Maybe in the land of OZ...
Posted on 11/26/2004 6:36:10 PM PST by Libloather
Bill’s library is launching pad for Hillary
By DICK MORRIS
Syndicated Columnist
Last week’s events in Little Rock had less to do with a library retrospective of the Bill Clinton years than a campaign launch for the prospective presidency of Hillary Clinton.
Doubt it? Then why was it Hillary, not Bill, who appeared on all the talk shows? It’s his library. But it’s her candidacy. So she did all the softball TV interviews, not him — reminding voters of her availability for 2008 while seeming to talk about the ’90s.
The timing is perfect: Democrats demoralized by John Kerry’s defeat get to behold hope for the future.
It also re-launches Hillary as a red state kind of girl. Needing to live down her recent New York pedigree, Mrs. Clinton gets to renew her identification with Arkansas so she can avoid the label of bi-coastal liberal.
And it gives Hillary a moment to bask in the reflected glory of her husband’s middle-of-the-road policies and presidential programs. To wash away the Kerry identification with gay marriage and opposition to the war in Iraq, Hillary can summon forth memories of welfare reform, balanced budgets, anti-crime initiatives and the Defense of Marriage Act her husband signed.
In short, the library gives Hillary the chance to moderate her image, relocate her venue and update her profile to position her for a White House.
Promoting a “nonpartisan” event, interviewers let Hillary get away with anything she wanted to say. For example, when she spoke of the transparency of the architecture of the library building as symbolic of the openness she deems admirable in government, Larry King didn’t ask why the names of the donors to the library remain cloaked (let alone why Hillary sued to keep the records of her health-care task force secret) if she is so committed to transparency.
Plus, Hillary now has all the staffing she needs for a White House run. When she sought the Senate seat, she used the White House staff. Now she has the library workers to prepare her background papers, develop policy initiatives and provide the staffing overhead it takes to run for president. Paid for with donations from Democratic Clinton allies, the library is really a support network for Hillary’s candidacy.
How typical of the Clintons to refuse to release the names of the library donors or the amount of their contributions. And how exemplary of their shady ethics are the known contributors: Denise Rich and others who benefited from Bill’s outrageous presidential pardons.
Give money directly to a president, and it’s a bribe. Contribute to a campaign, a party or a 527 committee, and the use of the cash is severely restricted by law. But donations to a presidential library can be used in any way the Library Board allows. And Bill can replace the board anytime he chooses. Sure, the library can’t spend money on overtly political purposes, but it can provide the staff and creature comforts the former president and his candidate/wife require.
Why did Bill Clinton build a library with hidden donations and use the opening ceremony to promote his wife’s candidacy for president three weeks after his party’s defeat? Because he could.
(E-mail Dick Morris at dmredding@aol.com)
Maybe in the land of OZ...
man a face only a Lib could love. Yikes
Gives new meaning to the word "fatwah."
Same reason why a dog licks his wiener.
Reminds me of Megalito Loveless from 'The Wild, Wild West.'
Good analysis--thanks. That pic--OUCH!
Dick gets things right now and again. On this one, I think he's spot on. The remaking of Hillary is underway.....
Too much stuff has been published in the past 12 years. They'd have to buy Whiteout by the tankcar.
Dick Morris is delusional. The DemocRATs will not nominate a liberal senator from a northeast state for generations.
No way.
"You're Fired!"
Sometimes I feel I'm alone in the thought that a person so obviously seeking to mask herself in a cover she feels will be more acceptable to the general population will fail. Even the Libs openly admit this is what occuring, no one is fooled.
I just don't think Americans are as stupid as so many warning of the "makeover" believe.
Could she win? Maybe. Will she win because people believe she is a Christian conservative? No.
IMO, she is wasting her time to appear as something she is not. That only works if you are relatively new to the American public. You cannot remake a 20 year Liberal Senate record and you cannot erase a decade of known Liberalism from Hill.
She'd be better off running as an unabshed Liberal that is accepting of divergent views she may not personally embrace. People would respect that position.
She's all they've got....they'll buy the whiteout. Does it mean we won't expose her for the fraud she is.....of course not!
"Dick Morris is delusional. The DemocRATs will not nominate a liberal senator from a northeast state for generations."
You must believe there is a decent amount of sanity amongst the Dims - when their Minority Leader pledges to lead a crusade to "save civilization as we know it" and the best customer of Chivas continues to spew out Dim hate, I don't think there's much rationality to worry about. I'd say Hitlary has a fair chance of being the candidate.
I read that headline and had an image of someone launching Hillary off of Bill's unfinished bridge into the Arkansas river.
Bubba had a catapult installed?
Quick, contact the range control officer.
They're really pretty stupid to think she even has a chance.
They just can't understand how their party needs to change to attract moderate voters.
Same old tired crap with the same old faces isn't going to cut it. They're so full of themselves and their thirst for power that they can't see the obvious, even when its squarely staring them in the face.
Ever since Bill Clinton's success in getting elected to two terms, the dems think they can trot out any liberal and pull off the same thing.
It's not going to happen. There was only one Bill (thank God) and once Hill baby sees her internal polling numbers, I doubt she'll seek the nomination.
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