The Indefatigable Senator Hillary Clinton
Submitted by mark karlin on Sat, 03/08/2008 - 10:49am. EditorBlog
BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG
Mark Karlin
Editor and Publisher
March 8, 2008
A BuzzFlash column that has something positive to say about Senator Clinton's campaign?
Unbelievable.
As we've stated many a time we didn't change our progressive values at BuzzFlash. After the third place finish of Clinton in Iowa, the Clinton campaign started to wade into the waters of a negative campaign, which emerged full-blown in South Carolina, and has recently gone into "the kitchen sink" mode, as one Clinton campaign staffer described it to The New York Times.
BuzzFlash hasn't changed its progressive values at all. It's the Clinton campaign that has betrayed them, not us -- and we've stated our case based on the record, not on the basis of race, gender or creed. But many readers react emotionally to criticism of their candidate and don't respond to the substance of what we've written; instead they go into a tirade against the notion of even criticizing the Clinton campaign tactics. Fortunately, the comments after our commentaries are starting to deal with the issues raised, rather than with ad hominem attacks. I have tried to keep my blog focused on the fact that we are not electing someone based on their "victimhood," gender, race, etc. As Senator Clinton reminds us, we are basing a choice for the presidency on record and experience. So we have opened Senator Clinton's record and experience up to scrutiny -- and many readers object to us bringing up what is there, such as that Senator Clinton's own staff could not name any foreign policy or military experience that qualified her to be Commander-in-Chief (
a key claim she makes on behalf of herself and Senator McCain, but patronizingly dismisses Obama as being nothing but a speech.)
We can't change Senator Clinton's record or lack thereof, and we aren't going to change our scrutiny of what has become a repeat, in part, of the 2000 and 2004 Rovian campaigns of fear. The 3 AM ad was cribbed from a Walter Mondale ad and likely from a similar McCain supporter ad posted on YouTube in January, which we wrote about in an earlier post. It, most analysts agree, accounted for a last minute shift in white male voters that clearly gave Clinton her small margin of victory in Texas. It is campaigning by fear mongering.
...
We were listening to some political analysts babbling on television and one of them claimed, as they always do, to have talked to a "high level operative" in the Clinton campaign (or any other campaign) who allegedly told him that they were going to "muss up" Obama.
The problem for Obama is that his narrative of hope and new politics hobbles him from going harshly negative -- and the Clinton campaign is 80 yards into that territory. Meanwhile, the outrageous claims and barbs of the Clinton staff -- and Clinton herself -- get glossed over. Why? Because the Obama camp is counting on hope triumphing over fear and the image that Senator Clinton is turning into a roundhouser.
...
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/editorblog/060
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