Joe Biden: Hillary Clinton shouldn't have talked about Access Hollywood tape in debate

[highplainsdem]

20. Did you even read the article? It explains why he was talking about debating Trump -- that

Last edited Sat Sep 7, 2019, 12:53 AM - Edit history (1)

he was asked about how he'd debate Trump without coming off as too antagonistic.

From the article -- two important paragraphs that should have been in the OP:

The remarks came during a long response Biden offered to a supporter who wondered how the former vice president would debate Trump without coming off as too antagonistic.

“I think the biggest mistake that was made, and everyone underestimated it the last time about President Trump, the place he’s most comfortable is in the gutter arguing,” Biden said at the outset of his reply during a town hall-style forum at a park overlooking the New Hampshire coast.

That was why Biden had offered Clinton that advice.

Trump was not only ready to respond to anything HRC said about the Access Hollywood tape by going after Bill Clinton, his campaign had brought in women who'd accused Bill Clinton of assault, and they held a press conference featuring them right before the debate.

And Biden saw that sort of thing coming.

FWIW, HRC DID try to pivot away from the subject, after Trump mentioned the accusations against Bill, but Trump was determined to stay in the gutter.

I'm going to quote that part of the debate below -- I think it's okay to quote this much of a transcript of a public debate:

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/2016-presidential-debate-transcript-229519

Trump: That was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I am a person who has great respect for people, for my family, for the people of this country and certainly I am not proud of it, but that was something that happened. If you look at Bill Clinton, far worse. Mine are words and his was action. His words, what he has done to women. There’s never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that has been so abusive to women. So you can say any way you want to say it, but Bill Clinton is abusive to women. Hillary Clinton attacked those same women, and attacked them viciously, four of them here tonight. One of the women, who is a wonderful woman at 12 years old was raped. At 12. Her client, she represented, got him off and she is seen laughing on two occasions laughing at the girl who was raped. Kathy Shelton, that young woman, is here with us tonight. So don't tell me about words. I am, absolutely, I apologize for those words, but it is things that people say, but what President Clinton did, he was impeached, he lost his license to practice law, he had to pay an $850,000 fine to one of the women. Paula Jones who is also here tonight. And I will tell you that when Hillary brings up a point like that and she talks about words that I said 11 years ago, I think it's disgraceful and I think she should be ashamed of herself, if you want to know the truth.

Raddatz: Please hold the applause. Secretary Clinton, you have two minutes.

Clinton: Well, first let me start by saying that so much of what he just said is not right, but he gets to run his campaign any way he chooses. He gets to decide what he wants to talk about instead of answering people's questions, talking about our agenda, laying out the plans that we have that we think can make a better life and a better country. That's his choice. When I hear something like that, I am reminded of what my friend Michelle Obama advised us all. When they go low, you go high.

[ Applause ]

And look, if this were just about one video, maybe what he is saying tonight would be understandable. But everyone can draw their own conclusions at this point about whether or not the man in the video or the man on the stage respects women. But he never apologizes for anything to anyone. He never apologized to Mr. And Mrs. Khan, the gold star family whose son, Captain Khan died in the line of duty in Iraq and Donald insulted and attacked them for weeks over their religion. He never apologized to the distinguished federal judge who was born in Indiana, but Donald said he couldn't be trusted to be a judge because his parents were "Mexican." He never apologized to the reporter that he mimicked and mocked on national television and our children were watching. And he never apologized for the racist lie that President Obama was not born in the United States of America. He owes the president an apology and he owes our country an apology and he needs to take responsibility for his actions and his words.

Trump: Well you owe the president an apology because as you know very well, your campaign, Sidney Blumenthal, he’s another real winner that you have and he’s the one that got this started along with your campaign manager and they were on television just two weeks ago, she was saying exactly that. So you really owe him an apology. You’re the one that sent the pictures around, your campaign sent the pictures around with President Obama in a certain garb, that was long before I was ever involved. So you actually owe an apology. Number two, Michelle Obama. I’ve gotten to see the commercials that they did on you and the I’ve gotten to see some of the most vicious commercials I’ve ever seen, of Michelle Obama talking about you, Hillary. So you talk about framed, go back and take a look at those commercials. A race where you lost, fair and square, unlike the Bernie Sanders race where you won, but not fair and square, in my opinion and all you have to do is take a look at WikiLeaks and just see what they said about Bernie Sanders and see what Debra Wasserman Schultz had in mind, because Bernie Sanders, between superdelegates and Debra Wasserman Schultz, he never had a chance and I was so surprised to see him sign on with the devil. But when we talk about apology, I think the one that you should really be apologizing for, the thing that you should be apologizing for are the 33,000 e-mails that you deleted and that you acid washed and the two boxes of e-mails and other things last week that were taken from an office and are now missing. And I tell you what, I didn't think I would say this, but I'm going to and I hate to say it. But if I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. Because there has never been so many lies, so much deception. There has never been anything like it. And we’re gonna have a special prosecutor. When I speak, I go out and speak, the people of this country are furious. In my opinion, the people that have been long time workers at the FBI are furious. There has never been anything like this where e-mails, and you get a subpoena. You get a subpoena, and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 e-mails and then you acid wash them or bleach them, as you would say. Very expensive process. So we’re gonna get a special prosecutor and we’re gonna look into it. Because you know what, people have been -- their lives have been destroyed for doing 1/5 of what you have done. And it’s a disgrace, and honestly, you oughta be ashamed of yourself.

Raddatz: Secretary Clinton,I will let you respond.

Clinton: Everything he just said is absolutely false, but I’m not surprised. In the first debate, I told people it would be impossible to be fact checking Donald all the time. I would never get to talk about anything I’d want to do and how we’re really, going to really, make lives better for people. So once again, go to Hillaryclinton.com. We have literally Trump - you can fact check him in real time. Last time at the first debate ,we had millions of people fact checking so I expect we will have millions more fact checking because, you know, it's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.

Trump: Because you would be in jail.

Emphasis added.

What the article said about Biden's description of the advice he gave Clinton:

“I remember at the time saying, you know, the first question that’s going to be asked is they’re going to ask [Trump] about his comments about the Access Hollywood tape,” Biden said Friday as he recounted the conversation. “And I said, I really think what should be done is — that they’re going to turn to [Clinton] and say, ‘What’s your view?’ And I said, I’d respectfully recommend she stand there and … say, ‘Everybody knows who Donald Trump is. Let me tell you what I am going to do for the country,’ and not get into the debate, because it just drags it down.

To me, rereading the transcript, it reads as if she was trying to do what Biden had advised, though the debate had already, unfortunately, been dragged into the gutter.