Hillary Clinton, just reeking "small town America"

Hillary Clinton joining the presumptive Republican nominee in an opportunistic tag teaming of Obama was to be expected. But I'm a little disappointed in myself that I didn't see this coming

“You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage that my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola outside of Scranton and taught be how to shoot when I was a little girl,” she said.

“You know, some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It’s part of culture. It’s part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it’s an important part of who they are. Not because they are bitter.”

The article notes that Hillary and her daddy hunted ducks.


Why yes, I did post this story just to have an excuse to use that picture. Some days, that's just the kind of gal I am. ;)

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Saturday Open Thread

Son in Ohio just pointed out this YouTube video about Pirates and Emperors. (In the tradition of Schoolhouse Rock.)



Update
This is worth a read: Pushing Clinton: CNN's Push Poll on Obama's Remarks

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Seeing the Clintons in a new light. Growing up politically, so to speak.

If you have been following the saga of that very clever blogger from Kansas calling himself John Brown and going after Taylor Marsh....then you will enjoy his post about Bill Clinton. I have found his blog to be humorous and insightful in many areas.

It describes just about I feel as I keep seeing new facets of the former first family emerging. There is something rather sad and wistful about what we are witnessing. There is no joy in it. Just a kind of numbness and fatigue.

I liked Bill Clinton. Then I grew up.

Once upon a time, I thought highly of Bill Clinton. Sure, I had a few reservations about him. Overall, though, I liked the guy. Then I grew up.

It was easy to look past Bill's more highly-publicized shortcomings. He screwed around. He lied about it. I never felt his carnal urges had much of a bearing on his ability to lead the country. I could put myself in his shoes and imagine myself fibbing under oath and parsing definitions of "sexual relations" to stay out of bigger trouble. The guy bullshitted everyone about Monica and is other assignations but, even as a non-cheater, I could let it slide.

I even developed a kind of respect for Bill Clinton. I was impressed with the way he could weather controversy. I was astonished by his ability to charm his way out of situations that would doom most politicians. I think I also liked Bill because the people who were "out to get him" were usually people with whom I disagreed on issues. I, like others, sort of rallied behind Clinton because I despised his foes. Those asshats were more evil and conniving than Bill, but they weren't as good at the game. And, in my estimation, they were on the wrong side.

I liked Bill Clinton. Then I grew up.

Somewhere along the line, I realized that the means were just as important--if not more important--than the ends. I lost my appetite for the fruits of the diseased tree. Winning is important, but the way one wins is just as significant.

The blogger ends with this paragraph which in a way describes the battles our party is fighting right now.

They say that idealism is just for kids. I don't think so. I think it's valuable. I also believe, that in the long run, it's the only thing that makes sense.

There was a statement made by his wife who is running for president now. It was her statement about giving Iraqis the gift of freedom

"And I believe that at the same time that we have to make clear to the Iraqis that they have been given the greatest gift that a human being can give another human being – the gift of freedom. And it is up to them to decide how they will use that precious gift that has been paid for with the blood and sacrifice and treasure of the United States of America."

That statement defined her candidacy for me. It's hard seeing people in new ways, and there is no pleasure in it at all.

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Moar new thread

The "moar" is lolcat-speak, for anyone unfamiliar. I'm tired and feeling a little silly. But thought I'd share this rather well done "Elton John sings for Hillary" parody first. Just discovered it in this thread at Booman.



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Open Thread

Talk amongst yourselves...

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If wishes were ponies...

Also posted at Booman

Via Oliver Willis, I found this post on Salon.com. I recommend going to Oliver's site for the commentary, but you don't want to miss the title of the pro-Hillary piece in Salon. It's classic Hillary-think:

Why Hillary Clinton should be winning

You see, while Hillary is not actually winning, she really should be. But reality is well-known for having a pro-Obama bias.

And the subhead reads: Under a winner-take-all primary system, Hillary Clinton would have a wide lead over Barack Obama -- and enough delegates to clinch the nomination by June.

As Oliver points out, "If Senator Clinton wished to run for the nomination of a party with a winner-take-all nomination process, she would be well within her legal rights to do so - she simply needed to have changed her party affiliation to Republican."

Well, yeah. And actually, Demetrius told me a while back that he saw Paul Begala on some cable news show saying the Democrats should have a winner-take-all system like the Republicans, because it has "built-in momentum" or some such.

Wouldn't that be rather, well, "undemocratic"? Especially coming from someone associated with Hillary, who is currently presenting herself as would-be champion of the downtodden, disenfranchised voters in Florida and Michigan.

I also saw this earlier today, via Pho's Akron Pages. Part of the plea Hillary is currently sending out to her mailing list

With 14 days to go until the people of Pennsylvania vote, the Obama campaign has decided to go all-out. They're trying to end the race for the White House with an unyielding media blitz. Right now, we're being outspent 4-1 on Pennsylvania television.

So now, here's what we have to ask ourselves: Have we come this far in our history-making contest for the Democratic nomination only to see the race decided not by the quality of our ideas but by the size of our opponent's media budget?

Maybe I'm misremembering this, but isn't that how Hillary was planning to win the nomination? By crushing any and all challengers under the weight of her mighty campaign war chest?

But, I do understand. What it comes down to is that Hillary Clinton really really wants to be president. She wants it so much that she seems unable to even consider the possibility that it won't happen.

I am reminded of a moms' group I attended when Son and Daughter in Ohio were much younger. One of the other mothers was asking how to respond to her little one's meltdown over being denied something s/he desperately wanted. Like maybe the child wanted a pony, but couldn't have one. The group leader suggested saying something like, "You wish you could have a pony." When I first heard that suggestion, I couldn't help laughing, because it sounded like sarcasm to me. "You wish!" But I learned to say it in a way that didn't feel that way to me. "You really wish you could have..." It was kind of Rogerian, actually. A way of acknowledging kids' feelings and making sure they know they've been heard...even if the answer is still "no".

I'm glad I had some good role models to teach me the importance of showing empathy toward toddlers and preschoolers. The "you can't always get what you want" lesson is a tough one for little kids, and they deserve our compassion as they are learning it.

But when we're talking about 60 year old senators, my patience and compassion wear a bit thin...

Here's your pony, Hillary.

Now get out of the damn race!

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Help Howard

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Open Thread

I is too tired to blog. But here is an open thread.

see more crazy cat pics

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McCain Girls: not a parody. Apparently.

When I saw the "It's raining McCain" video, I initially thought it was a joke. So, it seems, did a lot of other people in the blogoverse. Lead McCain Girl was not amused, and issued a curt, profanity laced 30 second statement to that effect on YouTube. In it, she promised to be back with more McCainy goodness set to music.

And she was true to her word, because here they are again.



I'm beginning to think maybe I judged "Hillary for you and me" too harshly.

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