Christine O'Donnell Stumped By Question About Democratic Senators, But Sends Hillary Clinton Some Love (VIDEO)

Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell found herself stumped on Wednesday night when she was asked to name a Democratic senator she would feel comfortable working with if elected to the chamber in November.

The latest verbal gaffe from the tea party-backed contender came when she squared off in a debate against Democratic opponent Chris Coons. Via ThinkProgress, a transcript of the exchange between O'Donnell and the forum's moderator:

MODERATOR: Give me a name, Christine, of someone in the U.S. Senate, across the aisle that you're comfortable working with.

O'DONNELL: [Pause] Well, she's not a senator any more, but I would definitely have to say Hillary Clinton. [...]

COONS: One of the real risks as we go forward, is that if we elect someone who literally cannot name a single currently serving senator in my party with whom she would work -

O'DONNELL: Senator Lieberman!

COONS: Someone who has no experience crossing the biparistan divide.

Lieberman was once a Democratic senator. But since 2006, when he was ousted in the Dem primary by the more liberal Ned Lamont, he has been an independent -- technically, he won reelection on the "Connecticut For Lieberman" party ticket -- who caucuses with the Democrats.

O'Donnell's choice of Hillary Clinton was the latest in a string of the GOP hopeful's references to the former first lady, who -- as O'Donnell alluded elsewhere in the transcript -- gave up her Senate seat last year to become the Obama administration's secretary of state.

During appearance on Fox News earlier this month, network host Greta Van Susteren asked O'Donnell if there is any Democratic figure she admires.

"Hillary Clinton!" O'Donnell replied. "I've gotten a lot of flak from Republicans for saying that I admire Hillary Clinton. I'm not saying I endorse all of her policies. But she's a strong woman operating in a man's world. She's the secretary -- I mean, she's -- she was a great senator. And I think she's holding her own and she's doing it well, and she's gotten a lot of criticism that critics wouldn't give to men. So I admire her for that."

In an interview with CNN the same week, O'Donnell suggested she's "seen many Hillary for President ads running" despite the lack of any evidence for a 2012 campaign by the onetime presidential candidate.

And the day before her come-from-nowhere win in Delaware's GOP Senate primary, O'Donnell said, "I do want to point out that we have broad based support, we've got a lot of Hillary Democrats working behind us -- with us -- because they're frustrated with what this administration is doing."

CNN's Jessica Yellin, also took notice of O'Donnell's many reference to the former first lady. When asked, O'Donnell told Yellin she "would love Hillary Clinton's endorsement."

Comments

[Heatshield]

12:14 AM on 10/25/2010

No matter what you think about Christine O'Donnell, just look at who she's running against. (Oh, and there's no "church and state" in the Constitution).

[bynddrvn5]

07:35 AM on 10/23/2010

Christine O’Donnell doesn’t understand the 1st amendment and can’t name a single sitting Democratic senator? It is very clear that she can only parrot Tea Party talking points, without understanding a single word of what she is saying.

She points to the Cap & Trade policy as the reason a moderate Republican was kicked out by the Tea Party, but then she mentions that she will work with Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton backs Cap & Trade, and in fact stated her support in her Presidential campaign!

In fact, Hillary stands for everything Christine is not - intelligent, well educated, etc. You are no Hillary, Christine O'Donnell!

[Heatshield]

12:15 AM on 10/25/2010

Thank "Our Creator" that she's no Hillary Clinton. I wouldn't wish that on anybody... even Bill.

[Martha12]

05:24 PM on 10/22/2010

O'Donnell admits using campaign money to pay her rent;

Her attorney maintains someone with the Federal Election Commission approved the arrangement, although the commission's rules say candidates can't use campaign money for their mortgage or rent "even if part of the residence is being used by the campaign."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah right.

WHO from the Federal Election Commission approved the arrangement, WHEN did they approve the arrangement and WHY would they approve this arrangement, that goes against their unwavering rules, WHERE is the documentation on this "alleged" approval, WHERE is the application that O'Donnell sent for this exception to the rules, and WHAT criteria and exceptions does O'Donnell know about that the rest of the country doesn't?

Just as O'Donnell claims that there is no separation of church and state in the constitution and insists that she "exposed" her opponent for not knowing this during the debate, her lawyer may say whatever he wants as well, it just doesn't mean that he is telling the truth.

Imagine that, a lawyer telling a lie!

If she gets caught in this lie she will not be able to hide behind her lawyer, she WILL be held accountable for her own actions.

And just for good measure:

Must-See Ad:

Dem Chris Coons running agsnt Christine ODonnell - involves her claim re MICE with functioning~~~~~~~~~~~~ HUMAN BRAINS~~~~~~~ http://tpm.ly/dAPqey

[menopatza1]

03:43 PM on 10/23/2010

And she got the mouse brain right? You're fanned for that gem! We thought we had seen the apex of stupid in the Bush years.

[JMW IV]

04:50 PM on 10/22/2010

If Christine O'Donnell looked like HIlary Clinton, she would be completely irrelevant. she wouldn't even be a candidate.

not even Tea Partiers would care what she had to say.

She is attractive and photogenic, and she somewhat resembles Sarah Palin (another complete dunce who happens to be very attractive), and that is why she gets attention.

Feminists here can blast me for that, but I am convinced. she does a horrible disservice to real intelligent, competent women everywhere.

[rbeck]

04:38 PM on 10/22/2010

Wow, this woman makes Sarah Palin look like a Rhodes Scholar. Oops, maybe not. Lost my head for a minute.

[MiraMcB]

04:22 PM on 10/22/2010

Nothing this woman does or says surprises me any longer. She is ridiculous. Completely untutored, unintelligent - so much so, I don't even think she herself realizes how completely unequipped she is for the job she is trying to get. What's the most damning, to me, is that she doesn't even care. She seems to feel she can just "wing it" when she gets there - if she gets there. A quick look at her professional and personal history clearly shows this is how she has been living her life all along. If Delaware elects her, they deserve everything they get with this woman. I don't think she will last long, if she does get elected.

[aphextwin07]

03:50 PM on 10/22/2010

stupid is as stupid does.

[Sweet Leaf]

03:42 PM on 10/22/2010

“No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.”

- PJ O’Rourke

[DrBlunt]

07:31 PM on 10/24/2010

I Hear Ya!

~>>>~~~ 279 ~~> F & F

[texadonkey]

03:35 PM on 10/22/2010

She wishes she had the power of Hillary.

[duvster]

03:32 PM on 10/22/2010

I've said it before, I'll say it again .This woman is irrelevent. worry about those TPers who have a shot at
getting elected and screwing up this country.

[EuropeWindAndFire]

03:20 PM on 10/22/2010

If politics is corrupted through and through, there is no need of knowledgable and intelligent politicians. Politicians don't need the shill anymore of attending to the needs of the people. Just an image of "being like you". No magic, no capabilities. Just like you. And as long as you don't really interest yourself in politics, why should they? They want their shills as cheap as possible, for they want a higher return on investment too. Cheap shills for their high return on those cheap "investments".

[mdbeard41]

03:20 PM on 10/22/2010

Enough already with everyone wanting to quote the Constitution lately. It is so trendy now, trying to prove how smart they are by quoting it. Our fore fathers were intelligent and educated men. However, they were not perfect and the Constitution is not a perfect document either. There is no way they could have foreseen and addressed all of the issues regarding pornography, assault weapons, border issues, religions, privacy issues with the internet, etc... Stop trying to go back to what our "Original fore fathers meant" as if they were infallible. We have progressed and evolved past 1789, I hope. More importantly when it is necessary to reference The Constitution it is important to have more than a third grade understanding of The Constitution. Just like with the Judicial system it not perfect but I think it is the best one around.

[RobH413]

03:12 PM on 10/22/2010

I read the headline and thought it couldnt be true. I then read the article and found out I was right. The headline and the story dont match. She was asked to name a Democratic senator she would be comfortable working with. She went off on the Hillary tangent, but there was no follow up question to inquire whether there is anyone currently sitting that she could work with, and there certainly was no question presented as to whether she could name a Dem senator. And yet the comments to the article seem to buy in to the headline rather than the actual story.

I think it would be a sad reflection on the state of our politics if this woman were to be elected. But it is also a sad reflection on the state of politics AND journalism that this inaccurate headline is treated by readers as if it were a true story and then used as the basis to attack her intelligence. This candidate has enough problems and there are plenty of legitimate honest ways to discredit her. Why make stuff up? The credibility of the legitimate attacks on her qualifications is diluted when people attack her for something like this. Not even Coons suggested she couldnt name a Senator, just that she didn't name one she would work with. Isnt that bad enough?

[RobH413]

03:16 PM on 10/22/2010

Just to clarify, it was the headline on the link page, not on this article that I saw as misleading - suggesting that she could not name a Democratic Senator AT ALL. But I think that the phrase "stumped by question" on this headline is also a bit of a spin job.

[rossrannells]

04:20 PM on 10/22/2010

The fact that she named Joe Lieberman as a democratic senator, shows that here political knowledge is at least 4 years out of date...

[Pause4Thought]

03:11 PM on 10/22/2010

These Tea Party Republicans...have been brought to your by the Club for Growth and all of the special interest groups...if elected will already be going to Washington DC beholding to the special interest that sent them there!

[unhipcat]

03:07 PM on 10/22/2010

What about Joan of Arc?
She had leadership skills and all. Granted, she's not a sitting Democratic senator, but I think Christine could feel comfortable working with Joan. If she could speak French.