In Her Convention Speech, Hillary Should Challenge McCain to Respect Her

During the 2006 Virginia Senate race between Jim Webb and George Allen, Webb ran an ad in which Ronald Reagan was praising him upon his appointment to be Secretary of the Navy. Alerted to the ad, Nancy Reagan contacted the Webb campaign and asked him not to run it because doing so implied that Reagan would have backed Webb against Allen although the ad never said it.

Out of respect, Webb stopped running it.

Now, John McCain is running ads stirring resentment among supporters of Hillary Clinton for alleged mistreatment of Hillary, and not picking her to be Vice-President. He is also running ads using her primary attack comments against him.

As part of her convention speech, Hillary should indicate that such ads disrespect her supporters and also show disrespect for her. If McCain is, as he is implying, highly respectful of Hillary Clinton, and commiserates with her narrow loss, (crocodile tears if there ever were some!), he ought to be challenged to respect her wishes, and cease-and-desist running such ads that imply that she, Hillary, would be supporting McCain over Obama, or that she feels her supporters should.

Let Hillary challenge McCain to respect her wishes. If he does, then the ads are gone. If he does not, he will have shown all of Hillary's supporters his true mettle, and his real opinion of Hillary Clinton.

It is disrespectful of another human being to use another's voice, words or face to suggest she favors something she in fact do not. Outside the political arena, it would be grounds for fraud and damages.

Let us see what kind of a man John McCain really is.

Comments

[bava84]

"campgranata": I know of no commercial/advertisement which Sen. McCain was asked to cancel. Had he been directed as Webb was by the Reagan Library, McCain would have gladly retracted such an ad.

[campgranata]

why are you addressing these remarks to me? I was quoting the article in the first paragraph; hadn't you read it? and yes I should have put the author's remarks in quotes.

[bava84]

Once more, The Huffington Post spawns inaccurate information--

"campgranata": Joanne Drake, chief of staff to the Reagan Library, faxed a letter to Webb in early September 2006 on Mrs. Reagan's behalf, stating that "[u]sing the [President Reagan's] name, image or likeness implies endorsement which is neither fair nor respectful of any candidate, certainly not after [his] death, [and to] please refrain" (Craig & Shear/WaPo, 2006).

Webb NEVER ordered the ad be taken down.

[campgranata]

Nancy Reagan contacted the Webb campaign and asked him not to run it because doing so implied that Reagan would have backed Webb against Allen although the ad never said it.

oranges and apples; the difference is that Hillary made those statement to defeat Barack Obama and John McCain is using them for the same reason.

[bava84]

Mr. Abrams:
Therefore, the contrast between Webb's situation and that of McCain -- as outlined in this piece -- is quite sharp.

[bava84]

Mr. Abrams, the following statement is entirely inaccurate:
"Out of respect, Webb stopped running [the ad featuring President Reagan]."

In fact, Kristian Denny Todd -- a spokesperson for Webb's '06 campaign -- had this to say about the ad, even after the Reagan Presidential Library asked that it be taken down at Mrs. Reagan's request: "It's Reagan in his own words. What Reagan said about Jim Webb, that belongs to Jim Webb, frankly."

Mr. Abrams: The way I see it, Webb & Co. did not act "out of respect," but rather in contempt of Mrs. Reagan, President Reagan and his legacy.

[neurologymatters]

Senator Hillary Clinton gained the respect of Republicans and Democrats and Independents with her incredible and passionate speech tonight.

[sandiaview]

The Republicans think that they can kill two birds with one stone. Knock off Barack with Hillary's words and make Hillary unelectable by labeling her as a Democratic backstabber and the cause of Barack's defeat. It can only work if we let it work!

[avgjoe1]

Pelosi for president. Hillary needs to remember that. Why do you think Pelosi is helping Barack.

[rachen engel]

she's getting ready to singgggggggg :)

[Gene1]

Why don’t you focus on your own choice for vice president I hear you want to select Joe Lieberman. Yes, he’ll be your buy one get 2 free. He’s an independent, a democrat and a republican who loves wars in the Middle East.

Sen. McBush, your emissaries to Georgia are back. Are you going to send some to Darfur? Or, are you phony?

Sen. McBush, instead of Giuliani wasting words trying to prop up candidacy as a keynote speaker; Mayor Giulani ought to do something else. Remind Americans that you were involved in Keating 5 scandal, that you doctored your security reports when you were in Iraq. In spite of your so-called claims to be a reformer, your manager and most advisers are lobbyists. That you own more than eight houses but voted for a needless war causing thousands of innocent lives to. Then spend some time to atone for your sins in Iraq!

[renatam]

Bill Clinton in Denver again undercuts Obama
By Sam Youngman
Posted: 08/26/08 01:47 PM [ET]
DENVER " Bill Clinton appeared to undermine Sen. Barack Obama again Tuesday.
The former president, speaking in Denver, posed a hypothetical question in which he seemed to suggest that that the Democratic Party was making a mistake in choosing Obama as its presidential nominee.

He said: "Suppose you're a voter, and you've got candidate X and candidate Y. Candidate X agrees with you on everything, but you don't think that candidate can deliver on anything at all. Candidate Y you agree with on about half the issues, but he can deliver. Which candidate are you going to vote for?"

Then, perhaps mindful of how his off-the-cuff remarks might be taken, Clinton added after a pause: "This has nothing to do with what's going on now."

The comments are unlikely to be taken as an innocent mistake by those Democrats who continue to be angry with the former president for, they say, not supporting the Illinois senator wholeheartedly, if not implicitly undercutting him.

Democrats concerned about what the former president might say when he addresses the Democratic convention Wednesday night would likely have cringed at his remarks Tuesday to a group of foreign dignitaries.

The former president talked about the importance of a politician being able to deliver on his promises following an electoral victory and how voters factor in that ability to deliver when picking their candidate....

[luckyinnc]

Demand respect...that works everytime! LOL

[partyofone]

Hillary does not have the respect of most of the nation. Good luck with McCain.

[clearthinker2008]

Good post.

[munjuni]

If Hillary really means that she is supporting Obama, she should tell her supporters this.

"McCAIN DOES NOT SHARE MY VISION FOR THIS COUNTRY. HE DOES NOT REPRESENT WHAT I BELEIVE IN. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SHOW ME YOUR SUPPORT, THEN VOTE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE. VOTING FOR McCAIN IS A VOTE AGAINST WHAT I FOUGHT FOR AND BELEIVE IN."

Anything short of this will mean she has her eyes on 2012 and would wish Obama didn't make it.

[CookieWrites]

Women should not be black-mailed into supporting Obama because of the threat the GOP will take away Roe vs Wade. When are we going to stop caving to the fear and just say "No!" until we get want we want.

[PaulAbrams]

One might think that women, like men, ought to consider what will improve the lives of most people and the country as a whole. Just say "No!", until we get what we want? Does that mean, if it is not a woman President, don't vote?
In this primary battle there was one disenfranchised group that was going to be mightily disappointed--either Afro-Americans or women. Hillary Clinton had everything going for her--except a good campaign strategy. That is no one's fault but her campaign team. That it was so close DESPITE having a poor campaign team shows how many other advantages she had--name recognition, the party establishment, a very popular ex-President hubby, and so on.
Hillary could have swept the primaries if she had, like all the others, owned up to her Iraq War vote being a mistake and apologizing. But, she didn't. That's no one's fault but her own.

[partyofone]

If McCain is elected, my bet is it will take the nation a decade to recover the values I care about. In this election Apathy = more fuel a war machine that serves the oil companies and defense contractors.

[campgranata]

that the grand ole party will take away Roe vs. Wade is not a threat; it is a fact. What in hell do you think pro life means?

[newpantaloons]

This is the ad I wouldl like to see from the OBAMA campaign or at least from a surrogate. If John McCain is going to constantly use the "POW" argument that he says makes him "Commander-in-Chief' material, then someone needs to point out that John McCain voted with his president to call the exact same procedures "not torture"! If he claims that the procedures used at Guantanamo (standing for long periods of time, threatening, stress positions, etc., etc., etc.) are NOT TORTURE, then he HAS to QUIT using the same argument, over and over, that he was tortured as a POW, just so he can get elected. (I do not believe I have ever heard that John McCain was waterboarded, but he doesn't think that is torture, either). It seems the Republicans always think they can have it both ways.

I find the constant picture of McCain throwing out his POW credentials, over and over, while having voted to say what 'his' president does is NOT TORTURE, is one of the most disgusting examples of this man I can even imagine! He will say and do ANYTHING to get elected. He is 72 years old and has ALL THE MONEY he could ever want. Why isn't he going into retirement and enjoying the last years of his life, instead of running this dishonest, dishonorable and dispicable campaign?

[TexasDem0]

He is running because the neo-cons want another puppet president they can easily manipulate by stroking his enormous ego.

[campgranata]

there are no politicians lacking in ego, or how could they even think about running for office?