Wits Matched
Someone needs to tell Hill the fixed stare/smile combo is creepy. The only other thing you need to know about this debate is, Obama let Hill have the big Bentsen moment, when she wacked him on ripping off Deval Patrick’s clipjob as “change you can Xerox.” It’s a great line. Too bad he didn’t think to ask whether that was Bill’s or did one of her staffers write that.
Because TPM hears an ironic echo of Bill ‘92 in Hill ‘08.
In other business, there’s a lot of “my plan this” and “my plan that,” and “my opponent does” or “my opponent doesn’t.” In the dickerfest over the most pressing issue of the day, national security, both showed up unarmed. CNN has the transcript. It’s really long, with big words. To make matters worse, some people insisted on speaking Spanish on an English-language news channel presenting a debate between two English speakers in an American election. So I’ve summarized and translated a few high points:
UNIVISION’s JORGE RAMOS: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH). Thank you so much for being with us, and let me start with a little news. After nearly half a century in office, Fidel Castro resigned as the head of the Cuban government. Ninety miles off the coast of the United States, we might have a new opportunity.
The question for you, Senator Clinton: Would you be willing to sit down with Raul Castro, or whoever leads the Cuban dictatorship when you take office at least just once, to get a measure of the man?
Hill: (SPEAKING ENGLISH) Mi opositor es suave en la dictadura. Yo, por otra parte, cree que debemos primero enganchar muy fuertemente a muchos de blah blah blah.
Obama: (SPEAKING SPANISH) Bush’s war created Chavez.
Hill: (SPEAKING SPANISH) I’m like JFK. That’s why I think we must negotiate with dictators. Bush is muy bad, by the way.
Obama: (SPEAKING SPANISH) Actually, I think Bush is mas worse. That’s why I’m more in favor of sitting down with dictators.
RAMOS: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH) Federal raids by immigration enforcement officials on homes and businesses have generated a great deal of fear and anxiety in the Hispanic community and have divided the family of some of the 3 million U.S.-born children who have at least one undocumented parent.
Would you consider stopping these raids once you take office until comprehensive immigration reform can be passed?
Hill: (SPEAKING ENGLISH) No documentos, no problemo.
Obama: (SPEAKING ENGLISH) Me gusta mucho illegal border-crossing. Por lo tanto, $$$ por los illegalos. “Gana La Verde” is mi programa favorito del TV.
McCain: (SOUNDING LIKE A DEMOCRAT) Yo tambien. Lo que el dice.
RAMOS: (SPEAKING SPANISH) Right now, there are more than 30 million people in this country who speak Spanish.
(APPLAUSE)
(SPEAKING ENGLISH) Muchos de ellos estan aquí. Por el año 2050, habrá 120 millones de hispanos en los Estados Unidos. Ahora, hay cualquier desventaja, senador Clinton, a convertirse de Estados Unidos (SPEAKING SPANISH) becoming a bilingual nation? Is there a limit?
Hill: (SPEAKING SPANISH) No. (SPEAKING ENGLISH) ¿Dije eso correctamente? Mi experiencia extensa no incluye ninguna otra idiomas. Quisiera decir esto claramente… Yes.
Obama: (SPEAKING ELECTISH) US out of Babylon. Babel aqui. Pero en Los Estados Unidos, everyone must learn English.
RAMOS: (SPEAKING ENGLISH) Porque el imperialismo del Yanquis es muy importante: Cuál de usted está preparado lo más menos posible para ser presidente?
Hill: (SPEAKING NONSENSE) Married to a president = being president. Mi marido era un gran enabler del al Qaeda y estaré también.
Obama: (SPEAKING XEROX) Together we can convince ourselves that all we have to do is fight in Afghanistan. (BABEL-ING INCOHERENTLY) As commander in chief, I would prefer politically correct conflicts. My experience with matters of national security in the Illinois State Senate are a good indicator of what I would do as president. I’m sorry, do I have to say that in English? Juntos podemos convencernos que de que todos lo que tenemos que hacer es luchar en Afganistán. Como comandante en jefe, preferiría político conflictos correctos. Mi experiencia con las materias de la seguridad nacional en el senado del estado de Illinois es un buen indicador de lo que haría como presidente.
KING: (UTTERING AWKWARD FACTS) Both of you have indicated you would like to abandon Iraq no matter what, as quickly as possible, no matter what happens. Now that things are going well there, do you still feel that way?
Hill: (SPEAKING SPANISH) Yes. (SPEAKING ENGLISH) ¿Dije eso correctamente?
Obama: Si. Bush mintió, gente muerta.
Links:
Not only does Obama not know what he’s talking about, turns out, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Gateway.
Meanwhile, Ted K belts it out en Espanol for Obama. Actually pretty entertaining. He may have a standup career, if he ever moves it out of the Senate.
Topics: pols
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:16 am on Friday, February 22, 2008
2 Responses to “Wits Matched”
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February 22nd, 2008 at 11:04 am
[...] more on the debate, see Jules Crittenden, Redstate, Fraters Libertas, Gateway Pundit, Divided We Stand (ht [...]
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:15 am
“Wits Matched”
Heh, 0 = 0 is always true!