What a Democrat looks like.
Submitted by mad4clark on August 27, 2008 - 7:38am.
Hillary Clinton | Democratic politics
I'm sitting here, still in awe of Hillary's speech and of the woman herself.
Her speech was a work of brilliance. I'm waiting to see the transcript and go over it in detail. It was, first and foremost, a speech about politics. It had plenty of "human interest" and even humor in it. We most certainly got a look into the mind and heart of this woman. But what it was, from the first line to the last, was a full-force evocation of what it means to be a Democrat. In a season wehere we have been bombarded by bipartisan, everybody let's hug, don't say anything bad about the Republicans, don't be partisan be Obamacan, Unity Ponies for everyone balderdash, Hillary took the party by the scruff of its dithering neck and made it look at the reason we are a party in the first place.
The invocations of all of her identities became the warp into which she wove the woof of policy, belief, and acts, creating a mantle - Democrat. I am a Democrat for these reasons - these reasons are why I must call myself a Democrat. She was unapologetically partisan in every sentence. She explained, with the examples from her campaign, why she is driven to serve. She gave notice that for her this is a duty and that the hatred heaped upon her has no effect. I was reminded of her words in the blogger conference call - I am impervious to them.
Evidently Chris Matthews said that there was no evidence of defeat in this speech. Why would there be? It is entirely a media narrative, helped along mightily by the pool boys of the fauxgressive blogosphere, that they were "finally rid of the Clintons." They wanted suffering, shame, penance, begging for forgiveness and Hillary just handed them a steaming super-sized mug of shut the f*ck up. As she was never a media darling, they cannot touch her - she is impervious. She walked off that stage the most powerful person in the Deomcratic Party, owning nothing to any of the power brokers because she has given it all to the Party. That is her duty, there lie her obligations, and that is what she is here to defend.
[...]
Hillary presented the case for unity, answering the question "Unity for the sake of what?" (and even answering Lambert's plaint "And we get...?") through her enactment of Democratic principles. There was no ire, no resentment, not even the whisper of hurt. Politics is rough, but failure to fulfill your political duty (to the veteran, to the cancer patient, to the impoverished mother), is unforgiveable. Not hope. Not change. Duty. She gave Bill the recognition for his duty that their political opponents meanly withhold. She offered the arguments for why the success of the party was paramount, and in the doing ripped away the prevarications and self-deception thrown out for why unity with her wasn't possible. She explicitly invoked Bill Gwatney's pursuit of a Democratic and more just South, crushing the anti-Bubba bigotry with the straightforward truth that the only way to end the ugly legacy of the South is to transform it.
Many people have talked about Obama as a "transcendent" candidate, someone who is "post-partisan," "post-racial," calls us to something higher, and so forth. What Hillary did on that stage tonight was demonstrate what true political transcendence looks like. Surrounded by heart-broken supporters, hateful detractors, an unflaggingly hostile media, and looking at the faces of her colleagues who have treated her in the most despicable way possible for months on end, she spoke passionately and without rancor to all of them. Her personal grace and decency were rivaled only by her political integrity and loyalty. She has transcended the brutality and cruelty visited upon her in this primary. The political ground that lies within her reach has been swept clean of any barriers, impediments or stumbling blocks..............
To think what might have been.
If the DNC had just stayed out of it and let events take their course.......yes, all the way to the convention floor....Democrats could have come out of it looking at 12-16 years in the WH. But of course they had to act true to form and try to grab defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Maybe Obama watched last night and realized his "unity" "post partisan" schtick is just not doing the trick.....see the polls.
Maybe he will determine that running as a Democrat is not only a sure winner, but the right thing to do.
One would hope so.
But I'm not holding my breath.
in our Chicago papers about the local gay community being upset with Obama because he never makes an appearance at the annual Chgo Gay Pride parade. This year they were very upset - the parade takes place downtown and Obama was known to be in town and working out at a gym a few blocks away.
...that was because of pandering to the AA vote. In the GE he has no excuse.
Why have Obama and the New Democratic Party chose to rehabilitate the Republican Party at a time when it and conservatism has proven to be such a failure? Answer: "Because that's where the money is."
Obama has been in the IL Senate since 1997. He has been our U.S. Senator since 2005.
Once he reached the level of U.S. Senator, he should have made an attempt to appeal to that base, IMO.
Especially since the word "Democrat" has been avoided all week.
Why have Obama and the New Democratic Party chose to rehabilitate the Republican Party at a time when it and conservatism has proven to be such a failure? Answer: "Because that's where the money is."
She makes me proud to be a Democrat.You are absolutely right about her up front inclusion of Gay Rights.
I am so looking forward to the next stage in Hillary's career. I believe she will become the leader in Congress that we desperately need. Long live Ted Kennedy, but we all are mortal.
..destined for more than that.
Why have Obama and the New Democratic Party chose to rehabilitate the Republican Party at a time when it and conservatism has proven to be such a failure? Answer: "Because that's where the money is."
I didn't hear her speech. From the comments here,
though, it sounds like she was very Presidential.
...a speech for the ages.
Catch a rerun if you can
Why have Obama and the New Democratic Party chose to rehabilitate the Republican Party at a time when it and conservatism has proven to be such a failure? Answer: "Because that's where the money is."
or as Wes Clark says, "She's one tough cookie." At this point in time we need a fighter. I hope Obama gets a clue and realizes going along to get along is exactly why we're where we are. OTOH, maybe Obama and his supporters are fine with losing the Democratic brand and continuing on the path of one party government. If the Repubs weren't such regressives, that might be okay, but we know they aren't too keen on compromise.
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
Remember them?
Why have Obama and the New Democratic Party chose to rehabilitate the Republican Party at a time when it and conservatism has proven to be such a failure? Answer: "Because that's where the money is."
How did they lose out to this.....
Research on Wiki yields:
Edmontonia was bulky and tank-like at roughly 6.6m (22 ft) long and 2m (6 ft) high. Usually included in this genus is Denversaurus schlessmani ("Schlessman's Denver lizard").
To protect itself from predators, an Edmontonia might have crouched down on the ground to minimize the possibility of attack to its defenseless underbelly.
Hague Court Ex-spokeswoman Charged With Contempt
Irish Times Aug 28, 2008
A former spokeswoman at the war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia in The Hague has been charged with two counts of contempt for disclosing confidential information since leaving the court.
In a book published a year ago, Florence Hartmann wrote that in 1997 Russia blocked the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, captured in Belgrade last month after more than a decade on the run and now in The Hague awaiting trial.
In a statement, the tribunal ordered "the prosecution of Florence Hartmann ... for knowingly and wilfully disclosing information in knowing violation of an order of a chamber".
Ms Hartmann, a former spokeswoman for the UN tribunal's prosecutor, was ordered to appear before the court on September 15th.
The allegations says she disclosed "information relating to confidential decisions of the tribunal's Appeals Chamber in the case of Slobodan Milosevic" but does not give details.
Ms Hartmann's book "Peace and Punishment", published in September 2007, details discussions between the leaders of the United States, Britain and France in 1997 when French President Jacques Chirac was persuaded to abandon his demands for the arrest of Karadzic.
Mr Chirac was seeking redress for the capture of two French pilots shot down and held hostage by Bosnian Serb forces in 1995, Hartmann wrote.
Former tribunal Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte was told by Chirac that the United States had prevented the arrest of Karadzic in Bosnia, hardening his belief that Washington had a secret deal to let him go free.
Former Nato commander Wesley Clark, however, told Ms del Ponte it was France that made a secret no-arrest deal with Karadzic and his wartime commander Ratko Mladic, to obtain the release of the two French aviators, Hartmann wrote.
She quotes Chirac as telling Ms del Ponte that former Russian President Boris Yeltsin did not want Karadzic to be arrested because he knew too much about former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
Ms Hartmann faces one charge of disclosing information in her book and another over an article published in January this year by the Bosnian Institute, a privately-funded organisation that seeks to inform and educate people about the history of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
© 2008 irishtimes.com
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0827/breaking59.htm
I think that was the best political speech I have ever heard.
Wes has delivered many extraordinary speeches; as have so many of my favorite Democrats; but frankly, this stirring and compelling call by Hillary Clinton was simply the best political speech I have ever heard, bar none.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5663695
(length: 9 min)
Oh my........for me, that will rank right up there with Wes Clark's speech at the 2004 Convention. I had tears streaming down my face. Tears of both sadness and PRIDE in her abilities and achievements as a WOMAN.
When the camera cut away to Bill, he was obviously taking great pleasure in every syllable she uttered, too. My goodness......she made Kathleen Sebelius and Liddy Ledbetter look pitiful in comparison. Come to think of it, she made every male speechifier I've seen look a little the worse for wear, too.
Through this primary process, Hillary Clinton became a heroine of mine. I will always be grateful for what she has done, not only for women but for America, as well.
about her speech -- Hillary showed that no matter what happened to her personally, she puts country first. I don't think that is true of the presumptive nominee. If his ego and pettiness had not ruled his decision, he would have chosen Hillary as his VP choice. I'm not saying I wanted her to be his VP pick, but it would have shown he was putting the good of the country ahead of the himself.
Hillary has done everything she possibly can to get her supporters to support Obama. I haven't seen Obama do anything to get her supporters. In fact, his campaign -- of which he is directly responsible -- and many of his supporters, have made it clear he does not need her supporters.
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
Josh Marshall said in his TPM blog that Hillary Clinton could not have made the convention speech a year ago. I will go further. She could not have made that speech 6 months ago. The reason is that she has become a far stronger, more confident person than she was at the time of the Iowa caucus and even Super Tuesday.
Despite Wes Clark's endorsement, which was compelling, I did not like the way she conducted her campaign. I think she got bad advice, and her surrogates were out of line many times. As the campaign became practically a hopeless cause, it seemed to me that she quit listening to her advisors and started being herself. From that point forward, I noticed a lilt in her voice and a stride in her step which demonstrated her self-control, fighter spirit, and strong indicators of leadership.
Her concession speech was outstanding, but nothing compared to the speech last night. She was in control, had the attitude of victory despite the loss of the nomination, and the speech was absolutely compelling. I saw a leadership ability in her that I had never seen before. I cannot help but think that the biggest mistake the campaign made was not to let Hillary be herself. If the Hillary Clinton of August, 2008, was the same Hillary Clinton in January, 2008, she would be the nominee.
Her campaign was a great success despite losing the nomination. The 18,000,000 million cracks in the ceiling are real, as is her influence. She has more confidence and has far better leadership ability than she did before the campaign. She is the rare person that is strengthened by defeat. She was at her best last night, and her influence will be felt for years to come, whether she ever becomes president or not.
I've been saying for a while that Sen. Clinton deserved a far better campaign staff than she got. I think Mark Penn, (among others), gave her breaktakingly bad advice, and it seems like she only really started clicking on her own after ignoring the advisors.
The fact that she did as well as she did, even with the bad advice she got, speaks very well for her indeed.
I was in a department store a bit ago and a customer came up to the counter, the girl behind the register siad something to him and he said, "Thanks honey".
When he noticed her badge said "Department manager", he recoiled and apologized for calling her honey. Of course, the girl behind the counter was unperturbed by it, and laughed and said it's ok, and after his checkout was complete, she gave him his bags and said "Have a good day, honey". haha
died when she mentioned gay rights and universal healthcare for every American. That was her platform and she is challenging Obama to make it part of his. Good for her.
The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off. ~Gloria Steinem