Convention Dispatch: Does It Always Have to Be About the Clintons?

Does it always - ALWAYS - have to be about the Clintons?

This is the question on Day 1 of the Democratic convention. About a week and a half ago, the Denver Post previewed the convention with a story about how the Clinton forces are attempting to make the first two days of this convention a celebration of the Clintons - and Clintonism. As one Clinton ally told the newspaper, "We want to make this all about her."

Now, on the first day of the Democratic convention, top Clinton aide Howard Wolfson has taken to the pages of The New Republic to publish a screed demanding Barack Obama use the convention to make amends with Bill Clinton. Wolfson writes:

"There is still work to do on the Bill Clinton front. He feels like the Obama campaign ran against and systematically dismissed his administration's accomplishments. And he feels like he was painted as a racist during the primary process."

As disgusting and disingenuous as this is, it is pretty predictable. The Clintons are doing everything they can to make this convention all about them - and to absolve themselves from the substantive criticism of both Clintonism and Bill Clinton's behavior on the campaign.

Yes, many of the Obama campaign's themes indict the Clinton record - and rightly so, because so much of the country has turned against Clintonism. In places like Wisconsin and Indiana, Obama turned the primary into a referendum on the Clinton-backed NAFTA-style trade policies that have decimated the heartland swing-states that will decide the 2008 election. According to polls by the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine and CNN, those policies are now wildly unpopular - and Obama is capitalizing on the populist anger they have fostered.

No, Bill Clinton was not "painted as a racist" - he was a racist during the campaign. He famously downplayed Obama as a new Jesse Jackson - a not-so-subtle attempt to tie Obama to all the unfair and racially-charged animosity regularly directed at Jackson. The Clinton campaign told the Associated Press that Obama was "the black candidate." And perhaps worst of all, Bill Clinton claimed the Obama campaign "played the race card on me" - a clear attempt to stoke the usual anti-affirmative action backlashes that mark so many campaigns.

That Clinton's top surrogates are now saying Obama's major task is to appease Bill Clinton - rather than, say, win the election - shows just how egomaniacal the Clintons really are.

What Obama should respond with is a very simple directive: President Clinton, please exit stage Right.

For more Huffington Post coverage from the Democratic National Convention, visit our Politics @ the DNC page, our Democratic Convention Big News Page, and our HuffPost bloggers' Twitter feed, live from Denver.

Comments

[wrabbitt]

We don't need the Clintons, send them back to Arkansas.

[gabbyone]

Happy to oblige and we will send our votes with her too. Happy now?

[KaAp]

If you think that you ought to vote for someone else nobody is saying that you should not ... however, I suggest that while you are leaving for Arkansas that you take a whole pack of coat hangers with you! The issue is not the Clinton's --- the issue is the future of this nation ...

[Teas]

I hate to break it to you but your not "all that" and if your stupid enough not to vote for Obama out of spite why don't you just not vote period!

[randomx6]

The only people pushing this line are Republicans, MSM, Maureen Dowd and you. Like many Obama supporters you don't recognize support when it is given. You want him to win? Stop attacking other Democrats and write about McCain and his policies. In other words, be a grownup. You won. Get over it.

[Texanna33]

Really! I've heard of sore losers but I've never seen such sore winners before!

Quit bashing Hillary and get to work at reeling in her voters....­insults will not get the job done.

[nomobull]

y thynk you should read twice before attacking

[michiganvoter]

Thank you for this excellent post. You have articulated my frustration about this hostage situation and I agree completely with your assessment. I am confident that, had Hillary Clinton won the primary election, Barack Obama would not have behaved in this way, and, more to the point, the Clinton's would never have tolerated it.

[MA4HRC]

But his supporters would have. Go back and read their posts.

As a black woman, the writer doesn't look black to me and I'm over people who aren't black telling me what is and isn't racist. Comparing someone to Jessy Jackson, isn't racist. You and the rest of the media, have played the race card. Obama's silence on the issue, only exaserbated the issue. Hillary Clinton also made reference to herself as the female candidate, does that make her a sexist?

[lafemme]

Good point re accusation of Bill Clinton as racist. That was created by reporters with gotcha mentalities that reduce real stories down to a-b-c's so that even morons can pick up on what's going on. Those of you who claim not to be morons should stop running with this fallacy.

[kevinw]

So your contribution to make the convention not be about Clintons is to write another tired article about how bad it is that it is about the Clintons. I have watched the convention coverage today and most of the interviews were with Republican balance people and most of the ads were McCain's. Perhaps before election day we could try to put some energy in fighting McCain.

[BubbaC33]

Bill CLinton is not a racist. Nothing he said or did during the primary was racist. And it is silly to argue otherwise, as Obama and his supporters have done.

[JoseyJ]

Very true. But in order for Obama to get the AA vote - he had to smear the Clintons as "racists."
That's a big reason this Dem family isn't voting for Obama.

[giacomo007]

WHEN... WHEN... WHEN????????????

When did Obama call Bill a racist??????

Do facts matter at all?

Whether or not the chattering class or certain Obama supporters ever said or implied that Clinton was a racist--Obama never did. His campaign never did.

I am really so sick and tired of this bickering over perceived slights or slurs. How many times must Democrats go over just who threw kitchen sink at whom.

Bill Clinton himself said it best: "If a politician doesn't wanna get beat up, he shouldn't run for office. If a football player doesn't want to get tackled or want the risk of an a occasional clip he shouldn't put the pads on."

Yet Obama played touch football, compared to Hillary's rollerball.

Fine. Water under the bridge. We (Obama supporters) are willing to put it behind us. Why can't you?

What is it this strange power that Billy seems to possess over a minority of Democrats who feel that they must defend his sulk? If he--and PUMAs--sink the Democratic Party, his legacy will never recover.

Is this insanity just programmed into the Democratic Party?

Maybe the Democratic Party needs to bring in a therapy squad to help PUMAs grow up.

[StillIRise]

PUH-LEEZE! First of all, Senator Obama never smeared the Clintons as "racist."

But more pertinent to your post and to your family's sentiments, America (including African Americans) heard President Clinton's remarks, not when he made reference to a fairytale, which I as an African American did not find racist, but when he compared Senator Obama's victory in S.C. to Jesse Jackson's. We were not told what he said or told how to feel about what he said. We actually heard it ourselves, and knew instinctively what his intent was. Many other Democrats, including President Clinton, have won in S.C., but he chose to make the comparison to Jesse Jackson because, like Senator Obama, Jackson is black; and in doing so, his attempt was to marginalize Senator Obama as "the black candidate.­" Perhaps what he didn't realize is that by marginalizing Senator Obama and reducing him to the color of his skin, he marginalized and diminished all African Americans, because we too are black.

Senator Obama did not take the black community's support from the Clintons; the Clintons gave it away. They gave it away a little bit at a time, through President Clinton's remarks, through Hillary's surrogates, and ultimately through Hillary herself. They took our loyalty for granted and took a risk ... and they lost! Senator Obama had nothing to do with it!

[generationyes]

Repeat: no one cares who your dem family votes for. Get to steppin'.

[michiganvoter]

You're kidding, right?

[certainot]

fox can't make it about the clintons, a few talking heads on TV and print can't make it about the clintons, but rove's talk radio monopoly can make it about the clintons and have been for months- it's a cakewalk for them now because progressives ignore talk radio and just can't figure out why the media seems so republican.

[AlligatorShuz]

Iam so tired of the Clintons they haven't realized that she didn't win the primary. Their hatred for Obama and the low down tatics she did in the primary gave the Republican party ammountion for the general election..­..

[BubbaC33]

This is a typical posting by an Obama supporter. Spin and distort the facts in order to attack the Clintons. I wish my tax accountant was as creative as Obama supporters have been.

[going2ireland]

No spinning there - just straight factual talk.

Take off your blinders. You will be shocked at the reality of the entire situation. It won't be pretty for Clinton supporters, but as long as you keep your blinders on, you will never be able to face facts.

[JoseyJ]

Sirota is copying the corporate media reporters and pundits that manufacture conflict involving the Clintons - to increase ratings and viewership.
The Clintons don't hate Obama - but our Dem family won't vote for Obama because of all the race-baiting he encouraged during the primary - and his false accusations of racism against the Clintons everytime they sneezed.
There are Obamabots who STILL don't know it took Pres. Johnson to implement Dr. King's goals.
But hey - don't try to educate them because they'll merely call you a racist.

[StillIRise]

On every occasion that Senator Obama was asked about the charges of alleged race-baiting, Senator Obama said, again and again, that he did not think race was a factor in any of the comments by Hillary, Bill or anyone else in Hillary's campaign. It was the media, not Senator Obama, who exploited these incidents and made an issue of them, and it was other people, not Senator Obama, who perhaps made the judgment that Senator Obama himself would not make. He tried, against all odds, to keep race out of this election, to compete not as a "black man," but as an American. But race kept coming up anyway, in soundbites, in off-the-cuff comments, in insinuations and unfounded accusations, and finally in the blue-collar communities who vowed that they would never vote for a black man for president. But through it all, Senator Obama NEVER called anyone a racist!

You speak of educating oneself, but education means nothing if one is unwilling to embrace reality and truth.

[factanonverba]

Obama played the race card, not President Clinton. Get your facts right.

Here's a note: In the past two months, Obama has lost 11 points among former Hillary supporters and more each day. Look at his unfavorable ratings in polls. They have skyrocketed.

This is one Democrat voting for McCain and like me there are 6 million more. Go PUMAs.

[Texanna33]

I don't get it! Yeah, Hillary and Bill got the shaft and I really do believe they did. But why vote for McCain? Any Democrat who really does care about this country must vote for Obama. How does voting for McCain undo the disrespect and smearing by the media of the Clintons?

Don't cut off your nose to spite your face!

[dukelady66]

I understand HRC supporters are angry, but do any of you place any part of the responsibility for her loss at the feet of the campaign staff and her executive ability? By their own admission they were "dysfunctional" and "unhappy". There were factions between Bill folks and her folks that were never solved, and they squandered a lot of money and time. How could they have no plan that involved anything after Feb 5? How could Mk Penn not know that Dem rules were not Repub rules if he'd been around through the Bill years? As an executive, how/why didn't she pull the ranks together and put people in their place? (Bad CEO behavior often leads to fatal outcome for the company) Plus, the canards about the sniper fire showed a refusal to tell the truth instead of constructing reality. It really reminded me of "I did not have relations with that woman..."

I respected HRC for years, but I have a hard time with her "wide-eyed ingenue" rush to victimhood when the cutthroat game she helped create backfired against her. (Anyone recall Ickes on FL, MI?) So my real question is how could they let their collective hubris defeat her, then undermine what's left of his reputation? (IMO, the ABC Kate Snow interview was shameful..­.in light of her battlecry, "ready on day one")

Help me out here folks, not with diatribes but with dialogue. Thanks...

[Daps]

"This is one Democrat voting for McCain and like me there are 6 million more. Go PUMAs."

That couldn't put more towards hillary's debt than 50,000. Fly away, trolls.

[yaznaioutibia]

You may keep Obama from the Presidency, but I can solemnly promise you this, if that happens, Hillary will never ever be anything more than a Senator from New York, and as a New Yorker, I doubt she will be re-elected. And Bill, his BJs wil be all that is left. You and I are supposed to be people who support civil rights, women's right's, the constitution and all of the good things that America stands for. Should you blow this election over intense women's issues, we are all finished and who will suffer; not me, I am a white male, making 250,000 Dollars "or more" a year, not me. But I will probably give up after this if you succeed and get back to my premonitions. I wonder how much of this is racial even for you northern, enlightened women.

[smags72]

Well have fun with your skyrocketing costs for EVERYTHING under McCain, and I hope you don't have any kids or grandkids within DRAFT age. Oh, and how's Social Security working out for you or your family? Oh yeah, and don't forget to pay your extremely high taxes, unless you happen to be rich..... then you'll be rolling in it! Get with the program and vote Democratic unless you wand 4 more years of insanity and further raping and pillaging of our treasury and the rest of our country!

[JShankel]

> This is one Democrat voting for McCain and like me there are 6 million more. Go PUMAs.

Say hi to Karl Rove. Tell him we're not buying his bullshit.

[KaAp]

Good for you ... go vote for McCain and when your children are mired in one of many war fronts, when you see mushroom clouds exploding in the horizon (let us not forget what happened in Georgia), when you cannot afford to pay your bills, or send your kids to school, when coat hangers become all the rage again (if you catch my drift), when the historic separation of the classes exacerbates itself even more ... you have yourself to thank ...
The issues in front of us are of policy NOT of personality ...

[peorgietirebiter]

I couldn't agree with you more David. I'm continually amazed by the number of Democrats who still defend Bill Clinton in the same knee-jerk fashion as I did during his last term. The Clintons are actually fortunate the right-wing just couldn't contain the ugliest and most vile aspects of their nature during his administration - because martyrdom has been serving the Clintons and their supporters very well.
I wouldn't want to count the number of "look what you've made us do" comments to I've read by the their true believers in the last year.

[873450]

Blackmail (pun intended) and greenmail (lots of $) is the price Obama must pay for the Clintons' support. While previously disdaining them, Obama now finds the Clintons repulsive. They feel the same way about him.

Obama desparately needs both Clintons to aggressively counter Repug plans to capitalize on their "politics of destruction" tactics and deliver Hillary's "Angry White Women - With Their Funding!" (AWW - WTF!) demographic. The Clintons' desparately need Obama to preserve Bill's legacy, maintain Hillary's standing in the party and pay off the substantial debts incurred during their poorly managed primary campaign.

The Clintons will come through for Obama after getting what they want/need. They can't afford not to. Bill will stop subliminally questioning Obama's qualifications and attack McCain with fury. Obama will mend Bill's bruised ego, which cannot tolerate being tagged racist despite his schem to marginalize Obama into a Jesse Jackson-type fringe candidate. Hillary will stop calling Obama "my opponent" and usher her AWW-WTF! camp into the DNC tent. In turn, Obama, will hug, kiss and wrap his arms around her, credit her for making him a better candidate, praise her politics and finally, gri his teeth while calling the Clintons mentors and paying their bill.

In the end, the Clintons want Obama to lose this election. Hillary will say, "I told you so!" and launch another run in 2012 with full DNC support. Of course, the Clintons' plan is contingent upon the U.S. remaining a democracy after McCain wins Bush's third term.

[smags72]

If that happens, I will NEVER vote for Clinton.

[lavisiter]

it's okay. Hillary already had the popular vote - that's MORE than Barack Obama.

The whole world didn't vote for Barack Obama but with this kind of media - I can understand how you got confused about it.

[wearyvoter]

If you get a chance, visit Harry Schearer's site, and listen last night's "Le Show." He covered this topic in his "Clintonsomething" sketch.

[going2ireland]

Please tell me. How far should Obama bend over trying to "appease" the Clintons?

They don't just want the adulation from the audience at and watching the convention. They want to be able to retain the power they had before their disgusting behavior during the primary. They want to retain Bill's legacy. All of this was their making. Why should Obama bend over farther than is necessary?

[873450]

"Please tell me. How far should Obama bend over trying to "appease" the Clintons?"
"Why should Obama bend over farther than is necessary?"

Oh, I don't know ... maybe because he wants to WIN?

[foolchild0]

The biggest lesson from this whole ordeal is just how immature and self absorbed both the Clintons are, which is phenomenal to me considering the amount of power and authority both have been entrusted with. I will be a happy man the day they finally fade from the public eye.

[lavisiter]

I guess you wouldn't mind if someone suddenly rushed in and tried to DESTROY all the tremendous works you had done in your lifetime! I don't think that's immature! I think it's smart to defend your record and I frankly don't know how the Clintons can continue being a part of the Democratic Party or politics!

[BCubedReg]

Because they believe in democracy and the democratic process. You don't.. you just want the Clintons to win, you don't care about democracy and the democratic process.

[TekMaestro]

Let's hope they can't!

"This way to the Egress!"

[stryker]

I am so tired of the Clintons. They are DONE! She blew the campaign. Whjy is that during the primaries, and even now, the repubs (see mccain commercial) and the likes of limbaugh and hannity have pushed for hillary? Do you honestly think she is the best candidate? The best candidate to be attacked by the right! If anyone would drive the republicans to the voting booth, it's a Clinton. Obama, Dean, and evry other Dem leader, Ted Kennedy, etc. must tell her to shape up or else. She either comes out and demands every one of her delegates votes for Obama or she is toast in the party. Forget 2012, 2016, NY senate, dogcatcher, whatever. I've had it with those narcissistic buggers. This is the Democratic Party, not the Bill & Hill Society.

[menshadow]

Well said.

[CitizenInformed]

I so agree. And until the Dem leadership gets a backbone and puts these 'narcissistic buggers' in their place, the Dems are setting themselves up for yet another loss in 2008. While the Clintons are pathological, the Dem leadership is just so incredibly weak.

[moxieme]

I have been a fan of Arianna Huffington since the mid-90's when she was just starting to make a noticeble journalistic impact. For a short time I thought she was a Republican. I am on Huffington Post at least once, almost daily. I mention this because I feel certain someone should be compassionate enough for these two individuals to give them a word of advice. There is no way Bill Clinton would have ever been elected President were it not for the support of African American voters, in either election. I believe the issue of RACISM, not race in America, should have been discussed in this election cycle as it has never been heretofore. Sen. Obama has chosen not to. It is said voters have short memories. Perhaps. When Bill Clinton was voted out of as governor of Arkansas after one term, his and Hillary's strategy was to apologize to the citizens of the state, admit their mistakes, ask for forgiveness. It worked. That was so long ago. If they diminish Sen. Obama as a candidate, if she aids Sen, McCain, covertly, or otherwise, they will not be forgiven by the African American voters. There is not an African American "leader" breathing that will convince us to elect her President. We will stay home and she will lose in 2012. Mark my word! Someone needs to tell them. Maybe Arianna will.

[lavisiter]

How quickly ruthless people move on and forget what people have done for them. How much Bill Clinton as President did for the African American community! Obama has used a lot of people as a stepping stone and left them behind without looking back. Rev. Wright is a good example! Sounds like you have a similar plan!

[baliboy]

Does every article you write HAVE TO BE about the Clintons?
Stop obsessing, Sirota...y­ou've written enough libelous and scurrilous stuff about them already to fill the convention hall.
For you to label Bill Clinton as a "racist"--do you know him, have you spoken with him (I have, multiple times), have you seen how he treats people?--is beneath reproach.
Support and shill for Obama all you like...but stop trying to do so by trashing the Clintons at every turn.
Guess you thought the period 1993-2000 was a terrible period for America and its standing in the world, huh? Especially compared to what transpired immediately before...a­nd especially after?
It truly offends me to read someone personally demeaning two public servants whose shoes he is not fit to lick.

[gotsomerice]

I agree with you baliboy. Can people save energy to attack McCain, instead of beating the Clinton horses to dead? How can we be united if there are so much in-fighting?

[lavisiter]

Frankly, I'd like to see the Independant Party succeed so we can move away from all these people who HATE and HATE and HATE the Clintons so much! And Sirota's article is just plain lacking in principle! That's the problem with the Democratic and Republican Party. These parties are OLD and needing serious help!

[Texanna33]

No Kidding! Everybody keeps saying the Clintons need to get over it. Seems to me they ARE over it but the media and all of the pundits can't or don't want to get over it. What else would they have to talk about. This article is just another example of the media being divisive. Truth is if everybody would quit writing about Clinton supporters carrying a grudge the grudge would probably disappear. Maybe more time should be spent writing about why Obama should be president, that might do more to win over Clinton supporters. I am a Clinton supporter. I am not waiting for an apology or anything else. I just don't want another 4 years of Republicans so since Clinton is not an option any more I will vote for Obama..

[undeluded]

Unreal, just simply unreal. The level of animosity and discord among so-called committed Democrats is just unbelievable. Any wonder this party’s been roundly getting its butt kicked by that other party over several decades? They've been criticized for being too adherent to whatever policy their leadership dictates, even when their leader’s a lying, inarticulate, war-mongering, idiot; but one thing about them, the issues that divide them tend to be substantive: abortion, gay marriages, health-care, etc. For Democrats, as usual, the issues are all too often petty, centered around personalities, gossip, and silly intransigence. And of course there's the ever present fear of losing, which almost always guarantees a loss, because decisions made aren’t based on winning, but on not losing.
Now, in a fit of self-mutilation, some Democrats are dismissing the accomplishments of Bill Clinton who presided over one of the most prosperous periods in the last 50+ years, citing: NAFTA’s the cause of the nation’s problems; the country wasn’t in that great a shape when he left; yadda, yadda, B.S., B.S. Hillary is the better choice; she’s long stood for positions Barrack’s now trying to nuance his way into. She’s rougher, tougher, and a better fighter. But like it or not, the choice has been made and we don’t want to find ourselves here four years hence, talking about our next great hope to unseat the incumbent Republican. Get over yourself and get with the program; unite or lose.

[going2ireland]

If you truly want to unite, you do no good service by the continued rhetoric that Hillary is the better choice. It is past that. And until the Clinton supporters stop throwing that into everyone else's face, there cannot be any unity.

Unity has to come from both sides, not just Obama's side.

[lavisiter]

Keep coming back undeluded and you'll get it! Democrats AND Republicans are OLD NEWS! This country needs change alright! And it begins with YOU? Register and VOTE Independant!