Let's play pretend: Obama praises McCain as honorable

[cali]

and says that both he and McCain have the integrity to serve as President but that sadly Hillary Clinton does not.

Yeah, that would be just peachy wouldn't it? All the hill supporters would be freaking out. But hypocrisy reigns, and Hilly's supporters are defending her comments about how she and Mcain are fit to President but Obama has only a 2002 speech in terms of experience.

If Hill's fans are delusional enough to believe that only a few Obama supporters find her comments destructive and disingenuous, they have an unhappy surprise in their future. Dem insiders are not, by all accounts, pleased about her intemperate remarks- and that includes SDs.

Obama needs to capitalize on Hill's stupidity. And he can. There are several good ads to slam her with using her own words. Time to pay her back with interest, Barack.

Go get her and take her down. Hard.

[Eric J in MN]

1. You should put the word "Suppose" at the start of your title...

...rather than mislead thousands of people.

UPDATE: Thanks for changing the thread title.

[leftofcool]

2. Absolutely! Pay her back!

Hope, change, unity.....and all that jazz

[thoughtcrime1984]

5. If you definition of hope and unity is

kowtowing to the almighty Hillary, then I don't like your defintion of hope and unity. The status quo needs to be taken down if Obama ever wants to have his chance to unite the country. He has carte blanche to come right back at her in the minds of many of his supporters. Today is a great day to start!

[leftofcool]

6. I agree

He should come right back at her! No need to take the moral high ground as he claims he is want to do

[thunder rising]

3. We don't need 2 Dem candidates endorsing the Republican.

http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/03/the_clintonlieberman_connectio.html

Clinton was actually even more brazen than Lieberman. Not only did she lie about her record, she actually went on the offensive attacking Obama over the very trade deal she has long championed, "rais doubts about whether he was committed to reworking NAFTA," as the AP noted. To use the Lieberman-Lamont analogy, that's would be like Lieberman not only pretending to be against the war, but actually attacking Lamont for not opposing the war more strongly. Even Lieberman wasn't cravenly dishonest enough to do that - but Clinton was.

Hillary Clinton no longer a Dem, it's time she learned the Zell Miller rule.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOytXkCw0NY

[cali]

4. I don't think you read the OP

[thunder rising]

7. First rule of politics, don't screw up a winning strategy. Let's see if HRC starts gaining.

[maine_raptor]

8. Cali, I think you nailed it.

It was the comment about the SD's.

Hillary has put herself in the position where her loyalty to the Party can now be questioned. By her own words and actions, it is now legitimate to ask the question:

"Is it all about her?"

We're just coming out of 8 years of having one egoistical bastard in the White House; do we want another?

[BearSquirrel2]

15. I believe she'll lose a lot of super delegates over her actions ...

I don't think Obama should break the party boundaries like Hillary Clinton. It's fair to attack her for not being "Democrat enough". He can openly criticize her on all the big money she takes vs the massive amounts of individual contributors Obama has. But endorsing the Republican nominee over your rival ... that would make her as bad as Hillary and would likely keep her superdelegates from defecting at the right moment.

[karynnj]

9. What a brilliant analogy

You are entirely right, had Obama done that it would have been as wrong and as stupid as what HRC did for a short term edge. She ceded the issue that McCain would be acceptable making the national security decisions. Now, in 2000, McCain spoke more of using regime change to fix the middle east and near east - PNAC. Experience, gravitas and years of service do not make up for a world view that is wrong. HRC's comments were not just a cheap shot at Obama, they give McCain the gift of a top Democrat arguing that he will make the right decision when he gets the call. (In 2004, would McCain have said that Kerry's experience, years of service and gravitas would mean he passed the CIC test? Would he say it of HRC, with a fraction of Kerry's service?)

Your example is perfect - because integrity will be another test the candidates will have. That comment would simultaneously cede the issue with regards to McCain, where like on national security, McCain does not deserve a pass. It would also would hurt HRC having a prominent Democrat state as fact that HRC doesn't have integrity.

[BearSquirrel2]

16. Worse yet, by her reasoning ...

Worse yet, by her reasoning that experience is more important than judgement, she ceded national security credentials to McCain who has 3x more experience in public office than she does.

[karynnj]

18. You're right there - desperation can lead to stupid moves

[Saturday]

10. How any Obama supporter can call a Hillary supporter a hypocrite

is beyond me. How dare Hillary speak in good terms about a Senator she has worked with in the Senate. Someone whe will continue to have to work with to get anything done. But it's fine for Obama to glorify Reagan? Maybe you should look in the mirror for the definition of the word hypocrite.

[cali]

11. Maybe you should try educating yourself- though that seems

unlikely. Obama did not glorify Reagan. He analyzed his political success. Furthermore, Reagan is dead, genius, not running for President in 2008. And it wasn't dirty hill's fulsome praise of McCain; it was her stating baldly that McCain is qualified to be President and Obama isn't. Pretty obvious stuff to anyone who isn't a hill acolyte.

[musicblind]

12. In hindsight, Hillary should not have said what she said

I'll agree with you on that. I love her to death, but it was a bad idea to say that because it hurts the feelings of his supporters and gives McCain ammunition. I have always had doubts about Obama having as much experience as needed but I feel confident he can make that up in a heart beat with a good cabinet and great advisors.

HOWEVER, in response to your post's headline. I do believe that McCain is an honorable man. He may have some horrible ideas... like staying in Iraq for 100 years, and I am certainly not going to vote for him, because I do not see eye to eye with him on many political issues, but I consider him to be an honorable man who has done a lot for the country and has earned my respect... unlike, say, George W Bush who I have absolutely, positively, zero respect for.

[cali]

13. Thank you for being honest.

I do take issue with you about McCain being honorable. He is not. The Keating 5 incident and his campaign being literally run by lobbyists, along with the fact that he's allowed lobbyists to write legislation, demonstrate that he is anything but honorable.

As far as the comment goes, it's not about hurt feelings, but about the damage it does the party in the general election- and that includes the damage she did to herself if she's the nominee.

[BearSquirrel2]

17. It wasn't a gaffe ...

It wasn't a gaffe, she kept repeating it in other venues. It was deliberate ... and it was stupid as she conceded not only Obama's position but her own to McCain as she has FAAAAR less "experience" than he does.

McCain seems like a decent fellow and he has come out and done the right things at times. But I'm starting to think that this is just an image thing to keep him aligned in to the center. He "fought" for the anti-torture legislation. Then when Bush put a signing statement in place effectively nullifying it for his administration, McCain said NOTHING!!!! In fact, he gave Bush a big fat snuggle hug with a handle grab.

[ieoeja]

24. She even said there was no question McCain is qualified, but only "believes" she is.

As you said, she even undercut her own campaign. Were she running in the general election, the Republics would replay that soundbite against her ad nauseum.

And if she really is thinking to backstab Obama like she did Kerry so she will have a shot in 2012, then she must be completely out of her mind. Througout this year's general election we are going to see this soundbite played as a McCain campaign ad. Democrats will go into the 2012 primary recalling her campaigning for McCain against Obama in 2008. No way will she get the nomination after this.

Her political future with the Democratic Party is done. She might as well rejoin the Republic Party.

[BearSquirrel2]

25. I think she can co-chair ...

I think she can be the co-chair of the Joe Lieberman party.

[ieoeja]

35. The dream ticket for the Lieberman Party

Clinton/Lieberman in 2012

[Lerkfish]

14. good post. reccommended.

thumbsup

[Apollo11]

19. But "honorable" is a matter of opinion. "experience" is a matter of fact.

Hillary's comments are being taken completely out of context.

She was basically saying that we need an experienced candidate to go up against John McCain, and she is saying that she has more relevant experience than Obama.

I don't think we should be suprised when a candidate says that she or he is the best person for the job.

[Barack_America]

26. Then give me some facts. What are Hillary's national security credentials?

Which crises has she solved? When has she answered the 3 AM call? What treaties did she negotiate?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

33. She flew into Kosovo with Sinbad and Sheryl Crow.

They were...um...negotiating.

[TacticalPeek]

20. "Obama defended McCain, surmising that McCain was trying to say what he had been trying to"

McCain Takes Fire for 'Wasted' Troops Comment
Democrats Demand Apology, Obama Lets Potential Foe Off the Hook

By JAKE TAPPER
March 1, 2007

...

Democrats Demand Apology

"We think Sen. McCain should apologize immediately," said Karen Finney, communications director for the Democratic National Committee...

But at the Senate today Obama defended McCain, surmising that McCain was trying to say what he had been trying to: that the troops deserved better planning and preparation than the Bush administration had given them.

"One thing I don't think McCain can be faulted for is his dedication to the troops," Obama said. "He's been there, done that."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2915397

Just sayin'.

[XemaSab]

30. But what he didn't say is:

"One thing I don't think McCain can be faulted for is his dedication to the troops," Obama said. "He's been there, done that, unlike Senator Clinton."

It's not saying something positive about McCain that's the problem, it's comparing McCain to your democratic opponent at the expense of the democrat.

[Bright Eyes]

21. Spot on, Cali.

K&R

[TheDebbieDee]

22. We don't have to play pretend. Obama just loves Ronnie Raygun -

Ronnie had all the great ideas, doncha know!

[joeybee12]

23. It was a smart move by Hilary...trying to bring up the experience question...

...\as much as you try to deny it, it is a real problem for him with the general electorate. If Hilary had said McCain wasn't qualified, when that is probably his only strength, she would have been laughed out of town.

BTW, BO is constantly trying to say HRC is not experienced...so what's your point? This is campaign startegy, but apparently running a campaign based on strategy is evil when Hilary does it.

[Barack_America]

27. It would've been smart if she actually had some foreign policy experience herself.

But to bring up that she was a spectator for 8 years, with no security clearance and has made some bad votes when given the chance to lead...well, that makes that 2002 speech look pretty damn good.

[joeybee12]

28. Just because you say she doesn't have any, doesn't make it so..

...poll after poll shows this is her strength, and Obama's weakness...she's working this to her advantage, just like BO's one speech, which he kinda contradicts in his book, is trying to drum up support among those against the war.

[Barack_America]

29. Then, please, FACTS...I beg of thee.

That she did not have security clearance as a First Lady is fact.

Please detail for me Hillary's national security/foreign policy experience.
-Which crises did she solve?
-Which treaties did she negotiate?

I'm all ears (or eyes, as it were).

[joeybee12]

32. There was a good post yesterday with comments from Geraldine Ferraro

about how Hilary involved herself in Kosovo and other areas...admit it, you know she would have...she made use of her time as First Lady just like Roslynn Carter did, and, sadly, so did Nancy Reagan because Bonzo was so out of it. People know she's been at the center of power longer, just as they know McLame has been involved in foreign affairs for so long. And, even if these weren't facts, that is the impression and image people have of both of them...polls show that many people question Obama's experience...it's a weak selling point for him, rightly or wrongly, it is...and she is exploiting a weakness, just like he keeps hammering her on IWR.

[SKKY]

31. Then he should bring up the "judgement" question...

...I suspect there's plenty in her background that he can call on.

[Lucinda]

34. I would have no problem with him saying that. I would expect him to back it up though.