Obama Rejects Bill's Comparison of Criticism of Hillary to 'Swift Boats'

Obama rejects Bill Clinton's criticism

AP Interview: Obama Rejects Bill Clinton's Comparison of Criticism of Hillary to 'Swift Boats'

NEDRA PICKLER
AP News
Nov 06, 2007 13:59 EST

Barack Obama said Tuesday that former President Clinton was making a leap to compare treatment of his wife in the presidential race to the "swift boat" criticism of John Kerry in 2004.

The former president encouraged an audience in Nevada Monday not to let "trivial matters" take away the election from the Democrats as they have in the past. He cited the television ads during the 2004 presidential campaign that questioned Kerry's patriotism and campaign commercials in 2002 suggesting that Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga. was soft on terrorism.

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"I was pretty stunned by that statement," Obama said with a chuckle when asked about the former president's comment in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

He said that when debating last week whether illegal immigrants should be given driver's licenses, Hillary Rodham Clinton "seemed to contradict what she said previously."

Both Obama and John Edwards have criticized her repeatedly on that score, but Obama said in the interview: "How you would then draw an analogy to distorting somebody's military record is a reach."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2007/11/obama_rejects_bill_clintons_cr.php

Not by a long shot.

but not *that* slick.

Can we be done with them yet? Please.

him for something.

I notice that they aren't hanging together quite as much as they usually do. Could it be because of his wife's run for the White House?

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton struck back Monday at Republican pundits for criticizing his wife for her stance on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, comparing the attacks to the swiftboat ads that helped sink John Kerry's run at the White House.

"I had the feeling that at the end of that last debate we were about to get into cutesy land again," Clinton told some 3,000 members of the American Postal Worker's Union at a convention in Las Vegas.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/nov/05/110510731.html

"It's ALL about the O".

She prefers a federal solution to immigration and will pursue one but is not against states issuing drivers licenses.

Obama said unequivocally that Spitzer has the right idea.

today.

how?

He still referenced it, which was *over-reaching* to say the least.

Also I smell a rat in the press since Obama is responding to a reporter question and appeared unaware of the context.

against Kerry's Vietnam service record?

there is no way that editorializing on comments actually said in a political debate is even unsavory, even if wrong or stupid. Clinton is watering down the genuine evilness of the SBVT and attempting to steal some of the public's ultimate disgust with that for any criticism of HRC. It is unconscionable. It is important to fight to keep the perception of those despicable people negative. We need it when the AP routinely refers to them "questioning" Kerry's record. If we let them they will rewrite history to imply that part of the reason he lost was that it was his record (instead of Bush's) that was questionable. I resent the fact that Clinton would even think this was a reasonable thing to say.

...by deliberate misrepresentation of one's record or views.

I apologize for linking to the odious rw but look at how they are framing this.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_103107/content/01125106.guest.html

http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2008/will_hillary_abandon_spitzer_over_illegal_immigrant_drivers_licenses

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,307219,00.html

Also note this is a continuing theme of attacks on Republicans with Bill

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/09/27/bill-clinton-slams-smearing-republicans/

country. There were dirty tricks since the beginning of time. The first I really saw were Nixon'x dirty tricks. In 2004, they coined a new word because that smear campaign and the way the media allowed itself to be used as an echo chamber was unprecedented. It was something new and something evil. It is telling that Clinton is more agitated by these than by the attacks on Cleland and Kerry when they happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg


Something you KNOW couldn't possibly be true but you pile on anyway because it's just 'politics' to you?

Gee - what Democrat would do something THAT nasty to another Democrat?

Bill Clinton's comments were subtle but more men than Obama believe that they were aimed not solely
at Republican pundits.

back up Cleland at the TIME he was being attacked in 2002 and did not publicly dress down BushInc in any way in 2004 to back up Kerry. I thought that maybe he hadn't NOTICED what was happening AT THE TIME.

And all the more surprising Bill wouldn't back up Kerry since Kerry is the one who stood up for Bill throughout 92 when he was being attacked as a draft dodger.

Bill had a book tour that summer and Bush got all the good headlines and support on his terrorism and Iraq war decisions. Bill forgot that Kerry was the top lawmaker in DC on tracking terror networks and their funding.

that people have everything they need to assess the fairness of than he did of the Republicans calling a man who lost 3 limbs in the service of his country. Clinton did not even criticize that and I would bet that he did not reach out to Cleland in the wake of it. All Bill Clinton cares about is Bill Clinton. I can't believe we might have another 8 years of this ego maniac.

I wonder if he actually even respects what Kerry and Cleland did. Somehow, I can't see Bill Clinton risking his life to save another.

Where was the outrage then, when it might have made a huge difference?

apparently.

I wonder how Max Cleland and John Kerry feel about it.

If asked I'm sure that Kerry would do what he did when asked about the debate - which was to manage to be polite and positive to all.

When he went on Stewart's prgoram, he said that back in 1992 they had "a war room", and they answered all the false charges that were made against them within 24 hours.

Would have been pretty hard to hear what those false charges were since there was no world wide web back in 1992, so Bill doesn't know what the fuck he was talking about.

And even though Bill won the election, he didn't get 50% of the popular vote in '92, Perot had split a lot of votes off from George Bush Senior.

Plus, nobody wrote a book trashing Clinton in 1991, the way the Swift Boarders did trashing Kerry's documented, official, accurate, genuine military service record in 2003.

They even made a movie of that fuckin' book!

against Clinton. He used his war hero status at the time to help the less known Clinton.

By 2004 it was Clinton who was extremely well known and how did he help Kerry?

In Clinton's book he never even mentions one word about Kerry being the top lawmaker in DC in the tracking of terror networks and their funding.

Clinton DOES mention that he wanted to endorse Republican William Weld in 1996 senate race, but stuck with Kerry for his expertise in 'technology' - what a LOAD.

No BCCI - no IranContra - no CIA drugrunning. Heck, without Kerry's work investigating and exposing Poppy Bush on all those matters, Bill couldn't have won in 92.

WE know that anything flaming Hillary Obama would agree with. Shame Obama you used to be an honorable man.

WoW!!

He's attacking Republicans.

Why is it wrong that Obama thinks that the SBVT were far far worse than saying Hillary had 2 positions in 2 minutes - because she did.

I am pleasantly surprised by Obama on this one.

about her record and then using it against her. Of course they are. They are hypocrites.

Incredible.
Bill and Hillary will go to any lengths to make them sound "so very innocent."

Simply incredible.

Obama was. Bill Clinton was just defending his wife and I don't see what the big deal is.

Some people can't think of anything important to bitch about I guess.

"Swift boating" has become a metaphor, unfortunately. It's importance cannot be over-emphasised because things have a way of being blown-up out of proportion and given more importance than it deserves.

Why isn't everything Giuliani, Romney or any of the other Republican candidates say put under such scrutiny?

I guess Hillary is more fun to beat up.

his senate seat when re-election time rolls around.

I can picture the idle Barrack playing checkers in a park in 2009 with his pitbull pal John Edwards.

I'm not so sure the Senator should take advice from someone who can't even spell his name correctly.

Psst...his Senate term would be up in 2010 anyway.

Stunned?

Poor Obama still has his Peter Pan costume on today. Someone needs to tell him it's time to grow up.

expected more of. From some accounts, HRC was none too pleased with the comments suggesting that it is not Obama who wishes he hadn't said something.

when he chose to NOT give either of them backup AT THE TIME the attacks were happening during THEIR elections?

And yet NOW he dares to FEIGN OUTRAGE about those attacks on THEM to use it for HILLARY'S election?

And Bill said NOTHING about Hillary joining in the RW smear against Kerry and accepting Bush's lie that Kerry insulted the troops. Did he?