ABOUT FIRST READ

First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



Clinton files in NH; talks Iran, gender

Posted: Friday, November 02, 2007 2:03 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones and NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
CONCORD, NH -- Clinton filed here for the New Hampshire primary on the last day possible, attracting hundreds of supporters to the state House steps. And in a news conference after the event, she answered questions on how her gender might be affecting the race, on Iran, on immigration and the drivers' license issue she stumbled on in Tuesday's debate, and on criticism about the lack of media access to her.

Asked if she was being treated differently because she's a woman, Clinton said she didn't think her opponents were piling on because she's a woman, but rather because she's winning. On Iran, she repeated recent statements that her vote to call the country's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization was not a vote to authorize using force against the country. And when asked what she thought about Obama's proposal to deal directly with Iran's leadership, she said there would be opportunities for the president to be involved in diplomacy with the country, but that it had to be planned and managed.

Clinton added that talking directly with Ahmadinejad could undermine and short circuit the diplomatic process, and that the army and the Quds Force were not under his control. "I do not believe the president should initially be engaged in personal diplomacy. I don't think that's the smart course to take," she said. "I don't think you promise without preconditions for the president to meet with the leaders of antagonistic states and get nothing in return, and you thereby undermine even or short circuit the diplomatic process."

For her filing, the New Hampshire secretary of state's office was mobbed by reporters, photographers, and camera crews -- some of whom arrived hours before the event and stood on desks in the small office to get a good shot. The media stood behind a velvet rope as they watched her file. No other candidate has received the velvet rope treatment.
   
Clinton joked when she entered the room that were not "as many people here when I did this twice before." A supporter shouted, "She's in" at the moment the senator signed the paper.

"I couldn't be happier or prouder to be throwing my hat into the ring," Clinton later said at the news conference following the filing. She joked several times about not knowing yet when the state's primary would be.

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I think this NYTimes article says it best,

"Hillary Clinton is relying on her Democratic audience to understand that all her peculiar positions and triple-waffles have to do with a fear of being demagogued by the Republicans in the general election. But you would have to be a very, very committed Hillaryite to be comfortable listening to two solid hours of dodging and weaving on everything from her vote on the Iran resolution to her husband’s attempt to keep records of their White House communications secret until after 2012. (“... Certainly we’ll move as quickly as our circumstances and the processes of the National Archives permits.”)

On Social Security, the underlying message seems to be that Clinton will not support any effort to keep the program solvent by eliminating the cap on Social Security taxes until she gets elected president and sets up a bipartisan commission to provide political cover. The problem with that, as Barack Obama pointed out, is that you don’t arrive in the White House with a mandate for anything more daring than appointing a bunch of people to do a study. And when you’re talking about taxing income above $97,500 the same way we do income of, say, $30,000, it’s not really helpful to describe it as “a trillion-dollar tax increase on middle-class families.”

Clinton needs to ration her obfuscations. Otherwise, she risks looking as silly as she did at the end of the debate, when she gave a perfectly rational explanation of why she once said that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses “makes a lot of sense,” then raised her hand a minute later to add that the fact that she understood why Governor Spitzer was trying to do it did not mean that she thought it should actually be done. "


"I don't think you promise without preconditions for the president to meet with the leaders of antagonistic states and get nothing in return, and you thereby undermine even or short circuit the diplomatic process."
-----------------------------------------------------
Another double talk from Hillary Clinton. I thought she said there won't be a precondition before meeting. Did she change her mind again.

Here is the link of her talking about diplomacy.

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-DVmkAAZHA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epolitico%2Ecom%2Fblogs%2Fbensmith%2F


Another double talk from Hillary Clinton. Which one should we believe.

Bush followed this argument being laid out by Hillary with N. Korea....no discusssion, telling them to stop their nuke program or else...see after the north koreans developed a nuke, we started giving them economic incentives that we were against in the first place.
Iran is just between the devil and deep sea abyss. Attack Iran and u know what follows, don't attack them and they get nukes. So why not negotiate vigorously, personally, economically, face to face, president to president, ayatollah to ayatollah while knowing in uh heart that if they double cross us, they will be genuinely ****ed?
For all the abuse dumped on Condi by the "your not our black, or our woman Liberals" has anyone ever heard her play the girl, or race card? Contrast that to Hillary, and figure things out for yourself.
Make sure to check the fliers and statements the GOP is already running based on the immigrant and licenses answer: http://www.campaigndiaries.com/2007/11/driver-lincenses-for-immigrants-story.html
I filed for an EPO against all those Bad men that beat me up tuesday night. Does anyone know if it's been approved yet, so i can file it on John & Barack?
"I do not believe the president should initially be engaged in personal diplomacy. I don't think that's the smart course to take ... I don't think you promise without preconditions for the president to meet with the leaders of antagonistic states and get nothing in return, and you thereby undermine even or short circuit the diplomatic process." --Hillary

...I guess you get your aides involved in the tough stuff while you(Hillary) just give the American people lip service.  That's the same approach she took with the NIE on Iraq.  She just had her aides brief her on the report.  Give Sen. Obama credit because he's willing to roll up his sleeves and do the heavy lifting himself.  In the real world we call this 'responsibility'.
Hillay, sweetie, you may drive Bubba's car, but there is no way you are going to drive this Nation.  Shake your bootie on down the road.
Condi was appointed to her position not elected ...Big Difference... I can assure you that if she ever ran for office she would do what was necessary to get elected even if it meant lying about how important it was to a support a  "made-up" war that has thus far killed more than 3800 americans ... something to think about Dave in TN.
Athena,

Clinton got that line from Chris Matthews ' MSNBC "Hardball" yesterday, Thurs., 11/01/07. In the show opener, he wrote his 3rd 'pseudo-speech' for the Dem candidates. I believe it is nearly word for word: "..I think they're piling on because I'm winning."

I don't have the transcript.

Could you confirm?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21585245/

On Thursday?s ?Hardball,? Chris Matthews, a former speech writer, offered his advice to Sen. Hillary Clinton on what she should say regarding the negative backlash to her performance at NBC?s Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate. His suggested speech is below: "Taking the heat is what leadership is all about. As Harry Truman said, 'If you don?t like the heat, stay out of the kitchen.' Taking heat is all part of the process of proving yourself for the world?s most important democratic office. The fact that I am the first woman has nothing to do with the heat on me in this week?s presidential debate. I was the target because, quite simply, I am running well in the national polls. I have gotten nothing but respect from my rivals for the nomination and have no complaints, certainly none to do with our difference in gender. So let?s move on. They?ll be more debates. There?ll be more shots from my opponents. There may even be a few from me at them. But those were the rules we agreed on, not in Philadelphia this week, but in Philadelphia back when we declared Independence. Besides, a little trouble I don?t mind. If I get to be the first woman elected to lead this country I don?t want it said it was because my rivals went soft on me - or I on them."

Christina Bellatoni over at The Washington Times has compliled 2 YouTube videos that John Edwards and the repbulicans have created to spoof Hillary's "Piling On" Video.

Everyone please watch. It's hilarious.

http://video1.washingtontimes.com/bellantoni/2007/11/yowsa_talk_about_piling_on_1.html

They ravaged Barack Obama at several debates this summer (really went after him), calling him irresponsible and naive, and Hillary Clinton didn't get ANYTHING like that at Tuesday's debate. All her competitors did was say, "for God's sake, will you answer the freakin' question?"

The thing is that when you try to address just one instance of waffling with Hillary, she side steps it and dodges away. So, to drive home the point of her evasiveness, it was necessary for the others to keep presenting her with one waffling comment after another and press her for a straight answer, and Hillary's evasivness was in full view on national television.

All politicians can be accused of sidestepping issues SOMETIMES, but Hillary takes it to the level of the ridiculous. She is evasive "in-absurdum." She doesn't give a straight answer on ANYTHING. Even when you THINK she just gave you a straight answer, she reverses herself on the issue 5 minutes later, so the net result is that 2 months before the 1st votes are to be cast, the entire nation just found out that NO ONE knows what Hillary truly thinks about ANY of the important issues. It's ridiculous.

They THRASH Obama and he deals with it gracefully. They merely ask Hillary to give  a straight answer and she says the men are picking on her and IMMEDIATELY plays the gender card.

That's NOT being tough! What's her definition of tough, the fact that she didn't burst into tears on the stage?

I am a woman and I hold a senior level position in my company. What Hillary did this week was the equivalent of me having a bad quarter and deciding that rather than just tell the board what went wrong and how I am going to fix it, I decide instead to try to get out of it by crying to see if they will feel sorry for me, and telling them that the only reason they are asking me what happened in my division is because I'm a woman. YOU DON'T DO THAT!!!  

Hillary Clinton embarassed us all this week. We were NOT impressed!!!

These are dangerous times. There are terrorists out there. There are other nations whose leaders DON'T agree with our views, that we have to work/negotiate with. The majority of the world's leaders are men, and she has to stand toe to toe with them and deal with disagreements, such as Russia not going along with what's happening with Afghanistan/Iran, or Germany not agreeing with us on Iraq. Is she going to go in there and say, the guys don't agree with me "waaaaaa, waaaaa?"

Hillary, no one wants a wimp to be the next leader.

May God bless you Dave, I wish I were near you and I would just give u a big bear hug. Your "compare and contrast" of Hillary and Condi is so apt. The simple injunction for every minority (women, blacks, asians, latino, and even majorities) is go there, do the best you can.
When you say they are targeting you, when obviously the fault is yours-----how do you expect to get credit when your effort leads to brilliance?
I am a black student and for all the ills in this society of ours, I didn't raise a voice when I had a C in a course last semester..cos I knew what I did wrong!!! And so I don't expect anyone to say anything when I finish with the highest GPA in my class and graduate as the best bachelors student in my department next term.
Regardless of the fact that I support affirmative action, gay and lesbian rights, right to religion and free speech. I still expect that "to whom much is given, much is expected".
I would have really been scandalised if Obama and Condi were to play the race and or gender cards...and so Hillary shouldn't too.
So what is Hillary doing wrong? The inability to talk straight isn't a sign of political savviness this time around. Its a sign of evil and deceptive politics perpetrated over the average american joe
Have we found our Louise?



Right on, Dave, TN...Condi has class and grace while the Shrillary has crass and sour grapes...
Condi is female? AND black? I thought she was a Klingon.

And yes, Enlightened One, we've heard of her terrific struggles to become one of the most ineffectual Secretaries of State Chevron ever produced, under the worst president in our history.

Hello Bee
Criticize just to critize does not make you look smart. Make Constructive critic is what raise you above everyone. Read the whole memo and listen correctly to what she is saying. she is not against talking to Iran, but she is for some talk at low level (like diplomat talking to each other, or even a secretary of state, or s special envoy) with everything on the table (which means talk should not be restricted just to nuclear program). And then depend upon how sucessfull those talks are or depend upon the progress, then the president can get involved. I read a lot of your post and appreciate, but sometimes even the bad can make sense.
I read the foreign policy Mrs clinton post in the last foreign newspaper and basically except very few diffrences (like at waht level the president should get involved), both (her and Sen Obama) have the same approach. Please reread carefully. Rejecting everything from someone no matter what the person finally undermine anyone creditibility even a very sound one
Hope you are having a nice day
Let's see, Sen. Clinton said, "she didn't think her opponents were piling on because she's a woman, but rather because she's winning."  Truer words were never spoken.  So, where's the gender card?  It's all a canard created by the press based on alleged statements of so-called persons who know, but without any attribution.

She said "I don't think you promise without preconditions for the president to meet with the leaders of antagonostic states and get nothing in return," which is precisely what she said at the You Tube debate when Oboma bombed the question.  There is a difference, you know--even though Sen. Obama hopes you don't--between the Unoted States negotiating with Iran without preconditions and having a head-of-state to head-of-state meeting between our President and Ahmadinejad without preconditions.

On this drivers' license thing:  before this is all over, all dems are going to wish they had taken Sen. Clinton's position on this--I support the governors who feel like they need to do something because of the failure of the federal government to act on immigration reform, but I do not support giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants--because the repubs are going to kill the dems with this driver's license issue.  But of course, its more important to score minor points in the primaries than it is to win the election.  Way to go, boys.      
Dont you people in the media have anything else to write about except Hillary's comments. Her explanation re the immigrant license issue could have been clarified if the moderators had given her time to
explain her position. Frankly, she was right to endorse the plan in NY and should have insisted vigorously for its security implications. Who was paying Russert to try his obvious tactic for a serious Hillary misstatement?
To Real democrat
In real word it is called Diplomacy. How many times GW spoke with Noth Korea to contain them or even during Bill Clinton administration, how many time did the president spoke with the yougoslavian parties involved. Even during the cold war time, remember how long before Reagan met Gorbatchev. In diplomacy you need some groundwork before.
Do you think Hillary strategist know anything? The only thing they know is poll numbers. The clinton's are toasted ...Clinton indeed lift Chris words from Hard ball.
the problem is that the driver's license proposal in New York State is a complex one. The three minutes allowed was not enough time for Hillary to explain the complexity of it and why the govenor wants this.

Keep in mind that 14 steats already issue drivers licenses to illegals and many of these states are "red" states, including Connecticut, which Dobbs is from and North Carolina, where Edwards is from.

As a new York resident, i'm comfortable having Hillary as my senator and she's done a fine job. I'm also confident America will be much better having her at the helm than an inexperienced 2 year senator such as Obama, who's idea of dealing with Iran is, basically, no different than Bush's.

I suggest some research and reading before throwing stones about the driver's license issue.
Clinton is already "side & back-stepping" too much. This is a sure sign of weakness. No doubt about it, she is playing the "girly-girl" card and it is not impressive. How do you think the other WORLD leaders are going to view our country with her (of all people) at the helm. She is too arrogant. We won't have to worry about whether she attacks Iran or any other country because they will already be attacking us.
I am yet to hear her saying they targeted me because I am a woman. She said they all ganged up on me abandoning their pledge to campaign positively.. does that mean they ganged up because she was woman.. She said that the college prepared her to compete in all mens club.. is that false? she is the only woman and thats a fact and she was stating the obvious

infact a female companion of mine who is an obama supporter said the same thing that she was being targeted because she was a woman, but that doesnt mean hillary believes that herself. this is not the first time she has been accused of using her sex to political gain and this wont be the last. Edwards constantly uses his wifes unfortunate cancer incident in his political speeches, does that mean he is using a cancer victim to gain sympathy from voters? I hope not but I dont see anyone calling him out on that.

There is a pattern of disinformation and character assasination that MSNBC is involved in. Chris Mathews is a sleazy guy and so is Tim Russert. But never mind, I am a male but I support her because she is strong, has exercised more good policy judgements throughout her political career than bad, and has stood up to plenty of character assasination dirty politics of republican machinery and trounced them.
Obama has had 89% positive press coverage (49% in recent times with remaining neutral) and clinton has 29% positive coverage. Thats only because entire republican machinery is working against her to prevent her candidature. I will be waiting to see how that changes if/when he becomes the eventual nominee. what makes him think he is above their criticism?

Where is the criticism/questions when he upps rhetoric on attacking pakisan risking a nuclear war which can claim casualties in ranges of approximately half to 1 billion (war with pakistan would mean war in entire subcontinent which would draw afghanistan, pakistan, india and bangladesh into the equation). Why has that been left out of memory? where is his criticism of campaigning with anti gay activist donnie to court religious vote? where is his criticism on his mob ties?

What would Obama do other than bombing pakistan and starting nuclear war and "talking" with Iran when he becomes president? How would he counter attacks like "call me harrold" and not play victim card and yet be a viable candidate. if he plays victim card then.. can and will he survive in a political campaign? its dirty out there and we need a person who can take the republicans on directly and clinton has demonstrated that by winning.
Remember people this is basically A LONG JOB INTERVIEW for the MOST IMPORTANT JOB in the company (USA). The democratic panel will recommend its best candidate to be compared to the republican's best candidate for the final interview.

All resumes are in.  We looked thru them, diced them up & made necessary notation.  We've interviewed them several times to make sure that they truly did all those things they said in their resumes as part of their qualifications, questioned them on their visions so we know what direction they want to take the company to, asked them specific questions relating to the taking care of existing challenges (like Iraq, Global Warming, Healthcare, Economy, etc) so we know what their approaches are on resolving these challenges and evaluate not just based on their working experience but on their life experience to make sure that we choose someone who is THE BEST FIT for this particular company in this particular time.

Now, in the last interview Hillary was asked several questions on how she’s going to resolve our existing challenges and we didn’t get any concrete answer. She was asked about her experience as the 1st lady which she put on her resume as apart of her qualification, but didn’t want to answer and wasn’t willing to provide additional information as to why we have to account that particular experience.  SO, if we have a candidate applying for a position where he/she will be working for US, would you really want to hire this person to work for you?  Would we really hire someone to work for us who doesn’t stand for anything, who can’t give a straight answer, who refused to give backup documents to her experience, who basically said “Trust me, I’m the best candidate for the job! Just take my word for it!”  Are you kidding me?  If we’re hiring a painter to paint our house and of all the painters who have given us their quotes, pass jobs, recommendations, showed us their qualifications, explained to us what they’re going to do with the house and one painter said I refuse to show you what I’ve done & refused to tell you what I’m going to do with your house but you can take my word that my job is good.  There’s NO WAY any of us would hire the painter who can't give a straight answer.  SO WHY ARE WE CONSIDERING TO HIRE SOMEONE LIKE THAT TO BE OUR PRESIDENT?

These candidates are applying to WORK FOR US, we are PAYING THEIR SALARIES! The American people better start acting like THE EMPLOYERS that we are or we’ll be shooting ourselves in the foot.  If Hillary keeps doing what she’s doing, she’ll be out of the top candidate category just like that!  I have a lot of interviewing to do… and she’s wasting my time.  I want a candidate who takes the job he/she’s applying seriously.
Yep, it seems that Chris Matthews is now a speech writer for Hillary Clinton.  
Well gals and guys, get with it.Haven't you had enuff of Bush, Cheney, Condi etc. Have any of you lost someone in this horrible Iraqi war, {which we should not be there in the first place}. If not then continue your confidence in Bush. Bash the Democrats all you want to. Hilary has the experience and knowledge and is smart enuff not to answer those tricky questions. However, don't discard Edwards he shows his stuff and he can tell you that he also has what it takes to run this country. Obama, is a charmer, intelligent but dumb and also a MUSLIM and don't forget it. He has no experience just a braggot.So gals and guys continue bashing the Democrats continue praising the Bush team, and just hope to God that you don't have a loved one coming home in a body bag. Just praise Bush and soon we'll have a third war with Iran that will include Syria and others. Get on your knees and pray that this does not happen. Vote your concience don't let your brains run away from you and I wish you all well. I am an American born and brought up in this US fo A., served in the military and proud of it.
Pitous-

  What are you talking about?  You are obviously quite misinformed.

Obama, is a charmer, intelligent but dumb and also a MUSLIM and don't forget it. He has no experience just a braggot.

Sir, just exactly how can one be intelligent,but dumb?  And how can one be a member of the United Church of Christ and MUSLIM at the same time?  I know, that United Church of Christ thing is just a cover, right?

I don't care if you were born in the US fo A and served in the military.  You are, by all means, an ignorant, hollow-minded individual!!!
It is sad that the Dems have to attack each other when they have so much ammunition against the Republicans and the present abominable evil administration.  When the republicans screw up, they play either the Jesus card or the "fear" card.  When Bush took office we had a budget surplus which he promptly wiped out, started a war out of vengeance, can't figure out what to do with it now; wants to further destroy the environment to please the oil companies, appoints morons to cabinet positions, etc. etc. etc.  So lay off, guys.  As far as Condi goes, she has accomplished absolutely nothing.  Maybe that is her job.
Joyce in Oklahoma City
john,

I don't know where you're getting your information from. What she publish in News paper is different from what she said on National TV and she was even caught on YOU TUBE live flip floping. How about that?

Another double talk, whaich one should i believe? Today in NH, she said something different ... more like slicky will
Well, playing the gender card has always been part of Hillary's strategy going in.  If she was to come under any attack or tough questions, ect. she is suppose to pull out the gender card to garner sympathy.  
however, unlike 2000, this time it backfired as Obama is one who has the credibility to call her on this game.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_po/on_deadline_clinton_1
Pitous....you're a freakin' fool.  Granted you may have been born in the USA...but where did you get your education? Timbuktu?
For the record, Sen. Obama is a practicing Christian.
Memo: Hillary Rodham Clinton
To: Chris Mathews & Tim Russert

The best is yet to come, Hillary is on her way to the Oval Office!
I've watched both Hillary Clinton and Condi Rice. What sets them apart is how they handle the situations. Hillary looks for the opportunity to say I am a woman, I need better treatment. Whereas Condi never brings the gender or race card in any of her dealings. Hillary loves to do photo ops with all the felons in the world who can divert illegal money into her campaign coffins. But Condi is genuinely trying to solve the problems that are plagueing the world of politics around the globe. Even though Condi is not running for president, should you waste your vote on Hillary. My answer is NO. Hillary, you can kiss my vote goodbye.
This idea to give illegal immigrants driver's license is totally disturbing. The argument that they are going to drive anyway is total crap. How about we give criminals pistol permits. Hey, they are going to have them anyway. Clinton's inability to answer a straight forward question is proof she is not capable of running this country. She would not answer for two reasons. 1 - Is that she doesn't want to turn away the hispanic vote and 2 - She knows a large majority of US citizens are not favorable of the illegals having a license. If she does win the election, she will never be my president.
For those of you who have a hard time getting every single detail of a serious policy issue in a 30-second soundbite, may I recommend www.hillaryclinton.com.

As far as Clinton's "piling on" video, the boys are dreaming if they think the theme was Men vs. Woman.

The theme was clearly Winner vs. Losers.
chris: '...i am yet to hear her saying they targeted me because I am a woman...'

chris, didn't you see her cult whining about 'men beating up a girl' ?
Didn't you hear the cult crying about 'piling on' ?
Those are Hillary's 'talking points'
Mark Penn is emulating his hero, Karl Rove

'...She said they all ganged up on me abandoning their pledge to campaign positively...'

Has Hillary campaigned positively ?
What goes around comes around.....
Hillary chose a stupid strategy of not giving straight answers !?@!!
How DUMB IS THAT ?
Don't give straight answers so she can maintain 'flexibility' ?
She explained her Lieberman-Kyl vote as moving from 'primary mode' to 'general election mode' ?

BAD MOVE !!
She's campaigning on deception and a lack of clarity
So the Republicans won't be able to smear her ?
BAD MOVE !!

She can't get away with it....
Hillary is toast...
Let's nominate an anti-war Democrat
That way, we won't get a progressive 3rd party run
I'm NOT VOTING for a Democrat if I don't know what she stands for.

Hillary is toast...
the darkness is lifting...

Edwards/Obama '08
you would think that nbc news would have researchers that could look up some information for lisa myers when she does an investigative piece on hillary.
as soon as bush got into office he signed an executive order stopping the release of documents from the reagan/bush administration and the bush/quayle administration even though it would be withing the time frame for that information and those documents could be released.  the head of the national archives has protested a number of times that they could not release those documents.  maybe lisa, the next time she does a piece on the clintons might want to to a bit of research.  sorry i have to do the job for you nbc news.  and by the way, how come tim russert did not ash the rest of the candidates about how they felt about drivers licenses for illegals.  and how come tim russert did not take note of the fact that the governor of new york had consulted with the head of homeland security.
and also that other states have been doing the same thing, like some republican governors.  gee i guess that nbc did not want to be bothered with those pesky details.
is it me, or is chris mathews getting more obnoxious with jumping in and not letting the people that he is interviewing have a chance to say something,  i have stopped watching him on a regular basis.  rather watch keith, he is great, anything to keep bill o'reilly jumping
Please, please, please stop referring to one's "gender". People don't have gender...pronouns do. The correct word is "sex", which diesn't mean sexual relations. Geez, aren't you in the word business?
With her wanting to give illegals drivers licenses, why doesn't she just raise the mexican flag. TRAITOR
Dear Pitous,

Thank you for your service and I share your views about the current administration. However, I sharply disagree with your assessment of the Democratic candidates. Hillary and Edwards voted for the war because they lacked the courage and judgment to stand up to the administration. Obama spoke out against it in words that ring true today.

Not sure how someone can be intelligent but dumb and I also believe you meant braggart, not braggot. Also, for the record, Obama is not a Muslim. He is a Christian who was educated for a short time in a Muslim school in Indonesia. His diverse life experiences give him a broad new vision that America needs as the world evolves. No other candidate offers such hope for real change from lobbyist and special interest infiltration of our government
Pitous:
Only in America can you be this stupid and still have your opinion appear in print.
Are any of you a member of a family or church or any other organization? When it comes time to make a decision that affects the lives of hundreds of million people not to mention the world, do you really think it is best to say this is how I think without taking other peoples views and researching for the best ideas to come up with a solution to a problem? How many presidential campaigns have you heard that the candidate has said I will do this or that. Does the current office holder come to mind? Frankly I would much rather see a level headed person that does their homework and consults others before making monumental decisions. You know how many times we have been unhappy with unkept campaign promises? Most of all, I do want to see someone in office that is "For the People"  and I do not mean the top 1%. Also our Country, environment and the future for us all, present or to be prsent for generations to come.No, I have not yet made up my mind whom to vote for but it won't be for another person that thinks they know best all by themselves.
What color flip-flops did Hillary have on at the debate the other night?

How childish to use the school yard game of "look at me, these men or ganging up on me"

I thought she was a smart women.

www.thinkingdemocrat.blogh.com
Well, I see the politically illinformed are blogging away and readily misconstruing what went on in the dabate and the most promising candidate, Hillary Clinton, positions on the issues. What was most apparent last night was that none of the candidates made any of their positions clear and most of her rivals, instead of explaining their policies and why they should be elected, spent the majority of the time trying to attack the frontrunner and say why people should not elect her. Nice tactic for the ignorant, however, election results reveal that most of the ignorant do not vote. In fact many of them just whine, complain, and blog away into the night!  
If Hillary is so smart and did so much as first lady why why are they afaid to bring forth the records of her doings as first lady What What show me has she done as sentor from N.Y nothing the people writing and procting her are her staff members I;m a 67 year old male and deocract and I would have to vote repulican if she is our nominatree
'she didn't think her opponents were piling on because she's a woman, but rather because she's winning"

Typical Clintonese.  There are several ways to say 'they are piling on because I'm winning' and she chose the one using the word 'woman'.  Just think about it.  It surely wasn't an accident that she used this phrase.  Change the word woman to black or bald or fat or  criminal and you get an entirely different sense than if you just say 'they are piling on because I am winning'.
About the crowd of supporters at the court house:  I didn't know that politicians rented 'supporters'.  I read an article by a guy who went to the debates as a journalist and saw the streets lined with candidate's supporters.  He noticed that out of the big throng of HC supporters only 5 were men so he went over and asked the dudes some questions.  As it turns out none of them really supported HC but were there because someone told them to be there.  Evidently the campaign needed some men and some minorities in the crowd in case the 'supporters' got on TV.  So be a little leery when you look at those crowds of supporters waving signs and yelling things at political events.  They could all be from Rent-a-Supporter.  I am available.
Pitous, Obama isn't a Muslim - he's Christian (always has been). Either you're a liar and you're trying to influence your fellow posters by misrepresenting Obama's background, or you're an idiot because you don't know your facts. Either way(whether it's misrepresentation or idiocy), both positions are unacceptable.

Besides, even though Obama is not a muslim - so what if he was? Thanks for showing your anti-muslim card moron!
Geesh, shouldn't all you conservatives be watching Bill "my God I can't believe anyone listens to this crap I spew" O'Reilly?  Seems like a tactic that some people tried to use on Bill too when he was running.  Didn't work then, and won't work now....  


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