Why doesn't Hillary aggressively defend Obama on the racial smears?

[Armstead]

Simple question.

Yes they are competing candidates. But why doesn't she at least stand up for principles, and actively urge everyone -- including her supporters -- to move beyond this Wright/racial mudfest?

She could help to make it irrelevant while standing up for Democratic principles. It might also actually make her look better in the eyes of those who are on the fence about the candidates.

[TwilightGardener]

1. Divide and conquer. She is trying to convince SD's that this will hurt him.

[slinkerwink]

4. she's following Mark Penn's microtarget strategy

[tishaLA]

22. we have a winner!

that is the correct answer.

[Texas Hill Country]

21. it will hurt him. period.

[dkf]

2. Because she wants to stoke the smears, not defend them.

Anything to win...

[goldcanyonaz]

3. Where was Obama and his supporters when she war raked over the coals in S.C.?

Oh, I remember, they were posting OP after OP about what a racist Clinton was.

[TwilightGardener]

10. Where was she when Bob Johnson talked about Obama in the 'hood, doin' something...

She was sitting behind him, smiling. Where was she when Bill said, Obama can win SC, just like Jesse Jackson? Don't insult our intelligence.

[ellacott]

15. You have a flawed memory

[wileedog]

5. She needs it to drag out

Its her best shot for the SDs to turn the election results. Probably her only shot.

[juajen]

6. She did. No one was covering her, but I heard her ask people

to move on from Wright. You can always depend on her to do the right thing.

[David__77]

13. "the stronger Hillary gets against Obama, the weaker the Deomcrats get against McCain"

Why is this so?

That said, I'm glad if she said to "move on" from this matter. For some reason, my opinion of her has improved a bit recently.

[babylonsister]

17. You can depend on her until she predictably disappoints:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5170499

[Armstead]

27. I did hear that....It was very mild though

Personally, I believe she and Obama should make a joint appearance and strongly and loudly urge voters to seperate both the race and gender of the candidates from their ultimate choice.

Short of that, I believe Clinton should make a major and well-publicized statement in support of Obama on this problem.

[LakeSamish706]

7. Very simply put, because she's a puke and wants to win at any cost. n/t

[burythehatchet]

8. Principles... Hillary..... principles?... Hillary???????

[Adelante]

9. Clinton is an opponent - she plays it as she sees best for herself

Why other Democrats are not defending this Democrat is something I ask myself every other hour.

[CatsDogsBabies]

11. Obama doesn't need Clinton's help

though it might be nice for someone else in the Democratic party to speak to the race issue, but not specifically as a support for Obama.

[Mz Pip]

12. Not just Hillary

Where is the leadership of the Democratic Party? I somehow doubt that this late in the process with one candidate ahead in both the popular vote and in the delegate count the GOP powers that be would stand silently by and let this kind of smear continue.

Standing up for Democratic priciples? I'm waiting.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

14. Because the GOP (and/or her campaign) started this to help her win the nomination? nt

[xultar]

16. Why doesn't Obama defend Hillary on the rampant sexism?

[spooky3]

33. exactly

[Armstead]

41. I responded to a similar post below.

[emilyg]

46. Yes.

[NNN0LHI]

18. Where are all Obamas HUGE supporters like Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Oprah?

Shouldn't they be out defending him on all the shows?

Clinton is out running for president where she should be.

Don

[Armstead]

25. That's also a good question

But I do think Clinton has a special responsibility to do whatever she can to separate this issue from the campaign.

[NNN0LHI]

28. If his top supporters are acting like he is radioactive Clinton needs to stay away too

She may be all we have left?

Don

[Armstead]

29. I don't think they're acting like he's radioactive

I think they're slacking....or else Obama asked them to stay away for some reason.

In any case, IMO, Clinton is actually in the least awkward position to actively defend him against this.

[rodeodance]

19. BO is a man--he can defend himself--?--You are blaming Clinton for his problems once again

[Armstead]

31. Bullshit.......I didn't say Obama can't stand up for himself

He's doing an admirable job of fighting back.

But in unity there is strength.....And whatever other slams Hillary might want to make against Obama, she ought to at least stand up for the principle that a viable candidate is not going to be Swiftboated on race.

[NJmaverick]

20. If she had, she would have earned a new respect for her

However she is a pure politician and there is nothing for her to gain by defending those principals.

[Armstead]

47. Yes principles are so.......old fashioned

[Life Long Dem]

23. Shit.

Bill is out making commercials for McCain today.

[uponit7771]

24. The fact that McCaint AND Huckabee have come in defense of Obama before she did tells me she's not a

...team player. She'll be a "legacy" type of person before she'll be for Americans and what ales us.

[BigDDem]

26. Maybe because

she "aint never been called a n*gger"

[bpeale]

30. obama is a big boy. he can handle it. how many times have we heard that

about Clinton? i don't think she should stoop to that level.

[spooky3]

32. I can't even begin to count the # of smears (often sexist) against Clinton

and not a peep out of most other male Democrats. Go to mediamatters.org for the boatload of documented incidents.

If we want to initiate a new standard of calling out smears, we'll need to be very clear about what constitutes a smear vs. a legitimate criticism. Then, we'll need to make it clear that the same behavior is expected if ANY Democrat is smeared. Since we're not at that point, bashing Clinton over this is inappropriate.

[bpeale]

35. i agree completely. you can't call one on it & not the other.

it seems to be okay with everyone that sexism be aimed at clinton. and its not just from the obama camp supporters, but the media ... everywhere in public airwaves ... its all okay. i say bullshit!

[Armstead]

37. She should be defended against sexism

I agree with that.

But here's what i see as different in this situation. The sexism has come out in more individual ways, or the perceptions of sexism are often open to interpretation.....That was the case with Obama in terms of race too.

But now that Obama is being directly attacked big time on overtly racial grounds, Hillary and all Democrats should be saying "No. We will not tolerate this."

The closest comparison I can make is that if incendiary soundbytes of some friend of Hillary who sometimes makes outrageous statements in the name of feminism were being used in guilt by association to imply that Hillary is not electable because she is a woman -- and it was fueled by the right wing and the media to become a "potentially fatal" controversy, I would have the same belief that Obama ought to fight against that.

So far, it hasn't reached that level with Hillary.

[spooky3]

38. That is simply not true- go to mediamatters.org for many, many

examples of documented incidents of misinformation and sexism in the MEDIA that have been directed at Clinton. Maybe you aren't aware of these MANY incidents. But if you are, then the problem is that you may not be as aware of or concerned about sexism as you are about racism.

When NBC interviews an organization with the acronym of C.U.N.T., there is very little open to interpretation. And that is the tip of the iceberg.

[Armstead]

40. You are missing my point

It's not a matter of which is more important. It's a matter of the degree and tone at the moment.

I was not saying Hillary should jump to the fore everytime something with racist overtones has been said about Obama.

But now that the race issue has become so big and ugly and central -- and threatens the prospects of the Democratic Party in November, she should fight that.

Just as if the issue of sexism were to become a central issue of the campaign on the same level, I would expect Obama to do what he could to defuse it.

[tiki161]

34. Hil was left to defend herself against Matthews and Shuster

Both sides should have been more protective of the other. We are, after all, one party.

[robbedvoter]

36. Should she start with the racial smears BO's campaign levelled at the Clintons?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/12/obama-camps-memo-on-clin_n_81205.html
maybe the Punjab remark?

[Armstead]

39. The Clintons have injected race into it

I had never seen the Nelson Mandela comment by Bill Clinton, and I was appalled at the racial overtones of that, and the implied comparison of Barak Obama because both happen to be Black....It's similar to his Jesse Jackson remark....And Hillary's MLK remark was painting Obama as an eloquent civil rights leader but not a political leader. Can't you see the racial overtones there?

What my point was that now race is being used to smear Obama, Hillary has a chance to be bigger than her own campaign and do what she can to defuse it for the sake of the Democratic Party as well as the country.

[robbedvoter]

42. Oh, yeah, they absolutely needed to offend black voters who were supporting

her in large numbers before that campaign memo was executed by MSGOP point by point!

[Armstead]

44. They didn't intend to ...

...But in their clumsy effort to marginalize Obama as a fringe ethnic candidate they managed to.

[Auntie Bush]

43. Why didn't Obama aggressively defend Hill and Bill from

accusations they were racist when they damn well knew they weren't? He failed to protect a fellow Dem from racial lies and insinuations.
I think that is even worse and not very loyal to the Dem party. He was just thinking about his own political gains and threw the Clintons under the bus and wiped out all the many years they tried to help Blacks. He actually threw the first black president on his face an wiped his feet on his back...not very commendable! To think he did that to hog all the black vote for himself...even though it meant it would divide our party along racial lines. How dare him!

[Armstead]

45. He did mildly defend them..

...but I also think he was pissed because he felt that they were running a racially divisive campaign.