On the Red Phone
To hear Larry read his post, click the play button below
Here's an idea for an Obama ad: a montage of Clinton's Sybillish personalities that have surfaced during the campaign with a solemn voiceover at the end saying, "Does anyone want this nut answering the phone?"
How is it that she became the one who's perceived as more equipped to answer that 3 a.m. call than the unflappable Obama? He, with the ice in his veins, who doesn't panic when he's losing or get too giddy when he's winning, who's as comfortable in his own skin as she's uncomfortable in hers. There have been times in this campaign when she seemed so unhinged that I worried she'd actually kill herself if she lost. Every day, she reminds me more and more of Adele H., who also had an obsession that drove her insane.
A few weeks ago, I started to feel sorry for her. Oh Christ, let her win already...Who cares...It's not worth it. There's not that much difference between them. She can have it. Anything to avoid watching her descend into madness. So I switched. I started rooting for her. It wasn't that hard. Compromise comes easy to me. I was on board.
And then I saw the ad.
I watched, transfixed, as she took the 3 a.m. call...and I was afraid...very afraid. Suddenly, I realized the last thing this country needs is that woman anywhere near a phone. I don't care if it's 3 a.m. or 10 p.m. or any other time. I don't want her talking to Putin, I don't want her talking to Kim Jong Il, I don't want her talking to my nephew. She needs a long rest. She needs to put on a sarong and some sun block and get away from things for a while, a nice beach somewhere -- somewhere far away, where there are...no phones.
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and can someone tell me ..... how much foreign policy experience did Bill Clinton have when he was elected???
If you want to see something insightful about Hillary's "experience" ads, you need to check out the clip copied below. It's the best political ad I have seen in years. It just allows the candidate to speak for herself. And it is the most damning thing that anyone could do:
http://www
LOVED THIS VIDEO!!!! AWESOME AND VERY DAMNING!!!!!!!!
Super!!!
i agree, Senator Obama is as cool as a cucumber. After 7 years of radical Republican thought and actions, we need a President who thinks before he talks, who doesn't need polls to make a decision, and who will not allow Americans to frighten themselves into support for rash acitions. HRC is just appealing to the same evil demons that Bush did. What did this produce?
What I didn't like about the ad was the cartoonish super-hero quality of it, as if Hillary had some super-decision making power, similar to our current "Decider." All it was missing was the Hillary_Girl spot light in the sky to tell us Gotham was dealing with a Joker. She immediately jumps into "the Suit."
We'll all sleep better if the phone rings, and the Best&the Brightest team that Obama has drawn around him to serve us answers the phone, deals with the issues, and lets Obama and Michelle awake refresh for a day of true leadership, while Hillary_Girl has a cold compress on her head from another night of constant awakenings to be Super.
I can't stand Clinton (tho I'll vote for whomever the eventual nominee is, of course). But locutions like "that woman" and "unhinged" are crappy - and so unnecessary to your case.
I too, at one time thought that in the long run it didn't mater which candidate got the Democratic nomination. But now, after watching Clinton's bipolar campaign tactics, I don't know what to make of her other than she will say and do anything to win, even compare Obama unfavorably to the Republican presidential candidate, which is unpardonable. And notice how the press has totally turned against the guy trying to run a campaign on the issues and not on savaging the opponents. He is criticized soundly for not getting tough and going negative on Clinton. The really sad thing is that I can sense the tide turning somewhat, for all the wrong reasons. If Obama does not win, I am going to have a very hard time voting for Clinton.
So here's the new ad:
The phone rings. Hillary rolls over and answers it. The (unheard) caller says something.
Hillary: "What? No, Monica, he isn't here. Call his number in the room down the hall."
That's clean politics for sure. A below the belt hitjob!! No wonder Ken Starr comparisons come up!! He spent $70 million trying to dredge up this kind of stuff and failed miserably!!
Sorry, Nofuzz: Bill lied under oath, was disbarred in Arkansas, and still can't keep it in his pants.
If you think for a minute the Repugs won't make his wandering penis an issue you're delusional. They will do it in a 527 Swiftboat style.
Of course, it's irrelevant. (the wandering penis, not the CRIME of lying under oath) - but since when have the Repugs let things irrelevent stand in their way?
Hillary and Bill are easy targets. Face it.
Presidents do not answer phone calls at 3 in the morning. The last one to do so would have been Lincoln but they did not have phones in the WH back then.
The call might be from a telemarkting place...Ob
Also note that even on 9/11, the President doesn't make any sudden decisions even in a crisis.
It took the US about one month to prepare a response. Most of this is done by professionals.
It took us 6 months or so to build up to war in Iraq.
Pearl Harbor was responded to in about 6 months.
The 3 am crap is circa 1980 when we were afraid of the Soviets bombing us. Today we may be bombed but won't know who to attack or where to find them.
Interestingly, somebody like Obama would fulfill the role perfectly in a terrorist attack: unflappable, poised, he could communicate eloquently and with candor, inspiring confidence. That is all that Giuliani did, talk to us and reassure us. (Meanwhile Bush was in hiding, the coward) Communicating with the people, IMHO, is the President's NUMBER ONE job.
HRC wants to be head manager technocrat. But in a crisis, we need a LEADER, not a policy wonk.
Some (presumptive) women bloggers seem pretty, pretty, pretty uncomfortable that other women are expressing their opinions that Hillary is the right choice. I’ll quickly say that I have never considered uttering the word “victimhood”, and the concept of “payback” doesn’t work, so, “No”. And warning women of a “backlash” didn’t work when our Gram was a suffragette, so it won’t work now.
Vote for Hillary just because she’s a woman. Also, “No”. We need to debate the merits of public policy, not fall back on the gender or race thing. (If I advocated for Hillary just because she is a woman, I would have to tell my son Nick “You’re leaning toward Barack?? No pancakes for you!!!!!)
This one I just love and want to THANK YOU for writing it: “When men fight, they do not resort to parsing words to find offense.” My fight career has seen more than one male hit every non-scoring part of the body (breast, neck, back, thigh) until I dropped my cover, and then come in for the score, kick to the head (2 points), punch to the solar plexus (1 point). That is parsing to find offense, and it happens in social and political sparring as well.
You state that Senator Obama has all of the qualities we need. Read where I said that political candidates step over the line, including Hillary AND Barack, and you will come to know that to be true. You kinda’ can’t get there from here, meaning that if your heart is pure as the driven snow, the political money doesn’t line up behind you. Political debate is very important. I have now read most of the replies to Larry’s post, and found hardly a mention of policy. Some posts are funny, most are not. Funny is good. Maybe I should just laugh.
Regards
I don't remember the exact date but there was a day in the late 1960's (and this reference will reveal my age) that the great Bob Hope became unfunny. Today you have gone too far in your comments and references to Hillary. Call your shrink and schedule a few more sessions I think you have some issues about women to sort out.
I HATE WOMEN!!
I was going to write something about the specific, logical reasons why Hillary is a bad candidate, why her campaign tactics reveal an ugly truth about The Clintons, and about how the whole basis of her candidacy is really just a bunch of well-crafted propoganda. But, why bother? It's painfully clear from most of this article's comments from those siding with Hillary that it will all just get interpreted as some kind of misogynistic statement from someone who hates and/or is threatened by women. So, if that's the case, so be it - just chalk this comment up as another vote for Obama and against Hillary... or in other words... I hate women!!
Obama lovers, just like Larry David, are as obsessive for Obama as Muslims extremists are for their beliefs: both are just over the top, irrational and without merit (SHEEP). I much rather have Hillary, with all her faults, as president of the U.S. than a naive, inexperienced, and deceptive Obama. Just because Obama is an eloquent speaker, just like any other preacher, does not mean he is not full of c-r-a-p as every other politician clearly is. (To be in politics, you have to be full of c-r-a-p. It is a requirement!). I much rather have Hillary, which is also full of c-r-a-p, but at least she has the experience and temperment to be a great president. Germany anyone? Anyone who does not see this is just plain sexist. I hope Americans do the right thing and vote for the most qualified person to be president. Hillary is the most qualified, period. Obama is NOT!
What are her qualifications?
what are his? She sat right next to the man who was LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD for 8 years. I think that is pretty fucking good experience. She has been a US Senator for 7 years. He has been one for 2, 1 1/2 of which he has been campaigning for President. She also has a myriad of life experience traveling the world representing the US, working in Arkansas on behalf of children, and she has had snowballs thrown at her for 27 years by Republicans. Obama is the affirmative action candidate, so he has had nothing but softballs thrown at him. Please answer my question. What are his qualifications?
And Hillary lovers don't deal in reality. The sheeple have spoken Obama has won more states, more pledged delegates and more votes of ordinary sheeple. The Queen cannot catch up unless she steals the crown off his head. The superdelegates are just waiting to make sure more sheeple vote for the eloquent speaker instead of the candidate who LOST!
The duty of a President is to keep America secure and to protect our liberties. By wholeheartedly supporting the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq, she has already FAILED horribly in this respect. If Hillary were to get the nomination, it would essentially be a choice between two corrupt Republicans.
"wholeheartedly supporting the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq"" ?
I suggest you do a little research on Hillary's vote regarding the war, and her vote on renewing the Patriot Act. (hint: she was against the latter; Obama was for it).
Yet Sen. Clinton claims that her speeches brought peace to Northern Ireland and helped women in China. Where those just speeches? The irony is that she is using her "speeches" as First Lady to show that she is ready on day one.
But how IS Sen. Obama ready to be Vice President if he isn't ready to be President?
Please explain.
And her qualifications are W H A T? That she was wife of a president and couldn't even talk him out of breaking his promise to oppose NAFTA? That she plotted a bound-to-fail healthcare plan in secret with her cronies (and refused to deal with consumer advocates because she deems them "just another interest group)." And she didn't fight back when big corporations spent millions lying about her plan in order to kill it. Now we have gone a decade and a half with escalating costs and corporate profits for big heathcare off the roof THANKS TO HILLARY, and now there is a new element: Hillary Clinton takes more in political contributions from those very same healthcare corporations who lied about her first plan. Are they rewarding her for having come up with a plan so absurd that even Democrats couldn't support it? Or are they paying her in advance to come up with a similar plan this time around (let's hope there isn't any second chance for that insincere bungler). And this is what you call "*experience?*"
By the way, it is ridiculous and counterproductive for the twerps for Hillary to accuse Obama supporters of gullibility, negativism or mental illness. I supported the Clintons for their full 8 years in office. I pay attention to what they are up to, and I have reevaluated their presidencies in light of the disgusting way they and their lazy, gullible, moronic MORONS) are behaving these days...one element of my disgust comes from being called a "hater" or a "cultist' by some little creep who doesn't even know me., never even met me.
I swear if one more jerk calls me "obsessive" or anything of the kind, I will leave the presidential column blank if she is the Democratic candidate. Not because she is any less qualified than McCain, but because her supporters are quick with the insults to anybody who dares to support another candidate. Smarmy little arrogant jerks, just like the candidate they are supporting.
Before all of this started, I would have set my reservations aside and voted for her....tha
So, if you think your bogus tirades are helping your candidate, think again.
Hillary has said many times publicly that all Obama has is a speech from 2002. She'd rather see McCain win than Obama. Sour grapes, much? Then she plays the fear card with this preposterously vague commercial of her as, what, an insomniac or a crystal meth addict. I'm with Larry on this one. If Hillary set out to scare the American people, she did, mission accomplished.
She made them afraid of HER.
Randy
Preposterously vague ad...... I heard someone on the Sunday pundits shows suggest Obama has to aggressively say exactly how he would answer that call!!!! Well exactly what is the crisis on the other end????? This is why we are losing our democracy. Ask Senator McCain and Senator Cinton if there is a call at 3 am -- without knowing what the crisis is-- tell us exactly what you will do.- send them your resume??? The very question suggests the questioner wants an ideological, one size fits all crises answer.
Read the NYT today. The article on Obama was about 4 months too late. It talks about his being naive and not wanting to upset anything for his future political plans. Also, he had Tom Daschle as his advisor (I think one could call him establishment) and he chickened out on the immigration compromise he was part of -- he didn't stand up. Otherwise, not much there, there. If you read the whole article it might give you second thoughts on his chops.
Also, Larry David is on a misogynist rant -- doesn't that bother anyone? I guess not on these blogs since all they do 24/7 is trash HRC.
Ah, but would you hurl accusations of racism at Hillary, after listening to Hillary and friends go into their racist rants? Did 'ya?
Someone who has displayed more personalities than Sybil does give one pause.
After all the dirty tactics, allowing elections that the Rush Limbaugh right are helping her 'win', does not turn on voters to come to her aid.
Feminists are great people, but this campaign has claimed to represent feminists, yet plays both sides(I am a poor victim-Ithey are beating up on me- I am an unstoppable force who has been in control of my life and will bring women's issues to the forefront. It is a very mixed message.
And if one is strong, using the worst tactics to survive hardly exemplifies what feminists are about. It sends a pretty bad message.
I am basing my choice of candidates on Hillary's legislative record, her electability, her dependence on lobbyists to finance her and her votes for war.
Both Hillary and McCain are too compliant with Corporate. Hillary did not seem to learn when she opened the possibility of signing Bush war legislation to give him a pass to wage war with Iran. Remember Iraq, Hillary? What were you thinking or who was dictating how you should vote? So much for "experience". "Fool me once".
Oh Please!! Clinton NEVER said she would rather see McCain win than Obama.
What makes you think she made the American people afraid of her?
You can speak for all of America?
YOU must be high on meth if you believe what you wrote here.
I have to agree with fantagor. I'm watching this thing as an newly registered independent former democrat and this is exactly why I switched parties; there are only some things that we'll tolerate higher taxes for.
Hillary did say that she and McCain had experieince and Obama had a speech for 2002. Even if her exact words were not she would rather see McCain win, she has set up the anvil if Obama wins the nod, and that's about as good as saying she'd rather see McCain in the White House. So, unfortunately, though many of us are not afraid of Hillary (she's scary and we can't fear those people, we can only show them compassion), she is a two-faced, multipersonality individual that will do anything to win the nomination, including lie and say unscrupulous things. I don't want to vote for someone that would do that, and would sooner vote for McCain than Hillary. What I would like to see is someone measure her promises against her history. She has done some very troubling things while practicing law, and hopefully Obama will bring some of these to light.
The Republicans are reading these entries and are so happy to see the "In-Fighting" continue. Rush Limbaugh is laughing with his Neocon buddies...
Didn't Bill Clinton appear on Rush's show recently?
Maybe he pointed them out
Actually they should be taking a look at their nomination when it comes to answering 3AM red telephone calls. The reality is if you are 72 years old - and he will be by January, if the phone rings at 3AM the first reaction at that age is to quickly get up and piddle. Usually, at that age you are in so much of a hurry you forget to turn on the light so you flounder around in the dark barking your shins.
By the time he gets to the phone his temper will have flared up making any chance of sensible decision making questionable. I am 73 years of age and speak with experience. After 70 the only thing that does not diminish seems to be the ego. Anyway if he does not make it to the WH he can become the poster boy for Viagra. It has been done before by a republican politician.
The Democrats have fire and momentum. The Republicans are the ones languishing outside of the spotlight.
I disagree that the long primary is bad for Democrats. Obama has Dems fired up as never before. Democratic primary turnout is _double_ that of Republicans, even in so-called "Red States" such as Texas and Virginia. Having a contested primary makes people perceive that their participation counts, and therefore they participate. This is how Democrats win.
As Sen. Clinton points out, her husband did not secure the Democratic nomination until June. He then went on to win the presidency. Either Democrat (hopefully Obama) will come out of this with a well-oiled national GOTV apparatus, and milllions and millions of recently-activated Democrats with the taste of blood in their mouths.
Exactly. Republicans WISH anyone cared enough to debate the merits of any of the candidates they held out before the angry old man tied it up. And, still no one cares. They are has-beens.
I like your optimism, but have to disagree about the state we are in. This only goes bad from this point forward. Pundits can pretend that this is great for democracy, but the truth is people are becoming angrier and more divided by the day. There is no win at this point, especially not a joint ticket.
Hillary is scary. She's had some weird meltdowns already. Clearly this is a person not ready for the awesome responsibilities.
Obama is unflappable and very calm and cool. I like that.
McCain is a hothead with a bad temper. Also dangerous.
Sen Obama was in an uncomfortable press conference last week (that he called together I believe). When he was pushed for answers by the Chicago papers regarding Rezco and the newly begun trial, Sen Obama chose not to answer, but bolt from the conference. Calm, unflappable, it's easy to be those when you are relatively unchallenged, but as soon as he was pushed he had few answers, and didn't look so calm, unflappable or incharge.
McCain may not win your support obviously, but will he win enough 'independent' others to take the presidency. Things to think about as you all blithely trash and bash anyone other than an Obama supporter.
Maybe the meds Obama is taking are stronger than McCain's. HRC is not scary unless you are afraid of women over the age of 25, which is seems most of the people on these blogs are.
The sexism and ageism is horrific. McCain isn't terrible because of his age. He is terrible because he is terrible.
Obama is the trophy President. He'll get bored with it and as Michelle Obama (the holder of the family ballsack) has said, this is a one-shot thing for BO. If he loses, never again. Now that's the spirit for the Obama-man who is out to chart a new course across the universe (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..
What are they suppose to say? Oh, he'll run again so don't bother voting for him this time? That goes against everything he's working so hard for now.
Hillary and "Goodbye Norma Jean" is playing in many peoples mind.
What happens when one becomes the thing they fought the hardest to overcome?
Idealism has developed into cynicism. Fighting for the rights of the little guy has turned into acceptance of the status quo. Fighting the greedy establishment has turned into becoming one of the greedy, compromised system of government.
Creating sound and good legislation has degenerated into signing on with forces that would support war over peace or diplomacy, profiteering off war, and an obligation to comply with disastrous legislation that bring death to millions, and billions to the orchestrators. Not representing the people-representing corporate interests.
Goodbye, Hillary.
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