November 21, 2006
Clinton's Not So Impressive Victory?
"She had only token opposition, but Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton still spent more on her re-election -- upward of $30 million -- than any other candidate for Senate this year. So where did all the money go?" The New York Times reports. Mrs. Clinton also bought more than $13,000 worth of flowers, mostly for fund-raising events and as thank-yous for donors. She laid out $27,000 for valet parking, paid as much as $800 in a single month in credit card interest and -- above all -- paid tens of thousands of dollars a month to an assortment of consultants and aides. Throw in $17 million in advertising and fund-raising mailings, and what had been one of the most formidable war chests in politics was depleted to a level that leaves Mrs. Clinton with little financial advantage over her potential rivals for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination -- and perhaps even trailing some of them.
How impressive does her election victory and how solid do her 2008 chances look now?
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 06:59 AM
| Comments (1)
| TrackBack
November 20, 2006
'Clinton Neighbors in Mystery Shooting'
"A husband and wife who live on the same cul-de-sac as former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton were forced off the road and shot, police said. Carlos and Peggy Perez-Olivo remained hospitalized Sunday after being attacked Saturday night, according to police. Their medical conditions weren't available early Monday," the AP reports.
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 08:35 AM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
November 07, 2006
Hillary's Quip
From Michelle Malkin: Just seen on Fox News...Hillary's quip, cackling with reporters as she left the voting booth this morning: "I voted for change...except for me."
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 11:04 AM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
October 12, 2006
Hillary to Iraqis: Drop Dead, I'm a Baathist
Senator Clinton met with the Daily News. Excerpts from her remarks: The third thing is phased redeployment. The administration has this mantra: "We'll stand down when they stand up." Well, 350,000 of them have stood up -- but standing up does not mean they will fight and defend anything. The appropriate formula is, "We will stand down anyway, and you will fight to defend Iraq." Because they are basically able to just allow us to take the brunt of the impact. There are certain groups of the Iraqis that will fight, but the vast majority of the 350,000 are not prepared to stand up and fight for Iraq. They might stand up and fight for their tribe or for their family or for their religious affiliation. And that's not going to change unless they have to face the reality that, guess what, we are going to start, what we call, in the Democratic alternative, a phased redeployment. Now, that doesn't mean initially, out of Iraq. It could be just moving to the North, because I do think we have an extra obligation to the Kurds not to desert them once again. It could certainly mean just over the horizon in Kuwait. But what we've been doing is not working.
Is Kuwait part of Iraq now? Gee, the Democrats really are buying the Baathist propaganda.
Senator Clinton campaigns for Diane Farrell, Democratic candidate in Connecticut's 4th Congressional District, in Stamford, Conn., Sunday Oct. 8, 2006. (AP Photo/Douglas Healey)
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 07:51 AM
| Comments (3)
| TrackBack
August 22, 2006
Giving Up on 2008?
Writing in the LA Times, Ezra Klein suggests that Hillary Clinton pass on a presidential run in 2008 and instead succeed Senator Reid as the leader of the Democrats in the Senate. Better yet, her path to the Senate leadership is a far safer road, ensuring that Clinton's trailblazing migration from first lady to senator remained unmarred by a catastrophic defeat in a presidential campaign. She would be the first woman to occupy the august body's leadership position, and she would remain resolutely in the public eye, ready and waiting were the ground to shift and 2012 to look more inviting.
Senator Clinton (AP Photo/ Jim McKnight )
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 01:25 PM
| Comments (2)
| TrackBack
July 20, 2006
Hillary Cracks Hollywood
"If Hollywood has a 'Da Vinci Code,' Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has cracked it. Top stars such as Tom Hanks, Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson donated to the New York senator in recent months, generating the kind of cash usually associated with a major box office opening -- or a potential presidential bid in 2008," the AP reports. The itemized donations were made public Wednesday, with the paperwork for April through June more than 4,000 pages. In that period, Clinton raised almost $5.7 million, bringing her total for her re-election effort to $43 million to date. She had more than $22 million cash on hand. That's more than Owen Wilson's new film "You, Me and Dupree" made in its opening weekend. Wilson gave Clinton $2,100.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 08:10 AM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
June 23, 2006
One Astute Toddler
For some thoughts on the significance of the admission of Magen David Adom into the international Red Cross, check out our editorial in this morning's Sun.
This is also an opportunity to reflect on one little-remarked aspect of Washington life -- the propensity of politicians to say truly odd things during the nearly infinite stream of press conferences that consume their working lives here.
Consider Senator Clinton's assertion that she has been a fervent supporter of Magen David Adom since before her second birthday.
She noted that people have been working to achieve this recognition since the Red Cross's vote to exclude Magen David Adom 57 years ago. Presumably without quite thinking about it, she then said "it upset me then," before noting that she has long worked on behalf of the group.
Considering, however, that she's 59 years old at the moment, if she really was upset when that last vote occurred, she must have been one very astute toddler.
She's sure one astute politician, though, at least judging from the skill with which she dodged this reporter's attempt to pelt her with questions as she was walking back to the Capitol. After a minute or so jogging after her and hollering while she stared straight ahead, I decided to head back to the press conference still in progress.
As I walked back toward the event, a tourist accosted me. "Hillary?" he asked. "Yeah," I replied. As I trotted down the hill, I could hear him chattering excitedly to his family in Spanish, the word "Hillary" coming through loud and clear. So whatever she's doing seems to be working.
Posted by Joseph Sternberg at 08:28 AM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
May 23, 2006
When Positions Matter
Matthew Yglesias at Tapped is excited over today's New York Times article on the "Clinton family marriage." Atrios wants to hit the hypocrisy button and wonders where the articles are pondering the sex lives of prominent Republicans. Frankly, I'd like to know why Healy can't just drop the silly insinuations and faux investigative methods. Both Clintons have official spokespersons, just ask them how often Bill and Hillary have sex. It's amusing to hear the Times being accused of pro-Republican bias. But our reaction when we saw the article in this morning's Times was: "Who cares?" Our problems with the Clintons lie in their policy positions, not their, umm, other positions. That's between the two of them. We care when what they do affects the nation.
Bill Clinton (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 02:05 PM
| Comments (0)
April 05, 2006
Hillary Backs Recycling
It's not Hillary Clinton's day. First Dick Morris withdraws his endorsement, now the AP points out that Hillary is using Bill's old speeches: It was a case of Clinton deja vu. "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be fixed by what is right about America," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former first lady who seems to be aiming for a return to the White House, said Wednesday as she wrapped up her speech to a Hispanic organization.
Excuse the crowd if they had heard it before. The New York Democrat, who clearly took good notes, had very slightly revised her husband's old standard, from his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1993. "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America," President Clinton told the nation then.
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 05:56 PM
To Hillary And Back Again
President Clinton's one-time advisor, Dick Morris, changes positions more times than, well, (cough) ... Mr. Morris wrote in the Hill back in February that "Gore may be a man whose time has come in his party." Only a week later Mr. Gore had fallen from grace and Mr. Morris declared, also in the Hill, that "With cultural forces behind her, Hillary can win in '08."
Now, yes, once again writing in the Hill, Mr. Morris is swinging back behind Mr. Gore: Hillary Clinton made a fundamental decision in 2002 to support the invasion of Iraq. In doing so, she sought the center of American politics, reacting to issues much as her husband had throughout his ascent to the presidency ...
Hillary may have misjudged the left. She may have opened herself up to a challenge from the left over Iraq and the war on terror. She may have chosen the wrong time and the wrong issue on which to cross party lines ...
But Al Gore, who has no stain of support for the war to overcome and is the custom-designed candidate for the issues of energy and climate change, could mount a serious challenge to Hillary Clinton. Coming soon in a future column: "Why Gore Stands No Chance Against Hillary."
Paul Mirengoff at Powerline comments on Mr. Morris's use of the word "we" in saying that "There are no rewards for those who push consensus when we want polarized debate." Mr. Mirengoff writes: The key word in this passage is "we." Democratic primary voters probably want polarized debate, but I doubt that the general electorate does. Therein lies Hillary's huge problem. And Gore's.
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 02:06 PM
March 31, 2006
Support The Troops, Send Hillary To Jail?
WorldNetDaily.com reports: A publisher is offering on eBay the chance for the highest bidder to become a character in an upcoming children's book who sends Sen. Hillary Clinton to jail.
In the next "Help! Mom!" book by author Katharine DeBrecht, cartoon villain "Hillary Clunkton" will "get her comeuppance" and the "winning bidder on this charity auction will be the hero" ...
"What will Hillary be busted for?" the publisher asks. "Maybe her famous temper gets her into trouble for yelling in a library. Or perhaps, thinking that she's more important than the 'little people,' she'll cut in line at the cafeteria. Why, for all we know, Hillary might even try to take gifts from Santa's sleigh so she can give naughty boys and girls as many presents as the good kids. Only author Katharine DeBrecht knows for sure, and she's not tellin ... yet!"
The winning bidder's donation will go to Operation Gratitude, a charity that supports U.S. troops.
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 11:22 AM
March 30, 2006
Too Hot For The White House?
"Sharon Stone says Hillary Clinton is too sexy to be US President -- for now," according to Life Style Extra. The 'Basic Instinct 2' star -- who has thought about getting into politics herself -- feels the former First Lady will have to tone down her hotness before entering the White House.
"I think Hillary Clinton is fantastic, but it's too soon for her to run for President. A woman should be past her sexuality when she runs." So Senator Clinton should take it as a compliment when Republicans say she isn't fit for the presidency?
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 04:51 PM
March 27, 2006
Over Her Shoulder
Hillary, watch out. "Congressional candidates in Iowa, South Carolina and Missouri have a friend in common -- former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, the object of widespread speculation as a 2008 presidential hopeful," the Washington Times reports. Mr. Warner has opened his political action committee's checkbook to candidates in those key presidential states and others. The Democrat said he wants to help centrists who will make Washington more efficient, but his efforts also are building crucial ground support where he needs it most.
Mr. Warner said he supports candidates with "the same kind of common-sense, results-driven approach to politics that we brought in Virginia," where he was popular despite raising taxes by $1.38 billion in 2004 to balance the state's budget ...
While the former governor is collecting friends in red states, some of his political enemies are preparing for his presidential run.
"There are a number of people who won't be president in 2009, and Mark Warner is one of them," said Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. The group plans to remind voters in 2008 that Mr. Warner broke a gubernatorial campaign promise in 2001 that he would not raise taxes.
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 10:15 AM
March 13, 2006
Protesting Saudi Arabia
In a press release we received Senator Clinton announces that she has "joined Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and 15 other Senators to urge President Bush to protest the meeting of Saudi rulers and condemn the embargo. This week, a meeting will take place in Saudi Arabia to promote the trade boycott of Israel, which is expected to include representatives of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)." Mrs. Clinton said that "Saudi Arabia has made a public promise to end its unjustified trade embargo of Israel. President Bush should insist that Saudi Arabia meet its obligations."
The press release says that "in a letter to President Bush, the Senators noted that Saudi Arabia had promised last November that it would stop participating in the embargo, and added, 'You should urge the Saudi rulers to keep their word, cancel this meeting, and end the boycott immediately.' Saudi Arabia was admitted last year to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which forbids members from engaging in trade boycotts against fellow members. By supporting the trade embargo, Saudi Arabia is failing to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the WTO. In addition to Senators Clinton and Lautenberg, the following Senators also signed the letter to President Bush: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Carl Levin (D-MI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD)."
We're waiting to hear whether President Clinton agrees with his wife on this one.
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 02:40 PM
March 07, 2006
Clintons Yell
"Sen. Hillary Clinton embraced her angry side yesterday, saying Republican policies make her so mad that she and her husband sometimes sit around yelling at the TV set," the Daily News reports. It reports that Mrs. Clinton "confessed to a friendly crowd of donors" that "I do yell from time to time at my television set. Now that Bill and I have TiVo, we just rewind it and yell all over again."
Meantime today's New York Sun reports "as Kathleen Troia 'KT' McFarland seeks to defeat Senator Clinton on the strength of her leadership in the Reagan Pentagon, some prominent Reagan-era defense officials say they remember little about the personality or work of the latest Republican candidate for the Senate from New York." The Sun reports that "While most of the former defense officials interviewed by the Sun had few specific recollections of Mrs. McFarland or her work, those familiar with her by reputation praised the candidate as smart, capable, well qualified to represent New York in the Senate, and someone who could present a formidable challenge to Mrs. Clinton."
Elswhere in today's Sun is a report that "Mayor Giuliani's decision to skip a high-profile showcase for potential Republican presidential candidates this weekend is drawing quizzical reactions from some strategists and fueling debate about whether he is serious about seeking the presidency in 2008." But, the Sun reports, "a history professor who occasionally wrote speeches for Mr. Giuliani in the 1990s, Fred Siegel, said yesterday that the former mayor's decision to dispense with the usual trappings of a presidential proto-campaign should not be seen as an indication that he will not run in 2008." Mr. Siegel told the Sun that "He's running an unconventional campaign but he's running."
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 10:03 AM
March 02, 2006
Dubai Deal: Clinton v. Clinton
President Clinton "advised top officials from Dubai two weeks ago on how to address growing US concerns over the acquisition of five US container terminals by DP World. It came even as his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, was leading efforts to derail the deal," the Financial Times reports.
The FT reports that "Mr Clinton, who this week called the United Arab Emirates a 'good ally to America', advised Dubai's leaders to propose a 45-day delay to allow for an intensive investigation of the acquisition, according to his spokesman." However, as the FT notes, "Mrs Clinton remains a leading voice against the deal, and this week proposed legislation to block it, arguing that the US could not afford to 'surrender our port operations to foreign governments.'" We heard about this from littlegreenfootballs.com.
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 09:51 AM
February 23, 2006
Glamour, But No Substance
"The glamour of South Beach turns to politics as Senator Hillary Clinton will be in town Thursday for a fundraising reception at a Collins Avenue hotel," CBS4 News reports. It's not all joy in Florida -- that is if you're a student stuck in a failing school.
Florida's disadvantaged students shouldn't expect any sympathy from Mrs. Clinton. As The New York Sun notes in an editorial, New York's junior senator "was caught out on Tuesday by an alert reporter for Newsday, Glenn Thrush, who captured the former first lady making a truly silly argument against school vouchers." Mrs. Clinton said the problem with school choice is that it could be used for extremist religious institutions. But, notes the Sun, "By this reasoning, Mrs. Clinton should oppose the First Amendment. Why allow religious freedom at all if people can start a jihadist mosque or a racist church? The country already has laws outlawing terrorist violence and violence motivated by racial hatred. Conspiracy laws may be invoked against those planning such crimes. That's the way we deal with racial and religious violent hatred in America, not by dispensing with free speech or freedom of religion to begin with."
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 10:54 AM
February 13, 2006
Laura Bush: Hillary 'Out Of Bounds'
The First Lady, Laura Bush, "said that she and Clinton belonged to a 'club' just like former Presidents Bush and Clinton and the current president shared a common bond. Considering their shared experience, Bush said Clinton was 'out of bounds' when she called her husband's administration the worst in American history on Martin Luther King Day," ABC News reports.
Mrs. Bush said, according to ABC, that "I think it's politics -- certainly politics. We know what it is like to be in that house; we certainly know what it is like to have your husband criticized and so I think there is a certain empathy that we might have for each other."
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 10:19 AM
February 09, 2006
The 'Un-Bill (And Sometimes Anti-Bill) Sorority'
"As other potential 2008 presidential candidates were making their first sojourns to Iowa, Hillary Clinton did something a little different," writes Ryan Lizza in the New Republic. "Clinton introduced the Iowans to Hillaryland." Mr. Lizza writes that "ever since 1992, when a young campaign staffer answered a phone call from Hillary with the greeting "Hillaryland," the future first lady and her devoted, mostly female aides have embraced the cutesy sobriquet as a way to describe their unique, un-Bill (and sometimes anti-Bill) sorority."
"Today," according to Mr. Lizza, "Hillaryland is a vast political empire based in Washington and New York that, in its scale and ambition, is unrivaled in Democratic politics." A problem in Hillaryland "is that there are so many power centers. For most senators, there's only one--their Senate office. But, in Hillaryland, the Senate is just one outpost in a sprawling political organization. Says an adviser, straining not to offend Hillary's Senate aides, 'Let's just say there are big and important players outside of the Senate office.'"
Mr. Lizza writes that "There are very few Democrats whose central message is about interest rates, crime, productivity, and investor confidence. And the ones who exist have been hounded into silence in recent years by the Internet left. Hang out in Hillaryland long enough and you realize it has embraced almost none of the hyperpartisan culture of the so-called netroots that many Democrats are chasing. And the makeup of Hillary's core political consulting team suggests that's not going to change."
But, Mr. Lizza writes, Mrs. Clinton "has also built a sprawling enterprise with competing power centers and ego-fueled senior aides with decades of rivalries and political baggage behind their resumes. And she has turned Hillaryland's strategic steering wheel over to a pollster with a controversial view of how elections are won, which risks alienating many Democrats. Hillaryland will rise or fall on these two decisions."
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 01:22 PM
Bloodying Hillary
"Top presidential adviser Karl Rove is getting directly involved in the effort to defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton," the New York Post reports. According to the Post, "Top Rove aide Sara Taylor and one of her staffers met for an hour at the White House yesterday with former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer -- the leading contender for the GOP nomination to challenge Clinton -- to discuss campaign strategy, said Spencer aide Kevin Collins." The Post writes that "while national Republicans don't expect Spencer can beat Clinton, they hope he can do enough to bloody her in anticipation of a possible 2008 presidential run."
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 11:30 AM
A Falling Star?
Captain's Quarters writes that "Rasmussen reports that its polling shows support for a presidential run by Hillary Clinton at its lowest point in over a year. Only 27% would 'definitely' vote for the former First Lady, while 43% have no intention of ever casting a vote for her." He writes that "Eleven points in two weeks is more than a statistical anomaly -- that's quite a meltdown. Hillary has had an eventful fortnight or so in politics, however. She not only publicly opposed the Alito nomination, but she also joined in the failed filibuster. She referred to Congress as a 'plantation' run by mean Republicans. Her recent speeches on religion and abortion designed to position herself to the center apparently does not stand up to her more revealing actions and rhetoric elsewhere."
In more bad news for President Clinton's first lady, The New York Sun reports today that "a former Virginia governor pondering a bid for the presidency in 2008, Mark Warner, is assembling a team of formal and informal advisers with ties to the Clinton administration, raising the potential for friction with Senator Clinton, who is also mulling a race for the Democratic nomination."
Posted by Daniel Freedman at 09:28 AM
July 19, 2005
Milking the issue
Senator Clinton is out with a press release today calling for higher prices on cheese. "We simply don't want American dairy producers to ever experience again the harsh times of 2002 and 2003. We need to prevent a similar situation from being generated by a flood of unregulated imports that have skirted quotas," Senator Clinton said. "New York dairy producers are already facing large amounts of imports that affect their bottom line and this unfair influx of foreign dairy products is only making matters worse. By closing this loophole, we can better protect New York's dairy producers from having to compete against unfair and unregulated imports."
Senator Clinton's release wasn't yet online as we posted this item, but a Republican from Idaho, Larry Craig, who shares Mrs. Clinton's penchant for milking this issue, has a press release up on the Web. President Clinton made free trade one of his signature issues. It's too bad Mrs. Clinton is trying to protect New York city consumers from cheaper cheese. The idea that senators are better at setting dairy prices than free markets is, well, cheesy.
Posted by Ira Stoll at 07:52 PM
|
