Simply put, she's good at what she does. Everyone seems to know this by now, including
President Bush. Witness her handling of the Washington talk-show circuit this Sunday. She made a two-hour blitz, appearing on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and FOX, one right after the other. As the
Politico reports, it was all no sweat for the soon-to-be Democratic nominee:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton beamed her way through a barrage of questions from five political talk show hosts Sunday morning, appearances that offered some details of her plans on health care and the war in Iraq, but left her basically unscathed politically after the toughest grilling Washington has to offer.
Call her the Timex of American politics. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. In fact, what the Sunday media barrage demonstrated was just how self-assured and in control Hillary is at this point in the race. Today she also picked up the endorsement of Indiana Senator
Evan Bayh, a moderate, red-state Democrat who would make an interesting choice for V.P. And if there was one message from Sunday's walk in the park, it was that Hillary will position herself as a centrist come the general election, whatever Chris Wallace would have you believe. Witness, for instance, the evolution of her health care plan:
The only real piece of news in the interviews came on ABC, where Clinton said for the first time that her health plan will not mandate or include coverage for illegal immigrants, who already receive emergency coverage under federal programs for children and the poor. It was yet another sign that her plan is designed, most of all, for passage, aimed as it is to assuage the concerns of those who opposed her 1993 effort most fiercely: small businesses, and people who are satisfied with their current health care.
No, Hillary is not my first choice in this race, but the fact is she has run an expert campaign. A big upset in Iowa may yet reverse her fortunes, but as of now, Mrs. Clinton looks awfully hard to beat.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Many Democrat Presidential Candidates are flirting
with a rather dangerous error. To find petty faults
with the winner could only jeopardize their own
political future but the party as a whole.
Thomas L. Essex
Tessex3@aol.com
Tom Essex at 10:29AM on Sep 24th 2007
2. she can't win, whoever the Repubs run will beat her,
most voters see through her & what they see is a carpetbagging megalomaniac who would do or say anything to be President of the United States
Lyle at 11:09AM on Sep 24th 2007
3. Hillary is my first choice for President this time around. I believe it is simply her time. The pendulum swung way too far to the right the last eight years and she is certainly not way too far to the left.
I've learned a lot about myself over time. I am never going to agree with a single candidate on every issue or am I going to agree with every single decision a President makes, but Hillary is MOST in line with what I want and I look forward to seeing that materialize.
I'm not on here to bad mouth other candidates or defend what it is I believe in. What I believe is simply based on what I have learned and what I have experienced. I don't know what is best for everyone else and what they are comfortable with.
So, unless the unexpected happens...a major gaffe I cannot live with...Hillary will get my vote and best wishes.
Respectfully,
Mr. Clark
Mr. Clark at 11:13AM on Sep 24th 2007
4. You are right, she is good at what she does, and what she does is lie and deceive... If she is hard to beat then I would say the dems havent got much to choose from... They should have treated Liberman better, now that would have been a real Presidential candidate for consideration! And HE actually has some experience!! Unfortunately, for the dems of this day and age, its all about who can be bought and sold and who will toll the line as told to do so by moveon.org.
Marla at 1:04PM on Sep 24th 2007
5. WHY do we keep re-electing the same old people? Bush...Clinton...Bush...Cl.. people, stop the madness already!! Give the next president-elect a new name for goodness sake! If you consider this woman for the presidency all I can say is you must have very short memories!
Lizzy at 1:28PM on Sep 24th 2007
6. Clinton will likely get the Democratic Party nod as the Presidential candidate. Can she win? I wish I knew the answer to that. It will really depend on who the Republicans nominate and how strongly the party will work to turn out the vote. But, if a large Republican turnout happens Clinton will lose. There are simply far too many voters who do not trust the woman.
ncd8009 at 4:49PM on Sep 24th 2007
7. Clinton will likely get the Democratic Party nod as the Presidential candidate. Can she win? I wish I knew the answer to that. It will really depend on who the Republicans nominate and how strongly the party will work to turn out the vote. But, if a large Republican turnout happens Clinton will lose. There are simply far too many voters who do not trust the woman.
Bill McDonald at 4:50PM on Sep 24th 2007
8. It is a shame that certain religious groups in the United States will not allow a woman to be President, because Ms. Clinton is the most qualified of all the candidates in both parties. We should be able to refer to the success of female leaders of many other nations to feel assured that Ms. Clinton will do an excellent job if she is elected, surely much better than Mr. Bush (and that's no real complement).
lfischerpe at 11:45PM on Sep 24th 2007
9. RECORDS SET
- The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First president sued for sexual harassment.
- First president accused of rape.
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court
* According to our best information, 40 government officials were indicted or convicted in the wake of Watergate. A reader computes that there was a total of 31 Reagan era convictions, including 14 because of Iran-Contra and 16 in the Department of Housing & Urban Development scandal. 47 individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes with 33 of these occurring during the Clinton administration itself. There were in addition 61 indictments or misdemeanor charges. 14 persons were imprisoned. A key difference between the Clinton story and earlier ones was the number of criminals with whom he was associated before entering the White House.
Using a far looser standard that included resignations, David R. Simon and D. Stanley Eitzen in Elite Deviance, say that 138 appointees of the Reagan administration either resigned under an ethical cloud or were criminally indicted. Curiously Haynes Johnson uses the same figure but with a different standard in "Sleep-Walking Through History: America in the Reagan Years: "By the end of his term, 138 administration officials had been convicted, had been indicted, or had been the subject of official investigations for official misconduct and/or criminal violations. In terms of number of officials involved, the record of his administration was the worst ever."
STARR-RAY INVESTIGATION
- Number of Starr-Ray investigation convictions or guilty pleas (including one governor, one associate attorney general and two Clinton business partners): 14
- Number of Clinton Cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 5
- Number of Reagan cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 4
- Number of top officials jailed in the Teapot Dome Scandal: 3
CRIME STATS
- Number of individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes: 47
- Number of these convictions during Clinton's presidency: 33
- Number of indictments/misdemeanor charges: 61
- Number of congressional witnesses who have pleaded the Fifth Amendment, fled the country to avoid testifying, or (in the case of foreign witnesses) refused to be interviewed: 122
SMALTZ INVESTIGATION
- Guilty pleas and convictions obtained by Donald Smaltz in cases involving charges of bribery and fraud against former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy and associated individuals and businesses: 15
- Acquitted or overturned cases (including Espy): 6
- Fines and penalties assessed: $11.5 million
- Amount Tyson Food paid in fines and court costs: $6 million
CAMPAIGN FINANCE INVESTIGATION
- As of June 2000, the Justice Department listed 25 people indicted and 19 convicted because of the 1996 Clinton-Gore fundraising scandals.
- According to the House Committee on Government Reform in September 2000, 79 House and Senate witnesses asserted the Fifth Amendment in the course of investigations into Gore's last fundraising campaign.
-James Riady entered a plea agreement to pay an $8.5 million fine for campaign finance crimes. This was a record under campaign finance laws.
CLINTON MACHINE CRIMES FOR WHICH CONVICTIONS WERE OBTAINED
Drug trafficking (3), racketeering, extortion, bribery (4), tax evasion, kickbacks, embezzlement (2), fraud (12), conspiracy (5), fraudulent loans, illegal gifts (1), illegal campaign contributions (5), money laundering (6), perjury, obstruction of justice.
BLACKMANVISION at 10:39AM on Sep 25th 2007
10. BLACKMANVISON; AT LEAST CLINTON DIDN'T KILL 3800 SOLDIERS JUST FOR A BARREL OF OIL ; WHY ARE YOU SO DAMN STUPID AND STILL SUPPORTS THIS MURDERING HIPPOCRIT WE HAVE IN THERE NOW. SLEEP GOOD TONIGHT AND MAYBE YOU'RE GET REAL SMART BY TOMMORROW.
BRENT at 11:29PM on Sep 27th 2007
11. WE NEED MORE RELIGION IN OUR SCHOOLS, HOMES, TELEVISION,INTERNET,BOOKS, MEDIA,BILLBOARDS,BUILDINGS,TAXI CABS, AND WHEREEVER ELSE WE CAN PUT IT.PEOPLE ARE ANGRY, AND GOD IS THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE THIS WORLD! BUILD MORE CHURCHES,IF YOU WANT TO SPEND MONEY! SPREAD CHRISTIANITY THROUGH THE WORLD,IT WILL BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AGAIN.GOD SAID,I AM THE WAY,THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.AND CHRISTIANITY IS FORGOTTEN.....WE CAN GIVE ADVISE ALL WE WANT,BUT NOT THE WISDOM TO PROFIT FROM IT.
Cateyespretty at 2:15AM on Sep 28th 2007