Over the weekend the Clinton campaign released photos of Barack Obama wearing traditional Somali garb while on an African tour a few years back. Of course foreign dignitaries often pay respect to local custom like this—Bush, Bill Clinton, and Hillary herself have all done the same. So what's the problem?
The problem is that Hillary's camp is not releasing this to demonstrate how worldly or cool Obama looks in this outfit (with his polo and khakis clearly visable beneath it), they are doing it to denegrate him and stir up the issue of his multi-cultural background, and if it muddies the water on the closet muslim rumors, well, that's just a bonus...
She makes me fucking sick.
Don't give me any crap about that being a link to Drudge [* see update]. That's where they sent the photos, and they are NOT denying it. They are feigning "What's wrong with that?" and then getting defensive about it. Here is the official non-denial denial from new campaign manager Maggie Williams:
If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely. This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry. We will not be distracted.”
Your campaign has become a fucking disgrace Senator Clinton. Grab a seat next to Lieberman over there...you are dead to me, and no longer a Democrat.
MORE: The Clinton camp cops to sending it, but claims it was in the context of about press coverage, not to push a negative story to the press. Clinton spokesman, Mo Elleithee: "We don’t think there’s anything wrong with this photo. Sen. Clinton has herself, while traveling abroad, dressed in traditional, local dress...We think it is wrong for the Obama campaign to say that this is divisive photo. It’s not a divisive photo."
Lecture us again about tactics and behavior, Hillary. Go the fuck home.
*UPDATE: From the eminently reliable Josh Marshall:
Put it all together and the Clinton camp would appear to be unwilling to make even the most perfunctory denial that they are or were circulating this photo around.
We held up on this because we never want to take Drudge as a fact witness for anything. But I think the Clinton camp's statement speaks for itself.
10 comments:
This is just getting very disappointing. No wonder I'm turning apathetic.
Welcome kona, I promise not to have my minions rip your head off if you step out of line...
So, if they don't think there's anything wrong with it, what's their excuse for using it at all? Why would they concern themselves with pictures of the opponent at all?
Precisely.
OK, maybe it's the sickness, the multiple meds, and the overall lack of energy, but I'm having a really hard time getting worked up about this. It's just a picture. Clinton's goons aren't attaching any false claims to it. Best response by Obama would be to roll his eyes and laugh it off.
So, if they don't think there's anything wrong with it, what's their excuse for using it at all? Why would they concern themselves with pictures of the opponent at all?
Exactly. Campaign 101 says you never show pictures of your opponent unless they are particularly shameful, and you never mention your opponent's name more than your own ("no press is bad press").
Thus, by violating at least one of the edicts, they are up to something. This feigned innocence shit is for the birds. "What what...we were just showing a nice picture of Barak on a little vacay..."
Toast, come back when you're not sedated... ;-)
Obviously, viewed in a vacuum, it's just a picture, no different than any other foreign visit, but when the desperate candidate circulates a photo of her opponent with the funny name and the whisper Muslim rumor wearing a turban, I'm sorry, that's fucking bullshit.
Obama might be able to laugh it off, and perhaps that's wisest, but somebody needs to fucking hit back and hard on this shit.
I'm having a really hard time getting worked up about this.
I don't see the big deal either. It's campaign season.
For the record, my disdain of Hillary has very little to do with her election season shenanigans, and very much to do with her any-and-all-seasons "no policy by the pro-Hillary policy" stance.
If we're all gonna say that the whole "Hillary is on the rag" brewhaha is much ado about nothing, we sure look pretty hypocritical (and hyper-sensitive) if we take her camp to task for airing a picture of Obama in a dashiki, no?
It's politics, people. The gloves come off. And not to mention, this shit is nothing compared to what the attack machine has in store for him come autumn. Nothing!
I agree with Mr. F. I know this is politics, but I would expect some level of decency when it comes to your own party. Arguing about core issues and past events is fair game, but trying to feed into some debunked rumor is petty.
I suppose this is good in some ways as it prepares him for what comes next. I honestly have a hard time seeing that the Republicans can be any more ruthless than the Clinton Machine.
The only good part of this is the emergence of this now inoculates Obama for later. Sort of.
At least it can be more easily dismissed as "yeah, the Clinton campaign tried that crap when THEY were desperate too..."
It is also good practice for the GOP pushback.
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It wouldn't be any less disgusting coming from McCain or FOX in August, it's just more disappointing coming from a Dem in February.
The other good thing is that this shit keeps backfiring on Clinton.
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