Clinton to Obama: "Oh, Just Get Out of My Way, You Horrible Little Man"

The Clintons' strategy for the run-up to Super Tuesday is coming into focus, and there's something extraordinarily graceless about it. Both the ex-president and the New York senator led their Saturday night remarks with expressions of delight that "millions of Americans will make their voices heard" on February 5th -- Bill even gave a nasty little dollop of emphasis to the word millions -- as if the half-million-plus Democrats who turned out to vote in South Carolina were an accident of history. It may be good politics to spin tonight's electoral thumping as a small zit on the otherwise smooth face of Hillary's inevitability. But it's disrespectful, it seems to me, to voters and to the process. There was discourtesy, too, in Hillary's brush-off of the election night niceties: "I want to congratulate Senator Obama," she told a Tennessee audience, and then left skidmarks accelerating directly into her stump speech.

Back on the ground in South Carolina, Obama seasoned his soaring oratory with a few elbows. "We are up against the conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as President comes from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White House," he told the crowd, and: "We are up against the idea that it's acceptable to say anything and do anything to win an election." It was good to hear him make it clear: He came to play. The Clintons will surely fight like cornered ferrets from here on out.

Comments

[jerzyjc16]

It's changing by the hour. If Edwards endorses Obama and if Al Gore endorses Obama in the next couple of days it probably sends the Clintons into a paroxysm of sputtering vitriol. And that translates into Obama votes.

[smustaro]

I understand the need to be biased in the press, but for Heaven's sakes, must you all be so NASTY? Cornered ferrets? This is a living President & a Senator in good standing for the state of New York. Please have some respect for who they ARE, no matter that you're another Obama supporter.

[EinChicago]

Half a million may have turned out to vote in South carloina but almost 80% of every non African American voter group rejected Obama. That is something that needs to be fixed and pronto if he is going to be our nominee.

[Lisette]

"cornered ferrets"
I love it!
Perfect description of the Clintosa!

[Incredulous]

The Clinton tag team cage match has left the entire country with a bad taste in it's mouth. How sad to see an ex-president and a sitting U.S senator, from the left, stoop to fear-mongering and race-baiting. It's disgusting! We've come to expect this crap from Karl Rove's diciples, but the Clintons? Oh how the mighty have fallen! The Clintons have illustrated, beyond a doubt, the desperate need for political change in America, and are driving home Obama's political message of change. South Carolina voters resoundingly said "No!" to Hillary Clinton, and her little dog, too! People across the country are sick of this crap. The Clintons, like George Bush, are squandering what ever good will there might have been out there for them. And like George Bush, good riddence!

[JakeEasy]

Bill,
I noticed the title of your book: Mr Irresponsible's Bad Advice.

Very apt. Obama supporters appear to be both poor losers and poor winners. So what if Bill didn't spend 20 minutes telling Barack how wonderful he is? Did we see any graciousness in the winner's speech. Gloating and whining at the same time is a neat trick, but will it bring in the votes in the general?

When is he going to start his "uniter" thing?

[abroadabroad]

Wow. This has got to be the lamest Obama defense I've read yet, and that's saying something. So Hillary committed the unthinkable when she congratulated Obama and then (gasp) moved on to the topic of her own campaign. My guess is that, gee, she might not be as enthusiastic about Obama as some are. Otherwise she probably wouldn't be running for president herself. I'm not really all that excited about the prospect of Billary in the general election, but Obama's blinding halo is really starting to get on my nerves. It's actually a brilliant strategy, running around the schoolyard looking picked on and 'rising above it all' while his disciples all run to the principal's office to tattle on Hillary. I hope as president he will be able to look like more than an innocent second grader.

[StephenDedalus82]

Why is Obama's endless stream of meaningless platitudes about broken Washington (no one has ever campaigned on THAT before...) always described as "soaring rhetoric"?

[marignymitch]

Tracy Flick will not be denied! (Consider yourselves warned.)

[jazzman]

I keep seeing that scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where the dual, now Bill and Hillary, keep riding as fast as they can to get away from the posse but keep looking back and seeing that the posse, only in this case it's Obama, keeps getting closer. They then turn to each other and say, "Who is that guy?"

[PuddyKatz]

it has already started, the ferret like fighting. hillary has broken her promise not to campaign in florida and will now fight to "have their voices heard" at the convention. one set of rules for hillary and another for everyone else, promises and pledges mean nothing. either desperate or arrogant or perhaps both.

[Superfelo]

It will take a person full of the "vision thing"; it will take a person whose optimism is indomitable; it will take a person, who in the face of trials and tribulation has kept his faith, his candor, his good humor; and his ability to believe in the future.
It will take a President to get things done:
Barack Obama.

[JMEB]

Jon Stewart slams media for provoking campaign drama
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Stewart_slams_media_for_provoking_campaign_0125.html
Check out the video....classic

[JacktheBlogger]

You write that:

"There was discourtesy, too, in Hillary's brush-off of the election night niceties: 'I want to congratulate Senator Obama,' she told a Tennessee audience."

That is much more than Obama said after his loss in Nevada! He was so keen on letting what happened in Vegas, stay in Vegas - he skedaddled outta town without a word!

[Bilboo]

An Obama nomination would be a disaster for the Democrats.

I'm glad Hillary is fighting hard for the nomination (as is her right).

Maybe she can spare us a bloodbath at the polls in November. Unfortunately, most of the idiot, feel-good sheep in this party don't deserve her.