WTF? "Clinton Camp To Obama: You Need To Answer These Questions

[orleans]

The Clinton camp has released a memo questioning Sen. Obama's capacity to be Commander-in-Chief:

Senator Obama has thus far failed to answer key questions about his qualifications to meet the Commander-in-Chief test. The following are questions that Senator Obama should address:

Will you stand by your definitive commitment to removing all combat brigades from Iraq within 16 months, or will you, as your former advisor said, not rely on "some plan" you "crafted as a presidential candidate or as a US Senator?"

Do you regret that you have never held any substantive hearings on Afghanistan or any other subject, since you became chairman of the subcommittee on European Affairs in January 2007?

Do you agree with General McPeak that you are more qualified to be commander in chief because you don't "go on television and have crying fits?" Are you prepared to remove General McPeak from your campaign for what is viewed by many as a sexist comment?

Are you still willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of an Obama administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea? Are there any circumstances in which you would not conduct such meetings?

As voters evaluate you as a potential Commander-in-Chief, do you think it's legitimate for people to be concerned that you have traveled to only one NATO country, on a brief stopover trip in 2005, and have never traveled to Latin America?

Earlier in the campaign you were asked how you would respond to a terrorist attack on two cities in the United States. You talked about the need for an effective emergency response but were initially unclear about the need for a military response. What do you think that says about your readiness to be Commander-in-Chief?

You publicly broadcast your willingness to attack Pakistan unilaterally, a statement which caused unrest in that country. Recognizing that we need to combat terrorism wherever it exists, do you wish you would have made your comments in a way that didn't cause unrest?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/12/clinton-camp-to-obama-yo_n_91156.html

what the fuck is this??

[YOY]

1. Beating a dead horse with a broken rod

n/t

[Cha]

14. As my son says...the horse

has already been turned into glue.

[redstate_democrat]

47. This is the Response from Obama's Camp for another meme oops i mean memo

http://www.usatoday.com/news/mmemmottpdf/Obama-editing-of-Clinton-3-13-2008.pdf?loc=interstitialskip

[rodeodance]

2. OK BO---lets hear it.

[Kittycat]

3. The HillCo Litmus Test... Hey Hill - how about some tax returns & donor logs?

Penn is on crack.

[oasis]

22. "On crack": Those who think voters care more about Hill's taxes rather than national defense.

:wow:

[Coexist]

4. Senator Clinton, Where are your tax returns from LAST YEAR?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

25. Now there's a question that needs answering. Well Hillary?

Here's another: How long does the average copier take to warm up?

[xultar]

5. WTF is this you ask? It's a campaign. If the press won't ask they can ask each other.

Obama I'm sure will have questions back.

Then we can get on the issues instead of harping on the Ferraro-gate. Paster-gate bullshit.

You gotta admit they are some good questions. I'd like to hear Hillary's answers to them as well.

[orleans]

i think it's weird. like the clinton camp is interviewing him?

that's not how it is suppose to go, is it?

i thought the way the game is played is that the clinton camp comes out and makes statements in a positive way about how they would handle various situations, etc. and let the media make a comparison to obama and get him to respond.

since when do candidates quiz each other?

hillary's job is to sell us on hillary--not to interview barack

[TwilightGardener]

24. Hillary selling Hillary was abandoned 2 months ago. It's been "Take Down Barack" since Iowa.

Her campaign is bankrupt in ideas and inspiration, if not in money.

[Megahurtz]

34. I absolutely CANNOT STAND the Clintons

anymore.

[GeorgeGist]

46. I think it's wierd ...

for you to think a game is supposed to go your way.

[Tellurian]

52. Why not? The media has not done it's job..

Obama has never been interviewed in any way where serious questions about his beliefs and background have been asked and answered honestly. There aren't any rules forbidding an opponent from asking defining in depth questions.

[anamandujano]

54. They equate asking simple questions with taking someone down.

That shows they know how ill equipped Obama is at answering the questions.

[Tellurian]

58. yeah, blub, blub, blub umm, blub..

won't convince anyone on national tv.

[orleans]

61. i guess there aren't any rules forbidding a candidate to ask their

opponent a laundry list of questions--some of them that seem they are trying to get a kick in the ass in rather than have the opponent respond to it.

such as the second to last and last "question"--why doesn't she just ask: "why do you think you are such an asshole?" and "do you wish you weren't such a jerk?" what the hell?

is she running for fucking journalist or president?

i think her campaign (along with her) is just fucking up real bad lately--about the past week or so. every since she talked about how much better mcsane would be. (turncoat!)

when this campaign first began she came off so dignified and intelligent and assuring. she's turned into smarmy.

[tishaLA]

6. I don't mind those questions

And I think Obama should answer them. Maybe when he does he will ask Hillary to clarify what makes her pass the CiC threshold.

[high density]

7. Tax returns please

Do we really need to elect a president based on the number of stamps in his passport? Seems silly to me.

[Demobrat]

8. They forgot one.

When did you stop beating your wife?

[TwilightGardener]

9. Obama should ignore her sorry ass. He shouldn't jump to her tune and let

her frame the debate.

[Cha]

16. Not only not let her "frame the debate" but

freakin' go back to her "Meet Me Ohio And We'll Discuss Your Behaviour!" persona.

mark penn thought she'd try that one on again.

[TwilightGardener]

20. Yep--it's clearly an upper-hand, push-him-around strategy. He should just do his own thing.

[Yes We Did]

21. My thoughts exactly. He needs to stop playing on her terms.

[anigbrowl]

27. Agree. This smacks of desperation

every negative question they can think of, most of which were answered long ago, including in debates...all clumped together and hurled in shotgun fashion. Sounds like they're having a temper tantrum over at Clinton HQ. Obama's campaign should just ignore this latest attempt to define the agenda.

[dana_b]

37. agreed however the Hillary camp will spin it to say

something to the effect that Obama won't answer questions that we all deserve to know. Yes, we deserve to know the answers, but not on HER terms. Don't jump, Obama. I hope he doesn't.

[anigbrowl]

44. they're drowning in spin already...doesn't worry me.

I think they're panicking a bit because the Rezko trial hasn't yielded anything juicy or attracted much news coverage - notice how all the 'Obama's REZKO problem' threads have dried up as the trial has failed to reveal anything very interesting.

[anamandujano]

57. Not so fast. Here's some juicy stuff from today.

Thursday, March 13, 2008
Follow the Money: Obama "dropped in" to do Rezko favors

This "dropping in" appears to be very much a part of a tit-for-tat, the exchanging of political favors between Rezko and Obama—Rezko raised funds and contributed to the political ascendance of Obama. In exchange, Obama obligingly "dropped in" while Rezko just happened to be entertaining Middle Eastern bankers whom he wanted to impress with his connections and that he'd like to have as investors in his real estate developments in Chicago.

Not so easy to explain, however, are the "dropping in" observations made by FBI "mole" John Thomas. On February 12, 2008, RezkoWatch reported that it was revealed on February 10, 2008, that for a period of two years—during 2004 and 2005—Thomas, a key prosecution witness against Rezko, "logged frequent visits to Rezko from Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)."

---taking out a 5th paragraph, but it can be found at link---

Both politicians relied on Rezko for fund-raising connections. Obama was in the thick of his successful run for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Now in the glare of a presidential campaign, Obama has donated to charity $157,835 from contributions to his Senate campaign that he has linked to Rezko.

So, there you have it, more instances of Sen. Obama's "dropping in". How many times? Well, at this point only Thomas, the FBI, and Patrick Fitzgerald, who is prosecuting Rezko's case in Chicago, may know for sure. We will have to rely on their documentation since Sen. Obama's accounts of his relationship with Rezko continue to unroll (and unravel). It's unlikely that Rezko is going to have much to say on when Obama just "dropped in"—for now, that is. Besides, why would the FBI conduct surveillance if it didn't plan to use it as evidence?

http://rezkowatch.blogspot.com/

[sandnsea]

10. *sigh*

What an ugly ugly campaign. I'd have never thought women would support this garbage. I wonder if this garbage is getting into women's circles. It's just disgusting.

[DemGa]

11. Good solid questions - points out weakness and inconsistencies in Obama - nice job---NT

[leftofcool]

12. Obama should answer these questions

[Cha]

38. So says hilary the Taskmaster and

of course..leftofcool. yeah.

[stillcool]

51. Hillary should respond..

to the Irish Government saying she is full of shit. Hillary should explain why Sinbad and Sheryl Crowe, are experienced in foreign policy. Hillary should release her tax returns.

[pampango]

13. Incoming!! Just another kitchen sink. Seriously, is Obama attacking

Hillary's qualifications and previous statements and votes? I suppose he can't beat Hillary by being Hillary, but it seems to be a risky strategy to speak more about McCain's weaknesses than Hillary's. Her campaign is good at throwing stuff against the wall, seeing what sticks, using it, then throwing more stuff.

[Political Heretic]

15. It's fair. Its a good political post from her campaign. Politics is hardball

and there's nothing about this that is wrong in any way.

Obama should have no trouble crafting a similar list of questions the Clinton campaign needs to answer while easily answering all of these in an intelligent and rational manner reflecting is strong, consistent stances and judgment.

[Iceburg]

17. Whoa! Bama's got some splainin' to do -- don't answer the phone Barack!/nt

[bowens43]

18. It's another piss poor attempt to spin, lie and distort.

Typical hillary politics.

[monmouth]

19. He doesn't "need" to do s*$t for Hill. Ignore her, hopefully she'll go away..n/t

[Megahurtz]

23. Maybe HilLIARry

should be asked if she would do anything for her own Country. Obama will do a lot more for us here at home!

Have the Clintons ever thought all of us are sick of "Foreign Policy"??? :puke:

Down with the Bush/Clinton Dynasty!!! :thumbsdown: I don't think Obama should have to answer to them! :grr:

[rug]

26. I'll settle for an answer to the first question.

[robbedvoter]

Well said.

[SeaLyons]

28. We need answers to all these questions

Go Hillary!!!!

[scheming daemons]

29. My answers, if I was Barack...

"Will you stand by your definitive commitment to removing all combat brigades from Iraq within 16 months, or will you, as your former advisor said, not rely on "some plan" you "crafted as a presidential candidate or as a US Senator?""

No. Since the surge is "working", I'll get them out sooner than 16 months.

"Do you regret that you have never held any substantive hearings on Afghanistan or any other subject, since you became chairman of the subcommittee on European Affairs in January 2007?"

A) Since when is Afghanistan in Europe?
B) Subcommittees very seldomly hold hearings, substantive or otherwise. And Senator Clinton knows this.

"Do you agree with General McPeak that you are more qualified to be commander in chief because you don't "go on television and have crying fits?" Are you prepared to remove General McPeak from your campaign for what is viewed by many as a sexist comment?"

A) General McPeak immediately and profusely apologized for the remark
B) The reason I am more qualified to be CinC is because frankly, I'm calmer and more rational in times of crisis and I make sounder judgements.

"Are you still willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of an Obama administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea?"

As JFK said... "we should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate". Has our current method of not engaging with the enemy been successful? Presidents all throughout the Cold War met with the Soviet Premiers. Nothing gets solved by disengaging from our enemies.

"As voters evaluate you as a potential Commander-in-Chief, do you think it's legitimate for people to be concerned that you have traveled to only one NATO country, on a brief stopover trip in 2005, and have never traveled to Latin America?"

Tune in next week. I'm making a world tour that will blow your socks off.

"Earlier in the campaign you were asked how you would respond to a terrorist attack on two cities in the United States. You talked about the need for an effective emergency response but were initially unclear about the need for a military response. What do you think that says about your readiness to be Commander-in-Chief?"

This is a lie. I have repeatedly said that I would immediately respond BOTH militarily and with effective emergency response.

[BornBlue]

30. Something close to reason from the Clinton Camp?

I have very little problem with the questions presented, at least they deal with the job not his personal life, or race, or whatever else she has tried to stick to him. I still feel it is a mood point, seeing as SHE HAS LESS LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE THAN HIM, but if she wants to keep saying she has more experience, because she goes on more vacations, let her. I feel a backlash coming.

[Mme. Defarge]

31. The petulant tone of these "demands"

makes me wonder if she and Condi were separated at birth.

[BuyingThyme]

32. Team Clinton is a clique of compulsive liars.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

33. Is this coming from the same person who has no problem meeting with

China, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Pakistan? Yeah I thought so.

[MagickMuffin]

35. Why do they insist that ONLY women cry, just so they can throw out the "sexist" label

Do you agree with General McPeak that you are more qualified to be commander in chief because you don't "go on television and have crying fits?" Are you prepared to remove General McPeak from your campaign for what is viewed by many as a sexist comment?

I've seen plenty of congressmen crying.

Should I conclude that they are really just women with a penis?.?.?:shrug:

[orleans]

67. "Should I conclude that they are really just women with a penis?.?.?"

yes. i guess so.

and i think we should start with boehner and voinovich

[LaurenG]

36. Oh how hysterical

How about Obama return the favor and come up with his own loaded questions. Then when she doesn't answer them he can say well she's not capable to run the country.

Maybe he could start with her tax records?

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KoKo]

40. Interesting Questions... Obama hasn't been to Latin America and only One Nato Country?

He needs to get going traveling between now and PA Primary...where he has a stretch of time.

[Iceburg]

59. Meanwhile NATO is unravelling and threatening to leave Afghanistan/nt

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

41. The worst thing is they will probably try to answer it. meanwhile, Clinton will pound away on the

economy.

[Bicoastal]

42. What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?

Green!

No, blue--

AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

[City Lights]

43. Earth to Hillary: Obama does not report to you!

He should ignore her and continue making his case directly to the American people. Nothing will get under her skin more than being ignored. Let her keep ratcheting it up until her pitiful campaign implodes.

[DarienComp]

45. I'm sure

that Barack will find a polite way to tell the Clinton campaign to blow it out their ass.

[applegrove]

48. Those are good questions.

[Liberal Veteran]

49. HRC ----- More of the same BUSHit policies.

She certainly has no room to talk about her qualifications (or in reality lack thereof) when it comes to national security.

[stillcool]

50. Hillary. Answer these questions...

How did Sinbad and Sheryl Crowe expand your foreign policy experience?
What is your response to the Irish governments claim that you are full of shit?
When are you going to release your tax returns?
How's Bill's job with InfoUSA going?

[tabasco]

53. Clinton has already shown that her judgment is shit.

She has some fucking nerve.

[Arkana]

55. Sure, Hillary, when you answer these questions:

1) You have stated repeatedly that you are "a fighter". Yet when you sense the slightest hint of adversity, you retreat and immediately start framing yourself as the victim of a vengeful media. Do you believe that you will be able to handle the media attention that being CIC comes with?

2) You have also stated repeatedly that you are "experienced". Would you please define this nebulous "experience" for the millions of confused voters who think that the only true experience a candidate can have is already being (or having been) President?

3) Do you think that the American people will be able to trust your judgment as CIC after you voted to authorize the use of military force in Iraq after failing to read the NIE briefing?

4) Former campaign finance advisor Geraldine Ferraro has recently made some inflammatory statements concerning Obama's race and his position in the Democratic contest. Why have you not made more of an effort to distance yourself from her comments?

Oh, I forgot one.

5) A while back, during a speech in Rhode Island, you made what most voters believe was a mocking reference to Senator Obama's style of speaking, in your "the clouds will part and all men and women will join hands and will work together" speech*. How can you honestly say that you are not belittling the millions of people who have chosen Barack Obama as their candidate and subsequently alienating them permanently?

[K Gardner]

56. I can't be as nice as any of you. Fuck her.. she is a liar and a cheat and a traitor.

[milkyway]

60. Senator Clinton: What part of "AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ

RESOLUTION OF 2002" did you not understand?

[tammywammy]

62. Why doesn't she demand another debate?

[thevoiceofreason]

63. Obama to Team Clinton: Kiss My Ass.

[AZBlue]

64. That woman has a lot of fucking nerve.

She's not his school teacher or his boss. Who the fuck does she think she is?!

[bridgit]

65. But it's BO's position not to answer any questions

:(

[CitizenLeft]

66. read the comments...

...that didn't go over very well.

I don't understand why Hillary would think that demonizing your Democratic opponent is cool.

[Raffi Ella]

68. Go Hillary.

Do the medias job for them:Hold Barack accountable.

[From The Left]

69. The 2nd Place Candidate is Making Demands of the 1st Place Candidate?

HAHAHAHA! Now that's funny!

[Oilwellian]

70. Here's their response:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2008/03/obama_campaign_sk...

Wednesday morning, the Clinton campaign sent reporters and bloggers covering the campaign a statement that consisted of questions and comments under the title of "Keystone Test: Obama Losing Ground."

The Obama campaign's communications department decided to annotate those questions and comments with some comments of their own... and boy, they held nothing back.

Below you'll find the annotated e-mail that has been making the rounds of the media. The Obama campaign's comments are in bold.

To: Interested Parties
From: Clinton Campaign
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Re: Keystone Test: Obama Losing Ground Get ready for a good one.


The path to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue goes through Pennsylvania so if Barack Obama can't win there, how will he win the general election?

Answer: I suppose by holding obviously Democratic states like California and New York, and beating McCain in swing states like Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Virginia and Wisconsin where Clinton lost to Obama by mostly crushing margins. But good question.

After setbacks in Ohio and Texas, Barack Obama needs to demonstrate that he can win the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is the last state with more than 15 electoral votes on the primary calendar and Barack Obama has lost six of the seven other largest states so far -- every state except his home state of Illinois.

If you define "setback" as netting enough delegates out of our 20-plus-point wins in Mississippi and Wyoming to completely erase any delegate advantage the Clinton campaign earned out of March 4th, then yeah, we feel pretty setback.

Pennsylvania is of particular importance, along with Ohio, Florida and Michigan, because it is dominated by the swing voters who are critical to a Democratic victory in November. No Democrat has won the presidency without winning Pennsylvania since 1948. And no candidate has won the Democratic nomination without winning Pennsylvania since 1972.

What the Clinton campaign secretly means: PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT WE'VE LOST 14 OF THE LAST 17 CONTESTS AND SAID THAT MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA WOULDN'T COUNT FOR ANYTHING. Also, we're still trying to wrap our minds around the amazing coincidence that the only "important" states in the nominating process are the ones that Clinton won.

But the Obama campaign has just announced that it is turning its attention away from Pennsylvania.

Huh?

This is not a strategy that can beat John McCain in November.

I don't think Clinton's strategy of losing in state after state after promising more of the same politics is working all that well either.

In the last two weeks, Barack Obama has lost ground among men, women, Democrats, independents and Republicans -- all of which point to a candidacy past its prime.

"A candidacy past its prime." These guys kill me.

For example, just a few weeks ago, Barack Obama won 68% of men in Virginia, 67% in Wisconsin and 62% in Maryland. He won 60% of Virginia women and 55% of Maryland women. He won 62% of independents in Maryland, 64% in Wisconsin and 69% in Virginia. Obama won 59% of Democrats in Maryland, 53% in Wisconsin and 62% in Virginia. And among Republicans, Obama won 72% in both Virginia and Wisconsin.

But now Obama's support has dropped among all these groups.

That's true, if you don't count all the winning we've been up to. As it turns out, it's difficult to maintain 40-point demographic advantages, even over Clinton

In Mississippi, he won only 25% of Republicans and barely half of independents. In Ohio, he won only 48% of men, 41% of women and 42% of Democrats. In Texas, he won only 49% of independents and 46% of Democrats. And in Rhode Island, Obama won just 33% of women and 37% of Democrats.

I'm sympathetic to their attempt to parse crushing defeats. And I'm sure Rush Limbaugh's full-throated endorsement of Clinton didn't make any difference. Right

Why are so many voters turning away from Barack Obama in state after state?

You mean besides the fact that we're ahead in votes, states won and delegates?

In the last few weeks, questions have arisen about Obama's readiness to be president. In Virginia, 56% of Democratic primary voters said Obama was most qualified to be commander-in-chief. That number fell to 37% in Ohio, 35% in Rhode Island and 39% in Texas.

Only the Clinton campaign could cherry pick states like this. But in contrast to their logic, in the most recent contest of Mississippi, voters said that Obama was more qualified to be commander in chief than Clinton by a margin of 55-42.

So the late deciders -- those making up their minds in the last days before the election -- have been shifting to Hillary Clinton. Among those who made their decision in the last three days, Obama won 55% in Virginia and 53% in Wisconsin, but only 43% in Mississippi, 40% in Ohio, 39% in Texas and 37% in Rhode Island.

If only there were enough late deciders for the Clinton campaign to actually be ahead, they would really be on to something.

If Barack Obama cannot reverse his downward spiral with a big win in Pennsylvania, he cannot possibly be competitive against John McCain in November.

If they are defining downward spiral as a series of events in which the Clinton campaign has lost more votes, lost more contests and lost more delegates to us ... I guess we will have to suffer this horribly painful slide all the way to the nomination and then on to the White House.

Thanks for the laughs guys. This was great.

:rofl: