Bill Clinton's Comment Fair
I'm an Obama supporter but I think this Bill Clinton comment that has some riled up is fair:
Obama has said from the beginning that one of the reasons to vote for him over Hillary is that Hillary brings a lot of divisive polarizing baggage -- whether her fault or not -- that detracts from talking abou tthe issues.
With the Wright flap, Clinton is noting that Obama now also brings in stuff that's polarizing and detracts from the issues that Hillary wouldn't bring in.
I think that's true and accusing Clinton of McCarthyism as some have done doesn't address his point.
I'm not pursuaded by his argument for several reasons:
1. Patriotism is an issue in itself that needs to be discussed and worked through. So having it brought up in the campaign is not a bad thing. The Right's abuse of this issue is something we need to address head on because it is used over and over again to affect policy. It must be dealth with.
And by the way, I think Obama's speech Tuesday suggested an answer. He stood by his pastor and community despite the fact that they said things he agreed were offensive. Isn't that the definition of loyalty? If he applies that same attitude toward America -- that he stands by his country even when it does things he disagrees with -- isn't that the definition of patriotism?
2. The polarizing nature of what comes in if Hillary is the nominee is worse and harder to deal with because it's all personal and revolves around issues of trust. You can't really turn anything like that around without trust.
3. Obama has, in my opinion, show this week that he response to such attempts at injecting this kind of stuff into the campaign far better than Hillary does and in ways that diffuse it rather than feeding into it.
Clinton said today in Charlotte, North Carolina, that it would be great if the general election were between his wife, Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. The vote would involve ``two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country,'' Bill Clinton 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,'' he said.
Obama has said from the beginning that one of the reasons to vote for him over Hillary is that Hillary brings a lot of divisive polarizing baggage -- whether her fault or not -- that detracts from talking abou tthe issues.
With the Wright flap, Clinton is noting that Obama now also brings in stuff that's polarizing and detracts from the issues that Hillary wouldn't bring in.
I think that's true and accusing Clinton of McCarthyism as some have done doesn't address his point.
I'm not pursuaded by his argument for several reasons:
1. Patriotism is an issue in itself that needs to be discussed and worked through. So having it brought up in the campaign is not a bad thing. The Right's abuse of this issue is something we need to address head on because it is used over and over again to affect policy. It must be dealth with.
And by the way, I think Obama's speech Tuesday suggested an answer. He stood by his pastor and community despite the fact that they said things he agreed were offensive. Isn't that the definition of loyalty? If he applies that same attitude toward America -- that he stands by his country even when it does things he disagrees with -- isn't that the definition of patriotism?
2. The polarizing nature of what comes in if Hillary is the nominee is worse and harder to deal with because it's all personal and revolves around issues of trust. You can't really turn anything like that around without trust.
3. Obama has, in my opinion, show this week that he response to such attempts at injecting this kind of stuff into the campaign far better than Hillary does and in ways that diffuse it rather than feeding into it.
