Slog - Comments on Hillary's Problem http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem It's all over the web. Hillary Clinton is in a big bind over her stance on the Iraq war (see here, here, here, and especially here). Voters in New Hampshire (and elsewhere) want to hear an abject admission of error from anyone who voted for the war in 2002. Edwards, who voted for the war as a Senator, offered his admission of error back in 2005. Obama doesn't need to make any admission of error on the war, having opposed it long before it went so obviously bad. But Hillary... She has a problem. Like Maria Cantwell in 2005, she... Copyright 2008 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:55:04 -0800 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:07:29 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Original Andrew I don't get it.

Why not just say "we were lied to by Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld, et al, I wouldn't have voted for it knowing the truth now, and it's time to end the war which on that point 70% of Americans agree."

It throws the spotlight back on the cause of the war which was/is non-stop and continuous Republican lies and incompetent, disastrous leadership. Hell, throw that in, too.

C'mon Senator Clinton, cough it up.

]]> Original Andrew http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633183 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633183 Politics Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:36:27 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Gonna have to say something soon. Long windy speeches aren't helping.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633184 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633184 Politics Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:36:42 -0800 Comment by Fnarf I agree. She can get away with having supported the war once. She cannot get away with supporting it now, nor with pretending that it's not happening. Even if the reality is there are no good options, she has to address it. 3,127. $366 billion, rising another billion every couple of days.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633203 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633203 Politics Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:58:13 -0800 Comment by George The only problem Clinton Wonder Woman has is to convince Obama to take the VP slot.

And how to spend the Mississippi River of money she will have. Watch her come to Seattle and break all records for this city.....can we say micro millions with style....

Long campaign, save some thunder for the long trail.... she is hardly started and her support is nicely hardening.

Another problem will be cub reporters talking incessantly about her problems. She has great experience dealing with that, though.

]]> George http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633374 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633374 Politics Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:39:33 -0800 Comment by Gary Ummm, like Clinton is not against the war, so she does not regret her vote. Simple as that. And that is why she does not deserve to be president.

]]> Gary http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633447 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633447 Politics Wed, 14 Feb 2007 23:40:50 -0800 Comment by Chip I understand your concern, Eli, but Hillary is smart to keep strong. Hillary's biggest asset is her confidence. Kerry lost largely because he couldn't convince people he would be a consistent, strong leader. Hillary does not have that problem - she's got more balls than ten Kerrys. She's doing her best to protect that asset, even if it means ignoring the furthest left of her base. It's easy to admit a mistake later, if the war gets even worse; but she can't take back an admission of failure or the damage it would cause.

]]> Chip http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633558 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633558 Politics Thu, 15 Feb 2007 01:50:02 -0800 Comment by King Rat Christ! Sanders, you are being as bad as the mainstream media here. Almost a full-fledged member of the right-wing echo chamber with this post. Clinton, for whom I have no love, has said multiple times that she wouldn't vote for the war knowing what she knows now. Read Teh Daily Howler (or a billion of his other entries).

When you repeat the falsehoods without looking up the facts (it doesn't take much googling to find plenty of speeches of Clinton's apologizing for her vote), you become part of "them". If the left splits on all the good candidates, we end up with more bland nobodies like Kerry and Dukakis.

]]> King Rat http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633785 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633785 Politics Thu, 15 Feb 2007 06:13:05 -0800 Comment by monkey You know, I'd really like everyone who voted in support of the war to apologize. Regardless of what evidence was presented it would have been the wrong option. I remember watching Bush speak at ground zero right after the attacks before any mention of war and I KNEW he was going to push for a war and I KNEW it was the wrong thing to do.

So all the bad intell aside... going to war was the wrong thing to do. Saying, "I was misled" doesn't cut it. I don't mind the mistakes so much as them not learning from them. I want a leader who learns lessons, not is always right.

]]> monkey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633852 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633852 Politics Thu, 15 Feb 2007 07:56:43 -0800 Comment by old timer "Defend me like a MAN would?"

WTF is that supposed to mean?

Defend me like Geo Bush does?

Defend me like Rumsfeld did?

Defend me like Gonzales does?

NO THANKS....

MEN have never defended me.

They have tried to impress me with their idealized perception of their own dick sizes, but no defense of me was ever expressed or implied.

Hillary is not getting my vote no matter what, but it's most definitely not because she can't "Defend me like a MAN."

]]> old timer http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633905 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c633905 Politics Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:02:32 -0800 Comment by Gary Good post old timer. Hard to believe these neo-liberals and their idiot notions on what is right and wrong and what works and does not work.

]]> Gary http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c634088 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c634088 Politics Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:47:47 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle At least they don't become neo-cons and destroy America.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c634199 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c634199 Politics Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:28:43 -0800 Comment by David Eli,
I agree with King Rat, PLEASE read The Daily Howler et al. Clinton has said, quite explicitly, "knowing what I know now, I would never have voted for it." That sounds like admitting a mistake to me, or at least worth noting.

I also agree that this is an excellent example of how the media "echo chamber" works. Americablog doesn't quote from Clinton's speech directly -- only secondhand, from a quote (rather confusing, in context) in a Fox News story. HuffPo quotes James Carville, the NYT article, and the Fox News story via Americablog. Daily Kos repeats the NYT and Carville quotes from HuffPo, adds a Mark Penn quote from the NYT -- and finally quotes ONE sentence (the one from the Fox News story, of course) of what Clinton actually said! Is that one sentence the sum total of Clinton's public statements about her Iraq war vote? If not, what HAS Clinton actually said about her Iraq war vote, if not what all these people want her to say? One might think that to be relevant in some way, but good luck finding out in the echo chamber.

The fact that Clinton has at least said that, knowing what she knows now, she would not have voted for the war (which may not be enough for some people, but it's surely relevant to this issue?) is not mentioned in the NYT article or any of the blog posts -- only, oddly enough, in the quoted Fox News story!

(And some liberals wonder why Al Gore won't run for president again....)

]]> David http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c634235 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/hillarys_problem#c634235 Politics Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:07:29 -0800