why don't her 18,000, 000 PUMA send her $1 each..

[scandals&skeletons]

Because they are down to 18

[StillIRise]

LOL

[redthreatchicago]

a-mazing.

[Tommygun264]

Because they don't exist.

[LisainNYC]

Ding ding ding!! We have a winner!

[Dreamers 101]

IDK ^-^ (shoulder shrug)

[mypov123]

Thank you!

[BWonka]

Because like her they are all in debt?

[JailNeoconVicts]

Aren't pumas the same thing as cougars? I thought they went for the younger guys...

:)

[SCG2]

I don't know what you'd call them. They have a tenuous grasp on reality that's certain.

[PumaAnn]

We always said that Hill-haters were really immature boyz, with mommy hangups.

Read these posts.

Wrong?

i don't think so. I try not to respond. It's too embarassin­g......

for you guys.

[ZimboChick]

no cougars hae a lot going for them

[bellepepper02]

I'm an Obama supporter, but really, there was something terribly unethical about the media publishing leaked memos in a political campaign, and I'm surprised Americans aren't jumping about it.

It's one thing to interview campaign workers about what's happening inside the campaign. At least, the candidate has room for manoeuvre, and can deny the report if they want to. But memos can't be denied, and they were written with the full expectation of privacy at the heart of a political campaign. They are 'closed door' forums. This is unacceptable in the same sense that a reporter, who has sneaked in undetected into a campaign meeting that is closed to others, cannot be allowed to report on what transpired. For me, this is equivalent to putting a wire tap in the Edwards' bedroom and reporting on their most intimate, private conversation.

if Watergate, taping your opponents' party HQ , was unacceptable, why is this ok? Isn't it the same thing? I think it is vile, and a truly sad reflection on American media ethics.

[ThunderclapNewman]

You're complaining about journalists doing their jobs.

[ckfan]

BINGO. There is nothing unethical about publishing these memos and e-mails. Clinton is a public official (Senator). Everything she and her camp does is fair game.

[doctorwang]

Complain to Atlantic Monthly. They are the ones publishing the memos.
There is also a major difference between taping someone's private conversation and a publication accepting leaked material from a campaign. Your comparison between Edward's bedroom talk, and the dialogue of an inept C!inton campaign, is rather silly (to say the least).

[bellepepper02]

Makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it, when I compare the two? The campaign memos were confidential information. Freedom of information doesn't go so far as tapping someone's bedroom because there's an expectation of privacy in one's home. Campaign memos are the bedroom (at the heart) of a political campaign. They are made with the expectation or privacy.

Or we can look at it another way. You can't report on bugged conversations in bedrooms because the information was illegally obtained (i.e by unauthorised entry, wiretapping, etc). Did Atlantic Monthly acquire this information legally? Were the documents the property of whichever campaign insider was involved for leaking, or did s/he obtain it by theft? The Atlantic Monthly, and whoever else is reproducing this story is passing on information obtained illegally.

The only thing that would even go close to justifying publishing illegally obtained material is if it disclosed a crime. There was no crime here. Merely your run-of-the-mill dirty political campaign. And show me one that hasn't been so.

[LisainNYC]

Me thinks these memos were leaked in order to give Hillary and Bill the message to stop whining about their treatment and get in line behind Obama.

It's a bit harder to complain that you are not being treated well enough, that you are not being given the proper respect, when your plans to label Obama an unAmerican elitist are laid out for the public to see.

[bellepepper02]

The leaking of the memos will ensure that the Clintons can't get behind Obama even if they wanted to. The public will, from now on, only see Clinton support of O as hyprocritical . They will have no value henceforth as Obama supporters (in terms of garnering votes for him). In the end, ONLY the Republicans will gain from this.

[MissDaphne]

oh, puhleeze.
you can't be serious. can you?

[PumaAnn]

It's Patti.....­.......jus­t as PUMAS said. She's the leak.

betch my last buck

[FACINGREALIT]

Patti was gone before most of the memos were written - TRY MARK PENN, who hasn't been paid.

[scandals&skeletons]

I would like to make a suggestion­.....

We should ignore folks who post references to O's citizenship. It is such a ludicrous subject to start with. The tr-oll-s who post it are simply seeking attention, a reaction or both. Believe me they are not worth giving the time of day much less the much needed attention they never received whilst youngsters.

[scandals&skeletons]

Your cooperation is much appreciated.

Thank you

S & S

[SCG2]

Howdy England! : )

[reliant1]

Yes, I agree. Besides, they may be rabid - for reals.

[kay]

OK. I have a question first.

Is a foreign-born parent a bar to the Presidency?

I've been Googling. This is a trick question :)

[scandals&skeletons]

I'm not even good with regular questions.

Answer please.

[HeIsTheOne]

Only if the parent is running for POTUS?

[PixieLeeInOC]

If a foreign-born parent was a bar to the presidency, that would have let out the first few presidents of the U.S.!

BTW, no, it's not. Only the candidate has to be born in the U.S.

[HeIsTheOne]

Agreed. Better things to write about.

Instead of Bill, Hillary should be the one to speak. Bill's old news.

Still hoping Wexler gets the VP slot.

[Okieborn]

Did America not watch Hillary's Good Bye Speech already ??
How many farewells does she need ??
How much time would the Clinton's have given Sen Obama at the convention ????
Sen Obama has "EARNED" this ! "NOT" the Clinton's !!!!!

[Tommygun264]

I think she is close to rivaling Streisand when it comes to the number of farewell performances.

[PumaAnn]

She's not going anywhere, sweetie.

Get used to it.

Hill IS the Dem party.

[NTO08]

So? It's over, move on...peopl­e say and do alot of things in campaigns.­..ZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZ.

[scandals&skeletons]

Ummm, I see your here.

[AdLib]

And when it's your candidate, we're supposed to move on but when it's 0bama...

[TrumanHugh]

That's it?? Not much there. I guess that's why she lost!

[kcmookie]

I can only speak for myself, but I have been so disgusted by the PUMA's and the rest of the Hillary supporter that I doubt I will ever consider voting for a woman again. I would have been okay with voting for Hill, but her inability to stop the nonsense that you guys put out there has been disgusting, delusional, and flat out wrong. The only way to quantify your behavior is to refer to "moving the goal post". You set a mark or achievement, and when you fail to meet that goal, you simply change it to suit your needs. It is Revisionist History at its worst. It is so disingenious as to leave a long lasting foul taste in the mouth of innocent bystanders. You damage your cause of furthering women's causes with you failure to accept defeat.

I am so disgusted that I am reaching the point of never considering a woman for political office ever again, and I am saddened and disgusted that your behavior could cause me to feel this way. Keep it up, go on, just keep denigrating the Demcratic nominee with your inability to accept your cause has lost. You disgust me.

[jsinclair]

Don't forget--86% of Hillary's female supporters are committed to Obama now.

The rest are probably a mix of fanatics, crazies, and Republicans. (Don't hate me, PUMAs, but seriously. Only one of the above would have supported Hillary and then choose McSame over Obama in the GE).

MOST of them--like Hillary herself--have conducted themselves very admirably after the disappointment of her defeat.

I certainly wouldn't generalize from a (small) bunch of crazy PUMAs and hold it against any of the likely-to-­be-much-be­tter women candidates in the future. That's even more crazy reasoning than theirs!~

[amazingdays]

Needless to say, this is truly a silly post and reads like an assumed pose. It hardly needs saying, but I'd vote for Nancy Pelosi or Barbara Mikulski any day of the week, for any office.

There are plenty of excellent male politicans and plenty of complete losers without a shred of characterr and not enough judgment to find their way out of a paper bag. In neither case is this due to their gender.

Surely you are too smart to rule out half of the human race based on one politician's failings. If, as is more likely, you are assuming a pose to bother the PUMAs, it's too obviously fake to be convincing. Let's just accept that Hillary did herself in and we didn't need these leaked memos to confirm it.

[kay]

Well, don't stop voting for women. That seems counterproductive.

Just don't vote for a woman BECAUSE she's a woman. That was always silly.

[danoj]

And just don't vote for hillary.

[HeIsTheOne]

Rachel Maddow 2012.

[scandals&skeletons]

works for me

[Tommygun264]

WooHoo! Rachel Maddow with Kent Jones as VP!!!

[Donnat]

It doesn't make sense to not vote for candidate just because they are female, just as it would not make sense to vote for Obama simply because he's black.

Hill was a good candidate, Obama was a great one. that's all there was to it. PUMAs should move on.

[StillIRise]

Neither Hillary nor the PUMA's represent the strength and beauty of the REAL women who are the backbone of our society. The PUMA's in particular represent the very worse, not only in women but the worse in the human species. They represent people who stoop to the lowest level to get their way, and who have no compunction about those they may be hurting in doing so, including the country itself. Not only are they not guided by a moral compass, but they seem to have NO conscience, no sense of reality and no sense of purpose, except to denigrate anything or anyone that does not conform to their perverted world view. There are many good women who do not share or embrace the values of these women who have so recklessly maligned the very spirit of our sisterhood.

They claim to be Democrats, but do not care about the Democratic Party and are in fact willing to destroy it if they can't have it their way. Likewise, they do not care about the future of our nation or the future of our children. They care only about themselves, their selfish and petty grievances, their blatant prejudices, and their hatred for anyone who doesn't see things their way, even though their way is based on nothing but lies. These are not the REAL women of America.

[doctorwang]

wow! great post......­....

[Dreamers 101]

Bravo very eloquent in your perspective and thoughts and I would like to thank you for this post.

Here is what I think of PUMA and there so called movement.

NOPUMA – Pointless Unity for Miserable A$$holes

[FACINGREALIT]

Very well said! Though very true, it will be hard to ever see another woman garnishing enough votes to be POTUS because just as their are prejudices against minorities - the actions of Hillary and PUMA will make many leery about having to go through this same insanity again, even if the woman is qualified. Which is why I've said Hillary and her little puma's have set the womens movement back 100 years. Their antics are almost unforgivable and it will take many years to overcome their divisiveness.

Whether they realize it or not - I think they have also sunk Hillary's political career because there are a lot of minorities in New York who will remember the slights and the threats and you can trust Karma will come back to haunt them.

[MissDaphne]

huh.
so, can someone explain it to me in language I can understand:
Why is Bill Clinton giving the "keynote" address on Wednesday?
puzzled,
Anita

[scandals&skeletons]

blackmail

[kay]

Because he was a 2 term Prez. I'm fine with it.

I hope he found an editor. I remember some loooong speeches.

[Tommygun264]

Because Barack Obama was and is the bigger person, perhaps to a fault.

[NTO08]

How ridiculous­...Clinton was the only Democrat to hold two terms of office since Roosevelt.­..he matters...­much more than Obama does now, and forever, unless Obama wins, does well, rights the economy, ends the war, and has two terms...ot­herwise, Obama is small fry to Bill Clinton for the duration.

[jsinclair]

It's not the keynote, right? I thought he'd be speaking about the VP (probably Bayh).

[Jezreel]

He isn't. He's speaking before the VP and we don't know yet what Sen. Obama has asked him to do. He might be asked to endorse Sen. Obama's candidacy. We'll have to wait and see.

[danoj]

Because O for some reason feels the need to pander to the only two people in his party that he should kick the heck out of the party. Worse thing for Dems this millenia is those two, and they will backstab O as soon as they get the chance. No clue why he c ontinues to pander to these two people.

[paixa3]

They are backstabing everyone but themselves. They are not even paying back campaign debt. To h*ll with them.

[tiger313]

HRC is a joke.

[BOBONDE]

O GREAT, AS IF BARACK DID NOT ALLREADY HAVE ENOUGH ON HIS HANDS DEALING WITH MC SAME, NOW HE HAS TO TELL HER AND BILL TO SHUT UP.

[kay]

It's been that way since the beginning. Obama versus The Establishment.

Prying babyboomers hands off the controls is tough, huh?

Good God. I've never been so ashamed to belong to a "age cohort".

Most selfish and self-absorbed generation in history, bar none. I'd like to disown them.

[scandals&skeletons]

Did ya ever notice that "The Establishment" is a bunch of older white men kinda like JM.

Surprising isn't it that they are so afraid of a young, charismatic, intelligent black man who wants to change the status quo.

[reliant1]

It looks like they are just tools...th­e idiots. Totally anti Hill remarks followed the info.

[AdLib]

So you don't feel so bad, 0bama is a Boomer too, at the end of the Boomer cycle so maybe less absorbed by it.

[reliant1]

OMG. this is .....filth­....

“things might get ugly if BO is nominated at the convention, but then determined to be ineligable afterwords”

In all earnest, let things “get ugly”.

It’s an “ugliness” that has been swept under the American rug for the last forty years that perhaps we need to see, once again.

Only after it is revealed, will Euro-Americans be able to speak openly and frankly about racial and ethnic conflicts in this country, where those conflicts are leading us, and how to resolve them."

[NTO08]

Obama IS the establishm­ent...as corporate as you can get...don'­t even try to paint him as anything..­.and yes, to most Americans, his background is simply ALIEN..not­hing less.

[reliant1]

I went and had a little peek at puma - this explains the barrage of citizenship doubts. They're sending this crap to every Sec of each state.

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/2057940/posts?page=5

there are lists of all the dnc rules committee members email - no wonder they are loathed.

This 'bigger hammer' method is so obviously self defeating.­..what are the big cats really up to?

arghhh why do I care ;)

[kay]

Well, relax, because as usual, they're wrong.

Bring back Larry Craig. That was at least entertaining. When they start to dabble in constitutional law, they're well out of their depth.

[TrumanHugh]

That "website" is like some whack job manifesto.­..don't they realize if there were any basis to what they're trying to prove that HRC and her campaign machine would have outed it MONTHS AGO?? After going up against Hillary, I am convinced there is no skeleton left in Obama's closet; he has be vetted by default.

[oscarp]

no skeletons? wait just a little bit, not only skeletons, entire collection of them are ready to come out, skeletons with bones and skin too, do I need to mention some names we already know?

[reliant1]

they're just so sick and so twisted. This is the foundation behind PUMA...no wonder they can show a trailer of their documantary and include a solicitation for murder...

I do not get these animals. I don't want to...

[doctorwang]

"That "website" is like some whack job manifesto.­.."
Scary, huh? Try going onto one of PUM@s blogs (like NoQuarter) and read the comments. It's mind boggling.

[PoliJunkie]

"It's like these people take PRIDE on being IGNORANT! I mean didn't he have to show proof before even running for POTUS. My goodness, his mother is an American citizen. Duh. What is their problem? Sounds like really poor desperation!

[kay]

They struck out on the birth certificate so they're now on this.

The most embarrassing part for me of the whole HRC-promoted birth certificate debacle was that a conservative website debunked it.

They're less credible than Red State. And, they're Democrats.

[Charmed]

PoliJunkie­......that one line fits so many different situations when it comes to the craziness.­..."It's like these people take PRIDE in being IGNORANT".­...that is the best line I've heard since.....­"a verb, a noun and 911"...

[nomobull]

hawaii last i checked is a state in america

[NTO08]

Obama has lied so much about himself, who wouldn't doubt his citizenship?
The man is a foreigner to most Americans, and nothing can change that perception.

[nomobull]

provide proof of his lies or shut the hell up

[paixa3]

Are you ignorant? ANYONE born in the USA is a citizen.

[Tommygun264]

You're bitterness has blinded you to reality. Give proof of his dishonesty, proof of his sexism. Just saying it doesn't make it so.

[jinjinpinti]

To you, "most Americans" means you, John McBush, Duhbya and any cranker freaks you can drum up to agree with your pathetic bloviations.

[StillIRise]

Foreigner ... exotic ... BLACK! It all means the same thing in the minds of people like you, but you're right ... nothing can change that perception as long as YOU are unwilling to change your worldview and the way you see others who are different from yourself. As it is however, your perception will always be blinded by the color of his skin, and since he will always be black ... a foreigner ... exotic ... that will be all you will ever see!

It's simple, but really rather sad that you choose to live in such a small, one-dimensional world.