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""We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.You know, I just don't understand it" Hillary Clinton explaining why it would be wrong for her to quit in June, in interview in South Dakota.

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""We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.You know, I just don't understand it" Hillary Clinton explaining why it would be wrong for her to quit in June, in interview in South Dakota.

Yeah that's dumb. Sounds to me like she's referring to the same thing happening to Obama.

Why would she say that? How is it being interpreted?

dg, since I can't be 100% sure, I won't make it seem true to anyone else, but it's just how I've been reading Hillary every since she started making the campaign turn ugly. Now, I bet there's someone else that thought the same thing. Think about it, Bobby Kennedy was also running for prez when he was assassinated that year in June. The rest, you can figure out without me saying.

Also, she has gotten a lot of criticism about it, and she has apologized to the Kennedy family.

So, that's my reason for why she said it.

Thanks, Honi. I'll go and see what I can find out about it, but it seems that Fred posted Clinton's statement in the right place.

HEr intent was to show that primaries sometimes go on until June or later. I understand what she meant, and, given all that she said, she certainly had a point. Remember that she was responding to the suggestion that she should drop out. I think she was in no way was she suggesting that she should staying just in case something similar happened to Obama. Certainly any politician and every president's wife has thought about the possibility of an assassination and the horror of it all.

But it was certainly a very poor choice as an example, and she has apologized.

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Originally posted by DorianGreyed:
HEr intent was to show that primaries sometimes go on until June or later. I understand what she meant, and, given all that she said, she certainly had a point.

Now you have me really confused, DG. I understand her reminding us that the primaries can go on until June, but why on earth would she raise the subject of an assassination? Is she that stupid, or is she just bitter?

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. I think she was in no way was she suggesting that she should staying just in case something similar happened to Obama.

'Assassination' didn't have jack to do with dropping out, so she had to have another reason to say it.

This was in an interview, and she was showing examples of how presidential primaries have gone into June before being decided, sometimes into the convention itself, which is held August. If there is no candidate with enough pledged delegates on the first ballot at the convention, theoretically, anyone may end up being nominated. A few times, the leading candidates have lost to a compromise candidate. Remember that less than six months ago, Hillary was considered a lock to win the nomination; should Obama have dropped out then?

Things happen to potential candidates in the time leading up to the convention. In 1976, Reagan came very close to defeating a sitting Republican President in the primaries. For a while, Reagan led in delegates, I think. In 1980, Teddy Kennedy was very close to defeating a sitting Democratic President for a while. In 1984, Gary Hart was breathing down favorite Walter Mondale's neck, and the decision wasn't made until the August convention. In the primary season that year, Mondale had not won by the last primary, in California; Gary Hart did. The decision to go with Mondale was made just prior to the convention in July. In 1988, Hart was considered to be the almost overwhelming favorite. His quest for the Democratic nomination ended in the second week of May, when, after proof of his long-rumored womanizing surfaced. (He and his wife had separated twice by this time.)

Why did Hillary mention Kennedy instead of all the other examples? It is because 1968 was the best example of "It's not over til it's over." Reagan made Nixon go to the convention to secure the Republican nomination. And Bobby Kennedy had a lock on the Democratic nod, and very likely the Presidency...until he was assassinated in June. Distasteful as it was, Hillary gave the best example of the point she was trying to make. She just should have thought it through. It was a question she had been asked before, and one she knew would be asked again. Just as trial lawyers are advised not to ask questions (of witnesses) whose answer they didn't already know, politicians are advised to know every possible question they might get in an interview or in public, and to know exactly how to answer, know which of the many possible answers would be the "right" one. This was Hillary's error. She didn't see how others would hear what she said. As I said above, no politician (with the apparent exception of Huckabee) makes light of an assassination, and no First Lady would do so either. It comes far too close to home for them. Hillary was only guilty of not thinking her answer through, not seeing how it could be taken.

Of course, those who want to think the worst of her will see her comment as cold; that is the nature of politics. I didn't find Huckabee's comment about Obama hitting the floor at the sound of a shot funny. But Huckhabee apologized, and I believe him when he said that he didn't think the "joke" through when he said it. When you speak in public as much as these people do, you will certainly say things that don't sound to others like they sounded in your own mind.

We all say dumb things every day; especially when speaking publicly off the cuff. It behooves us to recognize this human frailty and give others the benefit of the doubt - unless we prefer to be considered biased. IMHO.

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Originally posted by frankvan:
We all say dumb things every day; especially when speaking publicly off the cuff. It behooves us to recognize this human frailty and give others the benefit of the doubt - unless we prefer to be considered biased. IMHO.

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Hi Frank:

No one is unbiased.

Bias:A mental leaning or inclination;partiality;prejudice.

To cause to have a bias;influence;prejudice.

For instance,if you like onions and I hate onions ,we both have a bias about onions.

Neither of us are unbiased ,regarding onions.

Nobody is unbiased.

The mere fact that we have an opinion about any subject shows that we are biased on that subject.

So bias is not a bad thing,it just proves that any thinking person has opinions,otherwise we'd all be robots,IMHO.

hippolips

Well said, hippolips.

Thanks for clarifying, DG. Yes, these candidates are under a tremendous amount of pressure. They open their mouths and speak in public all the time..there's bound to be mistakes.

But, Frank, are we to be as forgiving of George Bush ?

And Hippolips, not everyone is biased. One can be indifferent about certain things, but that doesn't make a person a robot either.

I'm sure, Hippo, that you know as well as I do that your dictionary definition omits some of the more common denotations of the word "bias". My Funk and Wagnalls has the following ones.

bias:: 1. A line running obliquely across a fabric: to cut on the bias. 2. a mental tendency, preference, or prejudice. 3. Electronics A grid bias (to impose steady negative potential upon). 4. In bowling, lopsidedness in a ball, causing oit to swerve; also the swerving course of such a ball. etc. etc.

To intentionally overlook or ignore the far more important connotations of the word in order to justify one's own prejudice is the very definition of the word itself. Do you honestly believe that a preference for, or dislike of, onions is the equivalent of race hatred or xenophobia? If you vote for/against Obama because of race, or for/against Hillary because she is a woman - and for no other reason, I'd say it betrays, at the least, an element of bias. If Obama says he misspoke when he spoke of voters clinging to religion and guns, etc. I am willing to take his word for it. I don't assume that I can look into someone's innermost feelings and ascribe some motive they deny having, I feel the same about Hillary's explanation; she made a dumb mistake. She is far too smart to intentionally suggest that Obama could suffer the same fate as Bobby Kennedy. I voted for Hillary in the Maryland primary. I lean toward Barack at the present time; would be happy with either candidate in November, but acknowledge that I have from now 'til November to make my final decision. In the meantime, shouldn't we all become acquainted with the specific issues of all candidates?

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But, Frank, are we to be as forgiving of George Bush ?

My point is only that we are mere humans, but that doesn't prevent us from trying to be as fair and objective as possible. Hippolips suggests that we should tolerate our own imperfections but there's no need to grant the same tolerance to others. I disagree.

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Originally posted by frankvan:

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But, Frank, are we to be as forgiving of George Bush ?

My point is only that we are mere humans, but that doesn't prevent us from trying to be as fair and objective as possible. Hippolips suggests that we should tolerate our own imperfections but there's no need to grant the same tolerance to others. I disagree.

I never claimed to be "divine", dg.

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Originally posted by frankvan:

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Originally posted by frankvan:

quote:

But, Frank, are we to be as forgiving of George Bush ?

My point is only that we are mere humans, but that doesn't prevent us from trying to be as fair and objective as possible. Hippolips suggests that we should tolerate our own imperfections but there's no need to grant the same tolerance to others. I disagree.

I never claimed to be "divine", dg.

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Hi FranK:

If you go back and reread my post, you'll find that I never wrote anything about" tolerating our own imperfections or granting the same tolerance to others".

Those are your words and conclusions ...not mine.

I'll stand behind whatever words I actually write,but I won't stand behind the words you think I was thinking , when I wrote them.

I still believe no one is unbiased...not even you ,Frank,IMHO.

hippolips

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I still believe no one is unbiased...not even you ,Frank,IMHO.

Well, since I don't know everyone in the world, I would hesitate to make any such claim, one way or the other. You may be right.