Mean and contemptuous, and unabashedly willing to cross any line in an effort to win. It’s the sort of description that for years has been almost a calling card for V.P. Dick Cheney. If you simply add the phrase “not really listening to what you are saying,” all of the sudden you realize that it’s also a perfect description of Presidential-Campaign Hillary (sort of like Malibu Barbie with a bad wardrobe and a bad attitude).
So there it is, I think I’m the first to say it: Hillary is the DNC’s Dick Cheney. I’ll also go right for the jugular from the start – is there anyone who has seen her public appearances lately that thinks she is not capable of shooting someone in the face? Yes, I jest, but it still doesn’t feel that far off, does it?
There are lines that should not be crossed in primary politics. It seems like there has been a (pardon the phrase, but) gentleman’s agreement that primary politics should be based on substantive differences in the candidates rather than the slugfest of a general election. Hillary began her campaign in a traditional and genial manner, but once it looked like the Obama train was leaving the station, she took off the gloves and tried turning this primary into a bloodsport. (Is it, then, any surprise that in a state where a shotgun is home decor, situated just south of the Mason-Dixon line, that Clinton is the overwhelming favorite?)
I’ll end this with little brain-dump with what got me thinking about this in the first place. On Sunday morning my wife showed me a video clip that opened Saturday Night Live this past weekend – “A Message from the Next President of the United States.” In this sketch ‘Hillary Clinton’ lays out an eloquent argument about why she should be the Democratic nominee, the three cornerstones are: 1) She is a sore looser, 2) Her supporters are racist, and 3) She has no ethical standards. Tell me that they couldn’t have just put Dick in the same sketch if he was running…
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/05/candid-admissio.html
