Hillary: 'It's time to get real'

Posted: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:15 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Jessica Turtletaub

In a speech delivered this morning at Hunter College in New York, Clinton dug in her heels and continued to hit home that her campaign is offering the public more than just rhetoric. "It is time to get real, to get real about how we actually win this election and get real about the challenges facing America."

Contrasting her campaign with Obama's and McCain's, Clinton boasted "sound solutions" as opposed to "sound bites," and promised "21st-century solutions" rather than "more of the same old Republican policies." She also questioned Obama’s record and his readiness to tackle what she described as the “toughest job in the world.”

“Americans have a choice to make this election,” she said “and that choice matters. It’s about picking a president who relies not just on words, but on work… We need to make a choice between speeches and solutions. Because while words matter greatly, the best words in the world aren’t enough unless you match them with action.”

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Comments

It is time for Hillary to get real and get out of the way.

John, Morgan Hill, CA (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:20 PM)

Hillary reminds me a lot of President Bush. They both have the same tactics when they are falling behind. They close their eyes, put their hands over their ears, and start screaming, "I can't hear you, I can't hear you!"

It is time for someone to have more than specifics. What good are solutions if they never get passed? Obama has the solutions, and the means to get them through. If you want to actually see something happen in Washington, vote Obama.

Andrew, Missouri (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:22 PM)

Exactly, and you can't match them with action unless you are in a position to do so, so please Senator Clinton, allow Obama to be in a position to do so!!

www.barackobama.com

Dante (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:24 PM)

Being President is the toughest job in the world so, electing an emotional cry baby like slick Hilly to it makes no sense.

Jamie, Salt Lake, Utah (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:24 PM)

Okay, voters. It's time to take a hard look at Obama.
Does he truly have the experience and grasp of the issues to lead this nation at such a critical time?
Maybe Hillary isn't as likeable, but running our nation should not be based on who wins a popularity contest.

Laura, San Diego (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:25 PM)

Will someone please tell me on thing that Senator Clinton has solved, ever? Why does she keep talking about "solutions" when she has NONE? What has she EVER done? Can anyone help me?

Nashville_fan (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:25 PM)

Obama is using the same playbook John Patricks been giving to two other Candidates in the past. so much for been agent of change.

fred Bellevue, WA (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:27 PM)

Apparently, the public disagrees with Ms. Clinton.

She's starting to look every bit as pathetic as Paul, and Huckabee.

Lance Foreman (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:28 PM)

Hillary tells the truth, but unfortunately it is too late for her. Obama's Oscar worthy performance has them cheering in the aisles.

M Cohen Westchester County NY (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:28 PM)

Great speech Hillary! Except the part where you say "It’s about picking a president who relies not just on words, but on work…"

Just what work have you done?

Wanna Know (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:29 PM)

IT IS THE JOB OF THE ALL MEDIA TO ASK "EACH" CANDIDATE THE "HARD" QUESTIONS. THEY HAVE "FAILED" TO ASK SENATOR OBAMA, THOSE HARD QUESTIONS. LET'S PUT IT ALL OUT THERE FOR A FULL AND HONEST COMPARISON OF "ALL" PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF BOTH CLINTON AND OBAMA. MY GOD WERE ELECTING A PRESIDENT, NOT THE PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT BODY AT HIGH SCHOOL. THE MEDIA NEED TO DO IT JOB, SO FAR IT HAS FAILED MISERABLY !

Jack R. Jones, Denver, Colorado (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:29 PM)

"It is time to get real, .... "

Good Idea (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:30 PM)

What could be real about her campaign? If she continues the negative attacks on Obama without doing more to describe the "past 35 years" that actually relate to being president or her policy platform.

S.B. Stein E.B. NJ (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:31 PM)

Since Hillary Clinton main call as to why she's qualified to be President and Barack Obama isn't - is her experience, I'd love to see a comparison of Obama's experience versus Bill Clinton's when he first ran. Would she say the same about Bill?

Sam Ryan, Mill Valley, CA (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:31 PM)

She says “Americans have a choice to make this election,” she said “and that choice matters. It’s about picking a president who relies not just on words, but on work… We need to make a choice between speeches and solutions." Yet she is the one giving a speech without being specific about any of her plans. Being hypocritical will not get her anywhere.

You express your solutions in words before they are enacted. Hillary can slice and dice all she wants but her message has been altered after every primary and still has yet to phase Obama. His message of change has clearly resonated with the general public and has been consistent from the start.

Johnson New Orleans, LA (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:31 PM)

I have had it with this 'words' nonsense out of the Clinton campaign. She doesn't have anything of substance to speak of in her speeches. Both candidates rely on their websites for substance.

I know Senator Obama will keep this campaign more civil than her, but just once I would like to hear him say to her "Enough already with your grasping for anything to stick. Your sound bites and solutions argument is weak and pretentious"

Chuck, NY (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:32 PM)

She thinks it's time to get real...now. What happened to about a month ago?

All those who think this election is about substantive policies that every politician promises but never delivers (psst.. come closer so you can hear me, READ MY LIPS:

IT'S ABOUT CHARACTER STUPID!!!!!!

We're tired of the same ole' powerplaying Bush/Clinton politics. Like Perot said: "THE PARTY IS OVER, IT'S TIME FOR THE CLEAN UP CREW!"

Superdelegate Boy '08 (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:32 PM)

Hillary is right. It is time to get real. So, when will she do that? The people have spoken. The majority has made it clear that we do not want Hillary and her husband disgracing the White House again. They shamed this country with their scandals. We do not need missing law firm billing records mysteriously reappearing right after the statute of limitations runs out. We do not need the Lincoln bedroom auctioned off to the highest donor. We do not need criminals pardoned in exchange for campaign donations.

By the way, Hillary, have you released your tax returns yet? No? I wonder why not?

Get real, Hillary. It's over.

Obama in 2008!

Sick of corruption, sick of the Clintons (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:32 PM)

And the best ideas in the world can't become policy if you can't get them enacted b/c half the country hates you! It's tough to make us believe that you're ready for "the toughest job in the world" considering how incompetently your campaign has been managed for the last 6 months. And who needs to get real?

chuck, richmond, tx -- where Obama seals the deal (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:33 PM)

ONE DAY ONE JANUARY 20, 2009, IF THERE IS A HUGE NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL CRISIS, WHO IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE COMMAND IMEDIATELY. IT SURE AS HELL SCARES ME, THAT WE POSSIBLE WILL HAVE A PRESIDENT WITH SO "LITTLE" EXPERIENCE IN CHARGE. BUT THEN WHAT THE HELL, FLIP THE COIN AND HOPE FOR THE BEST.

Charlie West (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:33 PM)

Op-ed piece in USA Today by Senator Obama about campaign finance for the general election if he is the nominee:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/02/opposing-view-3.html

Nashville_fan (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:33 PM)

So this means Hillary will be releasing the records from when she was first lady, ya know, so we can find out what her record IS. Afew years in the senate doesn't cut it for Obama in her books, why should it cut it for us on hers?

Brett, Pittsburgh (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:33 PM)

Here are your specifics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k-SetojeUE

www.barackobama.com

Here is your specifics (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:36 PM)

Thanks for the update, Jessica! Sounds like the odds-on favorite to win this thing before the primaries and caucuses started is beginning to realize it's slipping away.

Noah, Newark, NJ (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:39 PM)

Seems to me people have been making a choice since the Iowa in Jan., or is it that we are just not making the right choice for Hillary. I think people understand what this election is about and what the candidates are and are not. She keeps talking but fewer and fewer people listen must be darn frustrating.

Vincent KC (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:40 PM)

Preaching hope, inspiration, change, with no substance, no specifics, no media challenge, and media fawning, Obama is instructive of how demagogues rise to power to inflict horrors on humanity.

If Hillary Clinton does not get the Democratic nomination, she should stay on the sidelines and allow Obama to crash and burn in November. This would be in the best interests of America.

crat3 (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:41 PM)

The only words Hill/Billy have matched with action are lies and deceit. Open your eyes America. Remember all they have NOT done for this country. The only action they take is what will benefit them.

Mary,Ga (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:43 PM)

Laura from San Diego---What has Hillary Clinton done to prove that she can run this country? Look at the way Obama has run his campaign compared to Mrs. Clinton---I think that could be a huge indicator of how they each will run the country. Let's be fair!!!

Lewis, Cincinnati, Ohio (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:46 PM)

Well, Charlie, should could always respond to the words "The country is under attack" by entertaining 4 year olds and curling up with "The Pet Goat."

Who could pooch it worse than that? My God, you people have such exacting standards for Obama and Clinton when a truly ineffectual(except where the extraction industries are concerned - he's a SAINT to them) boorish, narrow-minded, Constitution-hating man has been president for 7 YEARS!

Lee in CA (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:47 PM)

Brian...
She did not denounce our country like Billy did while in another country. He is a draft dodger..he would never fight for our country. He let one of the pilots go who flew into one of the towers on 9/11. He was offered bin laden many times by Sudan and he was not interested in capturing terrorists.

Mary, Ga. (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:47 PM)

To Obama supporters - don't get so cocky. He needs the support of ALL democrats. He cannot win this alone. That includes Hilary's supporters. Don't alienate yourselves. If half her supporters go the other way, that would tip the balance to the Republicans.
So please be humble and try to have the unity thing his been preaching at the back of your minds.

By the way, read the newsweek article (a thorough one if I may add) about Barack. You guys might find his words do not necessarily match his actions (they're traditional goody bag old politics).

CHECK OUT OBAMA'S VOTING RECORD;

272/HF 2669 Increase financial aid for college students and reduce subsidies for student loan lenders. July 20, 2007 OBAMA: DID NOT VOTE
CLINTON; VOTED YES

209/HR 6 Create a national action plan for reducing oil consumption by 35%... June 12, 07
OBAMA; DID NOT VOTE CLINTON; VOTED YES

7/13/07 Vote 247: HR1585 Dorgan Arndt No.2135 as amended, Relative to bringing Osama bin Laden and other leaders of al Qaeda to Justice.
OBAMA; NOT VOTING CLINTON; VOTED YES
AMENDEMENT AGREED 87-1
(12 NOT VOTING)

To hope the MSNBC prints this out is like a voice in the wilderness.

Joyce, NY (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:48 PM)

It's time to get real?

Barack helped pass ethics reform and governmental transparency bills through the US senate. You voted against them, remember Hillary?

Your turn Hillary! I remember something about congratulating a lacrosse team or two, and renaming a post office.

Ron, TX (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:49 PM)

To state the painfully obvious: "We need to make a choices between speeches and solutions" is itself merely a sound-bite.

Really, with each passing day, Senator Clinton's campaign reminds me more and more of that famous photograph of aging quarterback Y.A. Tittle kneeling bloody-headed on the turf in Pittsburgh, dazed and confused after a Steeler sack he never saw coming.

I find no joy in making that comparison -- but there it is, none-the-less.

clikdawg, Centerville, USA (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:49 PM)

And yet Hillary is still not connecting with the voters, especially the most educated. The problem IS that while Obama isn't perfect, she isn't either.

crat3: Don't worry. Obama would be a fool to ask for her active involvement in his presidential run. Too many negatives. Too much baggage.

Ian (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:49 PM)

Well, at least she acknowledged ' Word's matter". You Hillary Cultist will go down with the Ship, that's pretty Obvious. However, Barack Obama & his American Patriot's ( Millions & Millions of them) will be there with Life Perserver's to save you. We won't let you flounder in the Icy water's that Hillary is taken you into.

America has problems to solve & we'll need your help, Once you Dry Out.

Barack Obama for President!!!!!!!

Rick,ky (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:50 PM)

Can someone e-mail me the job description of the office of the president of the United States of America? last time i checked it did not say you have to be the wife of an expresident and it definitely say you myst have 40 years in congress to be able to vie, so where is the beef HILL?

HP, Bakersfield, CA (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:51 PM)

Amazing that any Clinton would criticize the value of sweet talkin'.

But what I really wanted to say is that I like the way Obama thinks. I'm a conservative republican but I really like it when Obama says the issue is not the size of our problems but the smallness of our politics. I disagree with the left on lots of things (top of the list, probably, is how to stimulate the economy), but I don't hate everyone who disagrees with me or think they're liars etc. etc. etc. I want to live together in peaceful friendliness, subject to reasonable compromises that are truly, in the non-partisan sense, democratic.

Actually, nobody beats McCain when it comes to voting your values and conscience (as Mitt Romney back-handedly pointed out), but I just find Obama more inspiring.

We republicans place a high value on the initiative of the individual citizen (versus the good intentions of any government); in light of this, Obama's ability to inspire scores lots of points with me.

Dee Woolley, Salt Lake City (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:52 PM)

Let's get real then. I don't feel like hearing the Republican machine rehash your husbands affairs, and questions your principles. On one hand I have to tell my daughter to look up to you because you have shown that a woman has an opportunity to run for the highest office in the land. On the other hand I have to tell her to make her own way, and not to let her man cheat on her, over and over and over and over and over again.

Chris, Philly (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:53 PM)

Maybe it's time for Michelle Obam to get real.
Isn't nice that she's 'FINALLY proud' of her country?
(please.....and you idiots think that kind of B.S. will beat McCain?)

HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT 2008!
SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN PROUD OF HER COUNTRY!

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:53 PM)

I LIKE OBAMA, BUUUTTT he has NEVER done or resolved anything, anywhere yet! What has he evr done?? Having AN IN-EXPERIENCED man like himself running this great country is SCARY! BUSH had a ton of experience, yet look what happened! America would fall into an abyss of failure and SADNESS like never before should Obama ever win. The GOOD NEWS, McCain will demolish him, once America sees Obama is really without any real answers or soulutions. SWIFT BOAT TIME is coming! Easy win for McCain actually!

Larry, St. Paul Minnesota (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:55 PM)

When we talk about "getting real," perhaps we should evaluate how it went the last time she was actually in position to deliver a health care "solution"? How did that go, Mrs. Sound Solutions?

Or please tell me how not sleeping with a guy for 8 years prepared you to serve in the office? Was it the foreign policy experience that you got by going to Bosnia with Sinbad, perhaps?

A little reality check for you... this tired approach didn't work in Wisconsin. Thanks for keeping it up, because you're handing the nomination to our man who we know will do what you have not and can not.

Billy, Normal, IL (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:55 PM)

Shrilary talks about having the solutions to the problems, well....she's the problem and Obama is the solution.

steve nylund (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:56 PM)

I'm rather tired of this BS about how much experience Hillary has and how many problems she's solved and all the rest. Exactly what meaningful contribution has she made to public policy -- ever?

She did try w/ health care reform but so thoroughly botched it that it's become an even bigger problem over the last 14 years. Aside from that, what exactly?

Obama has more meaningful legislative accomplishments in his career than Hillary and it's not even close. Even if you only count his 3 years in the Senate vs. her 7 -- he's done more. At least he was one of the sponsors of the ethics reform legislation. That's more meaningful than any bill she's sponsored in her time in the Senate.

As the President's wife, what contribution did she make to public policy? None that we know of. Who needs to get real?

chuck, richmond, tx -- where obama seals the deal (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:57 PM)

How can anyone with a daughter support this women.

Hey honey look, you too can run for President one day, if you let your husband treat your marriage like garbage, and do it fron of the entire world.

Chris, Philly (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:57 PM)

As much as I dislike her, I will admit Hillary is one tough cookie! She sure won't take NO for an answer. The chance of her racking up 60% or more in the coming states contests in order to stay viable, are now, slimmer than none.

Seriously though, it's time for her to drop out of the race.

Pia NJ (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:58 PM)

I guess Hillary doesn't like to read. Otherwise she wouldn't be going on and on about "Specifics" when they are all available in mind numbing detail right here...
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

Her tired spiel hasn't worked in the last 10 primaries, and it won't work moving forward.

Drew B, Brooklyn, NY (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:58 PM)

So the implication is that Barack Obama isn't real?

Dave, Evergreen CO (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:59 PM)

I would like to see an Obama/Nader ticket. How could we lose?

Jacquelyn (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 4:00 PM)

I don't work for either campaign and I voted for bill in the 90's.I was split who to vote for until the Clintons began their negative campaigning which is the same thing bush and the repulicans did the last 8 years. If you can't win on your issues or your ability then be an adult and lose graciously. The longer this campaign goes on the less respect I have for the Clintons. If you go to Cnn's delegate count she already has got more delegates in states like Alabama and the District of columbia where Obama blew her out. So just because of backroom political power does she think she can win if WE THE VOTERS say otherwise. This and the Nitpicking and personal attacks are a total turn-off..If your worthy of the presidency than lets vote on the issues only and not if some spouse mispoke in the endless speeches they give..its like kindergarden with the Clinton campaign... I don't think no matter what happens in the popular vote total know you will ever get Hillary to Quit...shes goona be dragged off the convention stage kicking and crying saying she deserves to be the president.
I am not anti-clinton its just an observation of the tatics they are using more and more and it is A BIG TURN-OFF...they are clueless about what the american people think.

Ed Sindicich, Fort Lauderdale, FLorida (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 4:01 PM)

Wow, what a novel strategy. We're all just so stupid to think that Obama could be a good president. Its a good thing she's giving us bumpkins a "reality" check! Its too bad that she didn't check herself when she voted to go to war without even reading the bill. Where was the "hard work" then? Was it too hard to read 300 pages when thousands of lives depend on it?

Jim, Carbondale, IL (Sent Wednesday, February 20, 2008 4:01 PM)

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