As I was watching the MSNBC debate with Jane Hamsher, (she stayed with me for a few days before her surgery yesterday and is recovering nicely.) I turned and said that I was wondering when Russert would ask her if she killed Vince Foster. The hostility directed at her was pretty ridiculous. Disagree with her all you want and I certainly do, but Russert had a plan in mind and carried it out. You will never see Republicans treated this way throughout a debate. Taylor Marsh thought so too.
Here's all you need to know:
Russert asked the panel of 7 candidates a total of fifty-two questions. How many do you figure were about Hillary? Go on – take a guess. Give up? Right – of the 52 questions a total of twenty-five were about Hillary.
Of those 25, how many do you think were hostile toward Hillary? Go on – take a guess. Give up? Right – 22 of those questions were hostile.
And I agree with FDL on this one. Bob Somerby tries to wake us all up to the fact that will always be the case for any Democratic front runner. Just wait and see if Edwards or Obama pull ahead in the polls.
At any rate, the “men” did go after Clinton last night—holding hands like blubbering babies, looking like frightened, wet-legged boys. Brian and Tim and Barack and John learned an inspiring lesson last night—if the four hold hands and help each other, they can work up their courage to dunk the vile witch. Yes, they did the same thing to Candidate Gore, simply pretending that he was a woman. But this will be done to Democratic front-runners as long as we Dems and libs permit it. And uh-oh! If the work of our brilliant web leaders provides clues, this will go on for a very long time. So will Republican control of the White House.
Now Obama is saying that Hillary is playing the gender card: (above video from Obama on The Today Show)
"I am assuming and I hope that Sen. Clinton wants to be treated like everybody else. And I think that that's why she's running for President."
Of course it's an all boy's club: Ezra Klein answers:
Clinton, speaking to her alma mater, said, "In so many ways, this all-women's college prepared me to compete in the all-boys club of presidential politics." That's the only invocation of gender since the debate. And to me, it sounds like nothing more interesting than alumni puffery. She didn't say the "boys" were beating up on her for being a woman. She didn't say the questions were unfair or the attacks sexist. She just said that her alma mater helped prepare her to enter this world. That's not making this about gender. It's mentioning gender, and pumping up her college...read on
And then of course Russert took a few minutes off at the end of the debate to ask Kucinich about UFO's. An absure passage in a book. As I said, you will never see a Republican treated like this in a debate. Ever! I do fantasize about someone saying this to the Oh, mighty----Timmeh:
I have a fantasy that at one of these moments, a candidate will say, "You know what, Tim, I'm not going to answer that question. This is serious business. And you, sir, are a disgrace. You have in front of you a group of accomplished, talented leaders, one of whom will in all likelihood be the next president of the United States. You can ask them whatever you want. And you choose to engage in this ridiculous gotcha game, thinking up inane questions you hope will trick us into saying something controversial or stupid...read on
