Hillary Clinton Declares A Great "Victory" in Florida!
So Senator Hillary Clinton won ZERO delegates in Florida tonight but she is ubiquitous on the cable networks extolling her "victory" as evidence that grassroots Democrats want her to be the nominee for president over Senator Barack Obama.
This move on Senator Clinton's part is the most weasel-like posture she's taken this entire campaign. The Democratic National Committee ruled months ago that Florida's Democratic delegates would not be recognized as punishment for the Florida Republican legislature's decision to move up the primary. Senator Obama and Senator John Edwards honored the party's ruling and did not openly campaign in the state. Why waste money on winning a primary that the DNC does not see as legitimate?
Yet tonight I saw Hillary Clinton on Fox News and on MSNBC running a victory lap and crowing to all and sundry that Florida has shown that she is the candidate that most Democrats prefer. This disingenuous and opportunistic display on Ms. Clinton's part shows the depths to which the Clinton camp will sink. It is disgraceful for her to declare herself the "victor" over Obama in an election that the DNC has already ruled illegitimate. But Ms. Clinton milked it for all of the publicity it was worth tonight. Shameless.
What's more, MSNBC reported that Clinton broke evenly with Obama in the tally of voters who have made their decision most recently (and Obama didn't even campaign in Florida).
So Ms. Clinton's dishonorable display tonight raises all of the old questions about the James Carville-style underhanded campaign tactics for which the Clintons are legends. These techniques might be colossal attributes when taking on Republicans, but they reek of foul play when directed against fellow Democrats as she did tonight. Undecided Democrats, as well as Obama and Edwards supporters, should call out Ms. Clinton on her stagecraft. This opportunistic stance should become a campaign issue and I hope Obama and Edwards put it to good use.
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I'm starting to wonder, are there paid people who flood the internet blogs, forums, etc. with comments?
Oh Please, Obama cheated with permission given by a party that did not think in a primary with no delgates anybody would buy a lot of advert time and did not realize how much free press time he could run with. He bought lots of ad time claiming he couldn't cut Fl. out of the coverage. Ads that overlapped all over FL. All of that advert. time he still couldn't even come close to pulling a majority of the state he would need to even have a chance of winning a general election. All the free publicity, plus Oprah, plus the Kennedy road show, oh my just coincidentally the day before the Fl. election with 24/7 coverage, and his campaign still claims he had no name recognition in Florida. Obama thinks he can buy democratic voters by lifting all the speeches of our heros and regurgitating them in front of a telepromter, he thinks he wins with the help of the Kennedys, and by appealing to all the fickle Green party Nader fanatics that ruined our last great chance to stop Bush with Gore and says to all of us
"Trust me, I will run the country on ideals. I will be a uniter." Right. Where have I heard that before.
Lets just set aside the scandal looming with Rezko that even Ms. Huffington has warned has the potential to be a monumental problem for him and take a look.
Lets just look at those ideals so far, He has painted the Clintons, who are the least racist people I have ever seen as racists and divided our party over it, he has divided our party again between the far left and the centrists when we came in with that lack of division as an asset, he has divided many voters by race and gender, and he has shown every sign of having Bush's very bad characteristic of being petulant, thin skinned, and ungracious.
What a candidate, what a guy!
Mr Palermo ... the Democratic Party can't help itself.
We need to get used to saying President McCain.
Congratulations on joining the ranks of those who would tell the people of Florida that their votes don't count.
Hillary Clinton did NOTHING wrong. She thanked her supporters, almost a million strong, who said she was their choice for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Barack Obama and John Edwards would both benefit from telling their supporters the same.
It was the news media who chose to air her comments at the rally and she made herself available for interviews.
Really, the Hillary hatred in the liberal blogosphere is getting out of hand. The media is chastised for their sexism, but everyone needs to take a serious look at their blind loathing of an ambitious woman who is on the side of the people who are first to dismiss her.
I don't know, sometimes I think Americans get what they deserve.
Why all the Hillary bashing? I have not heard one real reason the last few weeks which truly justifies the constant Hillary "said and did this" stuff. What I have heard is the same old broken record refrain "We want Obama",
It is certainly true, Mrs. Clinton should be jubilant with the victory in Florida last night.
Today, Mrs. Obama is in Connecticut campaigning for Mr. Obama. A few weeks ago it was Oprah Winfrey on the stump for Obama. They are playing a tune that has been a recent criticism of the Clintons, Bill campaigning for Hillary, et. al..
I agree. Everything that comes from the Clintons continues to support the idea that she will say or do anything to win.
There's nothing genuine or honest about this couple. It is all phoney, spin, lies, distortions, underhanded gamesmanship, etc..
They must think that the voters are stupid imbicils to think that we would believe the crap that comes out of their mouths. They just continue to portray themselves as dishonest slimey politicians that will try every dishonest trick in the book to win the election.
After George W. Bush and Karl Rove, most Americans, I suspect, will respond the same way the electorate in South Carolina did.
Mr. Palermo --
Dead on straight piece! King & Queen Clinton are acting like the sick, narcissistic individuals that they really are, what do you expect?
They are willing to rip the Democratic Party apart, and set race relations in this country back decades, just to satisfy their selfish whims. That's the way people who suffer from this type of disorder behave.
It's just a shame that they have been able to fool so many people for so long, but, then again, they're extremely talented con artists.
It seems the Republicans were right about the Clintons all along -- they know thier own kind when they see them.
My only question is, who in their right mind would ever agree to run as Hillary's VP, other than Bill? It would be political suicide, as she'll be crushed in November. And that's a fact.
Sorry that Hillary's wish to represent ALL
Americans, not just the ones the DNC think are the most important, offends you.
Hillary heads to Florida in search of her hanging chad... And when she's wins ugly, her supporters will claim it was all perfectly above board, forgetting how they (and all other Democrats) protested in 2000. Once again, and again courtesy of Florida, the Clintons and the Bushes would be twinned. The rest of us should twin them in another way -- by dismissing them in the same year.
What else could we expect from such an opportunist? The Clintons have and will continue to do anything to return to power and there will be no significant change after the next election. The country will be divided 50/50 and nothing positive will come out of it.
No, what's really disgusting is the terms Obama supporters use to describe every move the Clinton campaign makes. If Hillary says "I'm the better candidate" the blogosphere is alive with charges of Rovian tactics. You people really need to grow up. None of the candidates campaigned in the state. Thery were all on the ballot. There's no reason to presume Hillary had any kind of advantage. Florida Democrats went to the polls in huge numbers and indicated a preference for Hillary. Yet just because there's no delegates at stake, she's supposed to completely ignore the outcome, or she's being "underhanded"? She's running for President, for God's sake. Every time the Clinton campaign does anything that remotely resembles actual campaigning, Obama's supporters get a case of the vapors. Do you people really think you'll be able to whine your way to the White House?
I'd appreciate it if someone would tell me why this vote can't be interpreted as an indicator that Florida Dems prefer Hillary.
I hope you do realize that the Florida, and Michigan delegates will be seated at the convention. Ms. Klinton will see to that, especially, if the delegate count is close.
We have an amendment to the constitution prohibiting a third presidential term.
Once again the Clintons are parsing truth that while not viloating the letter of the amendment, they certainly violate the intent.
From the first term, it was "two for one" and Hill claims Bill's experience as hers. He is campaigning. It's been Bill/Hilly now Hill/Billy - same old, same old, and unconstitutional - in principle, but I guess it depends on what "is" is...
The sleaze tactics for Michigan and Florida are no surprise from this team. Ethics was never a calling card.
Granted, Clinton lies have not cost lives as Bush lies have - BUT I DON'T WANT LIARS.
I will not vote for Juan and Eva Peron!
What Clinton did in Florida (and Michigan) was reprehensible, but also brilliant.
I put all the blame on the DNC and leadership in the two states for letting it get to this point. Florida and Michigan are states the dems will need in the general election. The decision to exclude them and possibly alienate their voters in November is a disaster.
On the other hand, the leaders in the states had the shortsightedness to think this would be like every other election where the early states would make the decision. This year, the later states may prove most important. The other issue is that the parties have traditionally let small states go early. This makes sense, because it makes it possible for less well funded candidates, like Huckabee, to prove their electability before the big contests.
So, the DNC messed up by letting it happen and the candidates agreed to not campaign there. But Hillary "just happened" to leave her name on the Michigan ballot; to mention Florida in her South Carolina speech; and to do "fund raisers" there in the days before the vote. Not surprisingly, she won both states handily. And now, she's acting like they are real victories.
But here's the brilliant part. Obama and Edwards, and most of all, Howard Dean, should say something, but they can't because it would be an insult to the fine folks of Michigan and Florida who voted. It's not my mother's fault that he state leaders couldn't work this out better. But she voted (for Obama) and to say that Hillary's victory doesn't count is to say that her vote doesn't count.
Now they don't. But to reinforce that in argument adds insult to injury and doesn't help Barack or the dems in November, which is all that counts now. So their hands (and tongues) are tied.
And if this thing goes to the convention too close to call, don't you think there will be a public outcry to count those states after all?
It shows the win-at-all-costs tactics of the Clintons at their best and worst.
In an effort to continue the media's bashing of Hillary Clinton, your post bashes the people of Florida. You're telling them their time and effort to get out and vote despite having been stripped of delegates is meaningless? I think not. They spoke loudly and clearly on behalf of Hillary Clinton and no matter how the biased media spins it, the voice of this heavily populated, diverse state is a powerful vote of confidence for Sen. Clinton.
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