Posted on 05/23/2008 10:17:12 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
My goodness, folks, this Hillary Comment business is starting to become a REAL International Burn Burner right now.
This is moving hard and fast in the Japanese press here.
Here is my synopsis from the Japanese major (conservative) daily Sankei Shimbun, with it's rich and intriguing headine. (below) (and URL link to original Japanese language article). Japanese Middle-of-the-Road and Left-Oriented papers and outlets are also running with it as we speak.
Original Title: "PINNING HOPES ON OBAMA'S ASSASSINATION? HILLARY'S HUGE SLIP OF THE TONGUE"
(「オバマ氏暗殺」を期待？ ヒラリー氏大失言)
By Reporter Hidekazu Yamamoto, Washington Bureau
...Hillary Clinton, whose chances at the Democratic nomination have dwindled, tied in the reason for her staying in the race to the June, 1968 assassination of Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy....
....the fact that she would entertain the thought of such an unexpected situation through such a public comment raised eyebrows and the candidate has had to apologize for it.
(goes on to quote the Clinton utterance word for word which is now widely reported).
Robert Kennedy was the brother of assassinated American president John Kennedy, who was attorney general in his own right. He ran for president and was nearing in on the democratic nomination, with a victory in California in June 1968, and after he gave his victory speech, he was gunned down in the California hotel; his death brought chaos to the Democratic Party, which nominated Hubert Humphrey whom then Richard Nixon of the Republicans went on to defeat.
There have been ongoing concerns from the early stage of the campaign for the safety of Mr. Obama because of his race, running for the possibility of becoming America's first Black president, and the Secret Service is on heightened alert to protect him from the same fate.
Hillary Clinton to date has had biting things to say about Mr. Obama, such as that he has no shame, that he has no substance, but this time, bringing assassination into the discussion is something the US media has wildly taken off with. It has shaken up things in the US news world.
Clinton centered her apologies toward the country as a whole and the Kennedy family. Obama side had comments that it was regrettable.
END TRANSLATION
Mainichi Shimbun and Yomuiri Shimbun, also large circulation major Japanese dailies, are now pouncing on this story. Mainichi goes so far as to say even Clinton talking like this way in public could have an effect of actually inviting such a horrid situation.
Nikkan Gendai a more blue-collar, tabloid-oriented lower circulation daily, runs with the headline "The Horror of Hillary Clinton's Calculating 'Obama's Assassination'" (オバマの「暗殺待ち」というヒラリーの恐ろしい計算)...it leads off with the supposition that Hillary has just blown her chance to be VP to President Obama, and that the last thing people would want is a Vice President sitting in office wishing bad omens for the President so she could take over. (Refers to Hillary's "immensely injured pride" if she were to have to play second fiddle as Vice President--Journalist Katsuo Hotta).
Jiji Press is also running a story on this. I think the Japanese blogs on American politics are ramping up with it, I suspect it will be a fairly prominent story on national TV news here tonight.
Update: My goodness, now national Japanese TV networks JNN, NNN and Fuji TV are all getting into it. The screen saver pic at the top of this thread with Hillary is just now off Japanese TV--Nippon Television Network, saying (my translation) "US Presidential Candidate Hillary Brings Up Robert Kennedy Assassination Right In The Middle Of The Campaign" ...
Video link here Hit the orange box to stream short video clip. In Japanese, 'natch.
Excellent.
When Japan is concerned, you know she’s TOAST.
Bye-ah, Clintons.
Nothing as idiotic as Obama flapping his gums on this one...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020312/posts
hirrary in deep sushi
I’ve been saying for months that she wanted to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Obama and Bobby.
Did the Japanese press go ballistic when Rev. Wright/Obama’s advisor say all the things he said (including being good buddies with Farrakhan)?
ping!
Thanks QLA!! ;-)
This is the third time she’s mentioned RFK, June, 1968, Rats and nomination.
She’s going somewhere with this.
This is the best day of OpChaos, ever, the dump is melting down their board with this.
Those two Clintons are in for some deep couch time (counseling) if they leave Denver empty-handed after all her planning and scheming, denying and lying she would even run for President when she went for Senate in New York)......
Kudos to you for a fine report.
Good question, Cedar. I may have to check into that.
Sushi is food? Damn, who knew. Over here we dry it out and hang it on our Christmas trees as it is quite artistic and lovely.
Thanks, friend.
--Cheers from Asia, AiT
If they didn’t, then this reminds me of the National Enquirer stuff.
We’ve got FReepers on the ground. Excellent report AIT. Thanks!
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