Bill Clinton: John McCain and Hillary are 'very close'

[ProSense]

January 25, 2008

Bill Clinton: John McCain and Hillary are 'very close'

(CNN) — If Hillary Clinton and John McCain become their party's presidential nominees, the general election race is likely to be a love-fest.

At least according to Bill Clinton.

Campaigning in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Friday, the former president brushed aside suggestions his wife would prove to be a divisive nominee for the Democratic Party, pointing out how she has successfully worked with Republicans in the Senate — including one of the current GOP presidential candidates.

"She and John McCain are very close," Clinton said. "They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they're afraid they'd put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other."

The comments may not be welcome by the McCain camp — which yesterday faced fire from several of its rivals for winning the backing of the New York Times — a longtime archenemy of conservatives.

Sens. McCain and Clinton last met publicly at an ABC debate earlier January, when presidential candidates of both parties shared the same stage. The two were seen exchanging pleasantries, and a Clinton side said she told the Arizona senator he’d done a “good job” staging a comeback in New Hampshire. He asked that she say hello to Bill Clinton for him.

link

Taylor Marsh smears Obama, praises McCain's character

[MADem]

1. They've gone on CODELS together. It will be tough to be mean to one another.

The Senate is VERY collegial.

John Kerry and Trent Lott are close, too.

So are Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch.

And Barack Obama and Joe Lieberman.

[sonroadera]

2. Why don't they just save time and run together

I don't think they would disagree on all that much.

[Seen the light]

3. Neocons do tend to enjoy the company of one another

Don't know why this is supposed to be a surprise.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

10. precisely. their policies are similar, too.

[Bright Eyes]

4. How do you respect someone who condones and enables torture

despite being tortured himself? These people should be marginalized, not respected.

[rinsd]

6. ....

In response, Obama sent a letter back to McCain, saying he was "puzzled" by McCain's reaction and insisting he still supported a bipartisan approach to ethics reform.

"The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you, nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem," Obama wrote.

[Bright Eyes]

11. Boo to Obama as well.

I respect McCain's service to the country, not McCain's service as a politician

[rinsd]

5. Apparently bipartisanship and a civil tone with Republicans is only ok when Obama does it.

[Yael]

7. Obama/Reagan or Clinton/McCain

Hmmmmm.

What DOES a voter do?

[msongs]

9. well 2 corporatists persons who are doing NOTHING to end the occupation are available nt

[Yael]

15. And that just on the Democratic side

;)

[journalist3072]

8. I'll be glad when we can see a day here on DU

When DUers will stop criticizing Democrats for having cordial relationships with Republicans.

This IS the way it should be.

Just because you don't agree with someone politically, doesn't mean you can't respect them as a person and be civil to them.

[Yael]

12. I was being civil

:hi:

[book_worm]

13. So the Clinton's would have a scorched earth policy against a fellow democrat but run a

"civilized campaign" against a republican?

[annie1]

14. lol. that's what they said about how they were going to be against other democrats.

guess that didn't work out.

[11 Bravo]

16. Does "shit stirrer" provide a great deal of provenance to one's resume?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

17. I don't care about the personal likes or dislikes of the candidates

I don't care whether they personally believe in God or are atheists. I don't care about their favorite color or their favorite deodorant. If Hillary Clinton personally likes John McCain or even if she's in love with him I don't care.

I do care about the public positions taken by the candidates as representatives of the values of the people who put them into office. I care about how they voted in the past as an indication of how they will behave in office in the future. I care about whether they will listen to the voters who put them in office or go off on their own power trip.

[dailykoff]

18. They've probably cut a deal to make each other veeps

so everybody wins, except of course the non-neocons who get thrown under the PNAC bus.

[Name removed]

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