OpEdNews » Hillary Clinton thinks everything is A-OK with Bush Policies and their End Result

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Tag(s): Barack Obama; Bush Failed Policy Domestic; Bush Failed Policy International; Bush Failure-in-Chief; Clinton-Hillary; Hillary Clinton; Hillary Clinton; McCain-John; Obama-Barack
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April 13, 2008 at 00:04:27

Hillary Clinton thinks everything is A-OK with Bush Policies and their End Result

by Steven Leser Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Read between the lines of Hillary Clinton and her surrogates criticizing Barack Obama and his 'bitter' statement and that is one of the places her logic takes you. Hillary seems to be saying that Americans aren't bitter because they have no reason to be. Let's take a look at what Obama said that ignited this "controversy" (from the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harold-pollack/whos-really-out-of-touch_b_96382.html ):

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter)....

But the truth is ... our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. ....

[Y]ou can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

-------------------------------------------------

In pouncing on him, is Hillary saying that people aren't frustrated and bitter that their jobs have been shipped overseas? Is she saying that people aren't frustrated and bitter that they have lost their pensions? Is Hillary saying that people are thrilled to have lost their healthcare or to have been denied claims as so aptly illustrated in Michael Moore's Sicko?

I understand Senator McCain attacking Obama here. As the Republican candidate, he has to take the position that everything is going well in America and GOP/Bush policies have been great for the country so there is no reason for anyone to be bitter. He has to do that because he is proposing the same policies for running the country that Bush has used for the last eight years. It's a bad place for McCain to have to be but as a Democrat, I don't feel sorry for him.

I miss the time when you could count on all Democratic Presidential candidates concentrated on real issues and not their opponent's clergy person. I miss the time when Democratic Presidential candidates were smart enough not to walk into Republican talking points like talking about experience being the primary issue in this campaign when McCain is the one with the greatest experience, or attacking Obama here over his bitter statements when Democrats should all be making the argument about how bad this country has gotten and how upset all Americans are about that.

Her reaction to Obama's remarks is starting to make me wonder, is Hillary running for President, or is she trying to become John McCain's running mate? If a miracle happened and she turned around the race from the Democratic nomination, how would she beat McCain? What would be rationale she would use to say she is the better choice? She has now said that no one is unhappy under Bush and that experience which McCain has more of than she is the most important thing. I'm also wondering about the real possibility that the furor over these remarks, mostly created by Hillary's campaign, will backfire. A New York Times/CBS poll showed that "81% of Americans believe that the US is on the wrong track" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/us/04poll.html. Obama's remarks speak directly to those people. If Hillary Clinton or John McCain thinks those people are dispassionate about their opinion that the country is on the wrong track, they are the ones out of touch and elitist.

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9 comments

Steven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.

Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of t...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Steven LeserSteven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.

Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of t...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Your reaction paints you as a Republican

As does Hillary's. If nothing is wrong with this country and no one is bitter, that means GOP policies are the way to go and we should elect another one to the Presidency for the next four to eight years. It's really that simple.

And if you and Hillary do not agree with the idea that the country is doing just fine, the rhetorical lengths to which you will go to win makes you traitors.

by Steven Leser (211 articles, 44 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1387 comments) on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 9:40:43 AM

Sandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, 10-minute newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspapers...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Sandy SandSandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, 10-minute newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspapers...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Much ado...

What a bunch of to do over much of nothing.

Guess it's easier than Hillary talking about her lousy health care plan (Obama's is lousy, too, so you don't have to defend her, Teri) or anything else of import.

Every election cycle it's the same damn thing. Carp, carp, carp on the trivial. It's getting so tiresome.

by Sandy Sand (143 articles, 0 quicklinks, 195 diaries, 1376 comments) on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 6:17:13 AM

I am a retired opera singer. I was a leading soprano with the New York City Opera for ten years. I am a strong supporter of Dennis Kucinich and worked for his campaign in 2004. I believe that he is the ONLY honest man in congress. He has been working against this insane war since before it began. I am 72 years old and I have been so frustrated with the media, the Congress and the American people that they don't tell the truth.
CaronomeI am a retired opera singer. I was a leading soprano with the New York City Opera for ten years. I am a strong supporter of Dennis Kucinich and worked for his campaign in 2004. I believe that he is the ONLY honest man in congress. He has been working against this insane war since before it began. I am 72 years old and I have been so frustrated with the media, the Congress and the American people that they don't tell the truth.

If you're not bitter, you're not paying attention.

Everybody shut up!!!!! It's disgusting to hear the claptrap that all of the candidates are spouting. Of course we're bitter. The betrayal by the Democratic Party of the citizens of this country is rife. I'm a Democrat or I was until until my party began to act like they are big fans of the Bush crime family. Where is the passion for impeachment by my party? These people are criminals and I want them punished. How is it that we can put every sad drug addict in jail and we can't seem to prosecute the biggest criminals in the world?

Yes, I'm bitter, and I don't want to hear Hillary use this supposed gaff by Obama to put him down. That's not to say that I am a fan of Obama either. We don't have an excellent candidate. The media and big business closed out Kucinich. He alone would have brought this country back to sanity. Imagine a country with a health care plan that would actually work. Imagine an end to this evil war. Imagine a return to the days when a person could earn a living wage without working two or three jobs. Outsourcing is a grand thing, right?

We have to get our priorities straight. Why is it okay for these candidates to raise obscene amounts of money for their campaigns? Where is campaign reform? Why is America the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't protect its citizens from health disasters? Throw out the bums in Congress who abrogate their vow to defend the Constitution.

Yes, I'm bitter. Join me and lets change the things that make us feel bitter.

by Caronome (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 222 comments) on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 9:24:25 AM

I do have writing credits in a major newspaper--long ago.
Currently, I write for online political boards with a
definite liberal bias. Proud parent, grandparent and
aspiring poet and novelist. I never stopped aspiring.
Finally managed to earn a BA degree in communications/ American lit. Love romantic fiction that also stretches
the intellectual muscles. And am mad about romantic
Russian composers. I take life seriously but tend to
look at it with a healt...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Marilyn FrithI do have writing credits in a major newspaper--long ago.
Currently, I write for online political boards with a
definite liberal bias. Proud parent, grandparent and
aspiring poet and novelist. I never stopped aspiring.
Finally managed to earn a BA degree in communications/ American lit. Love romantic fiction that also stretches
the intellectual muscles. And am mad about romantic
Russian composers. I take life seriously but tend to
look at it with a healt...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Caro, first things first....

First we hire the best employee for the job (POTUS); then we set right the crimes and misdemeanors of the past, if that is in the cards. Remember, the GOP has been in total power for decades, with the military/industrial/pharmaceutical complex advancing their own agenda. It isn't going to be easy and one man or woman can't do it alone.

It took one Clinton to clean up a Bush mess; it will take Hillary and every patriotic American to roll up sleeves and make the necessary adjustments.

I feel your pain.

by Marilyn Frith (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 191 comments) on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 9:46:26 AM

I have to agree with Teri

Not only is Barack condescending to ALL Amerians, his devotees seem to be cut from the same cloth. Obama's pitch to his black constituents is the height of hypocrisy. When did he ever feel their pain, relate to their history in this country, walk in their shoes? Yet in the South, he dons the required persona, lapses into black dialect and idiom as he teases out the last drop of black support--i.e., vote...

It is no small wonder he is tripping over his own tongue. That is because he feels nothing that smacks of sincerity. It's all a big act. The staginess is getting tiresome to behold as the Obama veneer cracks and the real man comes shining through. It isn't pretty, is it? Battle fatigue? I reckon!

by Marilyn Frith (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 191 comments) on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 9:38:28 AM

If you dont think people are bitter, then pull the lever for

McCain. He is going to do the same things that keep people 'happy' that Bush has done.

by Steven Leser (211 articles, 44 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1387 comments) on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 9:53:19 AM

I'm a lifelong resident of Tennessee. I love my state; I love its people; I do not understand its politics. I've worn many hats ("Tennessee Titans", "Chicago Cubs", "2008, The End of an Error") in my 52 years, the most important of which proclaims, "World's Best Mom."
TennMomI'm a lifelong resident of Tennessee. I love my state; I love its people; I do not understand its politics. I've worn many hats ("Tennessee Titans", "Chicago Cubs", "2008, The End of an Error") in my 52 years, the most important of which proclaims, "World's Best Mom."

You said it, Steve

To hear Clinton tell it, people are "optimistic" and "positive." I'm surprised she didn't add that working class Americans are skipping with glee on their way to the unemployment office, or whistling while they work at their minimum wage jobs. I wonder if she realizes that her response to Obama's "bitterness" remark was an affirmation of the status quo. After all, if Americans are so damn happy, should we not just elect McCain and let things continue down the same rosy path?

by TennMom (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 21 comments) on Monday, April 14, 2008 at 12:09:59 AM

I am into rock music, weight training, socialism, politics, and being good. I decided to become socialist because i understand that capitalism is a stage in human development and it is not a very good system, we must advance into socialism
LincolnMarxI am into rock music, weight training, socialism, politics, and being good. I decided to become socialist because i understand that capitalism is a stage in human development and it is not a very good system, we must advance into socialism

Only socialism can save USA, not Clinton, Obama or Mccain

Hillary Clinton, Obama and Mccain are neoliberals, not an alternative and solution for most americans, only socialism can save USA, not neoliberalism

http://how-to-be-a-nietzsche-superman.blogspot.com/

Hillary Clinton, Obama and Mccain are neoliberals, not an alternative and solution for most americans, only socialism can save USA, not neoliberalism:

The main points of neo-liberalism include:

THE RULE OF THE MARKET. Liberating "free" enterprise or private enterprise from any bonds imposed by the government (the state) no matter how much social damage this causes. Greater openness to international trade and investment, as in NAFTA. Reduce wages by de-unionizing workers and eliminating workers' rights that had been won over many years of struggle. No more price controls. All in all, total freedom of movement for capital, goods and services. To convince us this is good for us, they say "an unregulated market is the best way to increase economic growth, which will ultimately benefit everyone." It's like Reagan's "supply-side" and "trickle-down" economics -- but somehow the wealth didn't trickle down very much.

CUTTING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES like education and health care.

REDUCING THE SAFETY-NET FOR THE POOR, and even maintenance of roads, bridges, water supply -- again in the name of reducing government's role. Of course, they don't oppose government subsidies and tax benefits for business.DEREGULATION. Reduce government regulation of everything that could diminsh profits, including protecting the environmentand safety on the job.

PRIVATIZATION. Sell state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors. This includes banks, key industries, railroads, toll highways, electricity, schools, hospitals and even fresh water. Although usually done in the name of greater efficiency, which is often needed, privatization has mainly had the effect of concentrating wealth even more in a few hands and making the public pay even more for its needs.

ELIMINATING THE CONCEPT OF "THE PUBLIC GOOD" or "COMMUNITY" and replacing it with "individual responsibility." Pressuring the poorest people in a society to find solutions to their lack of health care, education and social security all by themselves -- then blaming them, if they fail, as "lazy."Around the world, neo-liberalism has been imposed by powerful financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. It is raging all over Latin America. The first clear example of neo-liberalism at work came in Chile (with thanks to University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman), after the CIA-supported coup against the popularly elected Allende regime in 1973. Other countries followed, with some of the worst effects in Mexico where wages declined 40 to 50% in the first year of NAFTA while the cost of living rose by 80%. Over 20,000 small and medium businesses have failed and more than 1,000 state-owned enterprises have been privatized in Mexico. As one scholar said, "Neoliberalism means the neo-colonization of Latin America."In the United States neo-liberalism is destroying welfare programs; attacking the rights of labor (including all immigrant workers); and cutbacking social programs. The Republican "Contract" on America is pure neo-liberalism. Its supporters are working hard to deny protection to children, youth, women, the planet itself -- and trying to trick us into acceptance by saying this will "get government off my back." The beneficiaries of neo-liberalism are a minority of the world's people. For the vast majority it brings even more suffering than before: suffering without the small, hard-won gains of the last 60 years, suffering without end.Elizabeth Martinez is a longtime civil rights activist and author of several books, including "500 Years of Chicano History in Photographs." 13101310Arnoldo Garcia is a member of the Oakland-based Comite Emiliano Zapata, affiliated to the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico. 13101310Both writers attended the Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity and against Neoliberalism, held July 27 - August 3,1996, in La Realidad, Chiapas.

by LincolnMarx (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 53 comments) on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 12:22:33 PM