The Hillary Clinton thread
Moderators: $iljanus, LawBeefaroni
- hepcat
- Posts: 55237
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
- Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Are you trying to imply that Trump would not fit into his rented doctor?
Master of his domain.
- El Guapo
- Posts: 42294
- Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2005 4:01 pm
- Location: Boston
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
It's definitely real. At least, the letter is real. Although I assume if the doctor were unlicensed or fake or something I'm pretty sure the internet would've uncovered that months ago.Archinerd wrote:Wait, this is real? As in, this is actually what Trump released. I seriously thought this was an internet joke.Isgrimnur wrote:Mediaite
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s look at Trump’s announcement first. He writes on Facebook that he is “proud to share this report,” which he claims was “written by the highly respected Dr. Jacob Bornstein of Lenox Hill Hospital.” This is already false, because the opening lines of the report contradict the name of Trump’s doctor.
...
Dr. Jacob Bornstein was Trump’s personal physician until his son Harold took over in 1980. So either Trump is being nostalgic with his announcement, or he just doesn’t care enough to remember the name of his doctor.
This leads us to the statement itself, which has… problems. Like a weirdly-worded salutation (“To Whom My Concern”) and many other noticeable grammatical (and personality) issues.
Black Lives Matter.
- GreenGoo
- Posts: 43599
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:46 pm
- Location: Ottawa, ON
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
ftfy.El Guapo wrote: It's definitely real. At least, the letter is real. Although I assume if the doctor were unlicensed or fake or something I'm pretty sure the internet would've uncovered exploded that months ago.
- Defiant
- Posts: 21045
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:09 pm
- Location: Tongue in cheek
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
To be fair, he also released this letter that he received, to show how he's been invaluable to law enforcement:Archinerd wrote:Wait, this is real? As in, this is actually what Trump released. I seriously thought this was an internet joke.Isgrimnur wrote:Mediaite
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s look at Trump’s announcement first. He writes on Facebook that he is “proud to share this report,” which he claims was “written by the highly respected Dr. Jacob Bornstein of Lenox Hill Hospital.” This is already false, because the opening lines of the report contradict the name of Trump’s doctor.
...
Dr. Jacob Bornstein was Trump’s personal physician until his son Harold took over in 1980. So either Trump is being nostalgic with his announcement, or he just doesn’t care enough to remember the name of his doctor.
This leads us to the statement itself, which has… problems. Like a weirdly-worded salutation (“To Whom My Concern”) and many other noticeable grammatical (and personality) issues.


- LawBeefaroni
- Forum Moderator
- Posts: 56444
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:08 pm
- Location: Urbs in Horto, bonded and licensed.
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Yeah, that looks like it was intentionally laced with errors so as not to make the fake too convincing. If that was actually put forth by the Trump camp, Jesus. It's like he's running for Senior Class President, not POTUS.Archinerd wrote:Wait, this is real? As in, this is actually what Trump released. I seriously thought this was an internet joke.Isgrimnur wrote:Mediaite
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s look at Trump’s announcement first. He writes on Facebook that he is “proud to share this report,” which he claims was “written by the highly respected Dr. Jacob Bornstein of Lenox Hill Hospital.” This is already false, because the opening lines of the report contradict the name of Trump’s doctor.
...
Dr. Jacob Bornstein was Trump’s personal physician until his son Harold took over in 1980. So either Trump is being nostalgic with his announcement, or he just doesn’t care enough to remember the name of his doctor.
This leads us to the statement itself, which has… problems. Like a weirdly-worded salutation (“To Whom My Concern”) and many other noticeable grammatical (and personality) issues.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General
"“I like taking the guns early...to go to court would have taken a long time. So you could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.” -President Donald Trump.
"...To guard, protect, and maintain his liberty, the freedman should have the ballot; that the liberties of the American people were dependent upon the Ballot-box, the Jury-box, and the Cartridge-box, that without these no class of people could live and flourish in this country." - Frederick Douglass
MYT
"“I like taking the guns early...to go to court would have taken a long time. So you could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.” -President Donald Trump.
"...To guard, protect, and maintain his liberty, the freedman should have the ballot; that the liberties of the American people were dependent upon the Ballot-box, the Jury-box, and the Cartridge-box, that without these no class of people could live and flourish in this country." - Frederick Douglass
MYT
- Isgrimnur
- Posts: 85843
- Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:29 am
- Location: Chookity pok
- Contact:
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Jezebel

CNN

CNN
Trump himself once again touted his "stamina" in a statement accompanying the positive bill of health.
"People have been impressed by my stamina, but to me it has been easy because I am truly doing something that I love. Our country will soon be better and stronger than ever before," Trump said in the statement.
Trump also touted his "great genes," noting that his parents "had very long and productive lives."
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- GreenGoo
- Posts: 43599
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:46 pm
- Location: Ottawa, ON
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I love when he talks about his genes.
- hepcat
- Posts: 55237
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
- Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I'm surprised that he hasn't pulled a Jack Palance on stage.
Master of his domain.
- LordMortis
- Posts: 72342
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:26 pm
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Jack Palance from Buck Rogers?hepcat wrote:I'm surprised that he hasn't pulled a Jack Palance on stage.
Is it sad that this is what I remember him most for?

- Archinerd
- Posts: 7006
- Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:18 am
- Location: Shikaakwa
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
It has a strongWes Anderson vibe to it as well.LawBeefaroni wrote:Yeah, that looks like it was intentionally laced with errors so as not to make the fake too convincing. If that was actually put forth by the Trump camp, Jesus. It's like he's running for Senior Class President, not POTUS.Archinerd wrote:Wait, this is real? As in, this is actually what Trump released. I seriously thought this was an internet joke.Isgrimnur wrote:Mediaite
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s look at Trump’s announcement first. He writes on Facebook that he is “proud to share this report,” which he claims was “written by the highly respected Dr. Jacob Bornstein of Lenox Hill Hospital.” This is already false, because the opening lines of the report contradict the name of Trump’s doctor.
...
Dr. Jacob Bornstein was Trump’s personal physician until his son Harold took over in 1980. So either Trump is being nostalgic with his announcement, or he just doesn’t care enough to remember the name of his doctor.
This leads us to the statement itself, which has… problems. Like a weirdly-worded salutation (“To Whom My Concern”) and many other noticeable grammatical (and personality) issues.

- hepcat
- Posts: 55237
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
- Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
If by sad, you mean AWESOME, then hell's yeah!LordMortis wrote:Jack Palance from Buck Rogers?hepcat wrote:I'm surprised that he hasn't pulled a Jack Palance on stage.
Is it sad that this is what I remember him most for?
Master of his domain.
- geezer
- Posts: 7642
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:52 pm
- Location: Yeeha!
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Eh.. maybe the 78th time trying to get her is the one. I mean, it worked with repealing Obamaca.. oh.. wait...hepcat wrote:Good luck with that. If you get anywhere, let me know. I want to play the lottery that day.
-
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 8:28 pm
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Thanks for the link (which I can't actually quote because the forum software feels it is too spammy). My take-away is that a charitable group wanted Mr. Clinton to speak at an event and were rebuffed. But after some "discussions" the charitable group donated half a million dollars to the Clinton Foundation and immediately thereafter Mr. Clinton green-lighted the speaking engagement.Rip wrote:
Only if you think pay for play is malfeasance. If it is what you expect from rich and powerful politicians, then I guess not.
Unseemly? Perhaps. But what I'm looking for is where that money gets back into Mr. or Mrs. Clinton's pockets. Do they draw from that organization and bill expenses to it? Do they use it as a bank account? Are they paying themselves from the Foundation's coffers? Unless that can be shown, trying to frame it as speaking engagement fees (the pay) in order to get participation and influence (the play) falls flat.
The case outlined by Forbes failed to mention on thing: that charitable group did not have to give money to anybody. They could have simply thanked the Clintons for their consideration and went with a different speaker. Obviously they decided that Mr. Clinton's presence was so critical to their cause as to be indispensable, so they made a business decision and coughed up the money. To a non-profit organization.
- Zarathud
- Posts: 17286
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:29 pm
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Likely some expenses for Foundation related travel and events are reimbursed, but not personal expenses. Perfectly acceptable, like how your employer pays for sending you on business trips. The Clintons take no salary. This is all publicly available information if you read the Clinton Foundation's 990s. Same for their Family Foundation (where there would be massive 200% penalties for screwing up).Wilhelm wrote:But what I'm looking for is where that money gets back into Mr. or Mrs. Clinton's pockets. Do they draw from that organization and bill expenses to it? Do they use it as a bank account? Are they paying themselves from the Foundation's coffers? Unless that can be shown, trying to frame it as speaking engagement fees (the pay) in order to get participation and influence (the play) falls flat.
Like many wealthy people, the Clintons have Foundations for reputation, influence and to feel fulfilled. It's hard to go from Leader of the Free World to private citizen, so you keep busy to keep your ego fed. That's perfectly legal and typical.
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
- Rip
- Posts: 26952
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:34 pm
- Location: Cajun Country!
- Contact:
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Cash isn't the only form of currency, power is also an asset, one they market very well. Need some political favors from someone, you just have "The Foundation" reward them and vice versa. Once you have the power you can do things like take numerous private flights with a wealthy child rapist on the "Lolita Express" to get your groove on and hardly anyone will notice. All for "free".Wilhelm wrote:Thanks for the link (which I can't actually quote because the forum software feels it is too spammy). My take-away is that a charitable group wanted Mr. Clinton to speak at an event and were rebuffed. But after some "discussions" the charitable group donated half a million dollars to the Clinton Foundation and immediately thereafter Mr. Clinton green-lighted the speaking engagement.Rip wrote:
Only if you think pay for play is malfeasance. If it is what you expect from rich and powerful politicians, then I guess not.
Unseemly? Perhaps. But what I'm looking for is where that money gets back into Mr. or Mrs. Clinton's pockets. Do they draw from that organization and bill expenses to it? Do they use it as a bank account? Are they paying themselves from the Foundation's coffers? Unless that can be shown, trying to frame it as speaking engagement fees (the pay) in order to get participation and influence (the play) falls flat.
The case outlined by Forbes failed to mention on thing: that charitable group did not have to give money to anybody. They could have simply thanked the Clintons for their consideration and went with a different speaker. Obviously they decided that Mr. Clinton's presence was so critical to their cause as to be indispensable, so they made a business decision and coughed up the money. To a non-profit organization.
- Zarathud
- Posts: 17286
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:29 pm
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
The Hillary Clinton thread
So guilt by association? And resentment that the Clintons are powerful? And political -- being a former President and current Secretary of State?
That's rather pathetic evidence for such bold charges. And many of those donors I assume are good people.
Where was this OUTRAGE when Speaker Hastert was caught actually paying off (in money and political positions) the young boys he molested?
That's rather pathetic evidence for such bold charges. And many of those donors I assume are good people.
Where was this OUTRAGE when Speaker Hastert was caught actually paying off (in money and political positions) the young boys he molested?
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
- Rip
- Posts: 26952
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:34 pm
- Location: Cajun Country!
- Contact:
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I am very outraged. Hastert is a scumbag piece of crap and an embarrassment. I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire.Zarathud wrote:So guilt by association? And resentment that the Clintons are powerful? And political -- being a former President and current Secretary of State?
That's rather pathetic evidence for such bold charges. And many of those donors I assume are good people.
Where was this OUTRAGE when Speaker Hastert was caught actually paying off (in money and political positions) the young boys he molested?
Is that enough outrage for you?
- Max Peck
- Posts: 15941
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
He didn't really provide a lot of fresh insight, but I will give Cecil Adams (as if that's his real name) credit for tackling the Clinton question for his Straight Dope column last week.
Seriously — why do so many people dislike Hillary Clinton?
Seriously — why do so many people dislike Hillary Clinton?
OTOH, if he's lucky Ted Cruz might get to answer that same question for a quarter decade.August 12, 2016
Dear Cecil:
Why do so many Americans dislike Hillary Clinton? It seems to predate her time as secretary of state or even as senator. Does it have something to do with her husband’s two terms in the White House?
— Jonathan Pearce
Cecil replies:
In 1964 Barry Goldwater quipped about nuking the Kremlin men’s room and equated Medicare with giving old folks free resort vacations, cigarettes, and beer. Just before Lyndon Johnson strolled to victory that November, Gallup found that 46 percent of Americans viewed his Republican opponent unfavorably, with 26 percent of respondents into the “highly unfavorable” camp. For five decades, Goldwater has been the most unpopular major-party presidential candidate ever, a record that some deemed unbreakable.
Well, they used to think nobody would ever hit 62 home runs in a season either. By Gallup’s latest reckoning, back in June, exactly half the American public views Hillary Clinton unfavorably, 33 percent highly so. But Hillary Clinton and mass unpopularity are old pals. The first major attempt to suss out the source of the antipathy, Henry Louis Gates’s “Hating Hillary,” appeared in the New Yorker in 1996 — meaning this idea is now old enough to vote.
The thing is, though, Clinton’s popularity numbers have never stayed put. She wrapped up her secretary of state gig in 2013 with a 64 percent favorability rating, and even that wasn’t peak Hillary — in 1998, at the kickoff of Bill’s impeachment, 67 percent of Americans were on her side. Now, we’re a polarized people. A third of Americans will always approve of Hillary Clinton, while another third forever will be ready to holler “Lock her up!” But what’s with that middle that can’t make up its mind?
Clinton’s spin on her fluctuating favorability is that she’s a wooden campaigner whose numbers dip during the election cycle, but a hard worker who forges her way back into our hearts with her sturdy competence. As she said at the Democratic convention of her career in public service, "The service part has always come easier to me than the public part." Fine, she’s no natural politician. But a charisma deficit alone isn’t enough to turn half a nation against you.
What about ethical concerns? Knowing full well the scrutiny they’re under, the Clintons have often seemed oddly unworried about appearing too chummy with big donors to their campaigns and charitable work, and a fog of impropriety clings to Hillary even when specific claims are disproven. Certainly no presidential candidate has faced so much congressional scrutiny immediately prior to an election: Republican-controlled committees have been hammering away at Clinton for three years now, first on Benghazi, then on her usage of email. And that kind of shelling from the opposition is nothing new — in the '90s, Bill and Hillary Clinton were accused of everything from real-estate shenanigans to outright murder.
Hillary might have chosen a less dramatic-sounding phrase to describe the well-financed network of conservative operatives who had coordinated their messages against the Clintons than her much-ridiculed “vast right-wing conspiracy.” But their detractors — whether politicians, news commentators, or your relatives on Facebook — have shared a singleness of purpose that’s unquestionable even if you believe its cause is righteous. And it’s come from both sides: mainstream liberals like the New York Times’ Howell Raines and Maureen Dowd were dogged critics of the Clintons’ ethical lapses, real or perceived.
And yet Bill Clinton has emerged from the battles of the past unscathed: as recently as 2014 his favorability polled at 64 percent. Meanwhile Hillary suffers the scorn of a reinvigorated left that’s retroactively critical of her support for her husband's policies — adopted in the aftermath of the Reagan years, when Democrats were stumbling over each other in their efforts not to appear too liberal. How did Hillary get stuck holding the bag?
Let’s not dance around the obvious: Hillary Clinton is a woman. Surely it’s a double standard that allows Bill to seem like a charming rapscallion who just cuts a few corners while Hillary is cast as a shady crime boss. Back in the ’90s, as the first working woman to serve as first lady, Clinton initially took a lead role in healthcare policymaking but hit massive turbulence from D.C. traditionalists who thought she’d misread her job description. Such paleo-anti-feminist rancor — and an accompanying rap as presumptuous and pushy — is something that more recently prominent female politicians, like Elizabeth Warren, have largely been spared.
None of this is to make excuses for her — politics is a tough game, and a better operator might have handled things more deftly. As that 1996 New Yorker piece suggests, Hillary’s always just rubbed plenty of people the wrong way. Then again, “Why doesn't anyone like you?” is a hell of a question for even the savviest politician to field continuously for 25 years.
However, friends, we live in wondrous times, and in 2016 Hillary’s not even our least popular presidential candidate. Gallup again: 59 percent of Americans don’t like Donald Trump, including 42 percent who can’t stand him. Fortunately, nobody's writing in to wonder why — I’d never get it all in a single column.
— Cecil Adams

"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- GreenGoo
- Posts: 43599
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:46 pm
- Location: Ottawa, ON
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
FBI have handed over their notes on email gate to congress at their behest.
This should be interesting. Right in the middle of an election. I assume the committee to review these notes will be bipartisan?
This should be interesting. Right in the middle of an election. I assume the committee to review these notes will be bipartisan?

- Moliere
- Posts: 12380
- Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:57 am
- Location: Walking through a desert land
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I can't imagine this turning into a circus. These are objective professionals reviewing the evidence with a clear mind and heart.GreenGoo wrote:FBI have handed over their notes on email gate to congress at their behest.
This should be interesting. Right in the middle of an election. I assume the committee to review these notes will be bipartisan?

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
- Defiant
- Posts: 21045
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:09 pm
- Location: Tongue in cheek
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
From a letter the FBI sent to congress:
“The fact that Secretary Clinton received emails containing ‘(C)’ portion markings is not clear evidence of knowledge or intent. As the Director has testified, the FBI’s investigation uncovered three instances of emails portioned marked with ‘(C),’ a marking ostensibly indicating the presence of information classified at the Confidential level. In each of these instances, the Secretary did not originate the information; instead, the emails were forwarded to her by staff members, with the portion-marked information located within the email chains and without header and footer markings indicating the presence of classified information. Moreover, only one of those emails was determined by the State Department to contain classified information. There has been no determination by the State Department as to whether these three emails were classified at the time they were sent.”
- Smoove_B
- Posts: 57020
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:58 am
- Location: Kaer Morhen
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
FBI? Email servers? Nobody can relate to that. Apparently the big concern is how many pillows she needs to sit in a chair or on a couch. A President that needs a sittin' pillow? Not my President...
Maybe next year, maybe no go
- gbasden
- Posts: 7965
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:57 am
- Location: Sacramento, CA
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Apparently her doctor has released multiple such statements.ImLawBoy wrote:I don't need a full medical workup on candidates, but I don't think it's unreasonable to have some sort of statement from a candidate's doctor that a candidate has no current medical conditions that would materially and negatively impact the candidate's ability to serve as president. Whether it's something like cancer or early onset dementia or whatever, it's reasonable and fair for the public to know about it.
Recently, Bardack released a statement to address the conspiracy theories around apparent falsified medical records with her name on them saying that Clinton has dysphasia.
"These documents are false, were not written by me and are not based on any medical facts," Bardack said. "To reiterate what I said in my previous statement, Secretary Clinton is in excellent health and fit to serve as President of the United States."
- tjg_marantz
- Posts: 14692
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:54 pm
- Location: Queen City, SK
- ImLawBoy
- Forum Admin
- Posts: 15546
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:49 pm
- Location: Chicago, IL
- Contact:
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I find that to be satisfactory.gbasden wrote:Apparently her doctor has released multiple such statements.ImLawBoy wrote:I don't need a full medical workup on candidates, but I don't think it's unreasonable to have some sort of statement from a candidate's doctor that a candidate has no current medical conditions that would materially and negatively impact the candidate's ability to serve as president. Whether it's something like cancer or early onset dementia or whatever, it's reasonable and fair for the public to know about it.
Recently, Bardack released a statement to address the conspiracy theories around apparent falsified medical records with her name on them saying that Clinton has dysphasia.
"These documents are false, were not written by me and are not based on any medical facts," Bardack said. "To reiterate what I said in my previous statement, Secretary Clinton is in excellent health and fit to serve as President of the United States."
That's my purse! I don't know you!
-
- Posts: 24795
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:58 pm
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Wow that guy is certainly a suitable replacement for Nigel Farage on the cover of Punchable Face magazine. I've come to notice that even his tv surrogates are bonkers crazy. I guess they just flock to him - his derp signal is yuge!tjg_marantz wrote:Says who?
- Pyperkub
- Posts: 24424
- Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2004 5:07 pm
- Location: NC- that's Northern California
- Contact:
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Can we investigate him for 25 years?Max Peck wrote:He didn't really provide a lot of fresh insight, but I will give Cecil Adams (as if that's his real name) credit for tackling the Clinton question for his Straight Dope column last week.
Seriously — why do so many people dislike Hillary Clinton?OTOH, if he's lucky Ted Cruz might get to answer that same question for a quarter decade.August 12, 2016
Dear Cecil:
Why do so many Americans dislike Hillary Clinton? It seems to predate her time as secretary of state or even as senator. Does it have something to do with her husband’s two terms in the White House?
— Jonathan Pearce
Cecil replies:
In 1964 Barry Goldwater quipped about nuking the Kremlin men’s room and equated Medicare with giving old folks free resort vacations, cigarettes, and beer. Just before Lyndon Johnson strolled to victory that November, Gallup found that 46 percent of Americans viewed his Republican opponent unfavorably, with 26 percent of respondents into the “highly unfavorable” camp. For five decades, Goldwater has been the most unpopular major-party presidential candidate ever, a record that some deemed unbreakable.
Well, they used to think nobody would ever hit 62 home runs in a season either. By Gallup’s latest reckoning, back in June, exactly half the American public views Hillary Clinton unfavorably, 33 percent highly so. But Hillary Clinton and mass unpopularity are old pals. The first major attempt to suss out the source of the antipathy, Henry Louis Gates’s “Hating Hillary,” appeared in the New Yorker in 1996 — meaning this idea is now old enough to vote.
The thing is, though, Clinton’s popularity numbers have never stayed put. She wrapped up her secretary of state gig in 2013 with a 64 percent favorability rating, and even that wasn’t peak Hillary — in 1998, at the kickoff of Bill’s impeachment, 67 percent of Americans were on her side. Now, we’re a polarized people. A third of Americans will always approve of Hillary Clinton, while another third forever will be ready to holler “Lock her up!” But what’s with that middle that can’t make up its mind?
Clinton’s spin on her fluctuating favorability is that she’s a wooden campaigner whose numbers dip during the election cycle, but a hard worker who forges her way back into our hearts with her sturdy competence. As she said at the Democratic convention of her career in public service, "The service part has always come easier to me than the public part." Fine, she’s no natural politician. But a charisma deficit alone isn’t enough to turn half a nation against you.
What about ethical concerns? Knowing full well the scrutiny they’re under, the Clintons have often seemed oddly unworried about appearing too chummy with big donors to their campaigns and charitable work, and a fog of impropriety clings to Hillary even when specific claims are disproven. Certainly no presidential candidate has faced so much congressional scrutiny immediately prior to an election: Republican-controlled committees have been hammering away at Clinton for three years now, first on Benghazi, then on her usage of email. And that kind of shelling from the opposition is nothing new — in the '90s, Bill and Hillary Clinton were accused of everything from real-estate shenanigans to outright murder.
Hillary might have chosen a less dramatic-sounding phrase to describe the well-financed network of conservative operatives who had coordinated their messages against the Clintons than her much-ridiculed “vast right-wing conspiracy.” But their detractors — whether politicians, news commentators, or your relatives on Facebook — have shared a singleness of purpose that’s unquestionable even if you believe its cause is righteous. And it’s come from both sides: mainstream liberals like the New York Times’ Howell Raines and Maureen Dowd were dogged critics of the Clintons’ ethical lapses, real or perceived.
And yet Bill Clinton has emerged from the battles of the past unscathed: as recently as 2014 his favorability polled at 64 percent. Meanwhile Hillary suffers the scorn of a reinvigorated left that’s retroactively critical of her support for her husband's policies — adopted in the aftermath of the Reagan years, when Democrats were stumbling over each other in their efforts not to appear too liberal. How did Hillary get stuck holding the bag?
Let’s not dance around the obvious: Hillary Clinton is a woman. Surely it’s a double standard that allows Bill to seem like a charming rapscallion who just cuts a few corners while Hillary is cast as a shady crime boss. Back in the ’90s, as the first working woman to serve as first lady, Clinton initially took a lead role in healthcare policymaking but hit massive turbulence from D.C. traditionalists who thought she’d misread her job description. Such paleo-anti-feminist rancor — and an accompanying rap as presumptuous and pushy — is something that more recently prominent female politicians, like Elizabeth Warren, have largely been spared.
None of this is to make excuses for her — politics is a tough game, and a better operator might have handled things more deftly. As that 1996 New Yorker piece suggests, Hillary’s always just rubbed plenty of people the wrong way. Then again, “Why doesn't anyone like you?” is a hell of a question for even the savviest politician to field continuously for 25 years.
However, friends, we live in wondrous times, and in 2016 Hillary’s not even our least popular presidential candidate. Gallup again: 59 percent of Americans don’t like Donald Trump, including 42 percent who can’t stand him. Fortunately, nobody's writing in to wonder why — I’d never get it all in a single column.
— Cecil Adams
Black Lives definitely Matter Lorini!
Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
- Max Peck
- Posts: 15941
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I believe that's Michael Cohen. He's been Trump's attack dog special counsel since 2007 or so, from what I've read, so it's no surprise that he's on the same page as Trump. As one article put it, he is to Trump as Tom Hagen was to Vito Corleone.malchior wrote:Wow that guy is certainly a suitable replacement for Nigel Farage on the cover of Punchable Face magazine. I've come to notice that even his tv surrogates are bonkers crazy. I guess they just flock to him - his derp signal is yuge!tjg_marantz wrote:Says who?
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- tgb
- Posts: 30690
- Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:33 pm
- Location: Tucson, AZ
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
More like Saul Goodman is to Walter White, I expect.Max Peck wrote:I believe that's Michael Cohen. He's been Trump's attack dog special counsel since 2007 or so, from what I've read, so it's no surprise that he's on the same page as Trump. As one article put it, he is to Trump as Tom Hagen was to Vito Corleone.malchior wrote:Wow that guy is certainly a suitable replacement for Nigel Farage on the cover of Punchable Face magazine. I've come to notice that even his tv surrogates are bonkers crazy. I guess they just flock to him - his derp signal is yuge!tjg_marantz wrote:Says who?
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
- hepcat
- Posts: 55237
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
- Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Saul has a modicum of charisma though. Cohen just comes across as a thug.
Master of his domain.
- GreenGoo
- Posts: 43599
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:46 pm
- Location: Ottawa, ON
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I see he's a veteran forum debater.tjg_marantz wrote:Says who?
I did find her question to be less than useful. The obvious answer is "to win". That said, I believe she was trying to ask what strategic changes we can expect from Drumpf's campaign following the personnel changes. But she didn't ask that.
Whether you think the media is a corrupt, partisan machine for the other side or not, you're going to struggle if you're actively hostile to them. That's a given. You can complain that they aren't treating you fairly all day long, but without the media it'll be hard to get even that message (the media sucks) across without the media's help.
Last edited by GreenGoo on Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
- tgb
- Posts: 30690
- Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:33 pm
- Location: Tucson, AZ
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
So does Tom Hagen for that matter. But to the point, Der Drumpfster tends to pal around with lawyer/thugs. His first was Roy Cohen (sayyy, I wonder if Cohen is his son), don't forget.hepcat wrote:Saul has a modicum of charisma though. Cohen just comes across as a thug.
Remember George and Carolyn, Drumpf's lieutenants from the first few seasons of The Apprentice? George was his attorney and CEO, and Carolyn managed his golf courses, iirc. They've both been strangely invisible throughout this whole mishegoss. Either he was demanding NDA's even way back then, or Donald, Jr. wished them into the cornfield.
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
- GreenGoo
- Posts: 43599
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:46 pm
- Location: Ottawa, ON
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I wish she had answered "The american people" and only if pressed, said "via polls".
- Max Peck
- Posts: 15941
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
You're thinking of Roy Cohn, the illustrious Commie-hunting McCarthyite.tgb wrote:His first was Roy Cohen (sayyy, I wonder if Cohen is his son), don't forget.
"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- tgb
- Posts: 30690
- Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:33 pm
- Location: Tucson, AZ
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Didn't know about the different spelling.Max Peck wrote:You're thinking of Roy Cohn, the illustrious Commie-hunting McCarthyite.tgb wrote:His first was Roy Cohen (sayyy, I wonder if Cohen is his son), don't forget.
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
- Max Peck
- Posts: 15941
- Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 pm
- Location: Down the Rabbit-Hole
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
At any rate, so far as I know Cohn was spawnless. However, given Trump's spelling skills, you may have figured out why he replaced Cohn with Cohen.tgb wrote:Didn't know about the different spelling.Max Peck wrote:You're thinking of Roy Cohn, the illustrious Commie-hunting McCarthyite.tgb wrote:His first was Roy Cohen (sayyy, I wonder if Cohen is his son), don't forget.

"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
- Grifman
- Posts: 22181
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 7:17 pm
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
I've seen him in two interviews on CNN,,including the last one, and in each he has been extremely combative, assertive, and obtuse. He really does make me think of a mafia lawyer.hepcat wrote:Saul has a modicum of charisma though. Cohen just comes across as a thug.
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
- tgb
- Posts: 30690
- Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:33 pm
- Location: Tucson, AZ
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Says who?Grifman wrote:I've seen him in two interviews on CNN,,including the last one, and in each he has been extremely combative, assertive, and obtuse. He really does make me think of a mafia lawyer.hepcat wrote:Saul has a modicum of charisma though. Cohen just comes across as a thug.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
- Moliere
- Posts: 12380
- Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:57 am
- Location: Walking through a desert land
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
But it's not pay to play, right?
More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money - either personally or through companies or groups - to the Clinton Foundation. It's an extraordinary proportion indicating her possible ethics challenges if elected president.
At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.
"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
- Isgrimnur
- Posts: 85843
- Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:29 am
- Location: Chookity pok
- Contact:
Re: The Hillary Clinton thread
Your link gets hijacked to an AP map landing page. Here is a link that worked for me.
It's almost as if people are the problem.