It turns out those Republican talking points were right

April 13, 2008 by lestro

by lestro

So Obama has apparently decided to go a little more on the offensive in criticizing Clinton’s response to the “cling to” thing. The Associated Press reports on Obama’s latest comments:

“She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She’s talking like she’s Annie Oakley,” Obama said … … Obama continued, saying “Hillary Clinton is out there like she’s on the duck blind every Sunday. She’s packing a six-shooter. Come on, she knows better. That’s some politics being played by Hillary Clinton.” … “I just have to remind people of the track record,” Obama said. “This is the same person who took money from financial folks on Wall Street and then voted for bankruptcy bill that makes it harder for folks right here in Pennsylvania to get a fair shake. Who do you think is out of touch? “This is the same person who spent a decade with her husband campaigning for NAFTA, and now goes around saying she’s opposed to NAFTA,” Obama said, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement that is widely unpopular in blue collar communities.

The Clinton Campaign fired back, proving that Penn wasn’t the only problem in that staff…

“For months, Barack Obama and his campaign have relentlessly attacked Hillary Clinton’s character and integrity by using Republican talking points from the 1990s,” said spokesman Phil Singer. “The shame is his. Senator Clinton does know better — she knows better than to condescend and talk down to voters like Senator Obama did.”

Since we’ve been over the elitist crap before (an Ivy-League multi-millionaire who has lived in a protective Washington bubble who thinks we are too dumb to notice when she lies to us – multiple times – about shit that’s ON VIDEO using her opponent’s – and party eventual nominee, if we are being honest here, hill – using an actual, literal misspeak to use his education against him…), let’s just jump to that ‘Republican talking points from the 1990s’ bit, shall we?

First, it is interesting to note that the specific attack – the elitist/talk down to voters bit – was one of the main arguments used by the Republicans to take down the Democratic candidate in 2000 and 2004.

That’s called irony, I think.

But deeper than that, Bill and Hillary Clinton really are starting to live up to everyone one of those “Republican talking points from the 90s” that I thought were just jealous, vendetta-driven politics.

Will say anything to get elected? Check.

More concerned with their own power than what’s best for the party? Seemingly so, yes.

Messy personal entanglements that draw decisions and statements into question? yup.

Willingness to play fast and loose with the facts? oh yeah.

Play dirty and then play the victim? that, too.

Attacking the character of longtime friends because of perceived loyalty issues? again, yes.

But I am not the only one drawing these comparisons. A quick look at the favorable/unfavorables for both of the Clintons shows that they are not what they used to be, much of which can be attributed to the dirty campaigning this season, not to mention all of the above.

Then there’s this from McClatchy:

LEVITTOWN, Pa. — Like many women over 50, Paula Houwen was eager to vote for Hillary Clinton for president. “I was impressed when she was first lady. She wasn’t the country’s trophy wife,” the 56-year-old suburban Philadelphia pharmacist recalled. Today, though, Houwen’s no longer a Clinton fan. “I do not like the way Hillary Clinton has run her campaign,” she said.

I say again, the longer this campaign goes on the more damage Hillary and Bill Clinton do not only to their party, but their own legacy. Hillary Clinton is also hurting her chances of attaining further leadership positions where she could do some real good.

I am a big fan of the Clintons. They have done a lot of good and his presidency remains a positive decade of relative peace and relative prosperity.

But my view of them has been forever altered by this campaign.

UPDATE! (APRIL 16):

As if on cue, the Washington Post has a story about how people view Hillary Clinton and the results are not positive:

Clinton is viewed as “honest and trustworthy” by just 39 percent of Americans, according to a new Washington Post–ABC News poll, compared with 52 percent in May 2006. Nearly six in 10 said in the new poll that she is not honest and trustworthy. And now, compared with Obama, Clinton has a deep trust deficit among Democrats, trailing him by 23 points as the more honest, an area on which she once led both Obama and John Edwards. Among Democrats, 63 percent called her honest, down 18 points from 2006; among independents, her trust level has dropped 13 points, to 37 percent. Republicans held Clinton in low regard on this in the past (23 percent called her honest two years ago), but it is even lower now, at 16 percent. Majorities of men and women now say the phrase does not apply to Clinton; two years ago, narrow majorities of both did.

Tough to win, let alone govern, when two-thirds of the country think you are a liar. And the longer this goes on, the worse it will get for the Clinton Legacy.