It’s folly to write a diary that doesn’t fit with the anti-Clinton hysteria sweeping this site as well as the MSM. For once, I can’t tell the difference.
I wonder why there was little outcry when Obama launched his attack on Clinton during the debate, calling her out as a corporate lawyer working for Walmart. In return, she raised his Rezko ties in Chicago. Did Obama launch a personal attack here? And first? This is hardly mentioned anywhere. Had Clinton first raised his Chicago dealings, there would not be enough bandwidth to contain the fury.
Why did you raise that kind of question, Senator Obama?
I regard the ongoing debate over what Obama meant by his references to the GOP and their ideas as typical campaign fare. Particularly as he talked about "the last 10-15 years." That’s way post-Reagan, and is the time period when the damage of Reaganomics was long clear, and many of the Democratic ideas were addressing the sad legacy of GOP negligence and hostility.
What did you mean, Senator Obama?
I think it’s a fair debate – but hardly the kind of back and forth that should elicit the pained outcries that have the effect of diminishing Obama as a candidate who cannot sustain the parry of a Presidential campaign.
I don’t think this is really about Obama any more, by the way. I think this is a mechanism for all the non-Clintons to wrest control of the party from the Clintons, to the extent that is a meaningful concept in 2008. But there are strong inferences from the frenzy that Obama cannot engage in the debate, so the questioners must be villified. This protective posture does us no good in finding a candidate who is ready for November.
But I’ll reiterate my central question: why isn’t Obama charged with introducing questionable remarks into the Monday debate – and why has a legitimate debate raised over his remarks on GOP "ideas" been transformed into a death match for the Democratic party?
It appears that there's real audacity in questioning Obama. I thought that any Presidential candidacy should expect challenge and debate.
I’d be happier if we were debating whether the Democrats have any ideas.