Reply #29: Mixing apples and oranges (as in autorank doing so).

[autorank]

There are some extremely important comments on this thread regarding the larger implications of this statement (the oranges).

The apples I brought forth were the quotes where Clinton endorses the Kennedy article. The polished apple is this statement: "And before I read it, I was convinced that President Bush had won Ohio… I…" Clinton walks right up to the edge of saying "...I...now believe otherwise." In addition to that, it's of ongoing interest that these comments were made in Little Rock at an event attended, no doubt, by MSM folks, and that despite the currency of the comments relating to an amazing article on stolen election 2004, nobody picks this up other than the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and, then the search-savvy Mark Crispin Miller after AAN publishes the transcript on 06.30.

As for the oranges (which I prefer to apples anyway), I agree with the points that:

1) Gore won period;
2) All the very best analysis points to the fact that Kerry won by significant numbers (belying the argument about "electability";
3) The party leaders largely deserted Gore (except for CBC and a few others) to all of our detriment and the same vanishing act took place where the voters were deserted in 2004;
4) The statements here are inconsistent with prior statements about reasons for Gore/Kerry "losing;"
5) That this is not the first time he heard about the controversy; and,
6) DU Poster Patrick's comment, very important, that "...with their dedication to keeping this below the public radar and absent from public policy, it truly becomes not only inconsequential but a service to fraud itself."

Those "oranges" are the vital nourishment for the bigger picture, which is, imho, how to we get to the point of a sustainable democracy based on true value for the principles of open, free, fair, and transparent elections.

In this case however, Vidar is right: "Essence of an effective politician: to talk out both sides of your mouth." When we've got powerful endorsements for a courageous affirmation and argument by RFK Jr. supporting everything we've been fighting for in terms of public acceptance, I'm just grateful that the Big Dog's one side is telling the truth and doing it in public (and I remain firmly convinced that we ought the "thinking out loud and about to let it slip moment" when he said, "I was convinced that President Bush had won Ohio… I… " - if we had a working press (other than working for the WH and their masters) in this country, the chase would have been on to get further elaboration and a full endorsement of what Clinton knows to be the case, both 2000 and 2004 were stolen, lock, stock, and barrel.