Hillary Clinton as historian: a bad match

Largely obscured in the understandable uproar over Hillary Clinton's Friday reference to the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy has been the fallacy of the basic point she sought to convey -- that there is nothing all that unusual about the trajectory of her battle with Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nod.

Before invoking the Kennedy killing in comments to a South Dakota newspaper that she quickly rued, Clinton said, "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary, somewhere in the middle of June, right?"

Actually, wrong in all but the most technical sense.

Bill Clinton became the hands-down front-runner in his party's contest 16 years ago in mid-March, when his main competitor, Paul Tsongas, exited the race. There was an outbreak of buyer's remorse a few weeks later ...

... when California's own Jerry Brown, who initially had been little more than a gadfly in the race, won the Connecticut primary.

But in early April, Clinton crushed Brown in the New York primary, all but ending the competition. And then he ended any doubt by easily winning in Pennsylvania in late April.

Yes, he needed to win the California primary in early June -- along with several others held on the same day -- to officially surpass the magic number of delegates required for the nomination. But it had been crystal clear to all for more than a month that he would do so, and the remaining primaries were mere formalities.

One would think Hillary Clinton, of all people, would recall that. And, given that she was a college student in 1968, one would think that she would recollect the year as a moment unto itself -- and know that since then, nothing has come close to duplicating it in politics or other ways.

Then again, as the Bosnia sniper fire non-incident demonstrated, Clinton' grasp of history apparently can be shaky, even when she was in the middle of it.

Clinton would be well served to simply characterize her fight with Obama, as she often has, for what it is -- one of the closest and most fiercely fought in U.S. history -- and not bother with comparisons.   

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Mimi]

The media and the Obama people are like Vultures waiting for the kill. Everyone knows she said nothing wrong nothing hurtful she simply was stating a fact, but not even one news organization has stood up for her no because everyone is so afraid of being called racist.
Well things will be changing there is clearly outrage about this and Obama will experience a BACK LASH everyone I speak to is telling me this was the last straw. Although they are life long democrats if Hillary is not the nominee they will vote for Mccain . So now all you Obama lovers really screwed up.

[Mimi]

Now Obama is after Hagee and Mccain but his 20 year relationship with Wright- oh that's ok. He is a master at dividing Americans. But poor Obama he didn't realize the Jews might be a little bit smarter they actually like Hagee and they see exactly what Obama is trying to do. I am a life long democrat but I will vote for McCain if Hillary is not the nominee. I will never vote for Obama.

[Miri NY]

It was not a historical analogy. She knows that Super Tuesday used to be in March and the CA primary used to be in June. In the context of her racial appeals, allegations of extremist ties by Sen. Obama & her claims that his victory over her is due sexism by Sen. Obama the unbalanced could very well take this as an invitation. The response of her supporters characterizing the Obama campaign's tactful response to this as an attack on her indicate that they will act on her invitation.
If she did this without considering its implications she is unfit to be the President whose chance remarks can have global implications. If this was purposeful & her prior conduct militates against any presumption of good faith, the implications are horrific.
Either way, she should withdraw not only from the campaign but also from public life.

[Indy Pendent]

Further proof that "ready on day one" means ready to distort, spin, and otherwise "interpret" the facts. The 1992 nomination was not in dispute in June of that year.

[Susan]

Hillary Clinton and the United States of America is a bad match. Her campaign officially ended yesterday.

If we, as a country, defend this remark and somehow find a way to forgive it, there is no longer a decency limit in politics and we are in terrible trouble.

Could you imagine Hillary Clinton in negotiations with another country and slipping in one of her patented nasty remarks?

She has really, really done it this time. I, for one, will never forgive her this remark and hope the voters of New York remember it as well when it's time for reelection.

[Mimi]

Pelosi is disgusting if she wants to keep her job she had better start supporting Hillary because there is a big back lash and everyone I know has decided to vote for Mccain if Hillary is not the nominee. The reason for this is Obama's underhanded sneaky ways of trying to blame Hillary for every single thing. He has really stooped to unspeakable tactics.

[abh94]

Don,
Your too kind. Hillary doesn't suffer from being a bad historian - she is a manipulator of the truth. Or, in more impolite circles, a lawyer! These repeated "misstatements" exemplify the very worst of the political class.

Anybody but Hillary since 1994

[Bob]

Not to mention her claim to being named after Sir Edmund Hillary years before his historical assent of Mount Everest!

Air Edmund Hillary’s Assent = May 29, 1953
Hillary’s Birth = October 26, 1947

Hillary, the Queen of Spin and a Legend in Her Own Mind!

http://klintons.com

[vb]

The media is so off the wall these days, both MSM and the blogosphere. What can anyone say about the insane hype over a comment that was obviously meant to convey the reality that the duration of the 2008 primary is not unprecedented.

But the media is compelled to parse every word, twist every conceivable meaning, and distort the context as much as possible every time Hillary speaks.

It's called sensationalism, yellow journalism, or tabloid journalism. Never iis it considered an ethical procedure for reporting the news.

It appears Obama and his supporters, especially his allies in the media, continue to be threatened by anything Hillary says or does even though the Huffington Post, the Daily Kos, and other online crazies anointed him the presumptuous nominee months ago.

The whole scene is simply pathetic.

[Adrienne]

I did not vote for Hillary in the Primary held in my State because I just was not sure I wanted her to be President. I was planning to vote for Edwards, and when he dropped out I chose Obama. A few months ago I would have supported her if she did become the nominee. The more she campaigns the more I find wrong with her and I would not vote for her under any circumstance. I am a woman over 50 and find it ridiculous to vote for her just because she is a woman. I have had several women bosses and I can tell you first hand that a lot of them should not have been in charge of anything, because like Hillary they have been insensitive, divisive, mean spirited and practically destroyed our department. Hillary is destroying the Democratic Party. i wish she would just shut up, the more she talks the worse it gets. We need to work together to beat McCain, and I don't think she is interested in anything or anyone but herself.

[johnny7]

Is it history... or truth she has the problem with? I tend to think it's the latter.

[Tom in California]

The RFK reference is telling because it illuminates Senator Clinton's way of thinking. In her world, Obama is significant only because he is an obstacle that stands between her and what she wants. And a number of things (an unforeseen scandal or a plane crash -- or even assassination) might fortuitously remove that obstacle from her path at any moment.

Given that outlook, put yourself in Obama's position for a moment. Would you want Clinton as your vice president?

[Kevin]

THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE MEANT, STUPID.

[Benjamin]

Don, Don, Don. You've just exposed yourself as a sexist and fanatical Obama supporter by contradicting Hillary Clinton. You must stop this vicious misogyny now, as it's gone too far.

I mean, if she can't be right about history here and now, then when and what woman can? By saying Hillary is wrong Don, you are saying all women everywhere are wrong just like voting against HIllary is voting against all women, thus continuing millennia of oppression against women. I don't how you can live with yourself Don.

[allison, california]

Barack Obama: Gaffe Machine
by Michelle Malkin
Posted: 05/21/2008
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26630

"Here's something that you will rarely hear from a politician, and that is that I'm not familiar with the Hanford, uuuuhh, site, so I don't know exactly what's going on there. (Applause.) Now, having said that, I promise you I'll learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport."

I assume on that ride, a staffer reminded him that he's voted on at least one defense authorization bill that addressed the "costs, schedules, and technical issues" dealing with the nation's most contaminated nuclear waste site.

-- Last March, the Chicago Tribune reported this little-noticed nugget about a fake autobiographical detail in Obama's "Dreams from My Father":

"Then, there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians."

-- And in perhaps the most seriously troubling set of gaffes of them all, Obama told a Portland crowd over the weekend that Iran doesn't "pose a serious threat to us" -- cluelessly arguing that "tiny countries" with small defense budgets can't do us harm -- and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, "I've made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave."

Barack Obama -- promoted by the Left and the media as an all-knowing, articulate, transcendent Messiah -- is a walking, talking gaffe machine. How many more passes does he get? How many more can we afford?

[David]

What makes it weird is the question it was supposed to answer. It wasn't like they asked her if she recalled any other Dem primaries that ran this late. The question was essentially: " Why are you still in the race if you can't spell out a path to victory?" Her response came off sounding like, "Hey, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June. You never know, I may still have a chance. Something could happen."

Tired? Misspoke again? Except they floated this line a couple of times before.

To some people it sounds more like, "Don't vote for the black guy, someone might shoot him. They won't shoot me, I have a proven record of being in the White House for 8 years and not getting shot. And if he gets shot, I'm still in this thing."

It's safe to say there are quite a lot of people afraid that Obama may be assassinated before the nomination, before the election, during his term in office, and doubtless a few that would be glad of it. There is a great deal of hope mixed with dread of the unspeakable, a fatalistic "Here it comes again" feeling that is especially strong among his older black supporters and whites that were activists in the sixties. One has to wonder what the ultra-crafted Clinton message machine intended when they tossed this line out there. I'll bet the apology was already written before she even said it. What in God's name are they up to? It seems so stupid, but they're smarter than I am, so I must just not be getting it. Anyone?

[Randy]

Statement by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

It is clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the race through June. I have heard her make this reference before, also citing her husband’s 1992 race, both of which were hard fought through June. I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.

Translation - Stop Whining about nothing...

[David]

Hillary "sniper-fire" Clinton should be thrown in jail for her assassination remark. She is the lowest form of life. She should not be allowed to run for public office anywhere on this planet. She is a disgrace for all women in the world.

[DoTheMath]

Senator Clinton's comparison fails the history test for a few reasons this article hasn't mentioned. She claims that the timing of Robert Kennedy's California victory proves it's not unusual for campaigns to last as long as this one, yet the first contest in the 1968 nomination process was New Hampshire's March 12 primary. The first contest this year was Iowa's caucus on January 3rd. If you back up 1968's events two months to parallel this year's starting date, that means whatever happened in June in 1968 should have happened by April this year.

Besides that, why reference a highly unusual primary, marked by extreme turmoil and violence, to make a point that this primary is not unusual? Two turbulent primaries don't add up to business as usual.

Furthermore, the point of Clinton's argument was to invalidate suggestions that her prolonging the primary season (especially the manner in which she is doing so) is damaging the party's prospects for getting its eventual nominee elected in November. Guess what, Richard Nixon won in 1968.

And one logical, rather than historical, question: if the only point she was making concerned the length of the campaign, why not simply mention the date of Kennedy's California victory? Why bring up the assassination?

[steve wells]

She is over 200 delegates behind and with only 86 elected left, its true she needs a miracle, but I would rather she lost than to see another tragedy,

OBAMA WEBB 08.

[Robyn]

All of you supposed "Democrats" have GOT to be kidding me that you will support McCain if Hillary is not the nominee. Give me a break!

As much as I cannot stand Hillary, if she is the nominee, I will vote for her over McCain.

Stop being so selfish and irrational! You'd seriously give a vote to McCain and just give a sign of approval for him to send more Americans to war??!!

You'd vote to make sure we DEFINITELY have NO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE!!

WAKE UP!

This is about our country, not Clinton or her supporter's hurt feelings and egos.

Clinton will still be powerful if she loses and if she gets the nomination, she will STILL be better than McCain!

GET A GRIP!!!

[CW-in-Wichita]

One would hope that Hillary would have much better judgement if she fully expects to be the leader of the most powerful country of the free world. For a while I really worried about Jeremiah Wright's judgement during this campaign, but he is, after all, NOT a candidate. Hillary IS a candidate, and is rapidly becoming more scary as the race goes on. If she displays such lapse in judgement over a situation like this, what does it say about what she'll do or say during a world crisis in the future (On Day One or Day OneThousand)? Very scary. Thankfully, for our (voters) sake, it is almost over.

[vsrobinson]

It's time for Hillary to do the gentlemanly thing and stand down.

[Donald]

You idiots that plan to vote for McCain is Obama is the Democratic cabdidate deserve $5.00 gasoline, rising food prices, expensive heating oil, and declining values for your dollars. American divisebness is the class war that will confinue under a McCain admisistration. May your offspring fight the upcoming wars.

[DoTheMath]

David, if they're smarter than you, I'll eat my hat. You're right on the money.

Mimi, who's a vulture?

Mimi again, Obama isn't "after Hagee and McCain." I distinctly heard him say everyone knows better than to attribute Hagee's remarks to McCain.