Clinton, Obama Back Off Attacks - Both Camps Try To Play Down Rift

Source: Washington Post

THE DEMOCRATS
Clinton, Obama Back Off Attacks
Both Camps Try To Play Down Rift



Sen. Barack Obama and his security detail walk under a canopy of Spanish moss in the trees at Beaufort College in South Carolina. (By Linda Davidson -- The Washington Post)

By Shailagh Murray and Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, January 25, 2008; Page A08

BEAUFORT, S.C., Jan. 24 -- Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama stepped back from the brink in their war of words Thursday, with each pulling harsh radio ads from local airwaves and seeking to play down intraparty tensions.

Clinton retreated first. Under fire for airing misleading ads about her main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, her campaign has stopped a radio spot that suggested that Obama was a closet Republican who supported former president Ronald Reagan and the ideas of the 1994 revolt that swept the GOP to control of both chambers of Congress. The Illinois senator's campaign counterpunched with its own radio ad that pointed out Clinton's early support for the Iraq war and accused her of distorting Obama's words. "She'll say anything and change nothing," the ad said. But by late afternoon, it, too, was off the air.

Even former president Bill Clinton -- the catalyst for much of the heated rhetoric between the two campaigns this week -- toned down his comments in a series of town hall meetings that saw the return of his political alter ego, the policy wonk. At an event Thursday afternoon in Walterboro, he spoke for nearly 90 minutes about the mortgage crisis, education, clean energy, the Iraq war -- just about everything but his wife's chief competitor, who never drew a reference. "I'm just a hired hand here, and I work for nothing," Clinton told the audience as he began a discourse on workers' compensation.

His wife's campaign did not immediately explain why it pulled its radio spot, which had received a furious response from the Obama campaign and raised concerns among national Democratic Party elders that the Clinton team's aggressive actions could make it difficult to unify the party behind the eventual nominee.





Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012403017.html?hpid=topnews

Hillary, the person who claims she has the experience to be the chief executive of the entire country, cant even control her own husband.

bill's actions were beginning to take a toll... May be too late though. The co-presidency aspect of the Clintons is now at the forefront, not to mention that his behavior brought back the worst memories of the Clinton years as opposed to the good.

He seems to have been told to cool it sometime today and he went into wonk-mode. We will see how long that lasts.

... just as insulting as asking a man to control his wife.

He isnt out of control. Obamas supporters are being crybabies and ignoring the fact that Obama started it with his "Reagan had more Ideas than Bill Clinton" rant. Obama picks fight then runs crying to the media when they fight back. This is the second time he has done this.

Now all they have to defend Obama are 1990s RW talking points.

It was playing into the republican's hands.

In 2004, I supported Wes Clark, and I was very impressed with the professionalism he displayed. I was thinking about that this afternoon, and then thought if it had just been Obama and Edwards in the race, it would have been far better. I had hoped that the Dems could shows the Reps something and how to conduct classy campaigns.

Hillary's bombthrowing turned a lot of people off politics, and a lot of people in the Democratic party against her. She may have made some short term gains, but in the long term, I think she's damaged herself and our party. Sure made it hard to pretend that we represent a different tone than the polarizing Repubs.

The only one splitting the Dem Party is Obama. He is pandering to the Indys and Conservative Republicans, praising Reagan, dissing Boomers, pandering to Evangelicals, dissing the GLBT community. Republicans are always about "exclusion", excluding segments of society as somehow unqualified or inferior to meet their high minded standards.

Democrats need to fight and fight hard to turn the tide of Republicanism on it's ear. I'm proud of Hillary and Bill taking a stand. If Obama had a tenth of the fight necessary to bring this country back in line for the people, he would be campaigning hard Left. He is not. Obama consistently panders to the Right compromising Dem principles under the guise of unifying America. We can't unify with Republicans unless we intend to become THEM.

I know people forget pretty quickly, but trampling all over peoples emotional scars for political gain is quite memorable.

They believe in the same things. I'm really sick of this campaign and it's only in the third state. A year and a half is much too long.

I can't blame Bill Clinton for saying that Obama is being made a "star" by media. I think it myself. What is so horrible about that? He has a right to his opinions.

They are hiding what our Congress is doing right now. Cheney went to Congress to get his "security" program re-authorized. Instead Congress should be impeaching the lying Fascist.

It's not Obama, Bill, or Hillary who has ruined the Democratic Party. It's the DLC and them ignoring the base. Where is the anti-war candidate? The worker candidate to stop the WTO drain, etc.?

:toast: :party: :toast: :party: :party: :party: :party:
But SC will be the the 4th state.

The small states are taking up too much press and no issues are discussed like the war and this crap inflation just has me crazy. "Jump start" a economy which is in the tank (by Bush) is just too late and too little.

I think that we in The Pacific Northwest should be able to have our own little Super Tuesday. I'm at a point that I hope that by "Super Tuesday" We know who our Crowned Democratic will be. Also I'm starting to lean back to Edwards. The only reason I have been supporting Hillary is because of all the bashing she had been getting and being a women myself I was feeling that we sisters should stick together. But I got to tell you. Hillary and Edwards have been the only 2 that have been trying to talk about economy. The war needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. What has gotten to me is reading all these Obama supporters saying that he was against the war. Will I can say I was a against the war since I was not in the Senate just like Obama. Hillary and Edwards were lied to just like the rest of the Nation. But you know what is funny is in the Congressional Quarterly Hillary was ranked in the top 10 (#6) Senators that had the most anti-votes against Bush. Obama was somewhere like #17. Just because some-one can speak like Obama does, doesn't make them the right choice.

what part of "out of iraq within a year" was unclear ? :)

when all is said and stolen.

I just heard the price of gold is $900. That means our money has decreased in value 50%. This war has to go. We demanded it but they go on any way.

The government has fudged the cost of living index by not factoring in oil and food. That and the debt has destroyed our dollar and security. Pension people suffer with this type of lie.

Impeach him!

and look at little deeper and bear in mind what you're saying. Bill is calling Obama on his Lies and holding him responsible for his statements. It's pretty obvious by now Obama, when cornered on an issue and found to be wrong goes running home to mommy, crying and complaining, they're not being nice to me. Please make it stop!

blame Clinton. What's up with this reverse discrimination over a statement of Bill's which is true. Obama is a "myth candidate". There's no there.

We have big problems in this country and the media fakes this controversy. I turn them off!! The election selection is just too long and phony.

Obama and his campaign turned this into a Race issue in the slim hope of galvanizing AA for a WIN strategy in South Carolina. I have confidence, people (the elders of the AA community) will remind their communities of the close association they have had with the Clintons over the years and their activist support behind Civil Rights.

Bill Clinton's office remains in Harlem to this day. The Clintons aren't newcomers to the AA communities, as is Obama. Hopefully, the People of SC will realize, Obama's only interest is using them as a stepping stone to the nomination...If he happens to win the nomination and the General, he'll turn a deaf ear to them when they ask him for assistance. As he did to the AA living in Chicago's (Rezko's) Low-Income housing, who were left shivering without heat in the dead of winter because Rezko and his partner claimed they didn't have the money to pay for their heat.

Of course, Rezko was able to donate $1000 to Obama's campaign fundraiser at the same time these poor people were shivering in the cold.

I find it interesting when people say "throwing the race card" It seems to me that if you affirm your ethnic Identity you are accused of throwing the race card. I have not once seen Obama assert his ethnicity, now I have seen him accuse others of making inaccurate comments about his religion (Hilary) and no one seams outraged by that although I bet if he were to say that the Clinton's were radical Catholics who believed it was okay for priests to molest children, which has happened in the catholic church, people would lose their mind. the fact is undeniable that He is a Black man as Hilary is White woman. I have no problem with either, we need to move beyond the stupidity of "throwing the race card" and allow people to be proud of and affirm themselves and be accepted without preconceptions. Remember what Martin said "judged by the content of their character not the color of their skin"

oh shit, saved it... lost the old version...

nobody can undo that bickerfest on monday, that is now the defining moment of this campaign !!!

-s

I ctrl-z in my dreams and have even found myself attempting it, more than once, in real life. :rofl:

The media will keep this rift going until only one is left standing. They love this, they created this and they will perpetuate this just to keep the hype going on the campaign and in the process help the republicons win in November.

Anyone support of any Democratic candidate who perpetuates rumors, stories truth or fiction, is doing nothing more than assisting the media in dragging these two candidates through the mud. In turn you are aiding and abetting the republicon candidate in the general election.

now they are narrowing it down.