Color-coded Hillary Alerts

If anyone has paid acutely painful attention to the political ministrations of Karl Rove over the past two and a half decades, it's me. And if there is anyone qualified to make comparisons between democracy's Darth Vader and Hillary Clinton, I stand at the head of that line, as well. And sadly, the similarities are so brutally obvious as to be disturbing.

First, there is this matter of her husband, a man I admired as president in spite of his teenage behavior. Sen. Barack Obama has run a campaign that has never mentioned race. In fact, ethnicity was not an issue until President William Jefferson Clinton made his comparisons of Obama in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson. We were on the verge of almost transcending such superficial nonsense until Mr. Clinton brought us back to 1968.

And presently, we have the first female vice presidential candidate ringing the bell on the same topic. Geraldine Ferraro is, of course, a part of the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Senator Clinton plays the innocent on most of this by refusing to denounce these pronunciations. When she had the opportunity on 60 Minutes to tell the world that it is nonsense for the fear mongers to suggest Obama is a Muslim, she demurred with a qualified, "as far as I know" he's not. But she does know. Sen. Clinton and Obama have attended numerous Capital Hill prayer breakfasts together. Does she think he was playing the Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, perhaps trying to see what is going on with that whole Christianity thing? Isn't any person believable when they declare their faith until they have been vetted by the Clinton campaign?

She saved her campaign in Texas by acting like George W. Bush drunk on the ideas of Karl Rove. The 3 a.m. call ad that used fear to drive voters in her direction was nothing more than a desperate politician's attempt to tell everyone not even duct tape will save them if they vote for Obama. Created by Roy Spence of Austin, the ad was first deployed in 1984 in the Mondale campaign. (His ad agency also gave us, "You are now free to move around the country," and, "Don't mess with Texas," as memorable slogans.)

As Karl Rove has proven and as Orlando Patterson pointed out in the New York Times, campaigns and their messages are often more about image than substance. Was it an oversight or a design that the children sleeping safely in that 3 a.m. ad were white? Isn't everyone in politics astute enough to know these days that everyone who needs protecting isn't white? When Bush was running for president, Rove never let him be photographed without a rainbow coalition of children. Are we supposed to believe that Hillary's minders didn't see the racism implicit in her phone call ad?

The Clinton campaign doesn't seem to understand that the depth of Obama's appeal comes from his willingness to look forward with optimism instead of over his shoulder in fear. When he says, "We need to talk to our friends, but we also need to talk to our enemies," he is speaking for every mother and father who has a son in Iraq or one who might end up toting a gun for an amorphous cause that few can any longer explain. Who doesn't want to know why we are so despised that people will strap bombs to themselves to blow us up? Oh, I forgot, they hate our freedom. That's one Sen. Clinton hasn't tried yet.

It is also obscene in the extreme for the Clinton campaign to compare Sen. Obama to Ken Starr. Many voters from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunny shores of California want to know how much money the senator and the former president are earning, to whom he is speaking for large sums, and how he paid for his library in Little Rock. Do the Clintons really want to remind us what Ken Starr was looking for? As a friend of mine has suggested, this utter lack of judgment to bring his name back into the public discourse is "breathtaking."

Clinton is unwilling to sully her own hands with these absurd references. Like Rove, she relies on surrogates to go out and fire the gun. After the targets are wounded or dead, Rove had his clients come in and call for gun control and explain how they admired the political victim. Not Senator Clinton. She does nothing to denounce the nastiness. By pretending Obama is not prepared to lead, she proves her own desperation to acquire power and she denigrates the remaining historical reputation of her husband's administration. Historians might look beyond this dust devil she has spun, but the general public won't be able to see through the dirt flying through the air.

We are all tired of this. We all have Bush-Clinton fatigue. We need a hopeful, fresh start. Hillary might have made a fine president. But she has turned into an ugly campaigner.

This is not her time.

Follow James Moore on Twitter: www.twitter.com/moorethink

Comments

[Komodo]

Mr. Moore is correct when he says that many of us have Bush-Clinton fatigue. Maybe that's because
it's hard to tell the Bushes from the Clintons. Bill plays golf with B41 while the Hillster supports B43's
invasion of Iraq. And they are all on board to usher in the Corporate Super Highway aka NAFTA while
getting the US citizens to pay for their latest elitist scheme. As for John McCain... he's just a frightened little old man who used to be a maverick but now cuddles with George to stay safe.

[unityman]

Thank you. You captured perfectly the despair that I have been feeling as I have watched a candidate with great potential for good (Clinton) go over to the dark side. I've been a democrat for 40 years, but I will not vote for her, no matter what. I would not be able to trust her as President any more than I can trust GWBush and his crew. She, her husband, Maggie Williams, Ms. Ferraro - the whole bunch should just be ashamed.

[electress]

Today, Geraldine Ferraro has resigned in helping the Clinton Campaign.
She was not a worker on the campaign, yet she was forced by the media, and the Obama
Camp to stepdown! If you haven't notice, we have first amendment rights, and the Obama
camp is showing me which direction he takes.

My feeling is Geraldine was talking about History then, history now. We are embracing a
BLACK MAN, and a WHITE WOMAN to be the highest office in this land, who will represent
we the PEOPLE. Less than 100 years ago, women did not have the right to vote, for
black men they got the right in 1868, thru 15th amendment. They couldn't have played a part..
Yes, blacks have suffered indignites, but women continue to this day in the media
to suffer sexism. Are we truly equal?

Mr.Moore, fourth paragraph, you stated when Hillary had the opportunity on 60 minutes to
tell the world...an­d she qualified "as far I know". How dare you leave out what was
actually said: Hillary was asked do you believe that he's a muslim, NO, NO.....Mr. Moore
what part of NO do you not understand?

Thank you Geraldine Ferraro, from the goodness of your heart, you have been and remain
a honored women in the eyes of all Americans.

[prverde]

You are so right. 90% is huge. Everyone is araid to admit. Kudos to Ferraro. She has guts and doyou.

[UnknownSoldier]

The White Guy Al Gore got 92% of the black vote in 2000, I guess us black americans thought he was more black than Obama

[twinkerbell]

Oh come on! Samantha Power was forced to resighn when she(off-the-record) characterized Hillary Clinton as a monster. She was or was not forced to resign by the media, just like Ms. Ferraro. Lest we forget: Ferraro was being used as a surrogate to divide blacks from whites. Referring to Obama as the "affirmative action" candidate was sending a coded message to white Reagan Democrats. Affirmative action to that part of the electorate means that unqualifed blacks are hired over more qualified whites, and these white guys resent the whole idea. Ferraro takes the low road, Mrs. Clinton pretends to take the high road by saying she disagrees with the staement(wink, wink), and besides, Obama's people do it too. The breadth of depth of her hypocrisy is breathtaking. Thereshe is: being the divider. Of course, she wants Obama to lose. If McCain becomes President, Hillary can run against him in 2012. If Obama becomes President, he could have 2 terms and Hillary might be considered to be too old in 2016.

[Paralogos]

Geraldine Ferraro was not a worker on the campaign? She was on the campaign finance committee. I'm not saying that she did any real work - apart from the racist smears - but she did have an official position. This is a matter of public record. Are you being disingenous here, or were you merely duped?

[electress]

Geraldine was a fund raiser, and sat on that committee. Unlike Smantha, she
was not a top foreign advisor. Samantha said more than Hillary is a monster,
she went to to explain how Obama was going to handle the pull out from Iraq,
and that is why Obama camp suggested she step down.

[NubianFirethorn]

Are you for real? Oh, I forgot, you're from Texas. (I can tell because of that stupid looking hat you have on your head.) Of course, this election is about race and why is it so taboo to mention it? This "How dare you mention Obama is black" is just as assinine as when after 9/11 one risked the chance of getting called an unpatriotic terrorist and run out of town on a rail if they dared mention how stupid and incompetent Bush was. The facts prove that Obama is ahead because he is black. Would over 90% of blacks vote for a white person? Or a Mexican? Not on your life. If this was not about race, only a certain segment of blacks would vote for Obama, such as the college kids, the security conscience moms, or men over 65. But that is not the case. Blacks, all blacks - rich, poor, educated, non-educated, women, men, old and young - are voting for Obama. And it's because he is black like they are. So don't give me that crap about how alful and racist it is to say Obama is ahead because he is black - because it's the truth and only Ferraro has the guts to say so .

[BAE349]

So, what happened when Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpeton ran for President especially contrast the race in which Jesse and Bill Clinton ran in oppositin of each other and African Americans voted for Clinton. You have to acknowledge that African American voters don't just vote for color.....­Afirican Americans like any other ethnic group vote as individuals in response to the message of that candidate. What bothers me most is the dismissive tone of some of these remarks. Some of these staffers and volunteers must be brain tired and fail to think before they speak.

I can't believe that I once said that it did not matter to me whether Clinton or Obama won because there really is not very much difference in their issues; their experience is similar...­.and you could give Hillary a small edge in that she is the older of the two.....bu­t I began to rethink after Hillary's campaign took a tone of dismissiveness and subtle tones of making this about race. By no means do I think Hillary is racist but I dislike the tone the campaign is taking....­By no means do I think that every American feels that race or gender does not matter, no not all, but I was so hopeful at the beginning of this Presidential Campaign that those Americans who are hopeful would not fall for the rhetoric and hold these candidates to the issues.

The candidates need to tell us, the voters, how they plan to bring their issues to fruition. Hillary has been "fighting" for Universal Health Care for 15 or 16 years....a­t what point does she realize that maybe she needs a dfferent approach to achieve an issue she is so passionate about. I have a number of friends from different ethnic backgrounds that have watched the campaigns closely and find that Hillary's political rhetoric is tearing the party apart....S­hould Hillary get the nominaiion,I am nt sure that I would support her because I am wondering why she has to go to such extinct...­.why she has not revealed those income tax forms....a­ppearance of impropriety.

[loislane88]

Ferraro was asked to join her ticket ONLY because she was a woman and she dares throw this stone? It was done precisely to win HRC votes in Penn where affirmative action is still considered to be a bad thing.

Of course he is winning 90% of the black vote because HRC is being a race-baiter and dividing the party between black and white. Which side do you fall on? By the way, I'm white and if demographics have any say as to who I should vote for it would be Hillary. Not so - she is clearly willing to take the Dem party down with her.

I wish people would actually listen to what Obama has to say as an American - not just as a black man. He is more than that.

[Muffy7]

Yes, she got Ferraro who is now a wrinkled, senile old Harridan to be on her side. A lost cause this old battle axe. She has only be used. Hillary is disgusting and I pray that Barack will not "fire" anyone else she wants him to. I still think he has to get nastier to her, that kind of Bully only understands being bullied back. Your last sentences says it all, Listen, he is much more than a black man. I saw this in 2004 when he gave the nomination speech for John Kerry who was smart enough to notice his talent.
Hillary was fine and lovely dovey until Barack started winning and then she showed her B***** self. She and her darling husband are the 2 most jealous people to ever walk the earth. I am sooooooooo sick on Bush Clinton I don't ever want to hear those 2 names the rest of my life. She has some real sleeze working for her, that Maggie Williams, Mark Penn ( a real loser) and Howard Walfson. But who else would want to run the type of campaign that this slime wants run?
I want Barack to win so much I can't stand to think of how distraught I will be if she gets the nomination. Of course Grandpappy Bush should fall after the first debate he has with wonderful Senator Obama. NO, I am not black. I am a 75 year old educated white woman. We over 50 are not all stupid.

Obama in 08 please God. I love him and his darling family.

[UnknownSoldier]

Amen

Its obvious they are not listening to Hilary either.

[mbj]

90% African Americans voted for Kerry, Gore, and Clinton;
ummmmm, the AA population is a minority;
no one could win an election with only the AA vote;
so there is no way a candidate could be ahead in this election process with only the AA vote!

[smayhew]

Amen

[roneckley16823]

This may be your finest post. Their was nothing more I could say. Excellent post and I hope all democrats listen. This woman is destroying the democratic party.

[Suprshrink]

This post and most of these comments are the problem. How many of you watch Bill Maher and laugh at his political incorrectness? You wait, you pounce, you reject, you denounce everyone but your guy. You are so over the top dedicated to an Obama win that you feel you must destroy Clinton. Well, as far as I can see, this election could have proceeded quite nicely if there weren't all this microanalysis, misrepresentation, and outright distortion. You will get what you want. A country and a party divided. No one wins this time around. I am disgusted by all of you.

[wildstarchild]

Clinton supporters like the one above are simply acting like babies. Obama is not attacking Clinton,it's the other way around. He's NEVER brought up race , religion or sex ONCE in this campaign. Hillary has used all 3 of these cards in her reckless tactics. If anyone should take thier ball and go home if Clinton manages to STEAL this nomination it's us Obama supporters. But really I can't see how you can hate him so much. Have you actually listened to his ideas. I'm sorry your'e candidate is self imploding but she has no one to blame but herself. She has consistently used bad judgment and listened to the wrong advice.
It's even more troubling to me that people are justifying racial slurrs from Ferraro. It shows that her supporters like thier candidate are willing to do or say anything to win. I think your'e all just being sore losers and are taking all this way too personally. It's not all about you, it's about our party and our country. Obama supp. have valid reasons for not choosing Hill. It seems to me ,all mostHill supp. seem to have is emotional reactions based on your egos. More facts and less name calling. Obama is a lovely ,intelligent and yes more progressive candidate.­He has plenty of experience, more than Bill Clinton had when he won the WH. You have absolutely no excuse not to vote for him in Nov.

[mickeyrat]

look, no one hates Obama. We find his supporters to be really repulsive, to be honest. But most of us don't have a problem with Obama himself.

The problem with this campaign is that the Obamabots will not accept any criticism of Obama as not being generated by Karl Rove himself.

This is not healthy for a democracy. It is not healthy to start a cult of personality around Obama. I'm sorry, I find you Obamabots to be as repulsive and unhealthy for American democracy as the Paulbots were. In fact, I expect many of you are former Paulbots who switched to Obama because of the newness factor.

I don't like and won't vote for Hillary under any circumstances. But I honestly can't see myself voting for Obama. I can't reward the juvenility of his campaign with my vote. I can't reward his swooning supporters with my vote. I just can't vote for this guy.

[Maccabees]

I think probably at this point, as unbelievable as it is to say this: the Democratic party will not win the Presidency. They have shot themselves. McCain is a weak candidate. He doesn't even have the full support of his own party. At this point however, whoever wins in the Democratic race will lose in the election. Clinton's scorched earth attack is going to destroy her own party. If Clinton wins, no Obama supporter will vote for her. The Democratic party will have lost the most unbelievable influx of young voters, attracked, by Obama, in recent history. If Obama wins, there are some whites that will not vote for him. With the war and domestic mess this country is in, the democratic party should have destroyed the republican party. HRC is aiming her napalm at the wrong candidate.

[MrDeadeye2U]

Hillary Clinton has become a political suicide bomber.

[Cid]

Best post on I've read all day....Kud­os!

[roneckley16823]

I agree Maccabees with your post. Where is Governor Dean in all of this? He is head of the DNC and allowing the Clinton's to continue on with this horrible rhetoric about another party member. So this is the Clinton machine in action. Disgusting.

[darlamc]

Obama on Rumsfeld http://politicalamnesia.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-on-rumsfeld-2001.html
Obama on Telling the truth about his 'anti-war' speech - (the ultimate arm chair quarterbacking)
www.politicalamnesia.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-and-his-ability-to-mislead.html

[Burningspear]

Another case of poor judgment by Hillary...­.
Check out
http://stealthreport.com/2008/03/10/hello-world/#comments

[MrDeadeye2U]

NEWSFLASH -
We cannot let them win - Take back our country - Yes we can!

Winston Churchill - 4 June 1940

"I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.

At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.

The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

[ScapeGoat]

Hmm, I wonder what would have happened if one of Obama's aides said the only reason hillary got this far was because of her gender?

When things get tough, the real person tends to come out. When Obama was behind, he kept a positive message. When hillary got behind she went to the fear and smear campaign.

It is time for the super delegates to step in and end this madness before hillary destroys the party by alienating the voters. Supporting the person who has the most delegates, the most popular vote and the most amount of states won ... OBAMA!

[kenfoh]

No doubt about it... Hillary has crossed a line and the only people who will remain with her are those who simply want a female president regardless of WHO that female is... and those that cannot vote for Barack because he IS black.. there are others I am sure but those two groups account for a great er number of her supporters than the others.Loo­k....we are all tired of this BS.....and the only way we can put this behind us is send a message to Hillary telling her we reject her old-time style of politics. We simply reject it.

[Suprshrink]

Actually, Chris Matthews said that she became a senator only because her husband cheated on her. Isn't that about the same or even worse? You only see one side of this story and, of course, it has to favor your guy.

[BetterDeadthanRedState]

And this is relevant because Chris Matthews (idiot that he is) is in the Obama campaign?!

[Subtle]

Suprshrink, your logic escapes me. Is Matthews a prominent member of the Democratic Party? Is he even a supporter of Obama? Sweet Jesus! Comparing the comments of Ferraro, a Clinton staffer and a former Democratic VP nominee, with the comments of a Bush(Power?) adoring journalist is just silly.

[UnknownSoldier]

I would say she only became Senator ( I voted for her) because we were sick of Guiliani

[jcheadsup]

I totally agree. In fact if Hillary Clinton has proven anything to me, (during this campaign), it’s that she is just more of the same. That is to say, that she is a two faced, half baked, sold out, self centered lying cheater. (At least in my opinion)! In fact, I think that other then George W Bush, and the rest of his cronies. She is a perfect example of why a lot of politicians, leave such a bad taste in our mouths. So, if you ash me, a vote her would just be a vote for her, certainly not for us.

[kenfoh]

Hillary Clinton will not be our next president. It's not because she is a woman, it is simply because she is the WRONG person. This is a very well-written article. This article expresses what many of us have felt these last few months... we are tired of the BUSH-CLINTON cycle. Hillary supporters­.... get over it... she will not be our candidate nor our president.­..its not because America hates women or do not want a woman president.­... it is because Hillary Clinton is all about old-time politics which includes slinging thinly-veiled racial insults. Even if PA does not wake up in time to realize what this all means....A­merica for the most part has. I used to think Mrs. Clinton was a good person despite her aggressive ways...not any more.

[HARMONIAMUNDI]

JUDGING FROM HER BEHAVIOR OVER THE PAST MONTHS AND ESPECIALLY THE PAST THREE WEEKS, I WOULD SAY THAT HILLARY, IF NOT MERELY A MACHIAVELLIAN SOCIOPATH, IS PERHAPS DESCENDING INTO MENTAL ILLNESS. SHE NOW REMINDS ME OF THE SOCIOPATHS IN SCOTT PECK'S BRIALLIANT BOOK: "PEOPLE OF THE LIE: TOWARDS A PSYCHIATRIC DEFITION OF EVIL." TRULY, HILLARY'S BORDERLINE PSYCHOTIC AMBITION (YES, IT IS ALL ABOUT HER !- TO HELL WITH THE REST OF YOU !) IS TEARING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY APART AT THE VERY CORE. I ADMIRED BILL CLINTON TREMENDOUSLY. HILLARY HOWEVER IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY. IF HILLARY WINS THE NOMINATION, THEN I MAY SIMPLY NOT VOTE IN PROTEST. HILLARY IS NOT THE PERSON, WOMAN OR MAN, I WISH TO HAVE AS PRESIDENT. I THINK THAT SUSAN SARADON'S COMMENT OF A FEW MONTHS BACK WAS PRESCIENT: "SURE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A WOMAN AS PRESIDENT. I AM JUST NOT SURE ABOUT THIS WOMAN." MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY.

[UnknownSoldier]

Harry Belfonte said he didn't trust her a few years ago in an interview with Rhandi Rhodes on Air America Radio. ( I no longer listen to that station because of the racist Mark Green) I was shocked that he said that, but now I can see why he did.

[MrDeadeye2U]

I say this from a purely clinical intellectual point of view, but having studied pre WWII German History (I hate to say this due to possible inflammatory nature, but . . . ), the Nazi party fed on the grievances of the unsophisticated, economically disadvantaged, segment of the German population and was able to convince them that they their woes were as a result of the immigrants, Jews, other what they termed contaminant communities. They turned their nationalism and fears against them and we saw how that turned out.

To some extent we see similarities in the “dog-whistle” campaigning of the last week. Let me quote a response from a friend of mine in a discussion about the MLK needing LBJ comment “F*** Y** Bit**”. I’m not making this up, whether rightfully or wrongfully so, some will revolt against what they perceive (perception is all it takes) to be insults of their Heroes. Hillary realizes that she (and not without cause) has completely alienated the AA constituency by her too clever by half triangulations, and has now written off that constituency completely. Now she pivots to the “White Power” gambit trying to pit the Alabama in the middle of PA against the cities with their mulit-cultural demographics. They begin to float the subtext “Beware the ‘Schwarze’ they will impinge on your rightful place in society and destroy the natural order”.

To inflame their own constituency, today it’s the African Americans they throw overboard; tomorrow it will be the Hispanics. Latinos should get a clue, just like in prison, when shit really goes down the desperate tend to align along racial lines.

This is dangerous, and should be pointed out.

[UnknownSoldier]

Well, we see what the prisons produce when they divide along racial lines.

I think Obama has shown us that the country wants to move foward, but hey Hillary attracks the people who like things the way they are