It is difficult to know whether to criticize the Democrat candidates until they pick a nominee – since the Republicans will then have to run against the survivor. And clearly in the next six months before the convention, both Democrat candidates will come under much closer scrutiny and be much more aggressively attacked by their opponents.
But they do not hesitate (particularly Mrs Clinton) to take shots at Senator McCain while they are in the process of taking each other apart – and it is going to get worse.
Clearly, most Republicans would prefer to have Mrs Clinton as the Democrat candidate. This year Republicans are not participating in the system – voter turnout rates have not matched the Democrats, fundraising has been difficult as many Republicans have given up our chances for this election cycle and are willing to let the Dems take it. Long time Republican office holders are retiring in droves. Wealthy contributors perceive our chances in November as slim and are not pouring money into the Republican war chests like they used to.
But Mrs Clinton is so unpalatable to most Republicans that she could unite the party and galvanize their support of Senator McCain just avoid Clinton III from happening.
So it may be useful to look at the Clinton campaign and examine her weaknesses – just for practice.
First, her claim of experience is just not credible. This is an easy one because I do not believe that the US Senate is good experience for anything. I have had a preference for governors who at least have had the experience of being the chief executive of a large political organization – but then we only have Senators to choose from this year. But her claim of executive experience while she was first lady while Nero fiddled about in the White House is ludicrous. Her only relevant claim is that she has spent most of her adult life living in public housing.
She has been tested ? She has had adverse times, its true – while her husband dragged her through scandal after scandal and spent his second term behind barricaded doors at the White House while the Republicans tried to impeach him (inappropriately, in my opinion, but that is another story). And Hillary survived her own scandals by just griting her teeth and refusing to answer charges or release documents – just like she is doing now. Did she answer charges about Vince Foster, travelgate, Rose Law Firm billing documents or FBI files in the White House ? NO !
Mrs. Clinton has delivered personal money to her own campaign in the amount of five million dollars in the form of loans. Where does that money come from. She refuses to release her tax returns – and Bill’s. Nor do they release the donor information for their various foundations such as the one that funds his Presidential library. Allegations are made that they have received questionable donations from corporate sponsors and shady characters who may appear to have interests in the executive pardons Bill approved or other actions of the former President.
She claims to be the smartest woman alive – but cannot release her tax returns because it is too complicated and takes so long. She claims to be ready on day one to manage the government – but her campaign has been woefully mismanaged. She ignored small states initially - allowing Obama to gain his advantage in delegates which she cannot overcome in the large states. She had no campaign structure in place after February 5 Super Tuesday – because she arrogantly didn’t expect to need any. But listen to her complain about the lack of planning in Iraq after the brilliantly successful military campaign. She has squandered most of her resources and advantages in her campaign and is being defeated by a political newcomer. Her only defense has been to whine that she is the victim as a woman – interesting argument to make while being opposed by a Black man who is pointedly not the candidate of Black grievances.
Hillary is a polarizing figure in American politics and will do more to get out the Republican contributors and voters than John McCain can do. But McCain can appeal to the independents, moderates and disappointed Obama supporters who will not support Mrs Clinton.
The irony is not lost when New York gives us another sex scandal this week with the governor just to remind us how it really felt to watch the Clinton years.
Bring it on Mrs Clinton – we are pulling for you all the way.
Cal Thomas addresses some of the candidates shortcomings in his current article for Townhall.com.
My source: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2008/03/11/hide_and_seek
Hide and Seek
By Cal Thomas
Tuesday, March 11, 2008The campaign manager for Sen. Barack Obama has a point. David Plouffe wants Hillary Clinton to release her income tax returns for the last several years and couple that with a speedier process for releasing papers from the Clinton White House years. That's so voters will be able to judge whether Mrs. Clinton's claims of experience are justified by what she says she did as a virtual "co-president."
Plouffe told reporters last week that Mrs. Clinton is "one of the most secretive politicians in America today." Who would disagree, other than Mrs. Clinton? There does seem to be some inconsistency, if not outright duplicity. On one hand, we are supposed to accept at face value that she is, as former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski is said to have once called her, "the smartest woman in the world." On the other hand, we are to think nothing of her inability to find records, or produce records in a timely fashion, or get records released from the Clinton Presidential Library.
One would think that if the records validated her claim of experience in being part of so many international and domestic policy decisions, she would rush to produce documents that back up those claims. And if her income tax returns contain nothing that could cause embarrassment, those, too, should be coming off the copying machine at Kinko's to be handed out to reporters.
The Clintons have always had a fascination with money and how to make more of it. According to Forbes.com, on his 1986 return, "Bill Clinton deducted $6 for three pairs of underwear and $75 for a suit with ripped pants given to the Salvation Army." Neither Clinton has to worry about money now, but the country ought to know where the millions they have vacuumed up in recent years came from, and if that money has strings attached.
Last week, The Washington Times reported that in May 2006 (the spring before his wife began her campaign for the White House) Bill Clinton made "$700,000 for his foundation by selling stock he had been given from an Internet search company that was co-founded by a convicted felon and backed by the Chinese government." Mr. Clinton had received the non-publicly traded stock from Accoona Corporation in 2004 as a gift for giving a speech at a company event. His windfall came when he sold the 200,000 shares to an undisclosed (naturally) buyer. Clinton got $3.50 a share at a time when the company was reporting millions of dollars in losses.
Perhaps Mrs. Clinton should start invoking her husband's name when she criticizes CEOs for their golden parachutes, as they flee sinking companies or layoff employees. Too bad Mr. Clinton wasn't among those testifying before a Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing last week about huge salaries and bonuses paid to corporate CEOs, while their employees suffer layoffs.
In a related story, USA Today reports archivists at the Clinton Presidential Library are blocking release of hundreds of pages of White House papers related to pardons approved by the former president. These include clemency documents for the fugitive commodities trader Marc Rich.
There are the familiar explanations - there always are with the Clintons - about why they can't be more forthcoming with documents and records. When asked about her tax returns during a recent debate, Mrs. Clinton said she hadn't gotten it done yet because she's "a little busy right now." The question was not about the 2007 return, but those from previous years. Surely those earlier returns are available, or have they been misplaced like disappearing documents at the Rose Law Firm, which magically materialized in the White House residence after Ken Starr and a Senate committee subpoenaed them?
As for the documents at the Clinton Presidential Library, both Clintons say they have asked the library to release materials as quickly as possible. But when the Clintons' agent, former Deputy White House Counsel Bruce Lindsey, chooses not to review the withheld documents, it makes one question their sincerity.
This game of they hide while everyone else seeks is familiar to all Clinton observers. Barack Obama should take advantage of the questions of character that have always been asked of the Clintons and the public doubts about their honesty and sincerity in anything that does not promote their personal, political and financial interests.
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