Hillary Clinton thinks Iowans are stupid - very stupid. Here's what I'm talking about.
TODAY:
"Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton says she wants to take a close look at foreign trade deals. She says she'll call a 'time out' on trade agreements if she wins the White House.'" - Associated Press, 11/12/07
FOUR DAYS AGO:
"Clinton Says Yes to Peru Deal...Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, after prodding from a rival campaign, has issued positions on several trade deals currently before Congress, including her support for an agreement with Peru that is dividing her party." - New York Times, 11/8/07
As I said, Hillary Clinton clearly thinks Iowans are stupid. Sure, I guess technically the two statements don't contradict each other - she could be for a strategic pause when she's president, but not just now. But I'd say that would be a pretty strange position. Why should we take such a pause in a year, but not now?
No, I'd say this is talking out of both sides of the mouth. She says she's for a "time out" - but only later. Not now, when the Senate votes really count. Iowans should trust her when she's elected, even if she doesn't follow the spirit of what she pledges right now. And I'd say she thinks Iowans are too stupid to notice.
UPDATE: I'd just say as an update, there's something pretty disturbing going on in the comments, that is probably worthy of a whole other diary. It seems that as we get closer to the election, more commenters on this site are taking offense to having any debate or discussion about actual facts being presented. This diary made the front-page rec list, meaning it had quite a bit of support from the community. However, I got troll rated in my tip jar - which shows just how angry and vitriolic things are really getting. I'd say this does not bode well for the DailyKos community. If we can't discuss and debate factual issues (especially those of global importance like trade) without getting to that level of punitive vitriol, I'd say we are on the way towards hurting what makes this site great. Whether you disagree with me or not in my analyses (and it seems some people will just spew hate at me for whatever I write about anything), I would hope that you respect the fact that this is a diary, this is one person's opinion, and that trying to shut down debate like that is unproductive, to say the least. Look, if you want to hate me because of what I write and the focus I take and my perspective, that's your right. I'm used to the hate this site spews at me. But I'd say taking that bitter hatred and using it to harm the actual debate and dialogue on this site really shouldn't be your right - because that hurts the whole community.
That said, it is good to see from the recs that the community supports real debate on real issues, and that the people who try to derail the comments are a very vocal, but very small, bitter minority. This community is really what makes this site great.