home

Obama Spokesman: Bill Clinton Not A Racist

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Democratic National Convention 2008
Posted on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:17:10 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Chris "Tweety" Matthews asked Obama spokesman David Gibbs if Bill Clinton was a racist. He said no, Bill Clinton is not a racist. Good to know.

To be fair, Gibbs was incredibly effusive in his praise of President Clinton and Senator Clinton. His appearance was excellent. Struck the exact right tone in my opinion. But let's face it, it's not good when those type of questions are being asked.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

< Michelle Obama's Big Night | Michelle Obama Thread >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Obama Spokesman: Bill Clinton Not A Racist | 92 comments (92 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    Too little too late (5.00 / 8) (#1)
    by cawaltz on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:20:40 PM EST
    and far too opportunistic. If the Obama Team think they can play takebacks, they should rethink it.

    Flowery words mean nothing at this point. Short of action that proves they mean what they say they get nothing from me. Oh and by action I don't mean graciously "allowing" her to speak at a convention where she was a nominee.

    Sure there's something they can do (5.00 / 3) (#86)
    by Cream City on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:03:50 PM EST
    Publicly announce that they have asked Clinton to not release her pledtged delegates Wednesday, and that they encourage all super-delegates to really live up to their responsibility, and then that there will be a real roll-call vote.

    But they won't do it.  Even though Obama would win and have a legitimate win.

    Parent

    Another observation (5.00 / 3) (#88)
    by Eleanor A on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:24:57 PM EST
    Even if a miracle occurs and Obama manages to win this election?  This issue isn't going to go away anytime soon.  He's going to need buyin on policy initiatives from a bunch of folks he's managed to piss off.  

    Envision this, Obama nuts:  Letters to the editor, phone calls and constant lobbying against you every day of the week from mad as hell Democrats all over this country.  Because that's exactly what's going to happen.

    A great speaker at the PUMA rally tonight at Cheesman Park implored the anti-Obamites not to leave the Party, but to stick around and shake things up.  I gotta admit, mood I'm in - furious - I've got half a mind to do exactly that.  They're gonna PRAY to be rid of the likes of me in another couple of years; and there are thousands more like me all over this great country of ours.

    Parent

    hmmm (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Monda on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:20:54 PM EST
    I'm glad BTD and others blog Mathew's anecdotes from time to time.  Myself?  I don't watch MSNBC, I have boycotted it long time ago.  Either way, glad to see Chris still get tingled up his knees and his brains.

    Well, I wish I had watched MSNBC when (5.00 / 5) (#19)
    by PssttCmere08 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:29:59 PM EST
    a bunch of PUMAs made it on camera....

    And, really the question is Bill Clinton a racist should NEVER have had to be asked...it is disgusting how low dems have spiraled this campaign season.

    Parent

    I keep checking it at all the wrong times (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by bjorn on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:35:50 PM EST
    I saw Matthews call PUMAs bitter, then saw Rachel call Hillary supporters "post-rational"....I swear I must have bad karma to only tune in a couple of times and hear those two gems.

    Parent
    Rachel and the boyz both slag Hillary supporters (5.00 / 1) (#49)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:54:04 PM EST
    That will help with getting and keeping her new show.

    Parent
    I don't get it...... (5.00 / 3) (#66)
    by Jjc2008 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:10:08 PM EST
    I have gay friends and relatives.  ALL of them were Hillary stalwarts.  According to them and many pols I have read the gay and lesbian community overwhelming supported Hillary.

    Yet the ONLY gay pundits I have ever seen get a voice on the tube are Hillary Haters....
    Rachel Maddow, Andrew Sullivan, John Aravosis.

    How is that representational?

    Then again most of the female pundits go overboard to make sure no one would ever think they are supporting Hillary...they don't want to be seen as having gender bias...(rolling eyes icon here).

    Parent

    Can't even begin to tell you what a (none / 0) (#83)
    by PssttCmere08 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:45:04 PM EST
    disappointment Rachel has been....the worm has turned.  And don't think for a minute, if she doesn't toe the line, they won't kick the resident lesbian to the curb.

    Parent
    Rachel's voice grates me. (5.00 / 0) (#96)
    by Prabhata on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 12:45:27 AM EST


    Parent
    Chris Matthews has a sick (5.00 / 9) (#3)
    by Radiowalla on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:21:38 PM EST
    obsession with the Clintons.   He can't stop himself.

    I personally have always felt that he has (5.00 / 5) (#6)
    by cawaltz on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:24:50 PM EST
    a man crush on Bill and is jealous of Hill. It's actually kind of funny to watch him obssess.

    Parent
    It's tiresome for me (5.00 / 7) (#14)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:28:16 PM EST
    and what a thing to ask tonight....right now...pathetic!

    Parent
    Really true! (5.00 / 2) (#68)
    by ghost2 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:12:01 PM EST
    CM strikes me as the type who is obsessed with "what women want?", and how come some guys get them.  To him, women are some sort of a price that a guy wins.  So, his Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Obama derangement syndrome all stem from the same pathology.

    Parent
    Not just Matthews (5.00 / 1) (#82)
    by kenosharick on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:44:04 PM EST
    most of the MSM as well. I turn on CNN,FOX,ABC, ect. and they go on and on about the Clintons. They are being set up to take the blame- the media obsesses over Bill & Hillary, then after the convention we will hear how the Clintons somehow made it all about themselves.

    Parent
    Here's the weird thing (none / 0) (#46)
    by Jjc2008 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:50:24 PM EST
    Yesterday or today (I honestly can't remember) I happen to have MSNBC on and Matthews was there with the same old MSNBC and I must not have been paying attention cause I don't know the lead-up.  Anyway, all of a sudden I heard it.  Matthews says : Anyone who thinks Bill Clinton is a racist is a nut case (or crazy) or something to that effect.

    Parent
    Sometimes I think (5.00 / 3) (#71)
    by Gabriele Droz on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:18:09 PM EST
    Chris Matthews is truly schizophrenic, and in serious need of some help.

    Parent
    Well you sound like (5.00 / 11) (#8)
    by Lil on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:25:17 PM EST
    a misogynist.

    Heh (5.00 / 4) (#12)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:27:45 PM EST
    Pegged him.

    Parent
    Oh, snap! (5.00 / 1) (#72)
    by lambert on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:18:46 PM EST
    Just a very, very bad picture. Sorry.

    Wouldn't it be hilarious if Bill Clinton gave the best speech EVAH on racism at the convention? Kill 'em with kindness, that's the classiest way.

    Parent

    "Know your bigot" (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by coigue on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:00:40 PM EST
    A field guide.

    Looks like someone has been studying up.

    Parent

    Did Gibbs happen to say anything about (5.00 / 5) (#11)
    by Edgar08 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:26:57 PM EST
    The people who did call Clinton a racist?

    If Tweety really wanted to play hardball (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by Dave B on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:29:14 PM EST
    He could have really pressed this one.  But since Obama is a media sensation, not so much.

    Parent
    Blogs? Try surrogates on TV. (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by Teresa on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:38:29 PM EST


    Parent
    Hmm (5.00 / 8) (#48)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:52:18 PM EST
    It is pretty funny of you to write that. Scroll down this page if you need a refresher about how Clinton was called a racist TODAY.

    Please do not play this game here. Jim Clyburn is not worth defending.

    Parent

    BTD, I apologize if I am being (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by BeauGrumble on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 01:04:04 AM EST
    a bore regarding the following issue, (http://burningatthegrassroots.com/kerry_chapter.doc), however it seems to have much relevance regarding the SC racial accusations re WJC.

    When I read the pertinent parts regarding creating a racial issue, doing it in front of a predominantly black audience in the SC primary, C-span and cameras, and tripping up the candidate to cause a gaffe re race, it is like deja-vu.

    This is from a pro-Dean campaign diary written in 2004, totally prophetic re SC in 2008.

    Parent

    BTD, Would you please read it or at least (none / 0) (#99)
    by BeauGrumble on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 01:11:32 AM EST
    check out the parts mentioned and critique the similarity if you have time and are willing.

    Dunnan, the writer, was part of the Dean/MoveOn movement (working the press, "spying, being a spook in crowds (authors term), posing as a supporter in Kerry crowds, asking questions to "trip Kerry up", preferably regarding race.

    He implies that he saw race as a "weak spot" for Kerry, and one to be expolited if he could do it in front of cameras and the right crowd( even says he wishes he were in SC with a majority black audience. He goes on to aver that people asked Kerry about civil rights and he waffled for minutes without answering. Dunnan says that politicians should  always have a pat answer on civil rights in their head.. That Dean did have and exploiting race was a strong suit for the campaign.


    Parent

    Dunnan says his effort was aimed at getting Kerry (none / 0) (#100)
    by BeauGrumble on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 01:18:49 AM EST
    to commit a gaffe of the magnitude of Dean's Confederate flag controversy . Dunnan then laments that  if  he(Dunnan) had been black, surrounded by a black audience in South Carolina when he asked Kerry about MalcolmX and race, (as he had done at a NY appearance) he  would have fared differently in his effort to trip Kerry up re race issues.  (Dean front-loaded SC this time, is this the reason?)

    Thanks for any help you might be willing or able to provide re the ironic similarities. The race card re-run in SC against WJC seems just too close to the 2004 scenario to be coincidental.

    Parent

    Please (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by Jjc2008 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:58:19 PM EST
    you are off the wall with this.

    Seriously do some research.

    Parent

    Are you serious? (none / 0) (#106)
    by SarahSpin on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 11:46:13 AM EST
    Axelrod, or someone on Obama's campaign, pushed a four-page memo that told how to frame almost anything Bill or Hillary said as racist.  This occurred right before the South Carolina primary and they got away with it.  It still burns me.

    Parent
    someone most certainly (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by Edgar08 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:40:45 PM EST
    could ask her to address what they say.

    and criticize her if she didnt give the right answer.

    i'm not asking him to control them, i'm asking him to say they're wrong.

    do you think they're right?

    Parent

    it's an election (5.00 / 2) (#50)
    by Edgar08 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:55:45 PM EST
    it's not unfair to point out that Obama's position on iraq was a fairy tale.

    cause it's true.

    picking biden is yet even more proof of that.  

    but that wasn't the issue.

    the issue is the people on blogs.  

    picking biden helped me with my sense of practicality.  making it crystal clear that people like david sirota are no longer welcome in the democratic party as far as it exists under obama's guidance.could win over my sense of loyalty.

    Parent

    No, what's unfair (5.00 / 8) (#61)
    by Jjc2008 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:04:57 PM EST
    is passing on lies.

    BILL never said Barack's candidacy was a "fairy tale" any more than Al Gore said he invented the internet.
    They were LIES spun to democrats, pushed by the Dean controlled blogs like kos to lose the Clintons support in the AA community.
    It was a rovian republican tactic and the Obama campaign should be totally ashamed.

    Other things NOT racist that were pushed as racist;
    Comparing Obama's victories to Jesse Jackson...that was an insult to even make that a negative implying somehow that Jesse was a loser, a low class no one.
    Bill Clinton was compared to Jimmy Carter because they were both white southern Baptists candidates.

    And some day when a woman runs again (not that any one would want to since it is clear that the liberal party of the USA tolerates and even cheers sexism, she will compared to Hillary BECAUSE they are both woman.  It's called statistics.

    The race baiting came from Axlerod....and the Obama blogs.  It was sick, and a sad day for democrats.

    Parent

    I finally realized why Bill's comment in SC (5.00 / 1) (#81)
    by hairspray on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:34:53 PM EST
    was interpreted so negatively.  Those people, blacks included, who thought poorly of Jesse Jackson were the most angry.  To them it was a insult because Jesse was 'scum' to them and comparing him to Obama was outrageous.  To those who liked Jesse it was not a put down on Obama.  Considering how close the Clintons have been with Jesse, I am sure they never saw it in that light.

    Parent
    While he's doing that, (5.00 / 7) (#65)
    by Grace on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:09:38 PM EST
    it would be helpful to him to say something about the fact that every person who voted for Hillary wasn't a racist either.  

    A lot of us certainly heard that more than enough times to last a lifetime!  

    On the flip side, after hearing Obama and his speech in Jacksonville (and the ones that came after that), he certainly wasn't telling the truth when he said he didn't want race to be a part of his campaign.  Apparently, if no one else brought it up, he was prepared to bring it up over and over and over again.  

    Oh well.  Great way to get unity, by the way.  Bravo to you Obama supporters who can't help but reopen wounds.    

    Parent

    But maybe he could have (5.00 / 7) (#35)
    by LatinoVoter on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:42:25 PM EST
    told Michelle to stop saying in her stump speech that people "dismiss this moment as an illusion, a fairy tale."

    And asked that Donna and Clyburn stop saying that as African-Americans they were personally offended over "fairy tale."

    Parent

    Come on (5.00 / 7) (#43)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:48:43 PM EST
    What was innocuous was the "fairy tale" comment.

    Jim Clyburn is a disgrace.

    Please do not come here to defend his disgusting behavior.

    Parent

    Really??? (5.00 / 3) (#51)
    by Jjc2008 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:56:23 PM EST
    Innocuous meaning -adjective
    1.    not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
    2.    not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.

    Have you asked Bill if it was innocuous to have people LIE about what he said (because Bill NEVER said Barack's candidacy was a fairy tale....he said Barack's spin on his past words about Iraq were a fairy tale)

    Using a lie to imply racism on the part of someone who has been a stalwart supporter of the AA community is hardly innocuous.  Calling someone, implying someone is a racist HURTS...unless that person happens to be a racist, and proud of being one.

    Do you think implying Kerry was a coward was innocuous too?

    Parent

    Again with... (5.00 / 3) (#59)
    by Romberry on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:03:36 PM EST
    ...the dismissive "Oh, get over it!" meme. Reminds me of the way Republican Bush supporters told me to "Oh, just get over it!" after the USSC helped Bush steal the 2000 election.

    Didn't work then. Not too likely to work now.

    Parent

    It's worse (5.00 / 2) (#90)
    by Eleanor A on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:32:57 PM EST
    You expect complete cynicism and cheating from Republicans.  It's like finding out your husband's having an affair with the babysitter to find other Democrats not only approving of the behavior, but jumping up and down and cheering about it.

    Parent
    So much for Unity (5.00 / 4) (#77)
    by dianem on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:25:55 PM EST
    I'm hoping that Bill Clinton give the "unity" speech of a lifetime. Hillary is fairly well hogtied in terms of what she can say without having it misinterpreted. But Bill can give a speech that might even make ME want to vote for Obama. I won't, but he might make me want to.

    Parent
    Actually it was very harmful. It painted the (5.00 / 3) (#79)
    by hairspray on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:28:26 PM EST
    Clintons as racists to the AA community. It was a strategy to peel away the AA community which loved the Clintons.  It was the most deceitful part of the O campaign. The Clintons were the best thing that happened to the AA community.  I still haven't seen Obama work anywhere near that for his community.

    Parent
    PUMAPAC's got a new video (none / 0) (#91)
    by Eleanor A on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:33:48 PM EST
    that's got a lot of footage of Obama's state Senate district.  Doesn't look like he managed to do a very good job there, in attracting new development or anything else to the community.

    Parent
    True but (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:43:16 PM EST
    Mark Warner is NOT God.

    Parent
    Heh (none / 0) (#45)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:50:00 PM EST


    Parent
    So... (none / 0) (#38)
    by DET103 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:43:15 PM EST
    ..you are saying Obama had no control over his campaign strategy?

    Parent
    Ah yes (5.00 / 9) (#55)
    by Steve M on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:59:27 PM EST
    I am consistently amazed by the logic that says, since it would surely be political suicide for Obama to bring race into it, all those times when he brought race into it just somehow don't exist.

    Parent
    OF course (5.00 / 4) (#58)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:02:42 PM EST
    the REAL problem with that theory is that injecting race into it in South Carolina would have been suicidal for the Clintons, and yet, that was the accusation.

    Of course, any sentient being knows that Obama injected race into the campaign in South Carolina. Jim Clyburn was the main conduit for it, making it respectable,.

    It was a despicable moment in the campaign and indeed Obama has paid a price for it and will throughout this election.

    But he had to win South Carolina convincingly.  

    Parent

    It's kind of amazing (5.00 / 8) (#62)
    by Steve M on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:05:52 PM EST
    that we heard so little about race for months, but then suddenly when South Carolina started looming on the schedule, suddenly Hillary was insulting MLK, not crying for the victims of Katrina, etc.

    I mean, the primary is over, these people can at least start being honest now about how it went down.  I can't believe they still try to claim that Obama did everything humanly possible to keep race out of it.

    Parent

    Maybe (5.00 / 2) (#67)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:10:53 PM EST
    even to the point of losing the general election because of it. I'm sure the GOP was taking notes and it was duly noted for future use.

    Parent
    Don't be silly, BTD (5.00 / 4) (#84)
    by RonK Seattle on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:52:30 PM EST
    After New Hampshire, racial tensions just "bubbled up".  I heard it myself, in the Greatest Speech Ever.

    Just bubbled up, like farts in the jacuzzi.

    Parent

    hey (none / 0) (#94)
    by ghost2 on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 12:05:05 AM EST
    Do you still write for The Confluence?

    Parent
    Haven't lately - reduced activity all around (none / 0) (#105)
    by RonK Seattle on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 09:57:24 AM EST
    Maybe soon.

    Parent
    He's going to pay a price (5.00 / 3) (#92)
    by Eleanor A on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:43:22 PM EST
    for a lot longer than throughout this election.

    I said this before today in the comments, but I think it bears repeating.

    I live in the South and am heavily involved in very local elections - school board, state House, that kind of thing.  To wit, I deal a lot with actual racists - the virulent, disgusting kind, who like to try things like, oh, putting one voting machine in a black district with 100,000 voters or something.  Who use the N word with impunity.  Who really don't want their kids fraternizing with "those people."  Who don't care if they're called racists.

    Bill Clinton hired and appointed more blacks (and women, and Latinos, and gays) than the previous 41 Presidents combined.  To hear him compared to the scum that routinely tries to turn back the clock on the civil rights era as a matter of course?  To see his and Hillary's supporters given the same treatment - people who have given hundreds of hours of their time, thousands of dollars, and in some cases have risked life and limb working for the few Democratic candidates willing to come out as pro-civil-rights in the overwhelmingly Republican South?

    The ONLY other time I have ever in my life been this angry was December 2000 during Bush v. Gore.  Any Obama supporter who thinks he won't pay - and pay dearly - for having done this?  Is vastly underestimating the long memory and 100% resolve of a very large group of people to ensuring that he will.

    Parent

    Not in South Carolina (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:59:36 PM EST


    Parent
    Right... (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by DET103 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:04:26 PM EST
    ...but back here on Earth.

    Parent
    No she didn't (5.00 / 8) (#64)
    by ColumbiaDuck on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:08:04 PM EST
    Hillary coudn't "play the victim" as you put it because when she would make even the mildest comment about being a woman (ie her speech at Wellesly when she said presidential politics was a boys club - 100% true btw), she was uniformly beat up by Clinton hating talking heads.  And in fact, I remember one primary candidate in particular being OUTRAGED that Clinton would dare mention her lack of male parts, just outraged that she would point out this obvious fact.  I believe his name was rhymed with "Tarack Mobama".

    And the Clinton's weren't making "racially charged gaffes" - the gaffes were invented to smear them.  And the media - rather than beating up Obama for "playing the victim" fell into their natural role of destroying Hillary.

    Parent

    Uh, did the Obama spokesman add NOW after a (5.00 / 7) (#15)
    by jawbone on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:28:24 PM EST
    pause?

    As in "He's not racist...now. But he was when his wife was still running against Obama"??

    Sorry--we are sentient beings and do have memories.

    No (5.00 / 0) (#22)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:32:42 PM EST
    That did not happen. Gibbs was great in that segment.

    Parent
    Probably (5.00 / 4) (#16)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:28:35 PM EST
    But Lil's reply is too good to not put it in context.

    Check out his other comment (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Steve M on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:29:38 PM EST
    This guy needs a nap.

    Parent
    Other comment? (none / 0) (#21)
    by Dave B on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:31:26 PM EST
    It looks like his first to me...

    Nice way to kick things off.

    Parent

    I guess (none / 0) (#27)
    by Steve M on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:33:32 PM EST
    it was already deleted.

    Parent
    Didn't see Lil's comment. (none / 0) (#29)
    by themomcat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:35:45 PM EST


    Parent
    I love me some Teddy (5.00 / 0) (#23)
    by DemForever on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:32:42 PM EST


    Tweety is afraid (5.00 / 2) (#24)
    by themomcat on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:32:46 PM EST
    of the Big Dog after he verbally disembowelled Mike Wallace.

    It was Chris Wallace (5.00 / 2) (#36)
    by myiq2xu on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:43:03 PM EST
    Mike's idiot son

    Parent
    Affirmative action for white boys lives on! (5.00 / 3) (#69)
    by ghost2 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:13:33 PM EST
    Today, I saw Luke Russert (Tim's son) as an NBC contributor.

    Parent
    Don't worry (5.00 / 4) (#25)
    by janarchy on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:33:07 PM EST
    I'm sure Keith Olbermann will write a special comment and refute that notion any minute now, cheered on by a snickering Rachel Maddow.

    After to agree BTD, it's nice (5.00 / 0) (#28)
    by Radix on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:33:50 PM EST
    to hear, but the question should not have been asked.

    Well, that's good... (5.00 / 4) (#44)
    by lilburro on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:48:50 PM EST
    but I hope Bill Clinton is somehow living in his own peaceful, beautiful little world, in preparation for his speech Wednesday.  Because I certainly don't think this will be any consolation to him.  But what does he care?  He's going to speak and we're all going to listen.

    Especially now that he's got Obama's blessing, I think Bill Clinton is going to stake out some new territory Wednesday night.  I am really, really looking forward to it.

    I'll be happy if he retakes his old (5.00 / 5) (#76)
    by Valhalla on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:25:24 PM EST
    territory.  The Party needs that far more than they need the hopey changey chorus.

    Parent
    Just wait until Wednesday (5.00 / 7) (#52)
    by JavaCityPal on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:57:06 PM EST
    The CNN talking heads will not repeat a word Bill actually said, the entire commentary will be on what he really meant, and what was hidden between the lines.

    I'm watching C-Span, and will miss it all. Oh Darn.

    BTW: This party has been all about the Kennedy's since 1960. No one ever complained about that. So, what's this screaming over Clinton domination being so unwelcome?

    Kind of makes me wonder if Gibbs (5.00 / 7) (#53)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:57:32 PM EST
    won't be treated as if he went off-message...

    And Matthews, well, once Gibbs answered, "No," the next question should have been, "well then why did you guys - Clyburn and Jesse Jackson, Jr. - and even in that South Carolina campaign memo - spend so much time making him out to be one - and Hillary, too?  What was that - just politics?  Were you afraid what would happen if Obama lost South Carolina?"

    God forbid anyone-not-named-Clinton should have to sit in the hot seat. Just once I would like to see the media press until their interviewee screams out the truth or falls off the chair squirming.  But no, we mustn't go there.

    I am not a fan of Gibbs, but he did exactly what (5.00 / 1) (#70)
    by esmense on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:16:28 PM EST
    he had to do with tweety tonight. He demonstrated that he understands what needs to be done -- on the Obama side -- to facilitate unity.

    Now he needs to make sure Obama's supporters in the media and blogosphere get on the same page.

    Set the wayback machine, Sherman (5.00 / 3) (#73)
    by lambert on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:20:13 PM EST
    They may be on the same page now, but there are pages and pages on Google, as well.

    Parent
    It's good, but.. (5.00 / 7) (#74)
    by TheRealFrank on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:22:06 PM EST
    Obama should have come out himself and said things like this ages ago.

    If he had come right out after securing the nomination, and said this loudly and clearly, a lot of people would be a lot happier now.

    He should have shown some (ugh, I hate this word) leadership on this issue.

    Hmmm... (5.00 / 4) (#80)
    by kredwyn on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:31:21 PM EST
    Where was Gibbs say...6...8 months ago?

    Gibbs was behind the ad ... (5.00 / 3) (#85)
    by Robot Porter on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:00:42 PM EST
    that morphed Howard Dean into Osama Bin Laden.  

    He's shameless.

    I couldn't care less what he says about anything.

    Another nail to the temple.... (5.00 / 1) (#87)
    by Oje on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:10:08 PM EST
    It is not the answer, but the very existence of the question that raises Bill Clinton's hackles. Does the press, despite the evidence, ever ask: Is George W. Bush racist? Was George Bush racist? Was Ronald Reagan racist? Does the press ever ask, so flippantly, was Richard Nixon racist? The architects of the southern strategy are never treated with such disrespect.

    Nope. But, forever more, Democrats will be served a heaping pile of $#!+ in the form of a question: "Is Bill Clinton racist?" And a little hobgoblin - that created that narrative - will answer, "No." And, we will all sigh in relief... until a member of the press asks that question again... and again... as if the "truth" has yet to come out.

    I know (5.00 / 2) (#95)
    by ColumbiaDuck on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 12:42:36 AM EST
    I hate that I've spent so much time refuting the Republican advanced idea that they are the better party on race because of Southern Democrats pre-1964 and Lincoln only to see modern day Democrats willfully and gleefully tar the most successful Democratic politician of the last 40 years with the racist label.  Thanks for that Obama campaign.

    Parent
    Hillary Clinton supporters suspect (5.00 / 1) (#97)
    by Prabhata on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 01:03:11 AM EST
    of being racists. CQ Politics story:

    Anne-Marie, a delegate from North Carolina, told me Hillary was the most prepared and, in her opinion, the most electable. (The "unelectability" slur, she says, is a "myth.") And she plans to cast her vote for Hillary on the floor of the convention when the candidate's name is entered into nomination. Wait, I'm sorry - IF her name is entered into nomination. Anne-Marie has heard that the roll call vote may not happen. There are rumors that Hillary will be stiffed . . . again.

    "I can understand why the party wants to just call it `close,' and paper over it, but I want to vote for her."

    I ask if she has considered voting for McCain in the fall. "Oh, no . . . not really," she says, thinking. "Maybe if we didn't get our voice vote. Maybe then. I'd certainly be angry. I'd be very angry."

    I tell her that I can't see many Hillary voters actually voting for McCain. She gasps. "Oh, there may not be many HERE," she says, gesturing at the convention hall. "But where I'm from? There are lots of people. Lots of working-class people she really connected with."

    I ask where she's from.

    "Western North Carolina."

    It's my turn to gasp and I ask if she's really saying what I think she's saying.

    "I don't know what you're talking about."

    "Uhm," I reply, "Er . . . Race?"

    "RACE? What do you mean, RACE?" I should note that she seems genuinely shocked that I've made this
    connection.

      CQ Politics

    It's not clear to me if... (none / 0) (#101)
    by EL seattle on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 01:24:43 AM EST
    ... those Clinton supporters back home were racist (as the CQ writer seems to imply) or were "working-class people" (which the woman being interviewed seems to, um, imply).

    I wonder how many working-class people who voted for Bush instead of Kerry in 2004 did so because of race?  I also wonder if Clinton has been able to connect with more of those voters than Kerry did four years ago.

    Parent

    Why would non-Obama supporters be racist? (none / 0) (#104)
    by stefystef on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 08:57:58 AM EST
    As an African American woman, I'm getting sick of this "race" and "racist" thing being thrown around.  The term and it's meaning is being trivialized so Obama and his gang can "guilt" people into voting for him.

    If Obama's minions are going to use this as an excuse if Obama loses in November (and he very well may lose), then it is the DNC and the Obama gang who have set back race relations 100 years.

    Parent

    Hammer33....you seriously need a chill (1.00 / 0) (#109)
    by PssttCmere08 on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 12:24:50 PM EST
    pill....there is no homophobia going on here....go back and read these comments again...jeeeesuuuus

    good to know and hear (none / 0) (#4)
    by Lil on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:22:37 PM EST
    I'm starting to feel good about being a Dem again. Love the Kennedy family. they're up now.

    Sigh (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dadler on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:25:10 PM EST
    Racism is a meaningless word these days, like liberal or conservative or patriot.

    Prejudice is the key word, and it is something that infects all of us, myself included.  We're so far from where we need to be when gasbag Matthews doesn't even understand what has happened to the very words he would claim to be using for true journalistic purposes.

    Then again, no one wants to cop to any prejudice, except the safe kind, so I guess it's moot.  Certainly the Clintons have no prejudice, never played that card.  Certainly Obama isn't prejudice dand never played that card.  So everyone on every side can feel jolly good about themselves.

    And the hypocrisy machine rattles on.

    Something infects you (5.00 / 2) (#20)
    by Edgar08 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:30:26 PM EST
    that doesn't infect me.


    Parent
    When the suit's empty, (5.00 / 1) (#89)
    by JDM in NYC on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:31:06 PM EST
    it's impossible to tell the color of the skin of the person who isn't wearing it.

    Parent
    Hmmm (none / 0) (#93)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 11:45:56 PM EST
    I wonder if he's saying this stuff because he wants something....wonder what the something could be.

    Personally, I think it's disingenous(sp) now.

    The Clintons have done (none / 0) (#102)
    by weltec2 on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 03:41:19 AM EST
    so much for the AA community. Now some want to label him a racist. There were those who tried to do the same type of thing to Carter. I guess it shouldn't surprise me anymore, but it still does.

    Wasn't Bill a racist during the primaries? (none / 0) (#103)
    by stefystef on Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 08:52:13 AM EST
    And now he's NOT a racist???  Oh, I see.
    People are racist when they don't fall down at the feet of Obama, but they are wonderful people when they suck up to him???

    ~sigh~

    Honestly, I'm done with this Obama-mania.  Thanks to the wonderful folks at TalkLeft that I even know anything about what's going on in Denver.  I change my TV when Obama or anyone around them is on the boob-tube.

    Obama Spokesman: Bill Clinton Not A Racist | 92 comments (92 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment