The Base Hillary Didn't Touch

Hillary Clinton's job, we were told, was to unite her supporters behind Barack Obama. The speech she gave had several mentions apiece of her chosen themes -- ending the war (!), universal health care, helping the middle class. In a speech that ran nine minutes past its end-of-prime deadline, there was room for Harriet Tubman and the suffragettes, the typical vignettes about the unforgettable people encountered on the campaign trail, even room for some gentle poking at John McCain. Only one thing was left out.

Three years ago this Friday began what UC Berkeley engineering professor Bob Bea has called "the greatest man-made engineering disaster" in the history of the United States. Bea with his partners devoted more than a year of pro bono work to investigating that disaster, which involved the flooding of up to 80% of a major American city for weeks, and the exiling of a third of its population to this very day. It was an event the response to which proved the commitment of the current government to a simple proposition: you can't rely upon the federal government to keep its promises, to come to the aid of a stricken region in its hour of greatest need.

Is it possible Hillary Clinton hasn't read or heard about what happened to New Orleans? Or was it just not on her poll-tested list of bases to touch on her home-run trot following a triple?

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Comments

[blue42]

it appal me how we treat this beautiful first lady. i did not support ms. clinton in the primary i voted for senator obama. but i did not forget all the doors she help to open for me a beautiful black woman. wether we obama supporters should realise is that the clintons did help to pave the way for all of us incldng senator obama. these children activist of the 60's that they were senator clinton and president they was their during the civil rights helping organize and protesting right along with so many other blacks,jews, whites and latinos. so like i said i am grateful for both clintons and i thank them. and instead of all these vicious attacks against her we should unite and protect her from all maliciousness that the gop will throw at her. including comparing that light weight sara paulin to her.

[bandithappy]

Respectfully, it is not Hillary's "job" to unify the party. Obama is the nominee. The buck stops here and all that. It's his job. He could have spent the convention talking about the issues rather than about "Hillary's supporters" if he had done the logical thing and chosen as his running mate the candidate who also got 18 million votes. I don't care how he or Michelle feel about Hillary. As our nominee it's Obama's job to win!

18 million plus 18 million equals 36 million.

Obama's speech last night was a truly great moment in American history. But, American history also tells us that electing a black man president is a very, very big deal. Given the swing votes Hillary supposedly controls or can influence, doesn't it make sense to give yourself every possible advantage in getting those votes?

I hope for all our sakes that he does it without Hillary. But, it was in Obama's power to stop the psychodrama in one fell swoop. By choosing Hillary as his running mate.

(Biden is fine. He didn't get the votes)

[spongebobby]

You are right, Hillary is not the nominee...­she just continues to act like it. She put on another disgusting display as the queen by trying to dominate the convention. She does not get it and either do you, apparently. She lost...get over it...to put her in as the veep would insure a defeat. She is not as popular as you think. If she had been, she would have won the nomination­...and she will do little to help Obama win. It will be a repeat of how she back stabbed Al Gore and John Kerry. Hillary is not for the democratic party. Hillary is for Hillary.

[Podewumun]

I can't recall having heard Hillary mention New Orleans ever.

[Dan1967]

Sarah Palin is currently embroiled in a scandal in Alaska for firing her former brother in law who is a State Trooper and in a custody battle with Palin's sister. I copied and pasted part of the article below and link to the full article is here: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/ak_gov_says_staffer_pressed_for_troopers_firing.php

AK Gov. Says Staffer Pressed for Trooper's Firing
By Kate Klonick - August 13, 2008, 9:53PM
In a press conference this afternoon, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) conceded that someone inside her administration pressured the state's Department of Public Safety to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's former brother-in-law, who is now embroiled in a bitter custody battle with Palin's sister.
Palin's statement is the latest in what has come to be known around Alaska as "Wooten-ga­te." The scandal began on July 11, when Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was fired from his post with little explanation, a move that quickly raised questions in Alaska.

VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA AND LETS GET A DEMOCRAT WIN IN NOVEMBER!

[MrCoffeeCup]

If you only had the facts you'd take your comment back!

State Trooper Woten was a known possessor of "Nude Baby Polar Bear" PHOTOGRAPHS and Caribou Carousing parties. He had been reported as offering bachelor "DearHunting" excursions in the deep woods. Shocking behavior for an enforcement officer. Could Bambi be safe with a guy like this...??? Good for Gov.Palin for dispatching this rogue copper!!

The Govenators sister deserves to keep the kids.

[provgrays]

Hillary didn't mention New Orleans because she was targeting white, middle class voters. The bitter fact is that mentioning New Orleans would have been a coded reference to the black underclass in this country.

Katrina and New Orleans should be in every other sentence from the Democratic point of view. Everything is race in America. The people of New Orleans were left to themselves even as another storm approaches the Gulf Coast right now.

Hillary's omission of Katrina is tied to politics and race.

[Harry Shearer - Huffpost Blogger]

That's the tragedy of the coverage of the flooding--it was depicted as a tragedy of poor black people, when people of every race and income level were flooded out of their homes.

[phipho]

I agree, New Orleans remains an immense tragedy and a stain upon our country’s reputation as a land of compassion and decency. However, pillorying Hillary for not including it in her speech is unfair. Particularly in the manner in which you addressed the issue. I think when you look at Senator Clinton's career it is readily apparent that she is a vigorous defender of all Americans regardless of their race, religion or socio-economic status. She has been a tireless advocate for the disenfranchised and will remain so. New Orleans remains an important issue. Our country needs to do quickly address the issue of the failure to rebuild a great city. Maybe thats sommething the party nominee might want to make a focus of his campaign.

Oh yeah, my wife and I love your stuff. A mighty wind and Spinal Tap are regularly on our DVD player. You look great in a dress.

[neocon666]

And just what is that supposed to mean? The majority of people stranded at the Superdome were minorities. I suggest you watch the HBO documentary "When the levies broke", which shows that people of all races and incomes were affected, but the poor, who couldn't get out -many of whom were black -were hit the hardest.

[BobJacobson]

This hurricane season may yet produce another catastrophe on a scale to match New Orleans' -- and with a fresh crew of incompetents in the White House and FEMA to botch the recovery. Then what will we say to ourselves as Americans? That we are experts in triage? Good at cutting away the damaged parts and hobbling away on what's left?

New Orleans' abandonment is a national disgrace ranking up there with the war on Iraq, only more Americans have suffered directly as a result of the Bush Administration's callousness and cruelty. It's not even a mere political disgrace anymore; this one has vaulted into the heavens of ethical and moral corruption.

The other thing to note is that what happened to New Orleans was possibly a direct result of global warming, which isn't something that's going to happen, but that's already been happening for a century. Not to lament it and pledge to fix it, as a sign that we get the connection, is an indictment of our whole society, not just Hillary Clinton or the next politician who focuses on drilling offshore rather than on the unhealed wounds on the Gulf Coast.

[IndependentBadger]

The wonderfully ironic thing about Hillary supporters, is that they are political cowards. I wouldn't worry about them defecting to McCain in large numbers. These are people who vote center-right (i.e. Clinton) because they have been successfully cowed into voting with their fears. To reassure them, and massage their egos, the DLC tells them that they are "realists". As if the rest of us were dreamers. Oddly enough, this same cowardice which prevents them from seeing past the DLC version of events, will also prevent them from taking a chance on McCain. Many of Clinton's supporters see themselves as progressives, or liberals, even though Hillary herself is a fairly right-wing, conservative person, if you actually look at her votes, and acts, instead of her rhetoric.

She likes neo-liberal economics, takes more money from pharmaceutical and insurance lobbies than anyone else in congress,and is utterly servile to AIPAC.
Her supporters are the same people who were the first to buy into the notion that you can "waste" your vote by voting for a third party, or voting for someone who isn't already winning in the polls. This is the overwhelming reason they don't like Obama. If he had a twenty point lead, they'd be his biggest "fans".

Worry not, progressives. We'll always be a minority of the party. This is fine, as long as we're always in front, fighting the fight for these cowards.
Ask Hillarycrats if they ever voted for Liebermann. Yeah, I thought so.

[Stephen420]

Even though you said "hillary supporters," not "hard-core lunatic hillary supporters" or, more to the point, "former hillary supporters", you seem to have referred only to the second on this list in your comment. I'm a very, perhaps even over- educated white, male, urban professional, under 50, and I WAS a Hillary supporter, but now I'm a totally enthusiastic supporter of Barack. I don't find myself in your description, so I can only conclude that you didn't mean me, or the majority of those other "former" hillary supporters.

Former hillary supporters, as a rule, have been inspired by Barack, but decidedly not by the sarcastic hostility of many of his supporters, particularly those who tend to post on blogs. The only reason this still matters is that you and people like you can't let go. Ironic. The problem with such a broad stroke is that only a tiny fraction of "hillary supporters" fits your description. So I wish you had made the distinction.

[phipho]

Gee you won me over with that one. You aren't in sales are? Because you just have a magical way of winning people over to your side.

[xy109e3]

Harry, after watching Senator Obama's failure to mention Katrina in his acceptence speech maybe you can tell me... is it possible Obama hasn't read or heard about what happened to New Orleans? Or was it just not on his poll-tested list of bases to touch?

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

I meant to say "lies".... because that's what you guys do best.

[neocon666]

WRONG!

"We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty that sits on its hands WHILE A MAJOR AMERICAN CITY DROWNS BEFOR OUR EYES." (my emphasis)

-Barack Obama acceptance speech

[NTO08]

Why is it Hilary's responsibility to mention New Orleans? Should she have fit in global warming, the destruction of Amazonian rainforests and the world AIDS crisis to boot? Why is that the ardent Hillary haters feel she has to do penance for them to even consider one word from her worth acknowledging?

Hillary did what she had to do, and did it with class and style. She doesn't need your approval. Evidently the TV viewers agreed, because she was the biggest draw besides Obama all week.

[spongebobby]

Where were you during the latter stages of the primaries? Class and style from Hillary? Obviously you ignored her lies...her attempts to change the rules...he­r refusal to congratulate Obama...he­r continued bitterness­...her need to be the center of attention at the convention­...Class and style? NOT!

[JXJASON]

Harry,

Don't build in flood plains or below sea level. If the present storm does the same thing...th­en MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

[Bitsko]

If the ghosts of H.L. Mencken and A.J. Leibling appeared today looking for someone equaling their own immense talents for an lively and enlightening bull session, I'm quite sure they'd be over to your place in a New York minute. Keep up the great work.

[BelGazou]

This is off-topic but are you by any chance related to Mickey Bitsko?

[MalamuteMan]

Give me a break!!! Hillary gave a great speech on Tuesday! If she had mentioned New Orleans you would have found something else she didn’t mention. New Orleans was a horrific tragedy and it’s a terrific example of Bush policies and lack of action that we Democrats should use to hammer McCain and the Republicans. But just because Hillary didn’t mention it is not some egregious oversight.

BTW- I am an avid Obama supporter and until Tuesday I was pretty miffed with Hillary.

[jazzpotato]

No, Harry wasn't looking for flaws in the speech and would not "find something else she didn"t (sic) mention" Harry has a passion for, and connection to, New Orleans.

Harry - PS: Glad you're here to keep that tragedy in our collective conscience.

[NTO08]

Has Obama mentioned it often at convention?
I think not.

[Tulka2]

Black Americans have been faithful to the Democratic party since the 1960s. Every half-way decent candidate we gave them, they dutifully and magnanimously voted for. Here, for the first time, we have a candidate who is a black man. I just refuse to believe white Americans, my own race, are so small and mean-spirited they will not vote for this brilliant and wise man just because of his race.

Hillary Clinton does not have to do all the work here. It's time for white Americans to step up and do the right thing.

[Malaki33]

Do not disillusion yourself folks...Ob­ama is not going to win this election..­.thank Hilary for that

[DocWylie]

Don't disillousion yourself Ma laki 33 .. Obama IS going to win and you can thank GWB for that.

[Bitsko]

Be at my local bar the day after the election. You're buying the rounds.

[BelGazou]

Do you really think that people are going to vote for McCain just to spite Obama, for Hilary's sake? Granted, Americans are not thought of as being terribly intelligent especially after having sent the Village Idiot to the White House twice. But this sort playground politics is probably even beneath the electorate.

If Obama loses to McSame, even during these most trying of times, it will likely be due to this nation's inherent racism, our characteristic obtuseness and the inability of Obama to inspire the Legion of the Apathetic to get off their rear-ends long enough to cast a vote.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

Don't forget those wonderful "voting" machines..­... Did Mr. Diebold promise any states to McSame yet?

[mjc]

Already cutting your losses, Malaki33? Obama is not going to win this election because he didn't pick Hillary as his running mate and because he didn't thank Hillary and her supporters for their part in the primary an the Convention. Actually, she was apparently blackmailed into making a speech for Obam but nothing from Obama came out for Hillary. Too bad.

[DonaldBArdell]

Sometimes, attempts at gracious humility succeed only at revealing errant pomposity.

Clinton is awash in self-absorption. Hillary seems clueless that her entire persona often appears to pit men against women. Today most men are allies with women in efforts to promote equality for women in this country and around the world, especially in Islamic cultures where a glass ceiling might be the least of a woman's concerns. Read "Infidel" by Ali Hirsi if you doubt that twenty percent pay disparities, however unfortunate and inexcusable, are not even "on the radar" as issues reformers must be concerned about.

When Hillary goes on about "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling," does she really think that men are impressed or energized to perceive this as a challenge on the level of the war in Iraq, the energy crisis, the failing economy, job losses, home foreclosures, a new Cold War and dozens of other matters of a non-gender nature?

Hillary would be well advised to stop playing to the sisterhood of annoying feminist extremists who, like Joe Lieberman, desire to do serious damage to the chances of ending eight long and ruinous years of Republican villainy.

It's time for women to find a new heroine and for Hillary to reassess how she comes across, particularly to men.

[justShareandbeNice]

I utterly, totally agree with this comment!

Hillary is not trustworthy, not wise, and not the leader we need.

-- a white, middle-aged 43 year old woman.

[justShareandbeNice]

Also, I always wonder why she takes credit for so many of the cracks in the glass ceiling.

Granted, she did re-invent the role of a first lady (although other first ladies have also been activists).

But my question is: without marrying Bill, her entire life would have been different. She would never have been a Senator, that's for sure. And her record in the Senate is less than stellar. So couldn't one say she came into her success largely because of Bill.

How is this breaking the glass ceiling?

[112985]

it time for women to wake up and vote against OBAMA!!!!

[MalamuteMan]

Obvious McCain supporter.­..

[BelGazou]

To vote for McCain to spite Obama would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face. McCain is the ultimate Neanderthal on just about every issue but most especially on women's issues. To throw away your vote on the likes of a McCain would be very stupid and petty. There are FAR more important issues in this election than this squabble over personalities.

[zenlikejen]

Speak for yourself, please - I'm still trying to enjoy what rights I have left before McSame manages to worm his way into the White House...

I don't think the technology exists to plumb the depths of ignorance in those women so willing to throw out their own rights and vote McSame.

[MalamuteMan]

It's time for Obama supporters to stop denigrating Hillary, and for Hillary supports to stop paying so much attention to the ignorant Obama supporters that persist with their negative remarks.

Great speech Hillary!!!

-MalamuteMan, An Obama Supporter

[spongebobby]

Good job! You are on "dead center". Hillary does not seem to realize that she comes across very transparently as to her true self. Mean spirited, insincere and dishonest. One need only point to her tactics after she began losing the nomination during the primaries.­..her need to be "queen" at the convention­...i.e. her cutting in line to call for a vote by acclamation when Obama already had over 1500 votes...an­d don't give me she just staged it to show unity...th­e votes spoke for themselves­...etc, etc, etc. You nailed it.