Archive for November, 2007
November 11th, 2007
The most savage criticism of Clintonian ethics has not always come from political conservatives. Consider the following.
Bob Herbert, the eloquent and passionate columnist with The New York Times, can never be accused of being part of Hillary Clinton’s “vast right-wing conspiracy.” He is as liberal as journalists come, a consistent and vehement critic of the Republican Party and President George W. Bush. That is why his column of February 26, 2001 should be required reading for every American of voting age seriously considering casting their ballot for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
That column of Herbert’s, “In America; Cut Him Loose,” was written in the midst of the pardongate scandal. For those who have forgotten, and it is challenging to keep track of all the Clinton scandals, this was Bill Clinton’s parting gesture of contempt towards the American people during literally the final hours of his sleazy and philandering presidency. A host of last minute presidential pardons were granted to a host of shady characters. They included a fugitive billionaire who had once been on the FBI list of ten most wanted, as well as a quartet of swindlers who had stolen tens of millions of dollars in tax payers money.
The connection between both Bill and Hillary Clinton and those pardoned prompted Herbert to write the following in his column: “The Clintons can spin this however they want. But the simple truth is that the way in which some of the pardons were granted seems to fit neatly with the standard definition of a bribe, which is the promise of money or gifts — something of value — to influence the action or behavior of an official.”
Pardongate generated so much outrage in America, it appeared that the Clintons were finished as a political couple. “Bill Clinton has been a disaster for the Democratic Party. Send him packing,” Bob Herbert warned the Democratic Party. He added that, “As neither Clinton has the grace to retire from the scene, the Democrats have no choice but to turn their backs on them. It won’t be easy, but the Democrats need to try.”
Sadly, seven years later, the Democratic Party has not turned its back on the Clintons. It has welcomed Bill Clinton back on the altar as the rock-star among Party stalwarts, and is on the verge of handing Hillary Rodham Clinton its presidential nomination, virtually on a silver platter.
George Santayana, the Spanish-American philosopher, once warned that those who forget the errors and sins of the past are condemned to repeat them. Is this the “change” the Democrats are promising in 2008? It may prove to be a fatal flirtation with deja vu for the American people.
Sheldon Filger, Author
“Hillary Clinton Nude: Naked Ambition, Hillary Clinton And America’s Demise.”
www.hillary-clinton-nude.com
November 9th, 2007
The Clinton campaign has just announced another of their inane contests. Last time, the winner got to eat potato chips with Bill Clinton. This time, among new financial contributors to Hillary’s campaign, a drawing will be held, and the winner gets to have a sandwich with Hillary Rodham Clinton while out on the campaign trail with her.
Honest to God, I did not make this up. What is so tragic, however, is that this appeal to games and gimmickry by the Hillary Clinton campaign must be working, or else the Clinton political machine would not be investing so heavily in this strategy.
These games are what we expect in a celebrity culture. The winner gets to have dinner with a movie star, or rock singer. What Hillary Clinton has done, apparently with much success, is to import these celebrity dynamics from the world of entertainment into the political arena.
Resorting to games and a bag of tricks means not having to focus the campaign on serious, even critical issues. The long-term ramifications from the Iraq war disaster, America’s looming economic meltdown and ending corruption in Washington D.C. can all be put on the back burner, or dealt with superficially. Hillary is conditioning the American electorate to make their voting decisions on the basis that the presidential election is another Hollywood game show, with Hillary Rodham Clinton being the all-star player that the masses should pay homage to as the ultimate political celebrity.
This emergence of the celebrity presidential candidate, which I describe in some detail in my book, “Hillary Clinton Nude,” is symptomatic of the decay and disfunctionality that characterizes contemporary American politics. This plethora of Hillaryland tricks, games and circuses for the masses has a very dark side; it diverts the electorate from real threats and challenges that pose a growing threat to the nation and its very continuity.
Sheldon Filger, Author
“Hillary Clinton Nude”
www.hillary-clinton-nude.com
November 8th, 2007
Out on the campaign trail in Iowa on behalf of Hillary, former President Bill Clinton uttered the prediction that his wife would win the election in November 2008 by a comfortable margin. On first reaction, one would dismiss this as another Clintonian taunt. On reflection, however, there is more to Bill Clinton’s political prophecy than meets the eye.
Contrary to what one might otherwise expect of Bill Clinton, he has been measured, even coy, in publicly discussing Hillary’s electoral possibilities in 2008. Long after he and Hillary made the decision that she would seek the presidency (I personally believe the decision was made concurrently with deciding she would run for the New York Senate seat), Bill Clinton ably played along with the fable that Hillary was undecided as to whether or not she would run for president. Even after Hillary Clinton’s official announcement and establishment of her “exploratory” presidential committee, Bill Clinton remained publicly guarded in his evaluation of her chances to win. He was restrained and not boastful-until now.
What has changed? The vast Clinton political machine has access to the best political demographic research in the nation. Based on information at their disposal, but not disseminated to the public, Bill and Hillary are utterly convinced that she will, indeed, win the presidential election by a significant margin, with coattails that will enhance the Democratic Party’s majority in both houses of Congress.
It would appear that Bill Clinton is sending a signal to those Democrats remaining on the sidelines: “We are headed back to the White House, and our memories are long. Back Hillary now, or forget about having a future with the second Clinton administration.”
Sheldon Filger, Author
“Hillary Clinton Nude”
www.hillary-clinton-nude.com
November 7th, 2007
Amid the barbs of several pundits that Hillary Clinton did so poorly in the last candidates’ debate that her poll numbers are sinking, USA Today just released its latest polling date, which shows Hillary Clinton maintaining a 28% lead over second-place Democrat Barack Obama. This is essentially unchanged from pre-debate polls.
In evaluating the issue of whether or not Hillary Clinton’s nomination by the Democratic Party as their presidential candidate is inevitable, it is a mistake to look at one snapshot in time, such as the media’s interpretation of a single debate. Far more important are the broad sweeps of campaign strategy and its execution. It appears to me that in Hillaryland everything is still on track, and their vast superiority in political muscle and connectivity within the Democratic Party remains unchallenged by Obama and Edwards.
Some media observers have pointed out that Clinton’s lead in Iowa is very narrow post-debate. Yet, for most of the summer, Hillary Clinton was in second or third place in the Iowa caucus polls. As mentioned in earlier posts, even if Hillary Clinton loses in Iowa, she will still go on to win the nomination. The issue for her in Iowa is to score a knockout blow against Obama in early January. For that reason, I expect to see Hillaryland mobilize its considerable muscle in Iowa by early December.
Why is Senator Clinton so eager to wrap up the nomination process early? By doing so, she can spend months building up her general campaign organization, while the Republicans are still engaged in internecine warfare over who will be their Party’s standard bearer in November 2008.
Sheldon Filger, Author
“Hillary Clinton Nude”
www.hillary-clinton-nude.com
November 5th, 2007
Hillary Clinton, out on the campaign trail, reacted reflexively to the declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan. She blamed Bush. How profound, how insightful. Another example of Hillary Clinton’s superior intellect at work.
I am being facetious. The analysis part was clearly lacking. However, from Hillary Clinton’s standpoint, the primary reason convulsions happen throughout the world is to provide more arrows for her quiver of talking points to hurl at the Bush administration.
History will render its judgement on Bush’s policy, or lack thereof, on Pakistan. However, the first Clinton presidency is also not immune from historical criticism. We must remember that Pakistan’s current military dictator came to power during the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton. Both Pakistan and India became nuclear-armed states during Bill Clinton’s administration, and nearly went to war over Kashmir. Also, lest we forget, the current military government in Pakistan and its intelligence apparatus installed the anti-American Taliban in power in Afghanistan, and they in turn provided Al-Qaeda with a safe-haven to plan the 9/11 attacks-again, while Bill Clinton was president.
Hillary Clinton, whose primary claim to be qualified for the presidency was her “tour of duty” as her husband’s co-president, should be reminded that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
Sheldon Filger, Author
“Hillary Clinton Nude”
www.hillary-clinton-nude.com
November 2nd, 2007
“Hillary Clinton Nude” the book is now also on YouTube as a video description of Sheldon Filger’s literary analysis of the front-runner among presidential candidates in 2008. Since Hillary Clinton Nude was posted on YouTube, more than 100,000 have viewed the provocative video, which relays what is at stake for the American people in the upcoming presidential election.
November 2nd, 2007
When Barack Obama first entered the presidential race, numerous media pundits proclaimed his candidacy a dire threat to Hillary’s coronation at the Democratic Convention in the summer of 2008. In previous comments I pointed out why they were wrong, and explained that Obama’s entry into the race actually helped the Clinton political machine. Now many in the media are at it again. A flock of these gurus have proclaimed that Hillary Clinton’s debate performance in Philadelphia has inflicted a grievous wound on her candidacy. Some have suggested that her nomination is no longer certain.
I respectfully disagree with these media pundits. As someone who believes that Hillary Clinton is profoundly unqualified for the presidency, and knows all about Clinton double-talk, nothing that occurred in Philadelphia is a surprise. Hillary was just being Hillary. And none of this tendency by her, over a long period of time, has dented her electoral dominance in the Democratic Party.
The Clinton political machine is basing both its nomination campaign and the subsequent general election effort on garnering a substantial majority of the female vote. Her current vast lead over all her Democratic opponents is based on this demographic reality. Nothing is secret about this strategy; Hillary openly boasts about it, and the Clinton campaign is largely structured and organized so as to execute this strategy.
The image that came out of Philadelphia is of one woman being besieged by a horde of male candidates, facilitated by two tough male media moderators. Hillaryland will mine this political imagery for all that it is worth, transmitting a message to the women voters that will further fortify Hillary Clinton’s attraction by this crucial electoral demographic. Hints that this will occur are reports that a Clinton staffer suggested that one of the media hosts, NBC’s Tim Russert, “should be shot.”
Relatively few television viewers have been watching the candidates’ debates involving the Democrats and Republicans. The post mortems of the pundits will be quickly forgotten. However, the ammo that Senator Clinton accumulated will strike a chord with female voters in the early primary states that will have a more enduring impact.
Sheldon Filger, Author
“Hillary Clinton Nude”
www.hillary-clinton-nude.com
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