Playground Politics

[Ubiquitous]

As Democratic primary voters experience pre-emptive buyer's
remorse--that is, second thoughts about Hillary Clinton's
"inevitability"--a desperate Mrs. Clinton stands on the brink of losing
all dignity. This is from a press release she put out last night:

At an event in Boston this evening, Senator Obama claimed
for the second time today that he is "not running to fulfill
some long held plans" to be elected President, contradicting
statements his friends, family, staff and teachers have all
made about him. . . .

In third grade, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want
To Be a President.' His third grade teacher: Fermina Katarina
Sinaga "asked her class to write an essay titled 'My
dream: What I want to be in the future.' Senator Obama
wrote 'I want to be a President,' she said." [The Los
Angeles Times, 3/15/07]

In kindergarten, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I
Want to Become President.' "Iis Darmawan, 63, Senator
Obama's kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an
exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly
picked up the local language and had sharp math skills.
He wrote an essay titled, 'I Want To Become President,'
the teacher said." [AP, 1/25/07]

Honest, we're not making this up. Mrs. Clinton really is attacking Obama
for something he wrote in kindergarten. It's as if she took those
adorable Swift Kids for Truth ads seriously.

Wait, it gets even sillier. The New York Sun reports that Mrs. Clinton's
description of Obama's third-grade essay isn't honest:

The missive from Mrs. Clinton's operation omitted an
interesting, and arguably germane, part of the anecdotes
from Mr. Obama's childhood. Although Mr. Obama was born
in Hawaii, when he was in kindergarten and third grade,
he lived in Indonesia. It is not clear, therefore,
whether the young Mr. Obama was aspiring to be president
of Indonesia, America, or the whole world for that matter.

In March, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mr. Obama's
third-grade teacher, Fermina Katarina Sinaga, said the
future senator "wrote he wanted to be president" in
response to an assignment about what he wanted to be
when he grew up. The Clinton research sheet picks up
that part of the story but ignores the quote that comes
next. "He didn't say what country he wanted to be
president of. But he wanted to make everybody happy,"
Ms. Sinaga said. The similar kindergarten anecdote,
which comes from an Associated Press dispatch, has no
indication of what country Mr. Obama hoped to lead. . . .

Yesterday may not have been the first time the Clinton
campaign seized on the report about Mr. Obama's
kindergarten dreams. A Web logger for Time magazine,
Ana Marie Cox, reported on November 11 that "a little
birdie" had urged her to fact-check the Illinois senator's
claims against his kindergarten record.

She did not indicate whether the tip came from Mrs.
Clinton's campaign, but many who posted comments online
assumed that was the source.

What the heck is a "Web logger"? Ah well, never mind. The Washington
Post, meanwhile, reports from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that Mrs. Clinton is
now "challenging" Obama's "integrity":

[Mrs.] Clinton has hammered Obama recently over his
health-care proposal, arguing that he is misleading
voters because it omits millions of people and would
not lower costs. But Sunday, in a dramatic shift, she
made it clear that her goal is to challenge Obama not
just on policy but also on one of his strongest
selling points: his reputation for honesty.

"There's a big difference between our courage and our
convictions, what we believe and what we're willing to
fight for," Clinton told reporters here. She said voters
in Iowa will have a choice "between someone who talks
the talk, and somebody who's walked the walk."

Asked directly whether she intended to raise questions
about Obama's character, she replied: "It's beginning
to look a lot like that."

So Mrs. Clinton is going to attack her opponents for lacking honesty and
integrity? Good luck with that. That is like Obama attacking Mrs.
Clinton for her inexperience, or John Kerry attacking President Bush for
not being patriotic enough back in the Vietnam era: attacks that,
whatever their merits, only underscore the manifest flaws of the
attackers.

Is there anything that can be done to save Mrs. Clinton from utter
humiliation? Well, the Associated Press is trying manfully:

When the hostages had been released and their alleged
captor arrested, a regal-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton
strolled out of her Washington home, the picture of calm
in the face of crisis.

The image, broadcast just as the network news began,
conveyed the message a thousand town hall meetings and
campaign commercials strive for--namely, that the
Democratic presidential contender can face disorder in
a most orderly manner.

"I am very grateful that this difficult day has ended so
well," she declared as she stood alone at the microphone. . . .

It was a vintage example of a candidate taking a negative
and turning it into a positive. And coming just six weeks
before the presidential voting begins, the timing could
hardly have been more beneficial to someone hoping to
stave off a loss in the Iowa caucuses and secure a win
in the New Hampshire primary.

That is what the AP calls "accountability journalism."

[unknown]

Post by Ubiquitous
As Democratic primary voters experience pre-emptive buyer's
remorse--that is, second thoughts about Hillary Clinton's
"inevitability"--a desperate Mrs. Clinton stands on the brink of losing
At an event in Boston this evening, Senator Obama claimed
for the second time today that he is "not running to fulfill
some long held plans" to be elected President, contradicting
statements his friends, family, staff and teachers have all
made about him. . . .
In third grade, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want
To Be a President.' His third grade teacher: Fermina Katarina
Sinaga "asked her class to write an essay titled 'My
dream: What I want to be in the future.' Senator Obama
wrote 'I want to be a President,' she said." [The Los
Angeles Times, 3/15/07]
In kindergarten, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I
Want to Become President.' "Iis Darmawan, 63, Senator
Obama's kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an
exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly
picked up the local language and had sharp math skills.
He wrote an essay titled, 'I Want To Become President,'
the teacher said." [AP, 1/25/07]
Honest, we're not making this up. Mrs. Clinton really is attacking Obama
for something he wrote in kindergarten. It's as if she took those
adorable Swift Kids for Truth ads seriously.
Wait, it gets even sillier. The New York Sun reports that Mrs. Clinton's
The missive from Mrs. Clinton's operation omitted an
interesting, and arguably germane, part of the anecdotes
from Mr. Obama's childhood. Although Mr. Obama was born
in Hawaii, when he was in kindergarten and third grade,
he lived in Indonesia. It is not clear, therefore,
whether the young Mr. Obama was aspiring to be president
of Indonesia, America, or the whole world for that matter.
In March, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mr. Obama's
third-grade teacher, Fermina Katarina Sinaga, said the
future senator "wrote he wanted to be president" in
response to an assignment about what he wanted to be
when he grew up. The Clinton research sheet picks up
that part of the story but ignores the quote that comes
next. "He didn't say what country he wanted to be
president of. But he wanted to make everybody happy,"
Ms. Sinaga said. The similar kindergarten anecdote,
which comes from an Associated Press dispatch, has no
indication of what country Mr. Obama hoped to lead. . . .
Yesterday may not have been the first time the Clinton
campaign seized on the report about Mr. Obama's
kindergarten dreams. A Web logger for Time magazine,
Ana Marie Cox, reported on November 11 that "a little
birdie" had urged her to fact-check the Illinois senator's
claims against his kindergarten record.
She did not indicate whether the tip came from Mrs.
Clinton's campaign, but many who posted comments online
assumed that was the source.
What the heck is a "Web logger"? Ah well, never mind. The Washington
Post, meanwhile, reports from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that Mrs. Clinton is
[Mrs.] Clinton has hammered Obama recently over his
health-care proposal, arguing that he is misleading
voters because it omits millions of people and would
not lower costs. But Sunday, in a dramatic shift, she
made it clear that her goal is to challenge Obama not
just on policy but also on one of his strongest
selling points: his reputation for honesty.
"There's a big difference between our courage and our
convictions, what we believe and what we're willing to
fight for," Clinton told reporters here. She said voters
in Iowa will have a choice "between someone who talks
the talk, and somebody who's walked the walk."
Asked directly whether she intended to raise questions
about Obama's character, she replied: "It's beginning
to look a lot like that."
So Mrs. Clinton is going to attack her opponents for lacking honesty and
integrity? Good luck with that. That is like Obama attacking Mrs.
Clinton for her inexperience, or John Kerry attacking President Bush for
not being patriotic enough back in the Vietnam era: attacks that,
whatever their merits, only underscore the manifest flaws of the
attackers.
Is there anything that can be done to save Mrs. Clinton from utter
When the hostages had been released and their alleged
captor arrested, a regal-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton
strolled out of her Washington home, the picture of calm
in the face of crisis.
The image, broadcast just as the network news began,
conveyed the message a thousand town hall meetings and
campaign commercials strive for--namely, that the
Democratic presidential contender can face disorder in
a most orderly manner.
"I am very grateful that this difficult day has ended so
well," she declared as she stood alone at the microphone. . . .
It was a vintage example of a candidate taking a negative
and turning it into a positive. And coming just six weeks
before the presidential voting begins, the timing could
hardly have been more beneficial to someone hoping to
stave off a loss in the Iowa caucuses and secure a win
in the New Hampshire primary.
That is what the AP calls "accountability journalism."

How can anyone liberal or any other label vote for him when he showed
disrespect for our anthem and flag.
He was sending a clear signal to Illegal Aliens and anyone with an axe
to grind with the Republic that he would represent their interests not
the Republic.