It was predictable. When candidates get desperate, they make mountains out of molehills. They take huge offense at their opponents. They try to make federal cases out of any criticism they receive.
Hillary Clinton is down to her last two primaries. Not only does she need to win in Texas and Ohio, she needs to win by very big margins to catch up to Obama.
She spoke well in the debate on Tuesday, but so did Obama. The result was no stop in his surging popularity.
So, it was predictable. Take a look at this video ...
This is about, what? Obama's mailings say Clinton would require everyone to purchase health insurance? That's true, strictly speaking. And although it is also true that Clinton's plans would provide tax subsidies for people who can not afford to purchase this insurance, this does not erase Obama's point that everyone is nonetheless required to be part of this system, in contrast to his health plan.
Does making that point make Obama guilty of using Karl Rove-like tactics? Does it justify Hillary saying "shame on you, Barack Obama"?
I think, sadly, it shows how desperate Hillary Clinton is for votes. She'll need more than Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, nodding his head yes like a puppet behind her, to win in Ohio and Texas.
She ends her unfortunate tirade saying "meet me in Ohio" to Barack Obama. I hope she reconsiders her tactics in the next two days, and doesn't leave the stage with this manufactured anger as the parting image Americans will have of her 2008 campaign...
***
Meanwhile, on a lighter note, did you catch the opening skit on Saturday Night Live last night? Another "replay" of Tuesday's debate between Obama and Clinton, with good satire of not only the candidates but the CNN moderators, including a question from the real Obama Girl - Amber Lee Ettinger - in the audience. Ben Relles, producer of the Obama Girl videos, has long said that he conceived of the videos as SNL skits, YouTube style. Now Obama Girl has literally come to Saturday Night Live - which is the fantasy and which the reality?
What's true is Barack Obama's on his way to being elected President. And, in some small but significant way, at the very beginning of this process last year, Ben Relles and Amber Lee Ettinger had something to do with this, by bringing Obama to the appealing attention of the YouTube generation.
http://paulevinson.blogspot.com
Paul Levinson's The Silk Code won the 2000 Locus Award
for Best First Novel. He has since published Borrowed Tides (2001),The Consciousness Plague (2002), The Pixel Eye (2003), and The Plot To Save Socrates (2006). His science fiction and mystery short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards. His eight nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997),
Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), and Cellphone (2004), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into nine languages. He has appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News," "Scarborough Country" (MSNBC), the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS), "Nightline" (ABC) and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. He is Professor and Chair of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.
It is true that Obama's plan omits about fifteen million folks from health coverage, so where does Senator Clinton overreach in her discussion of that omission?
It is also true that Senator Obama distorts his opponents plan if only by failing to note that mandates cover those who cannot pay, this is not forcing people to be covered by health care this is ensuring equitable provision of such care to all who need it.
You are free to support whomsoever you wish, you are not free to use hyperbole and distortion of what is said, omitted or inferred by either candidate. Senator Obama is as guilty as is Senator Clinton in playing politics regarding their respective opponents platform, that is, unfortunately the name of the game these days.
I happen to believe that neither plan is sufficient, as inclusive or as inexpensive as it needs to be to rescue our staggering economy from the ever increasing costs associated with for-profit health care. I further believe that the only plan extant by a candidate for this office that makes any sense whatsoever can be found at votenader.org.
But that doesnt mean I am going to suspend my reason, intellect and good judgement in jumping all over those candidates I do not support, nor will I make awkward leaps of logic in the defense of my own choice. You really ought to try that method.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 10:31:17 AM
You don't address Hillary's outburst at all - which was the subject of my op-ed.
And as for what I am "free" to write or talk about, last time I checked, I didn't need your permission or approval.
Here's a suggestion: you would do better for yourself, and perhaps your candidate, if you focused on the substance of the communications you are criticizing - and not deal in general insults.
by
Paul Levinson (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 8 comments)
on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 11:42:34 AM
Ironic isnt it that you hold your breath, kick your feet and scream "Ill write what I want, Mommy...". Then you go on to ask me to focus on the realities when you have made it amply clear that you will not...strange little fellow.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Friday, February 29, 2008 at 6:53:29 AM
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