Pot vs. Kettle
This is pretty good. Hillary mocking Obama’s experience claim:
SHENANDOAH, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton ridiculed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Tuesday for his contention that living in a foreign country as a child helped give him a better understanding of the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.
‘‘Voters will have to judge if living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face,’’ Clinton said. ‘‘I think we need a president with more experience than that, someone the rest of the world knows, looks up to and has confidence in.’’
This is from someone whose claim of 35 years of experience primarily involves being married to a philandering pol. Oddly, this story doesn’t raise the 35-year claim.
She sought to compare her experience — a two-term New York senator after eight years as first lady — with that of Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois.
‘‘I offer the experience of being battle-tested in the political wars here at home,’’ said Clinton, arguing that her background not only was superior as a potential president but also made her the most electable Democrat.
‘‘For 15 years I’ve been the object of the Republican attack machine and I’m still here,’’ she said.
She said she would be ready to address the problems facing the country on her first day in the White House.
‘‘We have so many issues to deal with,’’ she said. ‘‘I’ve traveled the world on behalf of our country. I’ve met with countless world leaders and know many of them personally.’’
Aides said she made more than 70 overseas trips during her time as first lady, was actively involved in policy during her husband’s tenure in office and has been closely involved in foreign policy issues during her Senate tenure.
Let’s see. Prior to becoming a senator, she was targeted by a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” hectored her husband and did grip-and-grins in all kinds of exotic places, from Little Rock to Bangkok. It reminds me a little of her claim in her (husband’s) first presidency that she had some domestic skills, having once baked a batch of cookies.
Having spent my first 18 years living in five different countries, I have to say Obama has a point. It’s possible to learn a lot that way. Whether the voters care is another matter. I’m guessing no.
By the same token, I have no doubt Hillary has picked up political experience and quite possibily some presidential skills in 32 years of being married to Bill, in addition to a couple of years of low-level political fetch-it work before that. Ruthlessness and no small amount of Nixonian paranoia, for starters.
Will American voters buy it? Probably more than they’ll buy the idea that a nerdy kid with a weird name and foreign parentage who lived in places they never heard of knows something they’re going to give a damn about. Trust me on that one.
Anyway, here’s the Hillary 35 years claim.
MVDG: Crittenden defends Obama! The point isn’t that Obama lived overseas, it’s that he was a child.
Crittenden: Actually, that was more about whacking Hill. However, re childhood experience, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen American Studies major van der Galien needs to hit the U.S. political history books. See “Log cabin, born in.” Our leaders begin amassing campaign points at birth!
Topics: pols
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 6:40 am Comments (6) on Wednesday, November 21, 2007
6 Responses to “Pot vs. Kettle”
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November 21st, 2007 at 6:47 am
I know some army brats who could say the same thing as Osama and the interesting thing is most of them have come away with an entirely different take than he has. If you catch my meaning. They are not as a general rule Progressive with a capitol P.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:40 am
‘‘For 15 years I’ve been the object of the Republican attack machine and I’m still here,’’
That’s a shame.
I mean the part about you still being here.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:00 am
[...] everyone that is. The only onees defending Obama is Kyle E. Moore at Comments from Left Field and Jules Crittenden. I’m not sure whether Jules gets the point though. The criticism isn’t that living [...]
November 21st, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I beg your pardon? I just don’t see how being “the object of the Republican attack machine” for 15 years, and complaining about it for 15 years, qualifies as experience to be the president of the whole country–a country that includes , you know, Republicans. I think there’s an attitude there that presages future problems should she win.
I won’t go into the whole Clinton political methodology. Critter’s headline says it all.
November 21st, 2007 at 2:16 pm
The kind of Presidential leadership we need does not come from proposing legislation and arguing about it, or by being married or related to leadership. It comes from having to be the person who can make hard decisions which ultimately affect the lives and property of others, come hell or high water. The only way to learn that is by having progressively bigger leadership jobs that are crucibles for decision making.
Its like the perhaps apocryphal tale of a very senior Navy Captain not given to verbosity, who upon retiring, was asked about the secret of making good decisions and replied, “experience”.
And when asked how one obtains experience he replied, “bad decisions”.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:01 pm
[...] story here Filed under: [...]