Seeds of Destruction - Bob Herbert

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/opinion/10herbert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

Ending with

Of a pseudo-liberal press member behaving like a petulant idiot.

a smart man (who also happens to be black, but that's only marginally relevant I think) that is completely disgusted.

I'm not just worried about just the next 4 years any more but the 40 years of racial progress, any one candidate is trying to divide and highlight those differences rather than trying to mitigate them, which might be beneficial to them, but not to me, and I'd argue not for american society in general.

Whoaa. No love lost between Herbert and the Clintons...

Rec'd,
sw

This statement here struck me in particular:

"I don’t know if Senator Obama can win the White House. No one knows. But to deliberately convey the idea that most white people — or most working-class white people — are unwilling to give an African-American candidate a fair hearing in a presidential election is a slur against whites."

As a white person, I am appalled at her insinuations that all white folks are racist. Now obviously she isn't "saying" this directly, but her own comments coupled with similar comments from her surrogates paint us all with a broad brush. She is hinting that, no matter how we act or what we say, in reality we are closet racists. I am the mother of black children. When she implies these things, they hit me in a very deep place. My response is visceral. I am infuriated... I feel like weeping. She is aiming her fire at a black man, but she is injuring us all.

what you are saying, to the extent that somebody who is not in your position can understand... It must be very painful and sad. I share the sadness, there should not be room anywhere for this kind of divisiveness, and especially not among democrats.

and disconcerting to hear these things coming out of these mouths, isn't it? Well, the bright side to all of this is the hope that this negative response to her comments will make it abundantly clear that they are inaccurate and counterproductive. Maybe we'll see less and less of this in the future?

One can only hope:)

Excellent article from him this week. He has been critical of both candidates in print and in interviews. A couple of weeks ago he wrote

(aptly titled Heading Toward the Danger Zone)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/opinion/26herbert.html

"...
Their message varies, depending on whether it’s in public or behind the scenes. But the mantra is roughly as follows: Obama won’t win! He can’t win whites. Jeremiah Wright! He can’t win women. He can’t win Hispanics. He’ll lose Jewish voters. Farrakhan! We’ll nuke Iran.

The share of Clinton voters who have been telling exit pollsters that they will not vote for Senator Obama if he wins the nomination is inching toward the red zone. At the same time, there is growing resentment of the Clintons’ tactics among Obama partisans, especially the young and African-Americans.

Representative James Clyburn, one of the most highly respected black leaders in Congress, told The Times that there is an almost unanimous belief among blacks that the Clintons were committed to damaging Senator Obama so badly that even if he wins the nomination he would never be able to win the general election.

What we’re witnessing here — in what was supposed to have been a championship season for Democrats — is a potential train wreck. And it can’t all be blamed on the Clintons.

However one views the behavior of Bill and Hillary Clinton — and however large the race issue looms in this election, and it looms large — there can be no denying that an awful lot of Mr. Obama’s troubles have come from his side of the table. The Rev. Wright fiasco undermined the fundamental rationale of the entire Obama campaign — that it would be about healing, about putting partisanship aside, about reaching across ethnic and party divisions to bring people together in a new era of cooperation... "

So it seems to me he's seeing the Clintons grasping toward new lows and increasing his comments against them.

What ever they did have is now forfeit.

I'd like to see some professionals weigh in on just
what kind of personality traits/disorders drive this
kind of self destructive denial.

:thumbsup:

need them anymore.

And his Saturday fast ball is a sizzler.

Hard-hitting column, and spot-on on the point at hand.

I hope Howard Wolfson had time to read it this morning.

maybe Hillary and Bill Clinton have time to read it and even stop for a moment from their maniacal destructive rush and reflect on it. But I doubt it.

Several weeks ago would have been a good time for a graceful exit.

Right now would be the next best time .


:hi:

which means her coalition is getting less broad than when she entered this race.

more electable my ass.

perhaps Gore is more electable, but no way in hell Hillary is more electable. she brings all the irrational hate of the Republicans and now adds to it animosity from the most reliable Democrats out there: African Americans and highly educated whites.

the worse she bloodies up Obama, the better chance he doesn't get nominated but she also reduces her chances to be nominated.

she literally doesn't understand politics and how to hurt your opponent without hurting yourself. she's a liability.

:spank:

He's right, by the way.

Necessary strong words of condemnation.

we've had ass there for some time. I am sorry to see my respect for Bill Clinton and to a lesser degree his wife slip further and further down.

THis will seal their bad legacy re: his presidency unless they can CALL OFF THE DOGS and make peace with Obama, get out of the race, and restore their honor.

No, being classy is too elitist.

for me it has been the destructiveness of her campaign in the area of race that has disturbed me the most.