Questioner calls Bush 'the bastard,' Hillary Clinton smiles

Over the weekend there was an as yet little-noticed incident in Bridgeton, Mo., just outside St. Louis. Sen. Hillary Clinton addressed a town hall meeting there and was taking questions from the audience.

One elderly woman rose and was asking the Democratic candidate about a rumored economic union among the United States, Canada and Mexico that is widely discussed, feared and abhorred among conspiracy fanciers. The woman said the president planned to implement the secret agreement in 2010.

Then the woman called the president "Bush the bastard."

The Democratic crowd immediately roared its approval.

Sen. Clinton nodded her head slightly and smiled.

Then, she proceeded to ...

answer the question, saying "there's not a lot of truth to it." Our colleagues over at the Swamp have posted Glenn Thrush's detailed account of the incident, which you can read here.

It'll be interesting to see if Clinton's silent assent to that crude comment arouses as much criticism and controversy as last year when a Republican woman in South Carolina asked Sen. John McCain about Clinton, calling her "the bitch."

At the time, CNN showed a video clip of the incident and strongly criticized McCain for not admonishing the woman, although the candidate did say belatedly that he respected the New York senator.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Dee4Obama]

This is the kind of negative race the Clintons feed off of. The smile says it all.

What a sharp contrast this to the class, manners and CHARACTER of Barack Obama. He teaches us to give RESPECT and DIGNITY to one another regardless of our differences.

Now look into your heart and ask what kind of leader this nation needs to heal the souls of our people, restore hope in our government, and make POSITIVE changes in the world.

We FEAR the Clintons; but we RESPECT the character of the Obamas.

[Jon]

There's a pretty significant difference between these situations. When Hillary Clinton is referred to as "the bitch" and no other title, the attack is mean, degrading, and contains serious sexist implications (even if it was a woman who said it).

On the other hand, when an elderly lady says "Bush the bastard", the comment is less sharp, less deserving of condemnation. It's as if she said "I disagree with that darn fool, President Bush!"

This, I think, stands in contrast to someone not even using Hillary Clinton's name, but instead only granting her the lowest of recognition as "the bitch". They are both mean-spirited insults, but, I think we can agree that there is a scale of badness when it comes to such things, and this one isn't nearly as bad.

[Bill]

At least half the population agrees with the woman's assessment. And many would use "lying" as an adjective.
And what did Cheney tell Leahy to go and do with himself on the floor of the Senate?
To go eff himself.

[Jenna]

Give me a break. The word bitch is steeped in sexist undertones in a way the word bastard is not. Although she probably should have tried to say something, this is such a non issue. You guys sure seem desperate to put up more anti-Hillary crap. Isn't it enough that almost every single story you put on this blog is pro-Obama? (I concede you at least raised the issue of his harry & louise mailers and the crappy comments from one of his surrogates). Isn't it enough that you accuse her campaign of push polling when you have no evidence it is coming from her? I can't wait until Tuesday so the voters can have the final word.

[whitehousewatcher]

There will be absolutely nothing made of this in the newspapers. The spineless, hillary loving reporters would do nothing to show what she really is....

[Mandy]

This is just another example of why nobody respects this woman. She obviously has no respect for herself given her "open marriage" philosophy and now we know that she has no respect for others, including the President of the United States. Agree or disagree with the man's policies, he deserves a certain amount of respect for the job he is doing and the title that he holds. I hope and pray that people can see through her as I do.

[DEDE]

HILLARY CLINTON DOES NOT EVEN HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO CONTROL HER HUSBAND. SHE WOULD HAVE MORE RESPECT IF SHE LEFT HIM AFTER MONICA, INSTEAD SHE STAYSED WITH HIM. HE HAS NOT CHANGED AND WILL DO IT AGAIN IF SHE DOES SOMEHOW MANAGE TO WIN. HE IS TRYING WITH EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO MAKE HER LOSE. SOMETIMES YOUR BEST FRIEND IS YOUR WORST ENEMY. CONDI RICE DOES NOT GET ANY RESPECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HILLARY WILL GET ANY AFTER CRYING ON NATIONAL TV. SHE IS AN EMBARASSMENT TO ALL WOMEN. SHE COPIES OBAMA ON ALL ISSUES. WHAT EXPERIENCE?

[DonBarcus]

Completely inaccurate. President Bush's parents were, in fact, married.

[Jerry Tsai]

CALIFORNIANS!

Newspaper editors are generally people who have and spend the most time examining the records of the candidates. Thus, reading their endorsements can be helpful in understanding the merits of the candidates.

Of California's 11 largest newspapers, 10 have endorsed Senator Obama. One has not endorsed anybody yet-- the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Here is a list of some of those large papers that have said that Senator Obama is the right, and the most qualified, person for the job.

Los Angeles Times
San Francisco Chronicle
La Opinión
Sacramento Bee
San Jose Mercury
Oakland Tribune
Contra Costa Times
Fresno Bee
Stockton Record

These are the endorsements of women and men who work every day trying to bring us relevant and important news. They deserve some of our respect.

For the full list of which California newspapers endorse which candidate, go here:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/2/31212/95193/348/448167

[Chris]

"It'll be interesting to see if Clinton's silent assent to that crude comment arouses as much criticism and controversy as last year when a Republican woman in South Carolina asked Sen. John McCain about Clinton, calling her "the ***.'"

Am i seeing this right? The LA Times actually printed that line?! Next thing you know theyll be following the path of pMSNBC and BBC admitting they are bias in reporting. World must be ending.

[Mo]

To the Undecided Voters and Supporters of Sen. Clinton,

I'm writing to respectfully request that you place your vote for Sen. Obama on Tuesday. While I have great respect for Sen. Clinton for her accomplishments and ground-breaking experiences, I sincerely believe that Sen. Barack Obama is the most qualified person to be President and the person most able to bring about serious change in how our government operates. I feel strongly that the political system today places the interest of partisan warriors like Sen. Clinton over those of the American People. I believe DC politics are virtually rigged by party powers to create division, bickering, and nearly 50/50 splits that prohibit meaningful action. Sane, effective, bi-partisan policies threaten ideologues on the both side, and are thus frequently torpedoed. I believe thats what we are seeing now. With every angry attack by Sen. Obama's opponents, we are seeing divisive, partisan, status-quo forces pushing our country back into its respective corners. This is not what we need. We need someone who can command consensus. Senator Barack Obama is that person. In addition to his exceptional credentials, he understands our country needs a uniting transformation to pull itself away from political stagnation. In additional to his powerful legislative record on the state and federal levels, he has been on the right side of all major foreign policy issues. Not only does he understand the immigrant experience like no other president we've ever had, he values, respects and believes in all Americans regardless of ethnicity or race. In short, he is exactly the kind of President that the times demand and I believe we are lucky to have him.

Please make the courageous vote, and vote for meaning change. Respectfully, I ask that you place your vote for Sen. Obama.

[kit hogan]

Hillary will let someone slander the Pres of the USA? she defended Bill when he was president and he was an adulterer and convicted liar. she has no morals or respect for the office. George W is three times the man her husband is.

[Don]

All Politicians are bastards & bitches...............what else is new??

[stuntcock]

it's all ok, moveon.org has endorsed obama, she has lost all her support now. hahahah the monsters we create grow up to destroy us. i'd much rather see an inexperienced nobody with no plan and only lip service be the front runner than a determined planned out socialist/communist in the lead.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=278779

[Hugh Jorgan]

Of course there won't be any backlash against Hillary. Afterall, it was the Clinton News Network that raised the fuss in South Carolina.

[PAT]

i am not for hellary at all,but what was she suppose to do,if everyone i roared in approvel?..and she is there to win votes, LETS not forget HELLARY IS FOR HELLARY.....

[fred]

hahahhahahahhahahahhahahaha.

he still president and she ain't .....

hahahahhahahahahahaha

[labradog]

The difference is that , essentially, Clinton isn't a bitch, but Bush is a bastard, from his unibrow down to his poove cowboy boots.

[Matt Wertz]

Hmm... CNN criticize Hillary? It will be a very cold day when that happens...

[Jeff S]

Any bets as to whether Hillary will apologize to the Pres for this insult, as McCain offered for her?

[Chuck in Las Vegas]

First! Well Hillary should know about bastards considering Bill's pedigree. Remember when he was first elected and all the white trash came out and said they were relatives? LOL.

[John]

There are different rule of acceptable behavior between our two main political parties.

Democrats tend to demonize the opposition, then slay the demon with your tax dollars. Bush stole their playbook on terrorism, which is why Democrats have been so ineffective at countering his policies. Hence the name calling.

Republicans tend to ignore an issue hoping it will go away (it often does) but occassionally it reignites at an even greater peril.

Frankly I wish they'd both stop writing any new laws and enforce the existing ones. Three trillion dollars is more than enough to run the government over for the next four years.

I'd really like a nice boring candidate that eliminates our dependence on foreign energy, gets our balance of payments sorted out, and our medical system functioning again. House prices are going to fall no matter what financial tricks are played so just let it happen.

[haha]

Note:

>

Then the woman called the president "Bush the bastard."

The Democratic crowd immediately roared its approval.

Sen. Clinton nodded her head slightly and smiled.

These losers aren't even mature enough to participate on a message board, what are they doing in the democratic process?

[pullio]

the real story is the question the ole bag asked. what about the plans for the union?

[Calir]

Shocking that a liberal would be uncivil. Oh...wait....I forgot...I married one...and she's been politically uncivil since.....ummm...'FOREVER'. I think it's her upbringing. Her mother, rest her soul, used to call Regan an SOB too. I frequently remind any of my liberal relations that, no matter how outrageous I thought the Clinton Co-presidency was, I always treated both Clintons with respect.