I just listened to my recording of Chris Matthews Hardball (now, I'm not a big fan, but I like having it on while I'm spackling my bathroom) and found myself walking into the living room and gaping in exasperation as I listened to Chris Matthews, Bob Herber (sp?), and TJ Rooney (sp?) talk about Barack passing on a chance to attack Hillary Clinton.
Is it deliberate misunderstanding - or are they SO FAR gone that they cannot conceive that when a candidate says he doesn't want to engage in divisive politics that he means it and that there's something to RESPECT in that attitude? Clearly Steph and Gibs wanted the two to go at each other (or maybe they just wanted Obama to attack Clinton to make him look as bad as her kitchen sink strategy has made her look lately) and he didn't bite. They're acting like that's a BAD thing? It's NOT a bad thing... now, you might argue if it's a Republican that it's a bad thing... but she's a fellow Democrat and I LOUDLY APPLAUD him for passing up a chance to attack her about Bosnia. Attack her on policy or retaliate against her attacks, fine - but good for you Obama for not sinking to her or anyone else on cable news' level. Overall he has really lived up to the new kind of politics he's talked about. Time and time again Barack has walked his talk. Do they really not get it or do they just think the rest of us are dumb??
As an aside - why doesn't anyone mention that IN THE PRIMARY Barack is running against the CLOSEST thing to an incumbent that there is in this race and WINNING!!! Of COURSE he would win the general.
And does anyone else retch when Chuck Todd comes on like I do??? He pretends to be "objective" and paints himself as a numbers guy (or MSNBC does) when actually his numbers are slanted (you know in which direction) and every time he gets on he downplays any success Obama has. Even when he is talking about success for Obama he damns him with faint praise and finds a way to turn it around to Hillary the minute he can. An example, he comments about how Barack had an off night and says he doesn't know why - Chuck Todd: "I don't know maybe he was tired, maybe he was rattled by all the tough questions early on" Um.. tough questions? try dumb questions. Maybe he wasn't tired, maybe he was actually UNDER sniper fire. Barf.
Lastly - there was a serious and sad revelation for me about Hillary last night. I actually turned on the debate right when they were in the middle of the Iraq question... (so I didn't find out about all the other stuff until later) and as I listened to Hillary and Barack answer policy questions I listened to some of what Hillary said and thought.. you know, I could actually vote for her, if I believed a word she said. And that's one of the two problems with Hillary for me. 1. She has totally ruined her trustworthiness... not just with Bosnia (I have mixed feelings about that), or even with the Columbia thing... but for me it started with her schizophrenic praise of Obama when she's on stage with him (seen more in February / March of the campaign) and ruthless tearing him down when she's not (or using her surrogates to do so). 2. (and this was the sad revelation for me from yesterday) her negative campaigning (and her campaign and surrogates doing the same) outside of her debate appearances has SO ruined her for me that even if I don't disagree with her on all policy issues, I can't even look at her now without getting angry... even when she's saying reasonable things... and that's just sad.
One last totally unrelated Hillary thing that I've wanted to write about for awhile so I'm tacking it on now - a diary on here a month or so ago talked about how Cook county delivered for Barack. He won Illinois HUGELY... and Cook county even more so. I think this is interesting because Hillary was born and raised in Illinois, in Cook County in fact (Park Ridge)... so you would think a candidate's home state would have had a little more showing for her, unless they felt so enthusiastic about the OTHER candidate (Barack) that even though they KNEW he would win they went out in DROVES for him (my parents did too even though there both in mid 50s and have never voted in a primary before in their lives. Yay!!! :)