What did Hillary Mean to Say?
May 25, 2008 Opinion, Political
There has been an uproar over a comment by Hillary Clinton when asked about dropping out of the race. She indicated that her husband did not wrap things up until June 1992 and that Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June. People were quick to jump on this and say she was inferring that Obama could be killed and then she would be the nominee. I see it differently.
I am certainly no supporter of Hillary Clinton but in this case I have to agree with her. From the moment I read the comment I knew she meant that there were times in history where the nomination process was still going on in June. It is a foregone conclusion that she expressed it poorly which does not bode well for a person who is supposed to be so brilliant. I know that the Clinton history is filled with nuanced statements but I cannot get on the bandwagon of people who think she meant that harm could or should come to Obama.
Al Sharpton [Daily News] has contacted Hillary and told her to choose her words wisely which is ironic considering Sharpton’s were have been responsible for a number of deaths. His peace marches have turned into riots where people have been killed based upon what he told the crowd. I imagine he should know that poorly chosen words can lead to catastrophe because he has certainly had his share of inciting catastrophic moments.
Clinton has apologized [My Way News] for the remarks and explained that she meant no disrespect to the Kennedy clan and once again explained what she meant. Unfortunately, there are those who will look at this as one more way that Hillary is ruining the nomination process and how her scorched Earth policies know no bounds. While I believe that the Clintons will say or do anything to win, I also know they would never say or do anything to upset an American dynasty such as the Kennedys. That would be political suicide though her poor remarks might end up being the self inflicted wound that finally does her in.
One thing to keep in mind is that if Obama were a white person these remarks would not have the same significance. Since there were early worries that he might be killed this has a lot more weight. People naturally assume some redneck will unload on him because he is a black guy. The reality is, all the worries are about people on the left. They are the folks running their primary and it is the Hillary supporters that they must be worried about.
I have rarely agreed with Clinton (and never politically) but in this case I have to. She did not mean to place Obama in jeopardy or suggest that he might meet an untimely demise which would give the nomination to her. The whole issue has been blown out of proportion by those who worry some crackpot will take a cue from what she said and off Obama. I can’t imagine anyone would want to see any of them injured or killed. Politics are one thing but taking a life is quite another and no sane person wants to see someone die because they disagree politically. This, of course, is in the US. A lot of people want to see terrorists who disagree politically cease to exist.
No one in his right mind believes the Obama/JFK comparisons but then again, no one is his right mind wants there to be an Obama/RFK comparison either.
Maybe Hillary was just tired or maybe people actually have a different opinion about what happened to Vince Foster…
Related Items:
Wall Street Journal
New York Post
Tags: assassination, Clinton, Obama, poor words, RFK, sharpton