MoveOn vs. Rudy: Hillary Gets It Right, Elizabeth Edwards Gets It Wrong

[Karmadillo]

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/#62807

This post, written by Jane Hamsher, originally appeared on FireDogLake

It seems like only yesterday I wanted to put my head through a wall when Hillary Clinton decided to pile on John Kerry on the eve of the 2006 election, just as the right wing was swarming him over his bad joke. It's just such a basic, elemental principle at play here -- you don't help the right wing out by repeating their talking points, ever. Why was this so hard to grasp?

But here we are, almost a year later, and Hillary seems to have internalized that principle very well. Because when baited by Rudy Giuliani and offered the chance to frag MoveOn over their Petraeus ad, she thought the better of it:

Rudy Giuliani is dropping in the polls and is unable to defend his own support for George Bush's failed war. Instead of distorting Senator Clinton's record in the campaign's first attack ad, the Mayor should tell voters why he thinks sticking with the Bush Iraq strategy makes sense. The country wants change and while Hillary Clinton is focused ending the war, Mayor Giuliani is playing politics.

Bravo. Hillary seizes the opportunity to pivot and attack -- forcing Rudy into embracing George Bush and his horribly unpopular war. She sticks the landing.

Elizabeth Edwards? Not so much. You would think that she of all people should know about the asymmetrical intimidation problem that Paul Krugman talks about -- the one where the media is afraid to go after Rudy Guiliani for claiming he's a rescue worker, but they'll try to demolish John Edwards over a haircut because they know that they'll get hammered by the right wing noise machine for the former and pay no price for the latter.

more...

[emilyg]

1. K&R

[Cameron27]

2. Clinton was attacked over the ad,

and she handled it the best way possible, deflect it back to Bush. I still don't know if E. Edwards was asked about it, or just volunteered her opinion, does anyone have any info about that?

[calteacherguy]

3. Calteacherguy: Moveon.org gets it wrong, Elizabeth Edwards gets it right. nt

[dionysus]

6. agree

[MethuenProgressive]

4. "Hillary seizes the opportunity to pivot and attack"

We need a candidiate who will pound the GOP into the ground.
More and more, it looks like Sen. Clinton is that candidate.

[democratsin08]

5. it was great

hillary ripped guliani. liz was right as well, though

[Clintonista2]

7. Elizabeth Edwards & Michelle Obama are trying to be their husbands' Bill Clinton

They think that if they open their mouths and say the first thing that pops into their head, they will somehow be helping their husbands. Too bad they aren't nearly as intelligent or charismatic as Bill.

[SteppingRazor]

11. That's kind of a mean thing to say, and not at all true.

Michelle Obama graduated from Princeton cum laude before going on to Harvard for her law degree.

Elizabeth Edwards also has a law degree, which she achieved after several years of grad work in English. She then went back to teach law at UNC.

To say that either of these people are not "nearly as intelligent ... as Bill" is demonstrably false.

As to the charisma bit, I certainly grant that Bill's got that in spades. It's why he could sign off bills like NAFTA, the Telecommunications Act and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, all while ignoring genocide in Rwanda, and still gain the approbation of liberals everywhere. If Bill's got anything, its mountains of charisma.

However, I think you'll find a lot of DUers who regard Elizabeth Edwards as a very warm-hearted soul, and Michelle Obama as a strong woman with plenty of convictions -- and both of those things speak to the charisma of those women.

[Clintonista2]

12. I can't see Bill ever commenting on how Hillary smells in the morning

[ralphmich3]

8. Nice of Hillary: she helped start the war....

it is so fitting that she help try to end the war.... it's called the mother of all flip-flops.....

"he thinks sticking with the Bush Iraq strategy makes sense. The country wants change and while Hillary Clinton is focused ending the war, Mayor Giuliani is playing politics."

[Honeycombe8]

9. "But if you go carryin' pictures of Chairman Mao...you're not gonna make it w/anyone anyhow.."

Remember that?

Wise words.

[babylonsister]

10. Yep. Recommend. nt

[Catchawave]

13. Whenever I see "haircut" mentioned, I call

bullsh*t. Horrible article. Can we please move on.

[jsamuel]

14. very unfair comparison

EE was asked a direct question by a reporter in an interview.

Clinton was being baited by Rudy.

[pipoman]

15. Jane Hamsher did more harm to the party than E. Edwards

"So I guess we have to say it once again until everyone gets it -- you never repeat right wing talking points to attack your own, ever. You never enter that echo chamber as a participant. Ever. You never give them a cudgel to beat the left with.

Just. Don't. Do. It."

No room for disagreement in the pre-primary Democratic Party? She wants to scold Elizabeth Edwards who has more brains in her stool than Jane Hamsher has in her head?

Liz is in good company. Several good Dems agree with her. Wes Clark said if he had known this ad was going to come out he would have tried to stop it. He knows the General and has worked with him...he says it is a false assertion.

Prior to the primaries and the development of the '08 Party platform IS the time for the party to hash out our differences. It goes to the definition of insanity...continuing to do the same things expecting different results.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

16. Hey? I didn't know that Elizabeth was running for president?

Why the comparison?