The Truffle

Can anyone make sense of this? I can't. Sen. Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic presidential nominee if John Edwards had been caught in his lie about an extramarital affair and forced out of the race last year, insists a top Clinton campaign aide, making a charge that could exacerbate previously existing tensions between the camps of Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. "I believe we would have won Iowa, and Clinton today would therefore have been the nominee," former Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson told ABCNews.com. Given that Obama kept beating back La Hill even after Edwards withdrew from the race, Wolfson's comment makes about as much sense as David Gregory's speculation that Edwards' philandering would affect the Obama campaign. Dear Senator Clinton: Next time you run for any elected office, hire better people for your campaign staff. Please.

Her campaign drafted a bunch of McCain and Huckabee supporters (along with Obama supporters) to protest this weekend's RBC meeting at the DNC. Americablog has more. If La Hill can't be persuaded to bow out of the race (yet), could someone at least remind her what party she's in? Please?

...but it may not be Hillary Clinton. As I've said before, I was never totally sold on La Hill as a presidential candidate, but she didn't repulse me either. At least not in 2007, as the great presidential free-for-all began and assorted Republican wannabes turned their attention from Reagan hero-worship in one debate to relentless Hillary-bashing in another. Seriously, you wanted to see La Hill get the nomination and win the election if only to make wingnut brains explode. Even if it was, frankly, hard to defend her. The thought of Hillary Clinton as a tough-minded, pragmatic politician was pretty exciting. But instead, we are confronted with the reality of Hillary Clinton as pander-prone, distaff Dem version of Mitt Romney, willing to say that the sky was mustard yellow if it would ensure her a shot at the Oval Office. Hillary is ruthless and ambitious; this is true of just about every politician, male and female. She may be corrupt and willing to say anything to be ele...

Let's revisit what Obama said, shall we? You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. The recent flapadoodle over Obama's statement echoes manufactured outrages of years past. Like when Howard Dean said the GOP was "pretty much a white Christian party." Or when Barbara Boxer pointed out to Condi that neither had a personal stake in the Iraq war as neither had relatives serving in Iraq. In neither case did the brief flare of controversy translate ...

In case La Hill needs to leave the race (which is looking more and more like a possibility), her name is being floated as a...drum roll please...gubernatorial candidate for New York State. What, is La Hill going to join the Political Office of the Month Club? How about she steps aside, makes way for Obama, appears alongside the guy at campaign stops, and just stays in the freaking senate? Maybe she could become Senate Majority Leader. Something other than the presidential race. Here's a better idea: Make her an ambassador and send her out of the country. I never thought I'd say this, but the Clintons have overstayed their welcome. Not as quickly as the Bushes did, but still.

Up until a few weeks ago, I thought La Hill and Obama were both fine candidates, and I couldn't choose between one or the other. Gradually, I came to prefer Obama. Maybe it was Bush/Clinton fatigue. Or maybe because I think Obama would be better able to win votes from independents and even some Republicans. I wasn't against La Hill, but she wasn't my ideal candidate. Now? The longer she stays on the campaign trail and the more she starts to channel Karl Rove in her stupid scare tactics, the more disenchanted I become. Forget all the blathering about this supposed back-and-forth between Clinton and Obama. The bulk of the mud is flung by the Clinton camp, what with that stupid "3 AM" commercial (starring a little girl who grew up to be an Obama supporter!) or La Hill's tut-tutting over Reverend Wright. As for Team Obama, Samantha Power was the exception that proved the rule--and she was canned. Now a bunch of zillionaires are trying to strongarm Nancy P...

This is the first time I've ever voted in a primary. (I was an independent before switching to the Democratic Party in 2005.) All in all, it went very smoothly. Yes, I voted for Obama. Yes, I do think La Hill is a smart, pragmatic, hard-working politician. But I like Obama just a little bit better, mainly because I think we're ready to enter the post-Clinton/Bush political era. I would be perfectly happy with a President Hillary Clinton; I'm just ready for a change. Others' mileage may vary. Hillary won New York, as expected. So far, she has won six states and Obama has won eight. Among those eight states are...Kansas and North Dakota. Not exactly racially diverse. Not exactly liberal strongholds, either. That should tell you something. If La Hill gets the nomination, she should really make Obama her running mate. Just a thought. Another thought: there are a lot of wingnuts crying in their martinis today. Yosemite Mitt won exactly two states: Massachusetts...

Now, the discussion turns to healthcare. La Hill explains her healthcare plan would cover everyone--"It is a universal system." But it's not government-run. I have my doubts about this. Insurance companies would be required to cover everyone at "affordable rates." Again, I'm suspicious. Folks? Free markets and healthcare don't mix. But I guess it's socialist to say that, eh? Obamarama is up next. The universal healthcare plan wouldn't cover illegals. There are not enough resources, he says. "The only way we're going to be able to overcome the insurance companies, the drug companies, and the HMOs is if we are having all the negotiations in a public setting," he said. No drawing up plans behind closed doors. Inform the American people. At least there aren't any wires under anyone's jackets. Edwards claims that his rivals took money from drug/insurance companies. Obamarama denies this. "The problem is not that...

Ya know, La Hill's sniping at Obamarama really makes me dislike her. Yo, Hill. Shaddap already. He never said he was a fan of Reagan. He said Reagan was a "transformative figure" in American politics. Just a statement of fact, and what he's doing is no doubt trying to attract Republicans and independents. You yourself said you admired Reagan's communication skills. Enough already. She got booed, too. Yikes! Anyway, it's MLK Day and the Congressional Black Caucus is hosting a debate. Edwards is talking about subprime mortgages and proposing new laws to crack down on predatory lenders. "We need a national predatory lending law." He also wants to teach financial literacy. La Hill's moratorium on foreclosures sounds way weak. Now for Barack, who says that America has "a history of preying on low-income people." He also supports laws against predatory lending and "access to financings." Since I am not a homeowner, I ...

For the past week, it's been All-Iowa, All the Time on the cable news channels. Mornings, I'd flip on the TV to hear more punditry on Iowa. Le Sweetie would then ask, "When is this all going to be over?" Iowa has come. Iowa has gone. The netroots denizens are pleased as punch about 2008's new state of Obamarama. La Hill, meanwhile, is scrambling to regain her footing , because--soo-priiiiiize!--her current tactics aren't working. Some advisers say that the campaign miscalculated in having Mr. Clinton play such a public role, that Mrs. Clinton could not effectively position herself as a change agent, the profile du jour for Democrats, so long as he stood as a reminder that her presidency would be much like his. Other advisers say that Mr. Obama now owns the “change” mantra and that Mrs. Clinton needs a Plan B. “Hillary says she’ll change things, but then voters see Bill and hear them talk about the 1990s, and it’s clear that the Clintons are not offering c...

You know, debate fatigue is setting in--especially on the Democratic side. They're just not as pander-prone as their GOP counterparts. Anyhow, tonight, the Dems are debating at Drexel. Like Ted Koppel, Brian Williams seems unable to change his facial expression as he speaks. Barack is asked about his pledge to be more aggressive against La Hill. It's kinda weird that Barack would accuse her of sounding Republican, given his current chumminess with "ex-gay" Donnie McClurkin. Barack is not sounding too inspiring or eloquent. What are these "sharp contrasts" he speaks of? C'mon, dude, what's going on here? I've liked what he's said in the past--definitely. And he's got points about La Hill. La Hill rebuts: "I don't think the Republicans got the message that I'm voting with them." She noted the last GOP debate, which was all "Hillary Hillary Hillary" instead of "Reagan Reagan Reagan." Truth ...

Oh my. "The folks don't have a say-so anymore. They're being force-fed—music, yeah, but every other darn thing too. I supported George W. I'm not exactly a liberal. But I know how that Texas thing works, who those oil folks are and what they wanted in Iraq... I'm a born-again Christian too, but the longer I live, the more afraid I get of some of these religious groups that have so much influence on the Republicans and want to tell us how to live our lives.... "This is America. We're proud. We're not afraid of a bunch of terrorists. But this government is all about terror alerts and scaring us at airports. We're changing the Constitution out of fear. We spend all our time looking up each other's dresses. Fear's the only issue the Republican Party has. Vote for them, or the terrorists will win. That's not what Reagan was about. I hate to think about our soldiers over in Iraq fighting for a country that's slipping away." Via E Plu...

That's the only explanation I have for why he'd take out a ad lambasting La Hill over a MoveOn ad. This is an obvious diversionary tactic. Rudy knows that he's not exactly Mr. Popularity with NYC's firefighters and cops. He knows this because a lot of them turned their backs to him when he was reading the names of the dead on 9/11. Meanwhile, perhaps he could explain why he's acting all chummy with wingnuts who keep predicting more terrorist attacks. What's that, you say? Rudy shouldn't apologize for shaking hands with Li'l Ricky? Look, folks, think what you will of the MoveOn ad--La Hill had nothing to do with it. If she is somehow obligated to denounce ads placed by assorted interest groups, then Rudy should be held to similar standards. Therefore, he needs to: a. Quit posing for photo ops with disgraced wingnuts. b. Personally denounce any and every statement by any right-winger who brands war critics as traitors, wishes for more terrorist ...

The good: La Hill has a sense of humor. The bad: if you hated the Sopranos finale, this may revive bad memories. The unlistenable: Celine Dion. La Hill. Is using. A song. By CELINE FUCKING DION. Whatever happened to Fleetwood Mac?

Looks like La Hill has ceased to interest the American public. No More Mister Nice Blog reports that the two recently published books about her have not exactly set the bestseller lists on fire. Moral (choose one): The number of people who are fascinated by her is greatly exaggerated. The number of people who despise her enough to buy these books is greatly exaggerated. Really, there are other women in politics--Democrat AND Republican--who are more intriguing and have a much longer history of accomplishments and public service. However, the media fixates on La Hill, Nancy Pelosi, and a handful of right-wing loons like Mean Jean Schmidt, Michele Bachmann, and Katherine Harris. I'd be interested in learning more about, say, Janet Napolitano or Kathleen Sibelius, both of whom are considered potential running mates next year. Could someone remind the nice news media that there are other women besides La Hill that they could write about?

Am I the only one bored by La Hill? Her face on TV, in magazines, and on the bookshelves. There are two new books about her. Me, I think she is really boring. I also think McCain is really boring (not to mention pathetic). I'm tired of hearing about how much they want to be president. We've all known since about 2000 that they want to be president. It's been "Hillary McCain Hillary McCain Hillary McCain president president president 2008 2008 2008," ad nauseum, since then. They don't have new ideas and they're not interesting. Could they both take themselves out of the presidential race so they don't bore the voters to death? Please?

Of course, they just HAD to pre-empt Countdown with Keith Olbermann for the great Dem Q&A session last night. Before then, I had completely forgotten that so many people were running for president! And everyone came out a winner. Yes, each candidate, whether first- or second- or third-tier, deserves some sort form of recognition for his or her performance that night. Most calculating candidate: La Hill. Man, she knows how to say all the right things in front of the cameras. Except one. Nobody's heard her say, "My vote for the war was a mistake." And nobody's heard her say, "Here's how we can exit Iraq." Most atypical performance by a blabbermouth: Joe Biden. Yes, the politician who has single-handedly contributed the most to global warming with his hot air managed to keep his bloviating in check that night...more or less. Most disappointing: John Edwards. C'mon, where's that inner fire? He could've been more forceful when ta...

Note to La Hill: If you want to win voters, like the two thirds or so who think the Iraq war is a bad idea, you could try responding like this when Cheney tries to put a positive spin on Situation FUBAR. "Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we'd be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we're in the last throes. I'm sure he forecast sun today," Obama said to laughter from supporters holding campaign signs over their heads to keep dry. "When Dick Cheney says it's a good thing, you know that you've probably got some big problems." I'm liking Obama more and more by the minute.