I'm gonna disagree with a lot Obama-ites and say that it was a mistake. I say that, not out of any love for Hillary Clinton, but because I can't see how this remark helps her at all. It's inconceivable to me that this would be a strategy. More likely she's tired and said something stupid.
But this brings me to two points. 1.) Hillary Clinton is an overrated candidate. For all the talk about toughness, in the waning days of the campaign, she has become a gaffe-o-matic. Why should we believe she would be stronger in the general.
2.) This is why it's foolish to compare racism and sexism. Hillary and some her blind-ass feminist supporters have asserted that there has been no racism in this campaign, or none when compared to racism. But Barack Obama had to get Secret Service protection before any candidate in history. I wonder if that has to do with racism. Part of this is our fault as we've allowed the definition of racism to devolve into the spectacular--the Rodney King tape or a Don Imus rant.
But the ugliest aspects are the things you don't see, or don't care to see. There is no American tradition of assassination in the feminist community. The sort of violence that consistently hung over Civil Rights workers, and ultimately got Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, never hung over Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan. Again I think Hillary simply made a mistake. But I also think were she from my side of the tracks, a place where the assassination of black public figures has altered whole lives, she wouldn't have said something that stupid. Ditto for Steinem, who if she'd ever spent any significant time around black folks, would know that there are forces which are just as restricting as gender. I still don't think Clinton realizes what she said--she apologized to the Kennedy's, but not to Obama. The blindness is strong in that one.
« Nice Little Campaign You Got Here. Be A Shame If Something Happened... | Main | Class » About That Assasination Remark23 May 2008 07:36 pm Comments (6)
The only reason I can see is that this is another message to the undeclared superdelegates. I now believe that she truly believes America is not ready for a black president. And she's just made her most desperate plea yet. 
Would it change your thinking if it were the third time she has said this? Because it is. Can't post links in your comments section, but check the Daily Kos comments thread.
She's been saying it since early March. A couple of times this month, she wisely skipped the assassination reference and just mentioned RFK running in California. Keith Olbermann goes over it all in his 'special comment' for Friday, and video is available on the web. She didn't say it because she was tired. It's been part of her rationale at least since March (and who knows when she started saying it in private to superdelegates and donors.)
Well, I'm not inclined to believe she meant anything like the worst of what's being said about it, but it was not a slip of the tongue due to being tired. As others have pointed out, she has repeated it several times now. This is from March 8: TIME: Can you envision a point at which--if the race stays this close--Democratic Party elders would step in and say, "This is now hurting the party and whoever will be the nominee in the fall"? CLINTON: No, I really can't. I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual. A gaffe. Oh yeah, but not a mistake. She's been repeating it. Quite simply, no matter what she meant, when you take into account the history of assassinations of Presidents and black leaders, the anniversary of RFK's death just a few weeks away, the terrible news that the Kennedy family is already facing this week, and to some extent the fallout from Huckabee's NRA gaffe just a week or so ago, that kind of rationale for staying in the race is quite unacceptable, and her excuse-laden apology-lite (After watching it several times now, I'm really tempted to call it a non-apology) fell way short on these ears.
She's not tired. She's not tired of making references to Obama getting assassinated. And why would Obama be assassinated? Oh, yeah. Cuz he's Black. Why does she keep using Southern Strategy? Oh, yeah. Cuz she's got nothing else. Except if you count her husband as political leverage. She's truly dispicable. If Obama's dumb enough to choose her as his VP, I will write in another candidate.
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Let's unpack this. I can't interpret Clinton's original remark in any way other than that she was suggesting that a reason for her to stay in the race was that Sen. Obama might be assassinated. This shows that it's crossed her mind that a) Sen. Obama might be assassinated, and b) that would remove a big obstacle to her becoming president.
Having said that, I do NOT think she wants Obama to be assassinated. But --- and I agree with you here, Ta-Nehisi --- she's tired and stressed, and the remark came out of her mouth before her internal censor could stop it.
I teach college courses. What Sen. Clinton's remark reminded me of was a student who's begging for a grade change, but they can't give a good reason for changing their grade; and they're screwed, and they know they're screwed, but they keep on talking, saying whatever comes to mind, in the hopes that something works.
Here's the thing. Part of what we look for in political leaders is grace under pressure: the ability, when you're in a corner and your options are dwindling, NOT to look like you're panicking and just pulling stuff out of your ass. Sen. Clinton looked like a student angling for a break, not like a leader,
and I think that THAT is the takeaway from this incident.
"The blindness is strong in that one."
Heh. [Yoda voice] Capable of the presidency, she is not!
Posted by ChristianPinko | May 23, 2008 9:45 PM