Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper

« Previous | Main | Next »

Hillary Rah-Rahs Palin

August 30, 2008 11:51 AM

I think it would be fair to say that the Obama campaign wishes Sen. Hillary Clinton's statement on Gov. Palin were harsher.

"We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain," Clinton said. "While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate."

There's still time for Clinton to pivot and point out that she and Palin disagree on quite a bit -- Palin opposes legal abortion even for victims of rape and incest, for example -- but the Clinton-Obama psychodrama is very much present in these comments from the junior senator from New York. Sens. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Joe Biden, D-Del., risk looking like chauvinistic bullies when they go after Palin -- they need women -- especially Clinton -- to do that for them.

Will she rise to the task?

- jpt

August 30, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (641)

User Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Any Hillary supporter who votes for McCain-Palin is not a true thinker and supporter of Hillary. Don't you realize that everything that Hillary stands for is the opposite of Palin? Are you willing to risk the plight of your country for revenge? Come on!!

Posted by: Bev | Sep 12, 2008 4:04:03 PM

Does anyone realized that Obama would have to deal with Bill and not really Hillary, as evident during the primaries. Had Hill stepped up to the plate and shown she could handle her own without Bill's further blundering, Obama would have picked her! She showed she is not ready to play quarterback in the game.

Posted by: gee | Sep 4, 2008 12:28:15 AM

Barb said:

2)" Hillary is $22 million dollars in debt. The DNC and Obama are helping her to eliminate that. Former candidated aside, as a loyal democrat, US Sentator, former first lady, and one who is being helped financially, she should support the Democratic nominee."

There have been deals brokered between the Clinton & Obama campaigns. Obama was "suppose" to help with Clinton's debt, as is the customary thing to do, and Hillary agreed to throw many top donors his way. Well, turns out...Hillary lived up to her end of the bargain...Obama, not so much! Clinton's donors have already raised millions for Obama. Obama has done very little for Hillary to date. A very big reason why tensions were so great between both camps.

Hillary is no longer $22 million in debt. She never wanted the $10 she loaned herself, so we were only looking at $12 million or so. Many of us ardent supporters have supported her in her debt reduction, and, last I read, many vendors were now being paid off.

Obama never seemed to think he needed the Clintons or her supporters, but his arrogance could be his undoing.

Hillary has already campaigned far more for Obama than past candidates did for their opponents. Most candidates didn't even endorse their opponent until the convention,but Hillary was put through hell for waiting four days to endorse!!

I'm sick of the sycophantic media for Obama. Only after the fraudulent tactics Obama's party activists used at the caucuses, which gave him a pledged delegate lead(as IF, this represented the "will of the people" ha)was he vetted in the least. Do you really think he would be the nominee if the msm hadn't held the Rev. Wright story for so long, and are still holding stories....

Posted by: kmb08 | Sep 2, 2008 5:10:41 PM

I can't believe the uneducated voices on this website:

1) Obama did not STEAL anything from Hillary. He won by all legal accounts. Hillary's campaign managers were her ultimate downfall. They mismanaged her budget and her campaign strategies.

2) Hillary is $22 million dollars in debt. The DNC and Obama are helping her to eliminate that. Former candidated aside, as a loyal democrat, US Sentator, former first lady, and one who is being helped financially, she should support the Democratic nominee.

3) Palin is no Hillary and Hillary of all people should be insulted by their strategy to take her supporters for a woman who is not qualified and would do more to set back women of this country.

4) As a dual resident of Arizona and Illinois, I can tell you that Obama has done more good, created more change in his short tenure as a state and US Senator than McCain has done in a lifetime. After many years as a senator, McCain has little to show for himself. He's a hot head known to be reactionary before he thinks through ideas.

Bottom line -those who want the American rights of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness to be further eroded, those who make $3 million dollars a year or more, those women who want their rights of equal pay and reproductive decisions taken away, and those who want to be in Iraq for the next hundred years SHOULD vote for McCain/Palin.

Posted by: barb | Sep 2, 2008 9:18:02 AM

May I add, if Palin was a man we would not support him because of his views on very important issues. Do women not understand that McCain has slapped us in the face by acknowledging that the best woman he could select to try and "woo" women is one of the most under qualified woman to be Vice President. Vice President, does anyone understand what that is? Well Palin doesn't. As women if we vote for Palin we are vocalizing our support of lowering the glass ceiling.

Posted by: Zoe | Sep 1, 2008 10:01:28 PM

Women! Women! Please do not be fooled by the simple essence of being a woman. This country is not about woman, man, black, white, southern, northern, etc. Do you truly understand the issues at stake? We have no idea who will be on this earth tomorrow, next year, and/or 4 years from now. But we do understand what we need today. We NEED better heathcare. We NEED equal rights for women. We NEED a better foreign policy. We NEED a better educational system. Does Palin stand or understand any of this - NO! So before we stand as women understand that we are Americans. ObamaZ and Hillary stand for the same. And for that I have the passion and understanding to support Obama.

Posted by: Zoe | Sep 1, 2008 9:49:36 PM

Why is it Hillary Clinton's responsibility to pull the Democratic Party out of the hole they dug for themselves? Let me get this straight: She is NOT the nominee; she is NOT the VP nominee. But suddenly, the failure of the democrats to excited the voters to their side is HER fault?

Get real!!

I am an Independent voter and my former-Hillary vote will go to McCain/Palin. I listended to Hillary's speech and thought she showed great class and dignity -- much more than the DNC showed her! I just don't buy it.

...and the last time I checked I still owned my own vote, dispite Obama and the DNC.

Posted by: Teri Ann | Sep 1, 2008 9:29:25 PM

all of you self righteous hypocrites,vote for palin because she's a woman, you show me that you have no brains, only female desire to run and rule.

Posted by: bey | Sep 1, 2008 3:20:03 PM

Lady T, Don't worry about those idiots that don't have the brains to figure this out as we have. The same was true when Gore and Bush ran. They were so sold on Bush that they could not see what Gore had to offer. Now you can't find anyone that voted for Bush. Strange!

Posted by: william | Sep 1, 2008 1:08:09 PM

After reading all of the blogs on this message board, I have to tell you guys that I find it appalling how the so-called Hillary supporters can be so quick to vote for McCain knowing that 95% of Barack and Hillary's policies are the same. You all are just not getting it and when this country ends up being a third world country under the McCain/Palin presidency, I don't want to hear any of you Hillary supporters who voted for McCain complaining about jack! If people cannot get past their prejudices (because that's what this is really about) and would rather see this country fall to its knees then this country will deserve whatever it gets as far as I'm concerned. For the Hillary supporters who are women, if you're planning to vote for McCain you can kiss your women's rights good-bye and you would have caused other women who voted for the right candidate (Obama) to suffer because of your stupidity.

I've read several blogs talking about how Obama treated Hillary but what about how Hillary treated Obama? She wasn't exactly polite herself by no means. She tore Barack down every chance she got so if she can throw a punch then she should be able to take them including from the media, just as Obama did. Some people in this country are so jaded to the point that if you're not a person coming off very forceful then people think you're weak. If Obama had attacked Hillary the way she attacked him, he would've been called all kinds of names. I am so sick and tired of people complaining about how Barack treated Hillary when she didn't treat him with any respect. You reap what you sew. As an Obama supporter, I hope that they don't have Hillary attack Palin because that would just be another excuse for some people to say that Obama is weak. He must not be too weak, he won the nomination and NO, he did not cheat and the media is not to blame, he had a better strategy than the other candidates and his policies are much better than what the repubs are offering. This bickering back and forth amongst supporters is gettting ridiculous! I'll be so glad when November comes so we can know the fate of this country. Whatever the choice is, we're gonna have to deal with it and that's why it is important to make sure we set our differences aside and not vote for the candidate who will lead us to another 4 or 8 years of Bush. I don't know about most of you, but I'm not making a 6 figure salary so I can't afford another 4 years of the same. Like Barack said, "Eight is enough".

Posted by: LadyT | Sep 1, 2008 11:10:20 AM

Obama the empty suit can’t win this election. He's a disaster.

He should have taken advantage of the Clinton’s popularity and the love still felt for them throughout the world.

Obama never won the primary. Obama stole it from Hillary.The world watched the DNC hand the nomination to Obama by silencing voters.

Obama has destroyed the Democratic Party because of his own self centered narcissist personality.

The media can say what they want about Obama winning the primary but voters know the truth, especially Clinton supporters. Obama ignored voters. Florida and Michigan will never forget it.

Obama and Michelle were given a second chance to put Hillary on his ticket, but instead chose to hog the glory and embarrass the Democratic Party.

Obama could have won these women over.
Now McCain is winning the Hillary women with his VP pick.
Obama is risky, radical and not a great patriot.

Remember: Rezko, (the criminal), Reverend Wright (the anti Semitic racist) and William Ayers ( Obama’s coworker = domestic terrorist)

God is watching and the world is staring at our unfair voting process.

The Democratic Party is embarrassing.

Posted by: Al from NJ | Sep 1, 2008 10:39:04 AM

I have just one question for all of you feminist. Where were you when Ferraro was on the ticket?

Posted by: william | Sep 1, 2008 10:37:25 AM

Palin nearly insulted HRC we all know that...
I was just wondering what would have happened IF Obama had called HRC "a whiner"?

Posted by: Avembe | Sep 1, 2008 9:00:41 AM

You people are idiots! You're going to switch your party just because a woman is on the ticket? OMG, I'm embarassed that the women in this country are so brain dead.

Since when do you need to be more qualified to run the local WalMart than you do to run the entire country?

Posted by: Sharon | Sep 1, 2008 8:44:08 AM

never knew americans were so dump,somtimes u embarrass us all..u have a candidate like never b4,y not give him a try atleasr for change..

Posted by: 4real | Sep 1, 2008 6:04:49 AM

Palin is my real American hero.

After waiting 24 years to have another women on the Presidential ticket, I have only one more thing to add:

YOU GO GIRL!!!

Posted by: janephilip | Sep 1, 2008 5:27:40 AM

Remember what Hillary said "No Way, No How, No McCain" Palin does not represent nor stand for any issues/policies the voters of Hillary Clinton stand for. Palin represents only one thing and anyone with 1/2 a brain knows what that is.

Posted by: Linda | Aug 31, 2008 2:45:22 PM

Hillary stood up for women's causes. I am sure she has changed her mind now that Palin is on the republican ticket.

Posted by: janephilip | Sep 1, 2008 5:25:48 AM

This pick was PLAIN stupid and you Repub's know it.....

Its Popeye & Oliveoil

Posted by: Ernest T Bass | Aug 31, 2008 8:48:10 AM

Funny but I'm not surprised that all the male chauvinists have come out attacking Palin.

They must be terrified of a woman in the White House.

Posted by: janephilip | Sep 1, 2008 5:17:39 AM

I dont know if McCain was considering everything, this pick just seems kind of rushed.? Obama will find it if there is anything on this girl.

Posted by: Peter | Aug 30, 2008 12:04:40 PM

I have no doubt. Obama is an expert on dirty tricks. Look what he did to Hillary.

Posted by: janephilip | Sep 1, 2008 5:14:33 AM

Reading through all the posts here, I feel strongly encouraged.

Women are uniting to prevent another attack from two known male chauvinists (Obama/Biden) on another woman.

What Nobama did to Hillary was unforgivable.

As age catches up with me, I hope my dream to see a woman in the White House become a reality in this election.

Posted by: janephilip | Sep 1, 2008 5:06:11 AM

Post a comment





 

POLITICAL VIDEOS