A Day in the Life » OK, why hasn’t this guy been fired?

I’m a smidge behind on this one…

So I had heard that the Clinton Campaign was being rather….dismissive about any state that Obama had carried in recent caucuses and primaries, but I hadn’t read the actual quote.

Ready?

Here it is:

“Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn’t won any of the significant states outside of Illinois?” –Mark Penn, Clinton Chief Strategist

So…is your strategy to be a big ol’ jerk? I mean, I understand you have to spin. Everyone has to. Everyone does. But when you’re presumably one of the people responsible for helping a candidate to win a nomination (much less an election), it’s probably not a good idea to belittle a huge swath of the country you’re trying to lead.

This is the nail in the coffin for me. I will not vote for Hillary Clinton. Ever. We’ve lived eight years with a presidency that played up the “If you’re not with us, you’re against us, so get the hell out of our way” rhetoric. And I’m not going to vote for eight more. My daughter deserves better than that.

I’m not asking Hillary to capitulate. Lord knows, it’s still close enough and intense enough that anything could happen, and hope survives. But don’t dismiss half a nation ’cause they didn’t vote your way, especially when your own staff and supporters have pulled out all the stops to try and get you elected.

Win magnanimously. Lose with grace. Lead all the people. Ignore none of them.

Categories: Politics And Issues

4 Responses to “OK, why hasn’t this guy been fired?”

huda wrote a comment on February 20, 2008

Hate to break it to you, but you’re more than a smidge behind on this one. Essentially Penn has said that caucuses don’t matter (not adequate representation of the voting public), the states in the South don’t matter (they will go red in November), the small states don’t matter (not enough people), and the states in the middle part of America don’t matter (red in November). Basically, according to Penn, the only states that matter are the ones Hillary has won.

On another note, commentary on some more current Penn-isms is available here: http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/02/the_texas_caucumaryprimacus_co.html

I do particularly love the ones she pulled out in the block quotes.

Dan wrote a comment on February 20, 2008

huda »

Actually, to be fair, there were more than a few posts and articles that sited that quote written in the few days leading up to the Wisconsin Primaries, which were yesterday. At most I am a week(ish) behind on this one.

As for other quotes, I’d like to think that this one sums up his contempt more succinctly than any other. Unless he comes out and says, “We win because we won the only states in the Union that matter.” In those words.

tobie castelbaum wrote a comment on February 21, 2008

Dan - Hesh and I voted for Obama because of Becca’s and your support for him. It’s your future that concerns us and if you feel so strongly that this is the candidate who will pull us out of the morass that Bush has created, then we feel we must support you. I have been voting since 1948 and other than Nixon I have never experienced such visceral disgust with any president, democrat or republican.

tobie castelbaum wrote a comment on February 22, 2008

Daniel - you are so eloquent and so right - I just love the closing words of your Feb 21st blog and am very pleased that you young’uns are so “turned on” to this election - after all - the future belongs to you - mine is behind me!