In one sentence Obama spokesman Bill Burton manages to insult John Lewis, Hillary Clinton...

[SaveElmer]

And one could argue all women...

In response to John Lewis's endorsement of Hillary today...

"Barack Obama has great admiration for John Lewis and understands his long relationship with Bill Clinton. He looks forward to his support when Barack Obama is the nominee," Burton said.

So he is saying that John Lewis is not sincere in his endorsement of Hillary, saying Hillary is not capable of attracting support on her own...and perhaps that women in general can't make it without their hubbies...

Good job, Mr. Burton!!! :sarcasm:

[wtmusic]

1. Pretty snarky nt

[hedgehog]

2. Pretty clever nt

[saracat]

3. I don't see the insult. I think Burton was being quite diplomatic.

Burton is being a bit tongue in cheek.I suppiose you think he should congratulate Hillary for getting the endorsemnt? Or thank Lewis for NOT endorsing him? He represents Obama, Sheesh. and You are reading misogny into somwhere it is not. Bill Clinton DOES have a long relationship with John Lewis and that has nothing to do witha denigration of Hillary as a "woman".

[SaveElmer]

4. Yeah sure...

Obama's people could attempt to be gracious once in a while...a simple congratulations would have sufficed...

It is an insult to both Lewis and Hillary...whether you admit it or not

[emilyg]

7. It is.

[jefferson_dem]

14. not.

n/t

[Tellurian]

58. That comment is a newsworthy headline for several days.

No doubt Obama approved Burton's response and considered women 'fair game', as well as throwing political rocks at Lewis' for the loss of his endorsement...

[BootinUp]

5. good catch! n/t

[rinsd]

6. They are feeling the heat of Hillary 3rd Q fudnraising coup and stagnant poll numbers.

[ripple]

8. Wasn't there some hoopla a while back

about Lewis being torn about whom to support, due to his long-standing friendship with Bill?

If so, Burton didn't say anything that wasn't already known.

Congrats on Bill's endorsement, BTW. :P

[TSIAS]

11. I thought he was going to endorse Obama

But a last minute phone call by Bill Clinton got him to stay neutral at the time.

[JeanGrey]

9. Would Hillary be where she is today without having

stayed in a political marriage? Nope.

[emilyg]

50. The lady is much smarter than her husband. Bill is more charming.

[jenmito]

10. Oh puleeeeze...

Hillary uses her husband as a fundraiser, cheerleader, etc. Without Bill do you really think she'd be so popular? She and her supporters should be able to face the reality that she wouldn't be where she is without him. She uses her marriage to Bill as her "experience" and "readiness" to be president. People have every right to point that out. It has nothing to do with insulting all women.

[beaconess]

34. Where would Obama be without the support and help of his wife? Where would Edwards be w/o Elizabeth

Where would ANY public figure be without the support of their spouse?

It's extremely sexist to criticize and belittle Hillary Clinton's accomplishments because of who she's married to. I never hear anyone here claim that Obama's or Edwards' or Richardson's or Biden's or any other man's accomplishments are diminished by the fact that their spouses helped them, provided an atmosphere that made it conducive for them to do what they needed to do to get where they are (having the babies, taking care of the kids, working and earning money to support the family, attending campaign events, raising money, etc.). Maybe one day we'll reach a point where successful women are no longer subjected to such sexist judgments.

[jenmito]

48. You MUST be joking!!!

Bill Clinton was maybe THE most popular president of the U.S.! He's no ordinary supportive spouse!!! This has nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman!

[jefferson_dem]

12. Total Bullshit.

This is about as tepid a statement as one could imagine.

Yet it *offends* Hillay's supporters. The typically trumped-up outrage is growing old.

That being said, Lewis is a personal long-time hero of mine and I offer congrats to Hillary for getting his endorsement. I'm sorry it didn't go the other way but I understand his reasoning.

[SaveElmer]

15. It was classless...

A simple congrats would have sufficed....

[jefferson_dem]

16. Whatever.

Being lectured on "class" by one who supports a Clinton is ... pretty funny.

[SaveElmer]

20. Ahhh...

The Politics of Hope in action...!

[gorekerrydreamticket]

13. Snarky Obama-hatin' n/t

[jenmito]

17. Ooooh-what ever happened to Obama's "politics of hope"?

:sarcasm:

[jefferson_dem]

19. The sheer AUDACITY...

He only said he had "great admiration" for Lewis. He could have at least said "way great admiration."

[jenmito]

21. Exactly...

His desperation is showing. :sarcasm: again

[wndycty]

22. Manufactured controversy intended to demoralize, discourage and mock. . .

. . .I'm used to it. I still love Hillary but her DU caucus is not winning too many friends.

[jillan]

18. What's wrong with that? Clintonista's you better toughen up.

The closer we get to January - the more candidates are going to try to take Hillary down.

[rinsd]

23. self delete old info

[onenote]

24. There was nothing particularly wrong with Burton's statement

Call it snarky, call it clever, call it whatever you want. Its a rather mild form of political gamesmanship that is as old as the hills and not particularly offensive.

[wndycty]

25. But haven't you heard, according to a vocal minority of pro Hillary DUers. . .

. . .we are not allowed to do anything that they take issue with.

[onenote]

27. well, I'm still on the fence. I'll support HRC if she's the nominee and may

even support her before then. But this didn't particularly bother me.

[BeyondGeography]

26. Sounds like Burton's just repeating John Lewis' apology to Barack

and you know there was an apology.

[wyldwolf]

28. got a link for it?

[BeyondGeography]

29. Go to www.commonsense.com

you'll find it there.

[jenmito]

30. That site doesn't work for Hillary supporters...

I've posted that link for them quite a few times already. :hi:

[wyldwolf]

37. so you made two things up.

[jenmito]

40. Wrong. You ACCUSED me of making up the 80% number and I posted a transcript

of the show with the 80% number and you never responded! Nice try! :rofl:

[rinsd]

45. If you posted a transcript, both links should be easy to find then.

[jenmito]

49. Go to the thread. It's right there after wyldwolf's post accusing me of making it up.

n/t

[wyldwolf]

56. I'm not in another thread with you. I'm in THIS one, and I asked for a link on Lewis aplogizing.

Can you not follow a threaded discussion???

[wyldwolf]

51. I've seen no link for Lewis apologizing to Obama nor was the info at the URL you provided.

:rofl:

[jenmito]

54. I wasn't talking about Lewis apologizing to Obama. I was talking about the 80% stat.

the other day when I said there was a poll I saw on CNN that showed 80% of Repubs. disliked Hillary and you accused me of making that up. I provided a transcript saying exactly what I SAID it said and you're STILL ignoring that. :rofl: My comment on the "common sense" remark was about what we were discussing on that thread.

[wyldwolf]

55. look at post #26 - the one I replied to. Any mention of a stat in it???

:rofl:

Now, do you have link of Lewis apologizing? Or are you just going to answer at random again?

[incapsulated]

31. Oh, the humanity

lol, if Obama wants a chance in this race, he will need do a lot more than a backhanded compliment through a spokesperson at the end of this.

Which is something Hillary does all the time.

Welcome to the primaries.

[Ethelk2044]

32. This is how the people of Georgia Feel about John Lewis

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/10/obamas_still_strong_in_georgia.php



What's important? All these endorsements from people who are relatively not important, or someone like Rep. Lewis of Georgia, who is clearly a powerhouse and a well-known personality in the black population.

Do the math!

Obama is losing steam and is clearly resorting to dirty tricks!

Didn't he also say that he would win MS, AL, GA and SC, because of the outcome of more black voters and young voters? "We are just dreaming" - Michelle Obama

I agree with her.


Posted by American | October 12, 2007 11:49 AM



American...why don't you go help Hillary straighten out her Flip Flop on Iran. You obiviously know nothing about the Black community.

BTW Lewis didn't endorse Jesse Jackson when he ran either and Jacson got 90% of the Black vote


Posted by Natalie | October 12, 2007 12:33 PM



American, What Michelle Obama said was : ""If Barack doesn't win Iowa, it is just a dream. If we win Iowa, then we can move to the world as it should be."


close. But no cigar.


Posted by Katy | October 12, 2007 1:39 PM



I live in Atlanta, and it doesn't matter about the endsorements. The people of Georgia,especially blacks fully support Obama. I see Obama car stickers everywhere and have yet to come accross a Clinton bumper sticker. People are even tiding for Obama, sending donations on a regular basis. My hunch is that in the south where the black vote is the tipping point in the primaries, Obama has it sown up.


Posted by sonya | October 12, 2007 1:45 PM



Thank you, Natalie!

It's very telling how the media conveniently leaves out the FACT that Jesse Jackson did NOT have the support of the civil rights establishment in 1984, despite being its defacto leader and having close personal relationships within the movement. But the media leaves that FACT out because it doesn't fit with their narrative of Senator Obama not being "black enough."


Posted by Dawn | October 12, 2007 2:02 PM



Sonya,

You can speak on this better than I, but it's also worth noting that John Lewis does NOT enjoy the support he once did in Georgia.


Posted by Dawn | October 12, 2007 2:04 PM



Obama nation is going to prove the most powerful political machine wrong come Jannuary '08.

Like Obama said " It is time for a new generation of leadership" The Joshua generation is ready to lead. No more flip-flop on the most important issues that we faced as a nation.


Posted by Bee | October 12, 2007 2:57 PM



I've long respected for John Lewis and he's certainly entitled to his opinion. That said, his stated reasoning for supporting HRC made my heart sink.

What I see is yet another pol scared to death of pissing off the Clinton machine. God forbid he support Obama and Clinton win the nomination. He'd be relegated to the doghouse by Billary. So much of what he said is based on the assumption that she will simply pick up where Bill left off. The truth is that it will be 2009, not 2001. To the say the least, a lot has happened since then.

At the same time, I also believe the black voters need to see that Obama is truly viable. If Clinton comes in 3rd in Iowa and Obama squeaks out a victory in New Hampshire (with the help of independents), I believe South Carolina's black voters will win it for Obama. They want to back Obama but don't want a losing candidate. As one man, told me: "I love them both but Hillary has the numbers." If Obama shows that he has the numbers, Hillary's black vote will plummet.



Posted by GordonsGirl | October 12, 2007 3:05 PM



Black politicians must stop endorsing Hillary out of fear of her "political machine." If Hillary were to ever win the nomination and the general election (that's a BIG if), she would do no more than throw black "leaders" a few crumbs. (Just like Bill Clinton did.)

It's deplorable that so many blacks have reservations about supporting Barack because he may not be "electable." Obama is a first rate candidate and should have at least 95% of the black support. If Obama doesn't win South Carolina, I'm going to recommend black people stop visiting Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, or any other tourist area in SC.


Posted by Bobby from NC | October 12, 2007 4:12 PM

[wndycty]

33. Ethel, we (Obama supporters) don't need to attack Congressman Lewis. . .

. . .I have great respect for him. I don't agree with his decision, but it does not change the respect I have for the man.

[jefferson_dem]

35. Ethel, please, let's not diminish Lewis...

I live in Atlanta and love this man. He was and still is a giant among giants.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/lew0bio-1

[DemocratSinceBirth]

44. The Man Had Been Beaten Bloody As A Freedom Rider By A White Mob In 1961

Show some respect...

[rinsd]

47. A class act as always Ethel. You do Obama proud!

:puke:

[Nedsdag]

36. Only a Hillary supporter would find a response from Obama's

flak an "insult."

Keep it up, Hillary folks! Keep pushing people away from your candidate.

Cynthia McKinney is looking real good as a Green Party candidate.

[democratsin08]

38. attackers

the obama team is extremely hate filled and negative.

[jenmito]

39. You MUST be joking!!!

Or else you're EXTREMELY thin-skinned to the point of transparency.

[Forkboy]

52. You're a never ending punch line.

[Colobo]

41. Save, that is the most ridiculous analysis of a quote I've ever read.

You try that in a literatue class and you fail it.

[Forkboy]

42. Pretty weak stretch on your part.

But don't let me get in the way of a good hate-on.

[calteacherguy]

43. Honestly, I just don't see anything here. Sounds polite and understanding to me.

Naturally a friend of Bill Clinton would be inclined to support Hillary Clinton, and a campaign spokesperson would try and put the best spin possible on the endorsement of another candidate. I think you are being overly sensitive, and I say that as a Clinton supporter.

[Colobo]

46. You're right, cal. I like your honesty.

[Clark2008]

53. I guess this would matter if anyone knew who John Lewis was.

But, since most people don't... who cares?

:shrug:

[wyldwolf]

57. I'm laughing too hard at that comment. Let me catch my breath.