I'm new to the Daily Kos scene, and have been following much of the bitter back-and-forth between Barack and Hillary supporters. I was raised Republican, switched to Independent about a decade ago, and now am a registered Democrat. My disgust with the GOP is thorough, but I'll have to say that the Democratic establishment is not much better. Take Hillary's attack on Barack today for plagiarism.
So, what does Hillary see when she looks in the mirror? Perhaps she overlooks one particular blemish. As we view her today, we remember that she can't even acknowledge the woman who really wrote It Takes a Village. Here's what Wikipedia has on the topic (see http://en.wikipedia.org/... ref numbers are from the Wiki page):
Clinton has been criticized for not giving credit to a ghostwriter in connection with It Takes a Village. The majority of the book was reportedly written by ghostwriter Barbara Feinman.[8] When the book was first announced in April 1995, The New York Times reported publisher Simon & Schuster as saying "The book will actually be written by Barbara Feinman, a journalism professor at Georgetown University in Washington. Ms. Feinman will conduct a series of interviews with Mrs. Clinton, who will help edit the resulting text."[9]
Feinman spent several months writing and editing the text, and was paid well for her efforts, about $120,000. Feinman was not mentioned anywhere in the book, a classic case of a "ghostwriter". When Hillary started promoting the book,
Clinton said, "I actually wrote the book ... I had to write my own book because I want to stand by every word."[2] Clinton stated that Feinman assisted in interviews and did some editorial drafting of "connecting paragraphs", while Clinton herself wrote the final manuscript in longhand.[2]
Now, what did Barbara think of this?
This led Feinman to complain at the time to Capitol Style magazine over the lack of acknowledgement.[12] In 2001, The Wall Street Journal reported that "New York literary circles are buzzing with vitriol over Sen. Clinton's refusal, so far, to share credit with any writer who helps on her book."[13]
Feinman reiterates that her only objection to the whole process was the lack of any acknowledgement.
We expect the Republicans to take cheap shots at our candidates, and certainly Obama needs to be "tough enough" to take it. Nevertheless, I come away from this episode with nothing but disdain for Hillary ("Nixon lite") Clinton, and wish her the best in her continuing service in the Senate next year.