What I Meant Was
Those with a semblance of smarts and education rarely have trouble getting a thought out. What they -- all of us -- do have trouble with from time to time are the words in passing -- obiter dicta -- that convey dark, underlying notions that we don't mean to "say" but which seep through regardless. Truth-outs.
Whip-smart Hillary Clinton could have said, "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? And we all remember that the race between Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy went on until June of '68, and that the race between Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey would have certainly continued until the August convention in Chicago."
But no -- she said that Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June of that summer, and I think we all sorta kinda know what she was getting at...right? She was saying that the odds are less likely that she'll be shot if she gets the nomination.
She's tried every other possible rationale under the sun. We all know she implies exactly what she means to imply every damn time she opens her mouth (Barack Obama is not a Muslim "as far as I know," etc.) Is this not how she's been playing it all along? And now, apologies aside, she's introduced the bullet factor into the final days of the campaign. Classy.
Here's N.Y. Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin on the matter.
Newsweek's Jonathan Alter on her general rationale for staying around, hoping for some kind of cataclysmic upset. Here's another analysis, excerpted from Keith Olbermann's Countdown -- "meltdown," "something sad about it," "things going down the drain," etc.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 24, 2008 at 1:55 AM
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
Hopefully, the only bullet involved will be the coup de gras into her own doomed campaign. This ridiculous statement should be the final nail in the coffin of the Hillary-as-veep talk.
Posted by Rich S.
at May 24, 2008 4:01 AM
comment #2
Rich S.
says ...
Coup de gras in the figurative sense, of course.
Posted by Rich S.
at May 24, 2008 4:02 AM
comment #3
drgogol
says ...
Way to let her off the hook, Rich......
Posted by drgogol
at May 24, 2008 5:52 AM
comment #4
Movie Watcher
says ...
Oh man, it's over for Hillary. I couldn't believe she actually said that! You can't say assassination, ever. She will drop out soon. The secret service protection around Obama will be tightened. I expect her to be out this week. Even Bill can't help her now.
Posted by Movie Watcher
at May 24, 2008 6:07 AM
comment #5
Sam Adams
says ...
Honestly, isn't the greater outrage that Clinton unironically invokes 1968, the year the Democratic Party tore itself to shreds and handed Nixon 8 years in the Whire House, in a year when she stands a chance of doing the same? Even without bringing political murder into it, that's not exactly a compelling argument in her favor.
Posted by Sam Adams
at May 24, 2008 7:55 AM
comment #6
Mr. Muckle
says ...
She meant it was less likely SHE'LL be shot if she stays in the race? I don't think so. You're thinking like a Frenchman (no offense--that means nothing. I love France). She's only talking about Barack being shot. I don't know how you see the other.
Posted by Mr. Muckle
at May 24, 2008 8:07 AM
comment #7
Chicago48
says ...
Jeff -- listening to the news radio and it seems that Mr. Obama is backtracking on his statement that he would reach out to Cuba....he's in Florida and stating that he would treat Cuba as a rogue nation....he's backtracking and changing his tune....turns out he's just another politician that blows with the wind.
Posted by Chicago48
at May 24, 2008 8:38 AM
comment #8
travis b
says ...
chicago 48 -
i think whatever news radio station you listened to was wrong or misinformed . .
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-campaign24-2008may24,0,6735347.story
Posted by travis b
at May 24, 2008 9:30 AM
comment #9
nola
says ...
This is the second time she has mentioned assassination. She also did this back in March. Once again like the sniper story she did not misspeak.
I don't know how anyone can defend her. Ted Kennedy found out this week he is dying of brain cancer. Very classy of her to bring this up.
Posted by nola
at May 24, 2008 9:33 AM
comment #10
nola
says ...
ooops forgot to add she knows that Barack has received a very high number of death threats and had to secret service protection early.
Posted by nola
at May 24, 2008 9:35 AM
comment #11
dangovich
says ...
I keep thinking of Gloria Swanson approaching the camera at the end of Sunset Boulevard, talking about being ready for her close-up.
It's time to put this campaign to bed.
Posted by dangovich
at May 24, 2008 10:31 AM
comment #12
Dan Revill
says ...
Ah only a week and a half until June 3rd...I wonder if her campaign will make it that far?
Posted by Dan Revill
at May 24, 2008 10:44 AM
comment #13
Chicago48
says ...
I'm glad obama is sticking to his Cuban policy....the radio announcer must have misstated his position.
Posted by Chicago48
at May 24, 2008 11:35 AM
comment #14
truefaith
says ...
It's amazing how things get blown out of proportion. It's also amazing that Obama suppoters are offended by what Hillary just said and not what Rev. Wright was feeding to Obama for over 20 years.
Posted by truefaith
at May 24, 2008 1:12 PM
comment #15
Mumbleboy
says ...
TF: Of course people give what Obama and Clinton say more weight than what a preacher says. They are running for president and are speaking to the entire country, not just their congregation.
Anyone who gives weight to what any preacher says is questionable in my book. But that is for another day.
Posted by Mumbleboy
at May 24, 2008 2:17 PM
comment #16
Richardson
says ...
I'm not offended by what she said, I just think it shows amazingly poor judgement and is the kind of verbal gaffe that you can't make if you're running for president. If she slipped this bad in the general election, the Republicans would make a campaign ad out of it, and it would suddenly become the defining moment of her candidacy. They're really good at that. Obama has managed to dodge a lot of that thus far by being smarter in what he says.
Posted by Richardson
at May 24, 2008 3:14 PM
comment #17
Chicago48
says ...
Richardson, it just shows that she's desperate. I like Hillary, but I think she's out-strategized and probably cannot figure out what to do at this point. As for comparing her statement to what Rev. Wright stated -- that's typical....to bring up old stuff that people have forgotten about.
Posted by Chicago48
at May 24, 2008 4:37 PM
comment #18
Chicago48
says ...
Obama has indeed been compromised on Cuba policy. He will keep the embargo. If he's going to be wishy washy about foreign policy and keep the old policies, then I won't support him:
HAVANA  Fidel Castro criticized Sen. Barack Obama on Monday, writing that the Democratic presidential hopeful’s plan to maintain Washington’s trade embargo against Cuba will cause hunger and suffering on the island.
The ailing 81-year-old former president wrote that Obama was “the most-advanced candidate in the presidential race,†but noted that he has not dared to call for altering U.S. policy toward Cuba.
“Obama’s speech can be translated as a formula for hunger for the country,†Castro wrote in a column published by government-run newspapers, referring to remarks Obama made before the influential Cuban American National Foundation in Miami last week.
Posted by Chicago48
at May 26, 2008 11:40 AM
comment #19
D.Z.
says ...
He might keep the embargo, but he might be more flexible about it than Bush.
Posted by D.Z.
at May 26, 2008 12:45 PM