Bernstein: Hillary Clinton: Truth or Consequences
Hillary Clinton has many admirable qualities, but candor and openness and transparency and a commitment to well-established fact have not been notable among them. The indisputable elements of her Bosnian adventure affirm (again) the reluctant conclusion I reached in the final chapter of A Woman In Charge, my biography of her published last June:
“Since her Arkansas years [I wrote], Hillary Rodham Clinton has always had a difficult relationship with the truth... [J]udged against the facts, she has often chosen to obfuscate, omit, and avoid. It is an understatement by now that she has been known to apprehend truths about herself and the events of her life that others do not exactly share. " [italics added]
As I noted:
“Almost always, something holds her back from telling the whole story, as if she doesn’t trust the reader, listener, friend, interviewer, constituent—or perhaps herself—to understand the true significance of events…”
The Bosnian episode is a watershed event, because it indelibly brings to mind so many examples of this tendency– from the White House years and, worse, from Hillary Clinton’s take-no-prisoners presidential campaign. Her record as a public person is replete with “misstatements” and elisions and retracted and redacted and revoked assertions...
When the facts surrounding such characteristic episodes finally get sorted out - usually long after they have been challenged - the mysteries and contradictions are often dealt with by Hillary Clinton and her apparat in a blizzard of footnotes, addenda, revision, and disingenuous re-explanation: as occurred in regard to the draconian secrecy she imposed on her health-care task force (and its failed efforts in 1993-94); explanations of what could have been dutifully acknowledged, and deserved to be dismissed as a minor conflict of interest - once and for all - in Whitewater; or her recent Michigan-Florida migration from acceptance of the DNC’s refusal to recognize those states’ convention delegations (when it looked like she had the nomination sewn up) to her re-evaluation of the matter as a grave denial of basic human rights, after she fell impossibly behind in the delegate count.The latest episode - the sniper fire she so vividly remembered and described in chilling detail to buttress her claims of foreign policy “experience” - like the peace she didn’t bring to Northern Ireland, recalls another famous instance of faulty recollection during a crucial period in her odyssey.On January 15, 1995, she had just published her book, It Takes a Village, intended to herald a redemptive “come back” after the ravages of health care; Whitewater; the Travel Office firings she had ordered (but denied ordering); the disastrous staffing of the White House by the First Lady, not the President - all among the egregious errors that had led to the election of the Newt Gingrich Congress in 1994.On her book tour, she was asked on National Public Radio about the re-emergence of dormant Whitewater questions that week, when the so-called “missing billing records” had been found. Hillary stated with unequivocal certainty that she had consistently made public all the relevant documents related to Whitewater, including “every document we had,” to the editors of the New York Times before the newspaper’s original Whitewater story ran during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
Even her closest aides - as in the case of the Bosnian episode18 years later - could not imagine what possessed her to say such a thing. It was simply not true, as her lawyers and the editors of the Times (like CBS in the latest instance) recognized, leading to huge stories about her latest twisting of the facts. “Oh my God, we didn’t,” said Susan Thomasas, Hillary’s great friend, who was left to explain to the White House lawyers exactly how Hillary’s aides had carefully cherry-picked documents accessed for the Times in the presidential campaign. The White House was forced - once again - to acknowledge the first lady had been ‘mistaken;” her book tour was overwhelmed by the matter, and Times’ columnist Bill Safire that month coined the memorable characterization of Hillary Clinton as “a congenital liar.”
“Hillary values context; she does see the big picture. Hers, in fact, is not the mind of a conventional politician,” I wrote in A Woman In Charge. “But when it comes to herself, she sees with something less than candor and lucidity. She sees, like so many others, what she wants to see.”
The book concludes with this paragraph:
“As Hillary has continued to speak from the protective shell of her own making, and packaged herself for the widest possible consumption, she has misrepresented not just facts but often her essential self. Great politicians have always been marked by the consistency of their core beliefs, their strength of character in advocacy, and the self-knowledge that informs bold leadership. Almost always, Hillary has stood for good things. Yet there is a disconnect between her convictions and her words and actions. This is where Hillary disappoints. But the jury remains out. She still has time to prove her case, to effectuate those things that make her special, not fear them or camouflage them. We would all be the better for it, because what lies within may have the potential to change the world, if only a little.”
The jury - armed with definitive evidence like the CBS tape of Hillary Clinton’s Bosnian adventure - seems on the verge of returning a negative verdict on her candidacy.
– Carl Bernstein, 360° Contributor Editor's note: Read other blogs from the 360° team of contributors at cnn.com/360
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Based on the NYPost.com, the Military seems rather upset Hillary would LIE. There are many soldiers fighting for their lives and are trying to avoid real sniper fire. To all accounts, these are the REAL soldiers and maybe they should run for President. They are surely more qualified than Hillary.
I lost two US friends in Iraq due to sniper fire so I as an American take this very serious!
Hillary the LIAR. She can't be trusted to walk the dog around the block.
Although I voted for Clinton in 1992, I could hardly wait for the chance to vote against him in 1996. Also, I have little use for Senator Clinton, and I think she is even dangerous to the nation. At the same time, however, I think the media are failing to get at the bottom of the Obama-Wright connection. His explanation, while inspiring at times, really consisted of comparing his grandmother to Wright, a truly odious comparison the media and pundits bought hook, line, and sinker. Obama is not speaking truth, and the media are giving him a pass.
Three questions for him and his supporters: What did he know? When did he know it? What action did he take upon learning it?
I agree with this article. It points to so much of what Hilary creates around her. It is illusion and lies that will fill the white house once again if she is elected. I am so confused by those who see her as a strong candidate. She moves and shifts more for her own benefit than the people's and finds her comfort in dodging the truth than living up to the hard truths. Her way of running things should throw caution into the face of voters, not lead them to her. Be informed and vote for change rather than a smoke screen with change covering the coat-tails of the person for whom no change can come....
Everytime I pull up CNN I see another disgusting story about Hillary.
Someone on here said what church does she go to? She is a Methodist and so am I. I am also a White woman.
I live in the South and have been in church my whole life but I have never, ever heard anything like the vile, vicious, racist, anti-american Rhetoric that has come from Pastor Wright from anybody around here really, not to mention coming out of the pulpit.
Obama is disgusting and America will never elect him president.
If he does get the nomination which I still DO NOT believe he will, he won't win the General. There are way too many Americans who will not allow this to happen and I am one of them. Karl Bernstein is an old fart who has outlived his usefulness and I can't believe CNN even has him on there. GET people like Karl and Jack Cafferty off the air, they are disingenuous, uninformative, old and boring.
She is a perennial liar. Just an extension of Bush
He "didn't have sex with that woman" and she "misspoke" about the sniper fire. A stained blue dress ferreted out the truth in the first instance and news video in the second instance. When coupled together, the words "Clinton" and "integrity" are a textbook definition of an oxymoron.
it's quite funny now when she says she would not have chosen Rev. Wright as her Pastor but, Hillary and Bill chose Obama's Pastor when they both felt Bill needed some healing during his famous Monica Days and his now, famous quote:
"I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN"!
It's such a shame how they use people when it's convenient for them and throw them away when it's time to run for President!
America is waking up to the powerful and wonderful world of video!
No Hillary for President say the People of PA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why doesn't someone write an article about Obama's flaws? Just push him right in there and find out what happens when he is elected. Inexperienced and hangs out with radical pastors to name a couple.
Hi ,
I am Canadian and have been watching the election and I remember the time of the Clinton Administration. How could anyone forget?
I respect everyone having an opinion and I give credit to the Hillary Clintons supporters for standing up for their candidate but you can not ignore this article, facts are facts and during the Clinton administration mistakes were made and scandals have followed the Clinton's. Nevermind the Lewinsky scandal that is not what I am talking about . People do stupid things like extramarital affairs but when the Clinton's had dealings with notorious people then you have to question her judgement. To many people that questioned the Clintons on their dealings are suddenly disappear and or facing prison.
Doesn't that make you wonder?
If you notice Hillary is always has this attitude that someone is trying to frame her, CNN is being unfair to her, sorry this is not true I watch CNN all the time and they have been fairer to her than Obama.
When your a reporter then the facts should outweigh tabloid headlines. Media has had a hayday on all this controversy and probably want this to go on because they make money on ratings!
So as an impartial person and not able to vote I recommend that all parties Hillary Supporters and Obama Supporters take time to review the issues that each candidate wants to change when they become president. But research and get facts about the candidates,
Bosnia trip and other claims of foreign policy and what Rev. Wright was really saying in his sermons beside the sound bites you have heard repeatedly over all media stations.
I also recommend the hostility on the blogs, bashing both candidates
is immature and demeaning to all concerned.
It is time to stop all this hate on both parties and get to the most important issues that are facing the American people.
Also the Media is only creating a feeling of divisiveness. Shame on You! It is time the media rises above this type of reporting and stop this. If you say you are Patriotic then prove it. There is 2 candidates on the Democratic party that I believe want to change Washington.
The Will of The People should not be ignored!
Hilary's lying is evidence of her pathological need to make herself more important than she really is.. She desparately wants people to look up to her and think she is [brave] [heroic] [competent] [place appropriate adjective here].
For those of you who blindly support a woman who is incapable of telling and / or knowing the truth (and to any truly intelligent person – it undermines her credibility and competence) – one old saying comes to mind:
Dance with the devil, and you're going to get burned.
As for Chelsea, she is speaking on behalf of her mother, why did she not want to answer question.
It's a child trying to do a woman job.
Step out the way Chelsea,
If she refuse to answer, walk out.
Hillary can't use her "experience" as proof of ability to become Commander in Chief. The pictures released of her disembarking from the plane in war torn Bosnia speak a 1,000 words, contrasted with the pictures on Sunday of the soldiers standing near the place where the most recent American troops were blown to oblivion. And what mother brings her daughter to such a dangerous place?
Yeah Hillary, It may well be the first time you misspoke in 'public', I can only imagine how you speak in private. I bet the words "the American people" never come in to the conversation.
But I will cut you some slack, after all you may very well suffer from Post Traumatic Stress after that little girl read you that poem. It has been known to cause memory problems. But I haven't heard of it causing bald faced lying.
Obama has been more than forthcoming about all his dealings with Resnick. He has spoken openly about his relationship with Rev. Wright. He has made all his tax returns public. He has been honest about drug use (and who posting here didn't toke in high school? Come on people! Get real.) He has the brass ones to take on race relations in a mature and responsible manner.
Bill Clinton "didn't inhale." As if. He cheated on his wife IN THE OVAL OFFICE. Hillary Clinton "misspeaks" at every turn. About insignificant events. Then turns around and changes the subject off of herself. If she "remembers" things differently than they actually happened about rather insignificant events, how much more will that effect her memory about truly significant events if she were to become President? And do you really want to see another co-presidency with Bill and all his whores back in the White House?
I certainly don't. I also don't want to see McCain anwering the phone at 3 a..m. I really don't want his itchy trigger finger pushing the nuclear button or staying in Iraq for another 100 years!
Every state should have the opportunity to vote in their primary elections. Vote for whoever you want. But make the vote educated and informed. Don't just vote for someone based on their gender or the color of their skin...that is not what our nation is about. If it is, I'm moving to Canda!
Hillary Clinton is dishonest, deceitful and utterly unqualified to be president of this country.
I am so disappointed in Hillary a woman contender and how her campaign will be remembered in history. She is 1st woman as a presidential candidate and somehow the way her campaign is run, the way she conducts herself is not what exemplifies womanhood for me (of course this is only my opinion). Her behavior appears unbalanced, and like some spoiled, bullying child. When she is challenged on her years in the white house, it is either none of our business, oh you can never understand (high and mighty) or give me a break (get off my back). It is not the American publics fault that what was done by her or her husband in the white house is our business, and we will continue to ask. Whenever she is confronted with her own issues, her response is never to address them but to blame anyone other than herself or husband. Then next immediately she attacks the other candidates as if to say look over here. Well she and no other woman can be proud of this since history is being made. She has brought even the role of a presidential candidate down to some stereotypes woman have strived to overcome for ages. Those stereotype is the witch, the shrew, the gold digger, and the snappish, uptight ticking bomb. Me myself, I would have even preferred the blonde bombshell.
Have the people criticizing Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright actually read his speech where he explains the relationship? Many of you literally do not know what you are talking about. If you're going to criticize Obama for this, you should at least make an effort to be well-informed.
Obama did not lie about his experience at Trinity Church. I don't see why it is so hard for people to understand why he stayed there, in spite of Wright's inane comments. His whole candidacy is based on the idea that we all need to come together, even with people like Wright who we vehemently disagree with, and put aside our differences for the common good. The alternative—seizing on differences and demonizing your opposition—is the Bush philosophy, and how well has that worked out for America?
All the smear tactics, the negative publicity, the supposed lies uncovered in the months and weeks before an election serve to do nothing more than reinforce the plain and simple truth: elections are nothing more than guessing games.
We have no way of knowing how any of these people will actually conduct themselves if and when the reach the White House – unless of course all other Americans are soothsayers and I was left out of that gene pool. All three candidates (Clinton, Obama, McCain) have all lied and cheated at some point in their lives – they are human. Therefore, people are so focused on what these people have done in their past, they forget about the future. The American people are then left to guess which candidate they think will do the best job, after each candidate and the media has done an overwhelmingly exceptional job of pointing out the others' flaws. Rather than focus on positive attributes, the ideas they have to improve our great nation, and allow the candidate to articulate how they intend to execute on their ideas, we spend our time talking about relatively meaningless topics such as this. Understanding the platform on which each candidate stands is exponentially more valuable in making an informed vote for President than focusing on the flaws and 'faux pas' of the past.
Good luck America – I hope you guess right. The last thing we need is another eight years that result in what we have been through in the previous eight years.
Embellishing. People says its alright to embelligh, who is it hurting. Well, George Bush embellished and started a war. Whose to say she won't embellish if she is in office and wants to exert her commander-in-chief status. Embellishing, who does it hurt – people.
I am a HRC supporter and I will admit its a bit odd. BUT what I will also say is hasn't the CORRECT account of what happened been highlighted in her book?
Since that is the case I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt here just as I give BO the benefit he meant nothing racial with the "typical white person" comment.
This article like so many on CNN however is presented as a news piece when it really is an opinoin piece. I have seen many such articles from Roland Martin that I thought were out of place on this ticker.
A lie is a lie is a lie. Hillary needs to quit lying and her campaign would go a lot smoother.
I don't think we need another lying aministration in the white house.
The irony is all of this... is that Mrs. Clinton has often judged Obama over the facts and claims he is living in a fantasy world of his own. Hmmm... really? The diference here is that Obama may be a "dreamer" (MLK anyone?)... but Clinton loves to dream about the past. I mean... literally to the point that she herself believes she was in a TOM CLANCY movie – and avoiding sniper fire – in order to believe she is an actual hero. The problem I see is that each of these canidates have fire in their eyes – but for different reasons. Clinton wants to be president because she wan't the power, the status and to be written into the history books. Obama wants to be president because he (like many of us) actually understands that the U.S.A. is on a downward spiral... and we need someone who has a vision to lead us out of it. In 2008 – I can guarantee you that will not be Clinton... and it will not be McCain.
Am I the only one that finds it odd that she has said several times how dangerous the trip was, yet she let her 16 yr old daughter accompany her???
What else has she lied about! If he was her pastor she would leave like she did with Bill, Ooops She is still with Bill. She meant to say if I couldn't become senator or president I would leave him. What perplexes me, no one on CNN but Cafferty has called her on anything. In closing, if Obama had blatanly lied to the public you would had be all over it. So do your job and uncover what everyone else knows....
She has no integrity.....
Still the media is afraid to use the "L" word.
Hillary "misspoke" (her own choice or word), she "embellished," she "didn't quite remember accurately." At the time she made the comments about ducking sniper fire (which she used in speaches about 10 times) she was suffering from sleep deprivation (each time?)
No, Hillary LIED. She misrepresented what she knew as the truth to suit her own needs - a pattern she has carried with her for years - Whitewater? WH Travel Office firings?
Don't the Dems get it? She lies. And she sometimes gets caught in her own lies, because when a person begins lying, it's soon hard to distinguish fact from fabrication.
What this article does is establish a clear pattern of lying on the part of Hillary Clinton. The facts are all there for anyone to double-check: what she said, when she said it, whom she said it to... and what the truth actually is in comparison to her claims. The bottom line is that Hillary Clinton is a liar, has always been a liar, and will continue to be a liar. We already elected one blatant liar whose falsehoods led us into a war in Iraq – are we going to do it again this November? She may be a Democrat, but when it comes down to it, Hillary Clinton is cut from the same cloth as George W. Bush – both are pathological liars who just can't seem to stop and tell the truth... no matter how ridiculous their lies are. She misspoke about Bosnia? As if you could forget something as dramatic as being under sniper fire while exiting a plane with your teenage daughter? Give me a break! How stupid does she think the American people are? She lied!
The reason Obama's camp is requesting the release of her tax docs is b/c of this pattern of lies from Clinton and her campaign. She has a long-standing reputation for lying – and is clearly against transparency in government, something Obama fully supports and has gone out of his way to live up to. Who knows what else she is hiding? She lied right to Tim Russert's face re: her position on NAFTA during the Ohio debate – even when he read several quotes from her in support of NAFTA. She simply sat there and lied once again on national television. She clearly has no conscience and will say whatever she needs to say to get elected. And if she is elected president, what will she lie to us about then? Will she send our husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends and neighbors off to fight and die in another illegitimate war? And then 5 years in hit our TV screens telling us we're winning and everything is great and the 4,000 Americans who sacrificed their lives for a lie did not die in vain? She thought Iraq was such a good idea – she voted for it. Who knows what she'll do if elected. Once a liar, always a liar.
Face it, people – the woman has no honor and no respect for the American people. Look at how she's trying to convince the delegates to vote for her instead of the people they were elected to represent. Isn't it great to know that you voted in a primary – according to all of the rules (not like MI & FL) – and now your vote may not count at all? Instead, at Hillary's urging, it will be decided in some smoky, back-room deal. Way to disenfranchise millions of voters and set democracy back a few centuries. Thomas Jefferson is probably spinning in his grave at the idea of someone with so little respect for truth and democracy and the Consitution potentially being elected.
I love to sit by a crackling campfire or gaze and reflect into the flames of the fireplace. Fire is truly a remarkable thing. When controlled it will heat our homes cook our food or light our way on a dark night. When left unattended and unchecked it will consume everything in site. It shows no favoritism. It's only mission is to devour whatever is in it's path, leaving behind scorched earth.
Scorched earth, it's a phrase we are all familiar with. It conjures up images of the final days of WW2, the burning Kuwaiti oil fields of Desert Storm and the final days of numerous dictators and cult leaders that decided to destroy everything rather then letting go.
So here we are once again, we are witnessing another scorched earth by the Clinton's. Instead of seeing reality, or despite seeing it, they have chosen to destroy the Democratic Party and the opportunity that 2008 provides. With her candidacy rejected by the voters her husband and herself have decided to leave nothing standing. Like a fallen dictator they are systematically destroying the party. Recent remarks about the Richardson endorsement by their puppet James Carvill bear this out.
What stands out to me is the fact that in this all or nothing attempt they are destroying what they claim to matter most. With her continued presence in the race she is effectively destroying Sen. Obama's chance at the White House and ensuring a Republican victory. In doing this she is destroying the things she says she champions, ending the war, health care, jobs and the economy.
Hillary and Bill Clinton, if this continues will be responsible for the death of U.S. troops in Iraq. People losing their homes, and no universal health care. The blame will fall squarely on their shoulders. Her actions prove that her desire isn't to serve, it's to reign.
It's time she stepped down and show us that her commitment to the causes she champions are more important then her ego.
re Cindy's comment about Hillary
The reason this lie matters, is because Hillary is running on her wealth of "experience" as first lady. This incident reveals the simple truth that this "experience" is largely non-existent. And if that's the case, I fail to see how she has any real claim to being more ready than Barak Obama on Day 1.
Why all of you are jumping on Hillary's Back? She has been in a gruling race with the media's favorite (Senator Obama and the Obama Girl). Was it news to put on your website Senator Obama's video while vacationing? She is tired and with time, memories become bleury. She said she is sorry and why don't you people leave it at that instead of making money off of her mishaps. When you will all go and stand before God for judgment, he is going to be asking, you media, what you've done good in your life; you will tell him that you've lived off people's miseries!
This is an example of a much larger issue. If she can't be trusted not to embellish small details, how can she be trusted with larger truths?
I have a good friend who frequently embellishes the truth, and then believes herself. It makes trusting in what she says on any given topic a great challenge. This is not a personality trait I would want in my president.
What is being missed here from supporters is that Senator Clinton has had a history of releasing information with facts given the way she wants the issue to be presented. There is no question that others do it and have done it. However, as a candidate for the highest and most powerful office in the free world, you cannot afford to be anything but accurate, forth-rite and truthful. From Whitewater to Bosnia, the facts have been anything but accurate. Is she a good politician, mother, wife and lawyer? Sure. But White House worthy, well, lets get the "facts" straight on issues before deciding if she is ready for that.
Truth and Hilliary don't occupy the same space! How anyone can still support her is a mystery to me.
Who is her pastor? She should have found one that would teach her the 10 commandments then she would know bearing false witness aka lying is a sin!
She is a good example of what coveting political power can do to diminish decency in a person.
I have no more respect for anything Clinton.
Two things stand out from this Bosnia story.
First, Hillary Clinton has boosted her campaign by touting her diplomatic and foreign policy experience, among them her visit to Bosnia. This story illustrates that her credentials are not as good as she wants us to believe.
Second, her recollection of the landing in Bosnia, which she told not once when she was sleep-deprived, but several times to different audiences, was not a mistake. A mistake is thinking she met an 8 year old boy, not a girl.
I might feel better if I thought she was lying, but this is worse. Like the Current Occupant, Hillary Clinton is removed from reality. She makes her own reality. That is simply dangerous.
Hillary said during an interview on the Bosnian episode that she is tiered and that she made a mistake. She said that this just shows that she isn’t perfect; she is a real human being. This wasn’t a factoid buried in some speech she was reading from a teleprompter. This is an event she was depicting with passion – one that she said she remembered vividly. Also, this was the third time she told this version of it. This was not a tired slipup of a road weary candidate. This was a well thought out, bold face lie, meant to mislead the voters. She then compounds this lie with her bogus story of it being an honest mistake of an exhausted real human being.
This is what we can expect from Hillary on Day-One if she is elected… and every day after! The only thing exhausted is her credibility!!!
Ok let's see now..........
Obama first denies that he was ever in church when his pastor preached sermons against white people but later has to admit that he was in attendance at some of these types of sermons in the 20 years that he has attended Pastor Wright's church.
Hillary flies into Bosnia during war time when snipers were in fact known to shoot at planes but exaggerates that she had to keep her head down when getting off the tarmac on her flight into Bosnia.
Obviously Hillary is the biggest liar?
I'd bet 99% of those who call Hillary a liar because of her Bosnia blunder, have lied. You folks need to look in the mirror! Truman, Kennedy, and Carter, [to name a few] all lied once or twice [ok 100x] so she's in good company. Is it right to lie? No. Same goes for Obama... Is it right that he's judged by what his pastor says...? No. What's most important is what a candidates track record proves. In Hillary's case we know we will have a champion for universal health care, better education policy, determination to end the war with Iraq, and a person who knows how to operate on the world stage. Finally, they say Hillary will do anything to win. Good. That's what winners do...!
CINDY:
YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG. TO PEOPLE WHO THINK INTEGERITY AND CHARACTER MATTER – THIS IS A BIG DEAL.
WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING 8 YEARS OF LIES AND DECIT. WE DO NOT WANT FOUR MORE YEARS OF IT. THIS WOMAN LIES, THROWS OUT DIRT AND EVEN PRAISES THE OPPONENT (MCCAIN) AS BEING BETTER FOR THE JOB AS PRESIDENT.
SHE WILL TEAR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY APART IF SHE "STEALS" THE NOMINATION AS SHE IS TRYING TO DO.
Hillary seems to have some significant self-esteem issues. If she were so strong (to be President of the United States of America) she would not have accepted Bill's humiliation. She may be fit to run for "Most Resilient Wife" of the USA, but not for President of the USA.
She seems too self-relient on Bill.
Carl Berstein is just trying to peddle his book for monetary gains. She is not unlike many of her male politicians but always comes under heavy scrutiny and often times lambasted more than her male self-righteous contemporaries, simply because she is a woman. These men simply cannot come to terms with the fact that a woman can run for the highest office in the land. And an intelligent woman like Hillary Clinton.
Hillary has a skimpy resume, so she exaggerates and lies to make her resume look good.
I am sad that this primary continues to drag on, and am convinced that the lack of any primaries for the next several weeks are going to cause supporters on both sides to further entrench themselves, in such a way that will make either candidate's election difficult in the general. Keeping this party alive into August is the worst thing that can possibly happen to Democrats, because people like Tyler from NJ will decide that if their democrat doesn't get the nomination, they're going to vote Republican out of spite. I myself have decided that I can only vote for one of the two remaining candidates in the general, though I will certainly still vote democrat downticket. At the time of the Iowa caucuses, I could easily have voted for any of the many candidates (and in fact I caucused for Edwards), but now the divisiveness is wearing my patience thin. I think both candidates need to start acting like adults. It's been awhile since we've seen any discourse-elevation from either side, and without it, what you see in the above comments will reign and people will become more polarized.
Very serious accusations. But they need balance. What would be useful to us voters is a comparative study of truthfulness of the candidates. They all seem to lie. What we need to know is who lies the least. A good question to ask is what is it about American culture that promotes liars to the leadership roles.
Obama is not gettings a pass from the media. They have been killing him, even Hillary been throwing the stuff at him. She was caught not telling the truth, how many other times have she not told the truth?
The only one who was under fire, real one, is JohnMcCain.
Perhaps we should elect Hillary just because it will be so easy to impeach her for perjury – because she can't go a day without vomiting forth a porcelain bowl full of lies.
Hillary, Dillary, Doc.
Time runs out on the clock.
The lies, they all smelled
An election was held
And from office Hilly was locked!
There is no comparison to hateful , racist , hysterical screams of Obama's pastor, to Hillary's Bosnian episode. After all, Hillary was only second first lady after Elinor Roosevelt to go to a war zone. And it was a war zone, for God sake! Obama is in big trouble, and this is why it is such a big deal with Bosnia now.
How many war zones has she been to that would have her confused about the circumstances of this trip to Bosnia? How is it that you can take her word at face value when you won't even show 5 minutes of Pastor Wright's comments that lead to the statement that is shown over and over again.
HILLARY SUPPORTERS ARE BLIND!
Hillary Clinton plays fast and loose with the truth. Hillary and Bill have a long history of distorting, dissembling, withholding and hiding relevant, verifiable facts and information. The truth matters, and we need to be able to trust our elected officials to tell the truth. It is not acceptable to assert that they're all liars. We have a choice; we can elect more liars, or we can elect people who tell the truth, even if the truth is difficult for us to hear. The real issue is: does the electorate want to hear the truth, or do we want someone who will continue to lie to us?
It really doesn't matter how bad or good Wright is, anyway.
The marker for hypocrisy is clear: If Obama doesn't get a pass on guilt by association, when Hillary has, and McCain has, that's on hypocrite territory. When he gets the same treatment as them, then we can say things have a modicum of fairness.
Her comments are hypocritical because they can apply just as easily to her and Ferraro. Her attempt to dodge it by the caveat about "...choosing your pastor..." is nothing more than a weak attempt to avoid classification as a hypocrite, and ignores the fact that Wright was a father figure in Obama's life, in EXACT accordance of the claim she made about not being able to choose your family.
Because Hillary has elected to sing in the same chorus as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, she is a fair target for accusations of demagaguery (spelling?).
The "Enemy of My Enemy is My Freind" philosphy so alive in the Hillary camp is leading her down paths she never should have taken.
Hillary believes patching things up with Black voters is a bridge she'll cross when she gets to it, appearantly, AFTER she kills their newest hero. A lot of Hillarites are deluding themselves on this too.
I think, when she finally wanders over to the THAT yawning canyon in her political landscape, she'll find them on the other side, laughing at her. Hell, they just might build a bridge for McCain, given it will a choice between one demogague and another.
AND, I just don't see the younger voters getting excited over a 60 something women with a sly tongue and a questionable sense of honesty.
The feminists may gather around her, but even the feminists must realize that you can't just trade one form of bigotry for another and then sit smugly and try to rationalize away the whole thing.
In November, she will pay the piper. As far as I am concerned, until the Democratic party purges itself of racial hypocracy, I might just join them in building a bridge for McCain!