The Monster: A Loyal Clinton Soldier Turns in His Badge

She has no idea.

She has no idea how many times I defended her. How many right-leaning friends and relatives I battled with. How many times I played down her shady business deals and penchant for scandals -- whether it was Whitewater, Travelgate, Vince Foster, Cattle Futures, Web Hubbell, or Norman Hsu. She has no idea how frequently I dismissed her husband's serial adultery as an unfortunate trait of an otherwise brilliant man. For sixteen years, I was a proud soldier in the legion of "Clinton apologists" -- who believed that peace and prosperity were more important than regrettable personality traits.

And then she ran for president.

After seven years of George W. Bush, America is hungry for change. Big change. And let's face it -- Hillary Clinton, the party standard-bearer and former White House denizen -- isn't it. But even after voters coalesced around Barack Obama, handing him eleven straight primaries (twelve, if you count Vermont), she refused to accept the possibility -though math, money and momentum were clearly against her -- that the Bush/Clinton Family Band might not be #1 on America's Billboard chart anymore.

So, rather than step aside and become the hero of her party, she made a strategy decision to go negative in advance of Ohio and Texas. Not just negative -- personal. She cynically chided Mr. Obama's message of hope. She played the victim card. The gender card. The Muslim card. She cried "shame on you, Barack Obama" for his campaign tactics, while (if we're to believe Matt Drudge) simultaneously floating a picture of him in Somali garb to stir up questions of his patriotism.

She accused Mr. Obama of his own shady business deals (the irony of which nearly ripped a hole in the fabric of space/time). She accused him of being two-faced on NAFTA, when it was her campaign that had winked at the Canadians. She demanded that he "reject" the endorsement of Louis Farrakhan, but remained silent when Rush Limbaugh stirred up votes for her in Texas. And she crafted the now-infamous "3am" attack ad -- which used scare tactics to highlight Senator Obama's perceived lack of experience in foreign affairs. Straight out of the ol' Atwater/Rove playbook. Of course, all of this paled in comparison to her husband's patronizing, racially insensitive comments earlier in the primary season.

Was this the same Hillary Clinton whose husband ran on the idea that hope was more powerful than fear? The wife of a president who had less foreign policy experience than Barack Obama when he was elected? And exactly which crisis is she referring to when she claims to have more experience? And while we're at it, where the hell are those tax returns?

It's clear that Hillary's back in this thing, at least for the time being. But at what cost? Short of some cataclysmic event, there's no way either she or Mr. Obama can reach 2,025 delegates in the remaining contests. That means she's accepted the inevitability of a brokered convention. A convention she'll almost certainly enter with fewer delegates than her opponent. That raises some important questions:

Will she subvert the will of the voters? Will she turn Denver into a series of shady back-room deals and arm twisting? Will she dispatch her husband to pressure superdelegates into switching allegiances at the last minute? Are we in for, as one pundit put it, a good ol' fashioned "knife fight?"

And if she does manage to secure the nomination, what about the scores of disenfranchised Obama supporters (many of them young people with little loyalty to the Democratic Party)? How will she bring them back into the tent? Hillary seems confident that this can be remedied by offering Mr. Obama a spot on her ticket. Really? And what would his motivation be for accepting? Playing third-fiddle to Bill?

However, if Mr. Obama goes on to secure the nomination, she'll have handed his rival a treasure trove of sound bites. All John McCain has to do between August and November is play clips of Hillary questioning Obama's experience and belittling his platitudes. In a way, she'll have become Mr. McCain's second running mate.

She's proven that she cares more about "Hillary" than "unity." More about defeating Obama than defeating the Republicans. She's become a political suicide-bomber, happy to blow herself to bits -- as long as she takes everyone else with her.

On Friday, one of Barack Obama's foreign policy advisors, Samantha Power, resigned after calling Senator Clinton "a monster" during an off-the-record exchange. It was an unfortunate slip, but one that echoed the sentiments of many Clinton apologists like me -- who've watched Hillary's descent into pettiness and fear-mongering with the heartbreak of a child who grows up to realize that his beloved mother has been a terrible person all along.

Are the conservatives right about the Clintons? Will they do and say anything to get elected?

I don't know.

All I know is...I'm through apologizing.

Comments

[NyPrincess]

Thank you Seth! I could not have written it better!!

[nonna1]

The venom that is being spewed here in reference to Hillary is disgusting. There are people reading your words who support Senator Clinton . Do you think that they will look kindly upon Senator Obama if he should become the nominee? Think about it...what if all that garbage was being thrown at Senator Obama and Senator Clinton becomes the nominee, how would you react? Would you be willing to support her?

[EspritDeVoltaire]

Perhaps, you should thoughtfully consider the points being made here. Just because you disagree with the author, doesn't make the argument any less true. Senator Clinton's attacks have wounded Senator Obama, perhaps fatally, for when he runs against Senator McCain later this year. She has done a great disservice to the Democratic Party and the nation.

[mickeyrat]

I really don't get this whining about Hillary having "damaged" Obama. What was she supposed to do? Say the man is competent to handle that 3:00 a.m. call?

You like to compare Obama's experience to that of JFK's. Well, let's be frank. The first 3:00 a.m. call that JFK got was for the Bay of Pigs. And he botched it miserably, hemmed and hawed and then, when it was too late, backed down.

What is Hillary supposed to do? Not point out that experience in government at a high level really helps when it comes to dealing with 3:00 a.m. calls? I'm not Hillary prone in any way, I'll vote Green again, but it is a point of reason that experience does count. Hillary has been there, even if she hasn't made the decisions, she knows what happens when a crisis arises, how people will react, how long it will take to do things, what are the kinds of things that can go wrong, because she has seen it happen there. Like it or not, that is a relevant point, that is the point behind the 3:00 a.m. ad, and that is a perfectly legitimate point.

It can be countered. One can say that that's true, but that Obama will show good judgement in selecting those to advise him at 3:00 a.m. But whining that she shouldn't be bringing it up is just flat out idiotic.

The Obama crowd has to watch out. It's post like Seth's that really make a lot of us who switched to Obama after supporting other candidates have second thoughts. I was orginally for Edwards, didn't mind Obama, but the "cult of personality" behavior of his acolytes is really offensive.

You folks really need to settle down.

[LeoMarvin]

This post is filled with regret, not venom. But there's plenty of knee-jerk venom and narcissism in the comments attacking it. As another longstanding Hillary defender (and still so to my right wing friends) I've had it up to here with the cohort of her supporters who can't fathom anyone preferring Obama who doesn't hate women. Well I've got news for you. There's a relatively small faction in each campaign producing unforgivably hateful, sexist, racist behavior, but it predominates from Hillary's side. The polls show it, and any unbiased observer can see it.

[ESerafina42]

You obviously don't spend much time on this site, do you, Leo?

[Shozen]

As an Obama supporter. Do you think I will support Hillary after claiming McCain would be a better President?

[nyobserver]

Did you really just compare Hillary to your mother?

[jorydozier]

I am glad my mom was nothing like Hillary, my mom had integrity and was honest.

[suntzu]

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is most presidential of all?

"Why, it's me, Hillary!"

[LaVieEnRose]

It's obvious that Obama and Clinton supporters may never agree on many things about their respective candidates, BUT can we all agree that Hillary Clinton has shown neither the integrity or character to be POTUS? Please, Clinton supporters, consider this and respond honestly.

Next, ask yourself how important are integrity and character in the individual you want to represent your interests as citizens both domestically and internationally?

In choosing POTUS, are integrity and character MUST-HAVES or simply Nice-To-Haves?

[DoninJoisey]

I completely agree. Her ridicule of having hope for change, her praise of McCain at the expense of Obama, her pulling the Rovian fear card, denying she was for NAFTA,.....

"35 years of experience" - most of it "wife of"..

Is that what we want? Why not just re-elect Bush? What do you mean, no third term? - She is a shot for a third Clinton term, and we've trampled the constitution anyway.

Look at her claims of bringing peace to N.Ireland - debunked. Her claims of what she did in Bosnia - it was a USO show with Sinbad and Cheryl Crow. It's another Bush running, redefining reality.

Best of all, look at the money behind her - drug companies. insurance companies,­.....yeah, they don't expect anything in return....

[Henry2008]

Obama is the pet project of the extremist left wing of the Democratic party. Hillary represents the centrist.

[ESerafina42]

If people agree with you that Hillary has shown neither the integrity or character to be POTUS, they are, by that very fact, not Clinton supporters unless they're horrendously stupid. If they thought that, why on earth would they support her?

[Schnitzel]

If she subverts the will of the voters and steals the nomination Denver in 2008 is going to look like Chicago in 1968 and it will yield the same results for the Democratic Party: they will lose.

[kennedy]

HILLARY BEATS MC CAIN NATIONALLY:

Rasmussen 3/6-9/08 MC CAIN 45 46 CLINTON

Newsweek 3/5-6/08 MC CAIN 46 48 CLINTON

[jorydozier]

poll after poll shows Obama beating McCain by larger margins.

[ghostgirl]

This really is the Obamington Post! Step Aside? More arrogance from Obama supporters, I see. According the Real Clear Politics poll, Hillary is behind in the national poll by roughly four points.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/

You all are asking her to step down as if public opinion is decisively in Obama's favor, but it's not. The two are in a statistical dead heat in terms of the popular vote, and there aren't going to be any caucuses in the general election. If Texas proved anything, it wasn't Hillary's ability to win big states, Texas proved how the caucuses and their impact on the delegate count really aren't reflective of the general public. Fewer than 100K people participated in the Texas cauceses, as opposed to the several million that participated in the primaries, which means that the margin that Hillary beat Obama by in the primaries was larger than the combined number of voters in the caucuses, yet Obama picked up more delegates from that state. Oh yeah, that makes sense (not)

"She's proven that she cares more about "Hillary" than "unity." More about defeating Obama than defeating the Republicans. She's become a political suicide-bomber, happy to blow herself to bits -- as long as she takes everyone else with her. "


Stop perpetuating this myth that Obama is running for POTUS for reasons that are enitrely altruistic and not self serving, and that Hillary, simply by virtue of being ambitious, female, and not Obama is therefore self centered. Is Obama only allowed the luxury of believing that he's the best person for the job? And for someone who's supposedly seen the light, it didn't stop you from trotting out the latest slur in the Obama supporter's lexicon for smearing Hillary, "Monster." I thought Obama supporters were supposed to above that.

Where is the op-ed on the implications of Obama's Iraq War policy, given Samatha Power's BBC remarks?

Where is the op-ed questioning the legitimacy of the caucus process, if the number of votes a candidate can net in the primary contest, involving millions, is larger than the amount of all of the voters in the caucus combined and still not pick up the lion's share of the delegates?

I guess these important questions are too hard to tackle, and it's just easier to demand her surrender, simply because Obama hasn't been able to cement the nomination.

[bujeeboo]

If you are comparing motive versus actions, Hillary's actions are far more politically expedient than Obama's. I will grant you, this is as of today. Anything can happen. But their motives and determination are probably similar. I have no beef with her in that regard.

My problem is that she threw Obama under the bus and elevated McCain. And today, her comments that Obama might be her running mate after the whole "Shame on YOU, Barack Obama" which preceded the "I am honored, HONORED to be sitting here with Barack Obama". I keep saying: what's next from her?

And all this has REALLY made me think about that war vote that she still hasn't apologized for. Do you suppose she voted the way she did because she didn't want to be perceived as weak on defense. I do. And that, to me, makes it very hard to support her because I don't see her as having any ethical code. By her own standard, she wants to be chosen because she has better judgment? I don't see it based on her ACTIONS.

[candlewax]

No, if you want to see a shill in action, watch SNL. The writer of the pro-hillary pieces was just on CNN and admitted that he was for Hillary and wanted her to win. As for me, I'm boycotting SNL because it embraces Clinton talking points and amounts to essentially free press and advertisements for one candidate at the expense of another.

[Henry2008]

And what do you call what MSNBC, CNN, AIR AMerica do?

[Shozen]

As Hillary WAS the presumptive nominee who fail to hold her own against Obama, should not she pass the torch? Not according to the Hillaryerist. Hillary or McCain that seams to be their talking point.

[monique]

Shozen
While your post is not exactly clear, I can decipher that you are for Obama, and you are posing the question as to whether Hillary should step aside -- because she was previously ahead?!

Uh...no..uh, that's not how it works.

This is a race, a very tight one. One that is not over yet, as I will point out to you that many states remain, having not yet conducted their primaries.

As both candidates are very close in this race, it would be stupidity for either one of them to step aside. And neither of them are stupid.

[cranberry11]

Look, caucuses are part of the electoral process and have been for a long time. Hillary Clinton's team knew about the caucuses, and they should have prepared better for them! They have admitted that. They have no one to blame but themselves that they did not put more time and effort into strategizing about caucuses. Now they want to change the rules after the rules have already been set. Even a child could tell you that once you establish certain rules, it's unfair to change them midway. The Clintons somehow think they are above the rules, that if the rules don't suit them, they should be changed to suit them.
Also, caucuses are good in that they reward informed, passionate, and activist voters who help build the party in a way that perfunctory voting cannot.

[Thorwald]

The crazy thing about this whole thing is that Obama is actually motivating, registering, and engaging young and new voters while Hillary slowly drives others away. It will be interesting to see how this whole thing ends up. A broken Democratic party might actually enable a lonely Independent one. Thanks Hillary.

[DoninJoisey]

Independents, like me, are here because of republican abuses, but that doesn't mean I want it replaced by democratic abuses and dirty politics.

Hillary is divisive - highest negatives of anyone. The past few weeks have shown why. I would like to see the country united.

Her fear and smear may work, as it did for Bush, but that doesn't mean it's right. I certainly don't think more of the same old crap is what our country needs.

[orbital]

well said.

[Henry2008]

You will vote for McCain in the general. Stop pretending that you will vote DEmocratic.

[enoughalready]

You don't sell out the Democrat party for your own personal ambitions - Hillary did that by qualifiying herself and McCain. She threw all of us under the bus. There was no excuse for it.

Obama currently leads the delegate and popular vote - my vote is in there! By throwing Obama under the bus she threw me under the bus. She showed she does not care about my vote!

It's insulting to be suggesting he be her running mate! She's unbelievable.

Obama 2008

[DoninJoisey]

It's right out of Rove - just redefine reality - Clintons have no problem with that - have we forgotten? Redefining what sex was, even what the meaning of "is" is.

Repeat a lie over and over and some people believe it - "wife of" becomes real experience - to some.

[Henry2008]

Please stop with your dramatic antics. Obama has done the same to Hillary many times.

[sed68]

Thank you! PHEW! Finally....

We've seen the Clintons' revolting behavior in this campaign, but good to know many of their supporters have been decent people all along.

A heated battle to the finish about policy issues, readiness, etc would be perfectly understandable. Innuendo, fear-mongering, refusal to play by the rules, LYING is not. Neither is destroying your party, or calling into question the democratic process by which you win/lose just because you are losing.

Thanks again for the summary. Well said.

[DoninJoisey]

Agree, but the mocking of the message of hope for change upsets me most.

The Clintons have to stifle hope for change, because the only change would be who lobbyists make checks out to with the Clintons back in.

New Clinton ad - "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.."

[ESerafina42]

"Hope" and "change" mean nothing unless backed up with action. Otherwise, they're just pretty toys to dangle before the adoring masses.

[Henry2008]

Hope is not going to protect America
Hope is not going to get me a job
Hope is not going to provide health care
Hope is not going to feed my children

Obama is the pet project of the elitist exremist left wing of the Democratic Party.

[cseper]

She has no idea how many times I defended her>>

If you want Obama to be president... fine, but do not trash Hillary and use Karl Rove tactics doing it. I never heard of you before and your column will not dissuade me from supporting Hillary!

[boombox]

use Karl Rove tactics? what on earth are you raving about?

[xenofile]

Expressing personal disappointment is a perfectly legitimate political statement, and in no way a "Karl Rove" tactic. It is precisely that kind of hyperbole that people characterize as "win at all costs". Perhaps the writer has not "dissuaded" you, but your response is not persuasive either. And it reflects poorly on your candidate.

[Demonax]

Who is trashing whom? Why do Hillary backers defend her viscious attacks on Obama and then pretend that she is the victim? Let's get real! Obama has run a positive campaign, but Hillary hasn't put forward a single reason for anyone to vote for her. She concentrates solely on trying to tear Senator Obama down to her level. Maybe by the time Hillary's done Obama will have 50%+ disapproval ratings like she does. If she succeeds, Hillary will guarantee a McCain victory in November. Hillary can't win a general election campaign because half the country already hates her. Who is she going to persuade? Obama is the only Democrat with a real chance to win this fall. Hillary should drop out TODAY!

[ghostgirl]

No, you get real! Stop whining and blaming Hillary for Obama's inability to clinch the nomination. I fail to see how it's Hillary's fault that a significant minority of people (44% to his 48% according to the national polls) aren't buying Obama's hope/change rhetoric.

[Demonax]

If it's foolish to live an illusion, then disillusionment is wisdom. I feel sorry for those living under the illusion that Hillary Clinton has a conscience. Someday you'll wake up to reality. The Clintons care about no one but themselves. They don't care about the Democratic party. They're not afraid to stir up racial hatred and xenophobia for a few votes. Hillary should be expelled from the Democratic party like her pal and fellow hawk Joe Lieberman.

[IMD]

Did the world suddenly change, and the race for the highest perch in the free world is to be fought over with flowers? Politics should be like a game of T-Ball? Should they just pass along their thoughts in the form of friendly greeting cards?

This is a big job they're going after. I want to see what they've got. They should debate, and they should push each other, and do it like they mean it. I want to SEE it, not hope for it, not imagine it, or wonder about it... if they can't show what they're made of with each other, and us, how do we know they've really got what it takes?

Enough of this taking sides on the playground. Support who you like, but give me a break with the expectations that these two politicians are suddenly not going to act like politicians.

[boombox]

Clearly the world is not going to change if it's up to you. Some of us would very much like to see it change. If that offends your sense of jaded cynicism, tough shit.

[xenofile]

So, on the one hand, "they should push each other, and do it like they mean it," and on the other, "Enough of this taking sides on the playground." Do you, maybe, see a bit of a contradiction there? You're egging them on to fight, and then you complain when others either take sides (the wrong side, obviously) or complain about the fighting.

"if they can't show what they're made of with each other, and us, how do we know they've really got what it takes?"

The author is suggesting that Hillary has, indeed, shown what she's made of, and he doesn't like it. I tend to agree. The ability to play down-and-dirty does not show either leadership, executive ability, or strength of character (real toughness). So what's your point? 4 more years of cynical despair?

[user168]

Larry Craig scandal is not the first among elected officials.

Now N.Y. Gov. is linked To Prostitution Ring.

That's because they don't care about SOCIETY (or anybody else), not to mention about setting an example for young people. Why do you think Bill Clinton is like that? Why do you think Hillary tells the nation's young people their "live the change you want to see in the world" hopes are "false hopes"?

While there is honor among thieves, there is no truth among hypocrites.

The most fearful thing is not death itself, but the existence of hypocrites that causes lives.

[DoninJoisey]

There are politicians, and there are DIRTY politicians.

You may have liked the way Bush campaigned, and the way Clinton has begun to, but I'm disgusted.

[jorydozier]

Another one that doesn't get it. It is absolutely pathetic the way some people think. Keep at it Hillary' it will be your undoing.

[user168]

Great piece! You've said it all.

Hillary is brain-dead.

Why? Because she can't tell the difference between a dictator (e.g. Kim Jong-il of North Korea) and a president of United States.

Kim Jong-il is as clever as Hillary, is experienced (if not more than Hillary) in handling domestic and foreign affairs, and has “audacity of audacity” like Hillary (from Gail Collins). In fact, Hillary portraits herself exactly a Jong-il (if not more ill). So, Hillary, what's the ill in you is exactly what's the ill in Jong-ill.

“Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompanied with ill bringing-up, are far more fatal.”

What a dictator (Jong-ill or Hillary-ill) lacks to become the president of United States is not experience, capability, or "audacity of audacity"; it is virtue, the moral courage! No hypocrisy please!

"There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands."

It is man who makes experience great, not experience that makes man great.

"The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it."

"To lead people, walk beside them...

As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence.

The next best, the people honor and praise.

The next, the people fear;

and the next, the people hate..."

A dictator is he who people fear; Hillary is she who people "hate".

While there is honor among thieves, there is nothing true among hypocrites.

"Smart people instinctively understand the dangers of entrusting our future to self-serving leaders who use our institutions, whether in the corporate or social sectors, to advance their own interests."

[carolh11]

Well folks, we still have time to close the door on the HRC campaign. With your help in PA, we can let everyone know that the queen is finally dead! Perception is nine tenths! PA needs your help!

[vsign]

You'll need my vote in the General. I don't want to hear "the queen is finally dead".

[candlewax]

Please cover your ears.

[DoninJoisey]

Maybe if we throw water on her, she'll melt.....;-)