A blog entitled Hillary & Me probably deserves some explanation.
First, this is a blog in support of Senator Clinton and and in support of common sense. Hillary may not be the perfect candidate, but I believe she is the candidate this country needs now. Every time I hear some pundit, usually MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, say, “she’ll do anything to get elected”, my question remains, “And your point is?”
She’ll do anything! Good! We need someone tough enough to undo the damage inflicted on this country for the last seven years. The litany of charges against Bush’s failed administration is endless. President Bush, his VP Darth Vader, and the whole group of conservative radicals who brought us into a war with phony intelligence can’t leave fast enough. (BTW, every time I hear someone pose the question, “Why would Saddam have said he had WMD if he didn’t?” I want to ask, “Doesn’t anyone in Washington play poker?” Saddam had a pair of deuces! He was bluffing! He puffed himself up, said “boo” and we were suckered into war.)
According to Hillary’s critics, she’s mean; she’s tough; and she’s conniving. Good! Are we to suppose to believe that the bad guys on the world’s stage are any less conniving? She’s got bigger gonads than most politicians today. Given a choice of putting Senator “this contest isn’t over yet” Clinton or Barack “she’s mean to me” Obama against Vladimir Putin or his successor, Hugo Chavez, or the North Koreans, or the Iranians and their nuclear quest, which one do you think would fare better?
When Hillary entered the Senate, she made sure she got on the Armed Services Committee; she crossed the aisle and worked with the other side (Lindsey Graham, one of her husband’s harshest critics), and she gained the respect of 30 generals now supporting her candidacy. That was smart. It was politically savvy, as well.
By contrast, when Barack entered the Senate what choices did he make? In his judgment (a corner stone of his campaign) running for president was more important than attending to the people’s business. Maybe Hillary can’t say this, but I can. He chose career over country. I have no shortage of contempt for this man knowing he has been the Chairman of a committee capable of investigating the Bush administration’s neglect of Afghanistan & the war and did nothing. Surprise, this is a fact that was revealed in a debate not uncovered by the media.
There is no shortage of irony in the blog title, Hillary and Me. If anyone were to tell me in April of 2007 that I would be blogging in support of Hillary’s candidacy, I would have said they were crazy. What happened in April of 2007? The Don Imus, Media Matters, Hillary, “nappy headed ho’s”, debacle. Long time Imus fans and supporters watched in disbelief as the media convulsed. The so-called “liberal media” were particularly shameful.
Not to argue the Imus matter all over again, but it was during this period I watched FOX News, Bill O’Reilly, (OMG) ANN COULTER (!), and numerous conservatives defending Imus, pointing out that the stupid comment he uttered didn’t rise high enough for him to be fired. Anyone familiar with my posts during that period can attest to the fact, that no one was harder on Hillary than I was. There were multiple posts as to the cowardice and complicity of MSNBC, NOW, NABJ, Steve Capus, CBS, and Olbermann and others in this mess.
So, how did we arrive at this point, Hillary and Me?
Watching what the media didn’t report during the Imus affair was a major part of the change. When Kerry got “Swift Boated” in 2004, we knew everything about the PAC group that put on those political ads. We had news clips going back to 70’s demonstrating the animosity that existed between Kerry and some of these Viet Nam vets. The liberal mainstream media reported every about this PAC group except their shoe sizes.
By contrast, when Imus got punked by Media Matters, we heard virtually nothing about who did this, how they did this, why they did this. Here you have one of the most influential radio talk show hosts in America being fired (for an admittedly stupid & insensitive comment in the middle of a comedy sketch) and no one was asking how this was possible in so short a time? Say, what?
The Imus show was requisite listening in Washington every morning. Every morning we heard intelligent political conversation by members of both parties. Even Dick Cheney and wife appeared on the show, and no one in the mainstream media was the least bit curious to get answers. The truth is, these weasels were too busy running for cover and constructing their new narratives about Imus, the show, his fans, race relations in the country.
Which brings us to today, as we watch the media selectively “reporting” on Hillary’s campaign, on Obama’s campaign etc. The hypocrisy has risen to obscene levels. The media have honed their skill sets. Their abilities to take things out of context and spin topics any way they want to, is now unparalleled.
The truth is, regardless of the topic you pick . . . race relations, the economy, what Hillary said, what Barack said, the cable news outlets don’t want context. They want conflict. Never let the truth get in the way of good story, right? Context is a concept that was left in the dust when the corporations that bought the networks decided to combine the news and entertainment divisions.
When the media started piling on Hillary, just before New Hampshire election I had to reevaluate my position. Defending a cranky old cowboy and radio host was one thing, evaluating the person best suited to be the next president was another thing, My views on Hillary were changing.
Finally, Hillary and Me is here because of Barack, himself. I listened to of his lofty and inspiring speeches and I gotta say, I was taken aback. His “Joshua Generation” speech is very good and he is very appealing on many levels. It was, “Wow, is he for real?” Hear that blowing sound in the background? That’s me being sucked in.
Had Barack not broken his word about running a different kind of campaign, had he (and his surrogates) not gone after Hillary the way they did I would probably still be drinking from the Obamakins kool aid. Yes, the “Campaign of Change” is behaving like every other political campaign before them.
So here we are boys and girls, Hillary and Me. Let’s rock ‘n roll.
