Pajamas Media

Oops, Bill Did It Again

Bill Clinton has developed a knack for saying the ugliest and most inappropriate things about Barack Obama as he campaigns for his wife — and he's not doing it by accident.

March 27, 2008 - by Ruben Navarrette, Jr.

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Bill Clinton recently returned to the Carolinas, trying to scare up votes for his wife’s flailing presidential campaign by appearing to bash her opponent — Barack Obama.

As we know, the former president has a way with words. But since Hillary started running for president — and coming up short in the popular vote, fund-raising, delegate count and number of states won — Bill has developed a knack for saying the ugliest and most inappropriate things about Obama.

Unfortunately, Bill Clinton also has a reputation for choosing his words very carefully. That fact suggests these putdowns aren’t careless gaffes, poorly chosen phrases or slips of the tongue. It’s likely that Clinton knows exactly what he is saying and for what effect. Like, in January, when he tried to imply that Obama’s victory in the South Carolina primary was no big deal because even “Jesse Jackson won South Carolina.” Clinton shrugged off the criticism he got for that crack, calling accusations that he played the race card “a myth and a mugging.”

The latest bubba eruption occurred recently when Bill Clinton was speaking to veterans in Charlotte, NC. One minute, he was playing up a match-up between Hillary Clinton and John McCain, and brushing aside Obama. The next, he was saying how it “would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country.” That way, he said, “people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics.”

That would be the “stuff” that the Clintons keep interjecting into our politics with cynical and divisive comments like that.

Obama has been accused of not being black enough and, more recently with the controversy involving his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, of not being mainstream enough. And now he is being accused of — what — not being patriotic enough?

Had enough? I sure have. And so has the Obama campaign, which dispatched an aide and retired Air Force general to return fire. Merrill McPeak, a co-chairman of Obama’s campaign, reminded Bill Clinton — who did whatever he could to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War — that his critics said much the same thing about him when he first ran for president in 1992. And then McPeak went nuclear by comparing Clinton to the late Sen. Joe McCarthy who, in the 1950’s, tried to advance his own career by ruining the lives of countless Americans.

A spokesman for the Clinton campaign bristled and called the comparison absurd.

But is it really? McCarthy’s notorious crusade against communism was all about challenging people’s loyalty to the United States. That’s what Bill Clinton was doing when he seemed to infer that Obama wasn’t among the presidential candidates who “loved this country.”

History doesn’t recall McCarthy fondly. And, I suspect, the same will be true of Bill Clinton’s boorish behavior in this campaign.

As for the timing, do you suppose it’s a coincidence that Clinton decided to play the patriotism card in the middle of the controversy involving Wright, who has been known to spew anti-American venom?

In addressing that issue, Obama recently acknowledged that he was aware of some of Wright’s comments but refused to denounce the man. The 46-year-old delivered a brave and brilliant speech on race in America that, no doubt, lifted the spirit of millions of Americans.

By contrast, Bill Clinton’s remarks demonstrated why so many Americans could use a lift.

Ruben Navarrette, Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union Tribune, a nationally syndicated columnist, a frequent lecturer and a regular contributor to CNN.com.

39 Comments

davod:

Please, stop it. Allthough, as you are a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union Tribune, a nationally syndicated columnist, a frequent lecturer and a regular contributor to CNN.com. I should have expected comments such as yors.

Clinton was discussing two people at the time - Hillary Clinton and john McCain. You Sir, chose to accept the Obamite spin.

If we follow the latest logic for Obamite insult, any sentence spoken or written not including Obama (PBUH) will be considered blasphemy by the Obamites.

I expect better from a literate (based upon your byline) commentator.

Mar 27, 2008 - 3:48 am davod:

PS: I should say that I am a conservative who is not interested in the slightest in Hillary gaining an advantage over McCain or Obama. I am however disgusted at the level of laziness on the part of the paid media who will run with the most ridiculous articles. I say laziness because it seems clear that they are using campaign talking points instead of conducting their own research and writing informed articles. I prefer to believe the laziness meme because the other possibility, that they are so wedded to the outcome of the process that seems to harsh to contemplate.

Mar 27, 2008 - 3:55 am Linda Frank:

Quoting McPeak was foolish on your part, Mr. Navarette. He has already been discredited and removed from the Obama campaign. What we are watching on the Democratic side is vicious fight between the supposedly entitled. Hillary is simply a liar and Obama is unprepared. To be clear, no one should be President after only a couple of years in the Senate. That’s absurd in the modern world. Obama now comes off as arrogant. I liked him at first,but now am repelled. Articles like this don’t help him either.

Mar 27, 2008 - 7:37 am Chip:

Obama’s speech was the greatest accomplishment in lying, distraction, blame-shifting, and obfuscation since Clinton was president. Hanging your poor grandma out who devoted much of her life to raising BHO - comparing her to a creepy and delusional racist - isn’t my idea of rhetorical greatness, but YMMV.

Obama is one of the greatest politicians in a crop of mostly bad people - the Baby Boomers. We’ve hit “none dare call it” with that generation. IMO, the republic will not likely survive this group of unpatriotic perma-selfish adolescents.

Mar 27, 2008 - 7:38 am Chip:

What if a white politician said he couldn’t reject the KKK because it was part of the “white experience”?

Most of us don’t think black racism is the cure for white racism.

If you want to get to a “post-racial” US, wealthy Ivy-League educated black people should not pretend to live the life of Jim Crow dirt farmers.

Mar 27, 2008 - 7:50 am Chuck:

“Had enough? I sure have.”

Yeah, I agree…of columns like this!

But then, it sure is fun watching the Dems go down in flames (again!) and wondering why the country just doesn’t get it. LOL!

Mar 27, 2008 - 8:54 am Chip:

By the way, the Venona Files proved McCarthy was right - but he was too careless and stupid to actually ferret out any Communists. Now our liberal arts departments are crawling with Gramscian socialists. Not to mention the Democrats.

It takes intellectuals like Obama to find “God damn America” to be as patriotic as “God bless America.”

Black is white. Up is down. Throw my PhD through the car window when I slow down.

Mar 27, 2008 - 9:59 am Edith:

Way to go! What an excellent article…Finally someone who is not afraid to remind the world of BOTH Clintons and their escapades…Never defended his country, His way with words ( let’ s call them lies )…He and she(moreso) love power plays. Neither one of them ever worked for a living…Always made their money by using people with their smiling lying faces.
Three cheers to you…

Mar 27, 2008 - 10:30 am Jay Lee:

“… lifted the spirit of millions of Americans…”

Is this a wild stab at humor? This is a parody piece, right?

Mar 27, 2008 - 10:40 am Marge:

LOL! Bill Clinton WAS a draft dodger. How anti-american is that? I suppose many Clinton supporters are to young or misinformed to remember that.
He was also inexperienced…a governor from Arkansas. But he still made a decent president.
Hillary is running on the strenght of the Clinton WH. LOL! But along with that comes the bad as well as good.
She is going to have to “explain” those scandals a lot better than she did during that time, that is IF she manages to steal the nomination.
Watching the Hillary movie,makes one wonder How will she ever overcome?

Mar 27, 2008 - 11:14 am Anthony (Los Angeles):

Normally I agree with your columns, Ruben, but I think Obama is making you swoon a bit, here. That speech was not brilliant and brave: it was, in fact, a massive evasion of the questions surrounding the Obamas’ association with a racist hate-monger disguised as a preacher. Essentially he was saying “We’re all guilty, and my grandma is no different from civic leader who says the government created AIDS to kill Black people. So, assuage your guilt by voting for me.”

Scratch that. It was brilliant: a brilliant dodge.

Mar 27, 2008 - 12:53 pm Lily S.:

Excellent post!

Lily S.
http://lilyseymour.blogspot.com/

Mar 27, 2008 - 12:57 pm jac:

Bill must be getting old too, he seems to forget that when he was up the kazoo in impeachment issues about “you know who”-he (Bill) invited the Rev. Wright to a prayer breakfast to get spiritual guidance (imagine that)? Check out the photo of Bill and the Rev shaking hands. Go to clintonwright.jpg. Both Hillary and Bill forget about the paper trails. Both have a habit of spurting out negatives about Obama before their brains catch up with their mouths.

Mar 27, 2008 - 12:58 pm Ego Driven No Doubt:

“Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role” (New York Times:

Excerpts:
Mr. Obama took few bold stands and diverted little from the liberal orthodoxy he had embraced in the Illinois Senate. His voting record in his first year in Washington, according to the annual rankings by National Journal, was more liberal than 82.5 percent of the Senate (compared with, for example, Mrs. Clinton’s 79.8 percent that year).

He worked with Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma and one of the most conservative in the chamber, to establish a public database to examine government spending after Hurricane Katrina.

But for the most part, he stuck to party lines; there were few examples of the kind of bipartisan work he advocates in his current campaign.

He disappointed some Democrats by not taking a more prominent role opposing the war — he voted against a troop withdrawal proposal by Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin in June 2006, arguing that a firm date for withdrawal would hamstring diplomats and military commanders in the field.

He was running for president even as he was still getting lost in the Capitol’s corridors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

Mar 27, 2008 - 4:38 pm Lee:

Well from where I sit these people (Blacks) no matter what there ed level maybe seem to be just as consumed with hate for white
people , and the government as the KKK was for them , as sad as this maybe I don’t see any end to it.

Mar 27, 2008 - 4:40 pm The Red Pill:

This article is coming from a man who wrote a piece entitled “U.S. workers will pick lettuce for $1,000 a week.” and based that claim on “A reader told me that he’d gladly go pick lettuce around Salinas, California-for $1,000 a week.”

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/16/navarrette/index.html

Mar 27, 2008 - 4:47 pm MM:

Sorry, but the article was a little to bit one-sided towards Obama (whom, btw, I support) - but this is an opinion column and the public gets treated to other columns that are equally swooning about Hilary. (Never about McCain, funny about that!) I do agree that BOTH Clintons know exactly what they are saying when they “mispoke” or were “misinterpreted” — especially Bill Clinton. I too agree that Obama’s speech was brilliant. And I really wish that folks would research Wright a little more before they state opinions. Research both sides even more before they make opinons!

Mar 27, 2008 - 5:51 pm Cheyenne:

Why isn’t everyone looking at the bigger picture; getting our military out of Iraq, getting our economic house back in order and stopping all this negativity on both sides of the isle. We as a country have lots to do to make America whole again. While I am still undecided as to who I want to represent the democratic party in the presidential election one thing I am very sure about I will throw all my support to the democratic nominee no matter who he/she is. I have had enough of Republican magic. They make our spirits, beliefs, trust, money all disappear.
What is it going to take on the part of the American people to create major change, get our esteem back, and not be the joke of the world????

Mar 27, 2008 - 6:15 pm Cheyenne:

I’m not sure what you mean “your comment is waiting moderation” Please explain.
Cheyenne

Mar 27, 2008 - 6:17 pm Avoiding the real issues:

RE: Why isn’t anyone focusing on the bigger picture……………

Clinton has been focusing on the issues quiet heavily on the campaign trail but the media rarely covers this news.

I believe Senator Obama one running the most negative and divisive campaign frankly to avoid addressing the real issues.

————–
Latest article:

Sen. Obama knows that if he focused on his experience and the issues he’d get questions about the shortcomings in his record and the efforts he has made to embellish it.

He’d have to deal with the fallout from this week’s Washington Post report on his gross exaggeration of his role on immigration reform and housing policy.

Sen. Obama would have to explain why the New York Times reported that he claims credit for passing nuclear leak legislation that never got out of committee.

He’d have to confront reports from FactCheck.org and other independent organizations that say his claims of providing a universal health care plan are based on selective, embellished and out-of-context quotes from newspapers.

He’d have to discuss the LA Times story that reported on how his fellow organizers say he took too much credit for his community organizing efforts.

He’d have to explain why he regularly claims he was a law professor when in fact he held no such title.

Sen. Obama seems to think disingenuous attacks on Sen. Clinton will address the concerns voters have about his record and readiness to be the Commander-in-Chief and the steward of our economy. They won’t.

In the end, Sen. Obama’s words cannot erase Hillary’s 35-year record of action because when all is said and done, words aren’t action. They are just words.

Mar 27, 2008 - 7:01 pm Christines:

Obama seems to forget his own words, that words matter!

http://bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com…a-trip-to.html

March 25, 2008

Obama Took Credit for Other Senators’ Work, Media Largely Ignores it

by D. Cupples | Understandably, many media are all over Hillary Clinton’s exaggerated claims about her trip to Bosnia in 1996 (e.g., NY Times)

At the same time, most media seem oddly unaware of a story in yesterday’s Washington Post about Barack Obama’s having falsely grabbed credit for other legislators’ work — not just in the Illinois legislature, but also while in the U.S. Senate.

In April 2006, according to the Washington Post, six senators ran into Obama while heading to a news conference to announce an immigration bill. Obama tagged along. When the microphone came his way, Obama said:

“‘I want to cite Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, Mel Martinez, Ken Salazar, myself, Dick Durbin, Joe Lieberman . . . who’ve actually had to wake up early to try to hammer this stuff out,’” (The Post)

Senate staff members found it a “galling moment,” because Obama had done little or no heavy lifting on that project.

Mar 27, 2008 - 8:05 pm Chris:

Why is it so hard for Americans to seek out the truth & not comment on things they know nothing about. Hillary wants to win at all cost & will do anything to get the presidency. Obama I have no problems with, except that he keeps making excuses for the former Pastor Wright when the pastor did not say anything that was wrong, that’s if people will take the time to listen to all the sermon. If not for Fox News, Cnn & Msnbc this issue with Wright would have been put to rest already. This man Obama is not a racist & for those who keeps harping on this, they should take a long look in the mirror & you will see that you are the racist! By the way I am an independent & have not yet make up my mind who I will vote for.

Mar 27, 2008 - 8:54 pm emily:

What is wrong with you people== since when has “experience” made a better president. First of all folks– there is no such thing as “Black racism”. “Racism” is a term used to describe the use of power to promote the superiority of the white race. Back folks can be prejudiced just like white people can be prejudiced but not racist.
There is a difference between expressing disagreement and anger, and “hating white people”. Why wouldn’t there be groups of people who would rightfully feel anger towards a country which up until recently suported the superiorty of one race of people over another. Why can’t this be talked about without white people rolling their eyes, saying “here they go again” and say we are being victims. Why is that “complaining” or “not letting go of the past”. I happen to think Obama has what it takes to lead this country. I don’t care whether you vote for him or not, but I don’t understand the disrespect and negativity that has been directed towards him for addressing a very difficult issue.

Mar 27, 2008 - 10:12 pm radtop:

This was pretty poor logic. After the collapse of the Soviet empire, it was shown that 90% of the people McCarth accused of being traitors were indeed working for the Russians. Secondly, Obama is part of the blame America first leftists who want to play the race card when things get tough. So quit whinning about Obama.

Mar 27, 2008 - 11:24 pm petter bush:

When Hillary Clinton tells such obvious mistruths, she exposes herself as a fantasist

“I’m afraid that Hillary Clinton suffers from pseudologia fantastica,” said my friend the psychiatrist. The would-be president of the United States is not one of his patients: this is what might be described as an informal diagnosis, provoked by Mrs Clinton’s extraordinary claim to have dodged sniper-fire in Bosnia in the service of her country.

Mar 28, 2008 - 12:07 am jvon:

Hate to say it, but Bill has a point. Obama’s insistence that he is a patriot even though he attends a US-bashing church is a little ridiculous. I couldn’t sit through that garbage, much less be moved to make large contributions by it.

However, if Obama had a brain, he would have one of his spokespeople suggest that Bill hasn’t been acting quite right since those impeachment proceedings and maybe he could use some time off to relax.

Mar 28, 2008 - 8:34 am Reza Sadreddini:

1).I’m sorry.Idon’t know what “URL” stands for.English is the 3RD. language I speak.I’m
from Iran.

2).Excellent information as usual. I always
read the whole details and comments,as well.

3).Wishing you all the best.

Mar 28, 2008 - 9:25 am Reza Sadreddini:

I don’t beleive Bill Clinton could be a good
advertiser for his wife.We all know he wasn’t
a good mate of hers.We all remmember the sky
rocket high rising price of real estates
while he was in the office.And so on….

Mar 28, 2008 - 9:33 am The Red Pill:

Looks like some people here need a dictionary:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/racism

rac·ism
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

Mar 28, 2008 - 6:19 pm tanstaafl:

First of all folks– there is no such thing as “Black racism”.

Yes, there is, Emily.

And Pastor Jeremiah Wright and those who share his view of the world (see esp. James Cone & Louis Farrakhan) who subscribe to Black Liberation Theology believe that persons of pallor (aka “whites”) are lower than a snake bellied salamander.

What’s far more interesting about the Reverend Wright (besides him being Barack’s substitute father figure) is the revelation of the underpinning of the “thinking” of those in America’s radical black churches.

And the propinquity of those teachings to Nation of Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood.

“racism” per merriam webster

Mar 28, 2008 - 7:07 pm tanstaafl:

pseudologia fantastica

It’s a mouthful, but if the shoe fits…

(1) the stories are not entirely improbable and often have some element of truth; (yes, she did fly into Tuzla in 1996)

(2) the stories are long lasting; (she talked about it in her book and also told the “fantastica” version 3X in the past month or so)

(3) the stories are told for internal psychological reasons rather than external gain, and tend towards presenting the person in a good light (for example, as being fantastically brave, knowing or being related to many famous people); and

(4) they are not delusional (that is, upon confrontation, the person can acknowledge them to be untrue).

Mar 28, 2008 - 7:30 pm Sue:

Ruben, McCarthy is not remembered fondly, but much of what he said turned out to be true. His methodology was bad, hurtful and mean, but, the truth is the truth.
As to Obama: for the past twenty years or so I have often wondered why the African Americans I met, came across, saw on the media in a variety of subjects get meaner and more rude as time went on. I was happy Obama came along, he looked and sounded sincere and not at all the racist I had seen the African American community become. I now realize that many became mean, rude and felt entitled because of the lies and hatred not only spewed, but hammered on by evil people like this Rev. Wright. That opened my eyes to Obama: I would have quit almost 20 years ago. There is no excuse except for Obama. He goes along as does his wife, friends and associates with this filth because, in the end, they also want power and wealth. The scary part is: what will they do with it to the white people in this country?

Mar 29, 2008 - 8:37 am tanstaafl:

There is no excuse except for Obama. He goes along as does his wife, friends and associates with this filth because, in the end, they also want power and wealth.

You think the Reverend Wright wants “power” and that he has gotten off on manipulating his congregation through bombast and his own self-serving egomaniacal lies ?

Or that the Reverend Wright wants “wealth”, currently building himself a 10,000 square’ house in Henley Park IL in a “gated golf community” which involves some arcane financing and a $10 million dollar line of credit for his church” ??

It can’t be, can it ??

Mar 29, 2008 - 9:22 am tanstaafl:

Around the time Barack Obama was elected to the US Senate, Michelle Obama’s salary as hospital (community outreach) whatever more than doubled to over $ 300,000/year.

Yet in her speeches, she counsels her listeners to avoid “corporate” America and seek service jobs as counselors and social workers and so forth.

Her daughters attend private school and their lessons for personal enrichment (shall we say…piano lessons ? ballet ?) costs $ thousands/per year.

Barack got a terrific deal when that not so sterling Chicago personality, Tony Rezko (currently being tried for illegal monetary machinations, among other things) bought a property adjacent to the Obamas and sold them an easement (something like that) for very little money.

But yall stay poor and commit yourself to “service” jobs as America just won’t be so damn Beautiful unless you (not the Obamas) do.

Capiche ?

Mar 29, 2008 - 9:51 am Angry African:

How did this turn to Obama and Wright? Come on people. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. HillBillary is playing you like puppets and you don’t see how she is enjoying this. To HillBillary (and Mac the Knife) “Don’t look back in anger”. http://angryafrican.net/2008/03/06/dont-look-back-in-anger-a-cover-by-the-mac-and-hillary-show/

Mar 30, 2008 - 2:33 pm R U Kiddinme:

Once more I am deeply impressed by the American public’s complete willingness to allow a mere few words, intentionally taken far out of context by the most hostile media outlets, to stand as a reasonable characterization of a man and a community. Rev. Wright’s prophetic calls to see a connection between the behavior of the nation and the consequences of that behavior, or to suggest that there are likely and predictable outcomes to the blind and endemic xenophobia of this country are part of a preaching tradition shared by millions of Christians, at least the ones with some guts. When angry phrases are preached against Muslims, or homosexuals, or family planning clinics America just nods and says, “well golly, that seems fair.” But criticize the nation, even in less scandalous language, and suddenly you are a pariah. It is reflexive, pathetic, and does nothing to advance the notion of us as a
thinking people.

Of course Bill Clinton both says and implies mean and damaging things about Barak Obama, ITS A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN,the leveling of the specious accusation is a time honored tactic and the Clintons are both gifted campaigners. Even people who like Bill Clinton know he isn’t above a little surgical mud slinging. But then, look at just this little run of comments as an example, we as a people seem to thrive on character assassination, gross over simplifications, and unwarranted generalization. Its how we pass gas in our contentious unsophisticated little Republic.

Mar 31, 2008 - 7:52 am curtis:

If obama gets to the convention with the most delegates and popular vote he should represent the democratic party. As a black man i have voted for the democratic party for over 30 years and my father before me for sixty. It is important that i can tell future generations of my family that the democracts put an african american on the ticket in 2008 solidifying its party base which is made up primarily of blacks for the next 50 years.If Mcain beats Obama I can live with that because i have exsisted with worse presidents and that includes both democrats and republicans.If obama is not the nominee my immeadiate family of seven eligible voters and extended family of 31 have agreed to stay at home this election. Faced with four dollar per gallon gas, mortgage failures all over america, a war going bad in iraq my family like many others hurt but, as always we shall endure regardless of who is president.

Apr 1, 2008 - 8:33 am