Hillary as Mondale, Again
"It's 3 A.M. and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing. Something's happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders…knows the military…someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It's 3 A.M. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"
First Read makes the obvious comparison to Lyndon Johnson's demogogic "Daisy" ad from 1964 (a general election ad so inflammatory that it only aired once), but the more exact parallel is to a spot run by Walter Mondale against Gary Hart in the 1984 primaries. Mondale, the "experienced" and "prepared" candidate of the establishment that Hillary is, saturated the primary airwaves with an ad that showed a blinking red phone (sorry for the annoying intro to this video -- it's the only link available), bluntly arguing that Hart lacked the experience and seasoning to respond to an international crisis as president. The Mondale script:
"The most awesome, powerful responsibility in the world lies in the hand that picks up this phone. The idea of an unsure, unsteady, untested hand is something to really think about. This is the issues of our times. On March 20, vote as if the future of the world is at stake. Mondale. This president will know what he's doing, and that's the difference between Gary Hart and Walter Mondale."
The Mondale ad began airing after Hart stunned the former Vice-President in the '84 New Hampshire primary, a verdict that nearly pushed Mondale out of the race. But Mondale steadied himself with wins in two southern states and a handful of big industrial states. Whether the "red phone" ad was a key ingredient in his comeback, though, is debatable: He was also aided by several Hart gaffes and the Hart organization's inability to convert from a small, rag-tag operation before New Hampshire into a full-fledged national campaign.
- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
- Spread
- RCP Average
- 46.4
- 41.6
- Obama +4.8
- Candidate
- Favorable
- Unfavorable
- Spread
- Obama
- 55.7
- 32.7
- +23.0
- McCain
- 52.4
- 34.7
- +17.7
Hillary could run an ad that showed Obama training with bin Laden and it still wouldn't help her campaign. It's obvious that the turban tactic didn't work, neither will this. Witness the backlash against the NY Times when they went after McCain. The rules have changed.
I think it's unfortunate that the Clinton campaign has sunk to this level of scaremongering.
I know that this is a serious issue and worth raising, but it should be done so in a sober and thoughtful way. Running an ad that appeals to our worst instincts of fear is not appropriate.
Well, if McCain is Bush term three, and Hillary is Bush term three, Obama's the only way out of this mess. At the very least, the best run campaign hands down on the phones.
Fear mongering ads are used in every election. Just make a cursory perusal through YouTube and take a look. There's nothing inherently wrong with them. If voters are made to change their vote because of an ad, that says more about the voter than any candidate...You Are Sheep! That's what it says.
I am puzzled by Clinton's ongoing claims, restated in this ad yet again:
"Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders"
- OK, so she knows world leaders. As a first lady, NOT a leader herself.
"…knows the military…"
- Knows the military as what? A senator? A first lady? Both of which are not positions responsible for COMMANDING the military.
"...someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world."
- Tested how? Again, as a first lady? How is being first lady a test of someone's ability to be actually BE president? As a senator? When was the last time she, as senator, had to make 3a.m. crisis decisions with global consequences?
We need a true leader, not someone who manipulates fear in order to get votes.
To quote and paraphrase Clinton's faux outrage last Saturday over Obama mailers:
SHAME ON YOU HILLARY CLINTON!
Sen. Clinton has basically reached the end of her rope by trying to 'scare' the American voter. The Americna voter is too smart to be 'scared to death' about who's going to answer the phone. As President, Sen. Obama will be able to answer that telephone with confidence because of two reasons...first, he's smart enough to make rational decisions on his own (versus Sen. Clinton having to call her husband for advice as 'co-president') and secondly (and most importantly), a good leader will surround him/herself with smart and knowledgable subordinates around them (based on their ability and experience rather than party affilation). The fact that Sen. Obama as President, having the ability to reach across party lines and petty politics, and coming up with the best supporting team as his presidential cabinet, will allow him to answer that telephone with confidence. A good leader will always surround himself with subordinates who give excellent advice while also as President, be strong enough to sift through the facts and make the smart judgment call quickly and effectively. Sen. Clinton, please stop the petty politics and scare tactics...they're just not working and everyone is getting tired of it.
Hmmm.., I'm wondering why both the Clinton's were asleep in 1993 during the 1st WTC? Didn't hear the alarm? What about the embassies in Africa, he USS Cole in 2000? i guess once again, Clinton has selective memory about her husbands term, but when it counted where was she? Or was she more busy controlling the 'bimbo erruptions', leaving no time to answer the flashing red phone at 3AM.
This may be a takeoff from an amateur ad on YouTube from a month ago....they even used the same time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPadP7eAO9Y
Is this another plagiraism moment?
My sentiments exactly. What is the "experience" she's constantly touting
"Who do you want answering the phone?" Actually, it depends. If I'm looking for somebody to bring sandwiches up to the Lincoln Bedroom they've pimped out to me, it'd be Hillary. If I need to buy some influence with a federal regulatory agency, it'd be McCain. Otherwise, I'd want Obama.
LOLOL, EXCELLENT COMMENTS. WAS A PLEASURE READING THEM.
Hillary Rodham Clintin is sounding/looking more and more like the "Goldwater Girl" she is, every day. NYC residents want Barack Obama to answer that phone in a crisis. Attacking Iraq while we keep getting the greatest hits from the guy who architected the 9/11 attacks (you don't see HIM make her commercials -- as NY's Junior Senator? - not even on HER radar!) is tiresome. OH and TX, don't fall for the fearmongering from Hillary Clinton/John McCain (now, there's a neo-con/neo-lib ticket!). We live our lives and now prefer JUDGEMENT, PLANNING and no more no-bid contracts from Bush/Clinton/Bush cronies -- or Dubai Port and other deals where Americans go from $28./barrel oil to $100./barrel in 7 years - and the tab to defend the entire Middle East region and sustain their non-working people -- while Europe and Asia prepare for the aging of their boomers and provide universal healthcare to THEIR citizens. Turn the page!
New Yorkers, remember the RED ALERTS, YELLOW ALERTS, etc. that got the red States to vote for Bush again in 2004? Remember the LIES to validte the Iraq War -- and distract from Mr. Bin Ladin/Afghanistan and the ridiculous tyrant Musharraf? Think of the BILLIONS of no-bid contracts and that no doubt went into the former Pakistani President's Swiss Bank Account! Remember the Bush Admin telling us to buy plastic wrap for our windows in 2001/02? The Junior Senator from NEW YORK has no shame. OH and TX, we need you to THINK and don't be afraid to vote for Barack and his good judgement. The person you SHOULD be afraid of is Senator Hillary Clinton. We are! Ha! No more plastic sheets on our windows. No more fearmongering States who don't know what we know -- on Manhattan Island. Turn the page for us. FEAR is demotivational and NOT the American way. And to our friends in Europe and Asia -- we can't pay for 100 years of wars while you have a superior quality of life, universal healthcare, stable more valuable currency, etc. The Cold War is over. We are AWAKE! No more side deals w/former Presidents at OUR expense...commoditizing the American people. We are LEAVING Iraq...and hopefully, Korea and stopping this policing the world for the benefit of foreign business interests -- American workers do not benefit by. NAFTA and other "trade deals" are also going to be addressed. Enough!!!
I can imagine it. Barak OBama in his white pajama,sputterring out ":Yo, bin laden yo ready to b b blow, yeah, quite a show...but I gotta go..bbye now! uhhh,do you know what I should do now? huh call Hillary? she'll know. OKAY!
Dear Editor:
Political requiem for Hillary Clinton comes at a price. Presidential campaigns are chock-full of strategies, media events and never ending details..and the Devil is in the Details, or more accurately, staring over Hillary’s left shoulders in Ohio.
Because I am a amateur political pundit, and a good one, I can safety guess that Hillary Clinton will in all probability forfeit the party nomination within the next few days. And there will be hell to pay, in more ways than one.
Hillary Clinton appeared before an excited throng at my old high-school gym in St. Clairsville, Ohio, two days ago. The crowd, the ubiquitous secret-service presence, and the press, provided for a rarified air to the old gymnasium where I once did wind sprints in physical education classes and teenage basketball gladiators pounded the wood floor.
Yet there, on the wall, behind the presidential wannabe, was the high-school mascot, the Devil, red and resplendent in all his fiery glory, grinning down as if he were her political running-mate and about to whip down and take a bite out of the masses cowering on the bleachers.
The advance people forgot to tarp up the very obvious and looming 10 foot- wide devil mascot painted on the white walls of the high school gymnasium, and the campaign managers were mad as hell.
It was the ‘five-thousand pound elephant’ in the room, yet, shockingly, no one on
"Who do you want answering the phone?"
Well, I would want a person who is calm and level-headed, not someone given to histrionics. And after examining the escapades of the past week, that person is not Hillary Clinton. I, for one, question her stability. Secondly, I would want someone that can handle an explosive situation with finesse. Once again, Senator Clinton is not that person. When Clinton said in Hampton, New Hampshire, that Russian President Vladimir Putin "doesn't have a soul", she gave an indication of how tactless she would be as POTUS (although earlier glimpses were seen during the eight years her husband was in office).
The president cannot run off at the mouth, nor exhibit a quick temper. He/She must be disciplined in a crisis, using diplomacy and reason as their guide. Once again, I find Clinton lacking. Not so Senator Obama. That is a position he would fill with aplomb.
Lastly, the person answering the phone should not be prone to political posturing (can we say AUMF and Kyl-Lieberman?).
I would have thought that a former First Lady would be above such fear-mongering, but when it comes to this former First Lady, no tactic is too despicable. And that speaks volumes about her.
I, too, enjoyed all the comments, and can only wish that the last one had photos.
NBC's Lisa Myers and Jim Popkin report that Hillary Clinton has declined to return $170,000 in campaign contributions from individuals at a company accused of widespread sexual harassment, and whose CEO is a disbarred lawyer with a criminal record, federal campaign records show. The federal government has accused the Illinois management consulting firm, International Profit Associates, or IPA, of a brazen pattern of sexual harassment including "sexual assaults," "degrading anti-female language" and "obscene suggestions." Sen. Clinton's spokesman, Howard Wolfson, told NBC News in a statement that the senator decided to keep the funds because the lawsuit is "ongoing" and because none of the sexual harassment allegations has been proven in court." It is so hypocritical that she will not Reject and Denounce. This is the usual Camp Clinton Hypocrisy Spin.
Hillary Clinton has no Credibility on national security since she cast her Yes vote to authorize war in Iraq. There where other Senators who voted NO! They knew to vote yes was to automatically Invade a Country that had nothing to do with 911 but all about OIL. That is not Judgment and it is the wrong kind of Experience. And what National Security Experience Does She Really Have? Will she run the country like she has run her Campaign?
Some say who know that she and Bill have the agenda to get Bill a THIRD Presidency, that should not be allowed. It was Bill, after all, who spoke first after their loss in South Carolina!
Obama's record is not that thin, unknown, perhaps. He has had over 20 years if one would investigate. And the Clintons have had years of Scandal, that one should investigate. How many presidental families Plunder the Whitehouse after they leave taking pictures and furniture? Not to mention the scandal of Impeachment. And then there is "file gate" and so much much oore. There is a lawsuit pending because there are records of the Clintons not to be released until 2012 and some want them released. Has she released her Tax Returns, No? America we need to turn the page from this kind of Politicking.
Renatam, stop posting under different names. You're the only one here who posts 1,000 word missives that no one reads.
renatam writes 75 percent of the posts on this site under different names; he's not a woman either.