Samantha Power has resigned after stating the truth about Hillary Clinton in an interview with The Scotsman:
“We f***** up in Ohio,” she admitted. “In Ohio, they are obsessed and Hillary is going to town on it, because she knows Ohio’s the only place they can win.
“She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything,” Ms Power said, hastily trying to withdraw her remark.
Ms Power said of the Clinton campaign: “Here, it looks like desperation. I hope it looks like desperation there, too.
“You just look at her and think, ‘Ergh’. But if you are poor and she is telling you some story about how Obama is going to take your job away, maybe it will be more effective. The amount of deceit she has put forward is really unattractive.”
Although true, this was not a prudent comment to make in an interview. Besides trying to immediately withdraw the comment, Powers did issue an apology:
“These comments do not reflect my feelings about Sen. Clinton, whose leadership and public service I have long admired,” Power said in a statement.
“It is wrong for anyone to pursue this campaign in such negative and personal terms,” she added. “I apologize to Senator Clinton and to Senator Obama, who has made very clear that these kinds of expressions should have no place in American politics.”
Clinton, being the monster that she is, decided that an apology wasn’t enough and demanded that Powers be fired. Powers subsequently resigned, making this statement:
With deep regret, I am resigning from my role as an advisor the Obama campaign effective today. Last Monday, I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for Senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor, and purpose of the Obama campaign. And I extend my deepest apologies to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, and the remarkable team I have worked with over these long 14 months.
The flap is certainly more over making political points and seeking an advantage over Obama than any real concern about what was said. As David Kurtz explains:
There are advisers and then there are advisers. Power is Barack Obama’s Condi Rice.
A Harvard Law grad, former foreign correspondent, and Pulitzer Prize winning author, Power left her Harvard faculty gig to go work on Obama’s Senate staff for a year. It might be a little condescending to say she schooled him on foreign policy, but that’s close to accurate. In the constellation of Obama advisers, the 37-year-old Irish-born Power has as high a profile and as close a relationship to the candidate as anyone.
All of which is to say that her intemperate comments have put her and Obama in a bind — and the Clinton campaign knows it.
If there was a deliberate strategy from the Obama campaign to be calling Clinton names, even if accurate, there would be reason for concern. Considering that Power immediately tried to withdraw the insult, and that she did apologize, calling for her to be fired sounds quite out of line, even ignoring the fact that quite a few insults have originated from the Clinton camp. Besides, this isn’t the first time the Clinton campaign has demanded that someone be fired for saying something unpleasant about her. Considering Clinton’s views on increased presidential power, episodes such as this make me fear that the election of Clinton would have a serious adverse effect on civil liberties. Just image how she will respond to critics should she ever be elected president.
This is one more reason why I’m not likely to vote for that monster should she win the Democratic nomination.
The good news is that she is now free to say whatever the hell she feels like, and probably will. She’ll be a sought after guest on the hot air shows.
John,
She might still not want to actually call Clinton a monster as it might reflect poorly on Obama even though she is no longer affiliated with the campaign. However she might go on and, while saying she was wrong to actually call her a monster, explain why she felt Clinton is one.
I long ago grew weary of the Borg Queen’s whining and foot stomping. If the Clinton machine robs Obama of the nomination, I too, will not vote for her. I won’t vote for McCain, either. I can happily sit the 2008 election out and wait until 2012 and Al Gore.
A couple of months ago, she went apeshit over the excellent MSNBC reporter, David Shuster questioning her campaign “pimping out Chelsea.” The Borg Queen was content with his two week suspension — she wanted him fired and his career destroyed.
Now there’s this. Big fucking deal? So an Obama supplicant called her a “monster?” Hillary Clinton IS a monster.
Folks, this is the type of bullshit we will see constantly if this woman is allowed back into the White House. Everyone inside the Washington press corp, the foreign media, the dead tree media, and the blogs, will be walking on egg shells for fear they might offend the Borg Queen and then suffer her BS, politically correct wrath.
MEMO TO HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Toughen up and grow up or get the hell out of this race. Go back to the safety of Capitol Hill and your stupid committee.
I wish Powers had not said what she said to BBC (I believe) about Obama not being able to pull out all the troops out of Iraq in one year. Now Clinton is using her comments to claim that he doesn’t have a date to get troops out. She is hurting Obama’s candidacy rather than helping him.
Probus,
That’s a totally different subject. I’m not certain about Powers as adviser, but regardless of whether she was a benefit to the campaign, the uproar about the monster comment is rather ridiculous.
While for the wrong reason, it just might help Obama that she’s gone after the Iraq comment. I also fear she might be too interventionist, but I’d really have to read more of her works than I have so far to fairly judge her. She does deserve credit for her concerns regarding genocide.
Now if Obama had a REAL campaign manager instead of the tepid David Plouffe, then a good response from the Obama campaign could have been:
“So Senator Clinton, you never got angry with someone else’s behavior? You never called anyone names? Our advisor immediately attempted to retract her statement, the journalist was unreasonably zealous, and you have your apology. Now you want me to fire one of my top advisors? Get off it Senator! Is this how you will run your administration? Get off it, Senator. Who’s showing us who’s the monster now?”
Millions would jump for joy if Plouffe or some other top surrogate issued such a statement, and then we would all know for certain that Obama is ready for the Presidency. However, I am afraid Obama is starting to fade into Kerry-land …
DrToketee,
They are making a point today about numerous Clinton surrogates who have insulted Obama and compared this to how this statement was handled. In the cases of the Clinton surrogates, either nothing was done or there was a delay. In contrast, they are making a point of the fact that Power very quickly apologized and resigned.
I do have mixed feelings about this looking like Obama’s campaign gave into Clinton’s demands that she be fired. However, they are using this well to make a political point contrasting their actions as opposed to how Clinton’s campaign handles similar situations.
This could all be for the best. Obama’s campaign gets points for not tolerating such conduct, and they might be best off without Samantha Power around for a general election campaign. Unfortunately she doesn’t understand the political game,which I find refreshing, but which could be dangerous in today’s political atmosphere where every comment is recorded and scrutinized.
Clinton’s comments yesterday about Powers were ridiculous. She wanted Powers to be fired for her comments about Clinton but will take no action for what Wolfson said about Obama comparing him to of all people Ken Starr. If anything Wolfson should step down for his comments about Obama which were unwarranted. The Clinton’s have tried to throw everything including the kitchen sink at Obama but he is still going strong. It is hard to suppress the will of the people. We don’t need another Bush-Lite in the White House. Obama is the only candidate that represents change. I think Obama handled this situation the best way he could. I can see why Kerry endorsed him and not Hillary Clinton.
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Firing Powers was a mistake, Obama has shown himself to be subservient to the PIAPS.
Great post. Obama’s aide was right. Hillary is a monster. Of course not the same kind of monster as Hitler, Mao or Stalin, but a monster nonetheless.
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absurd thought –
God of the Universe says
don’t call monsters monsters
never expose their evil
never upset a monster
.
absurd thought –
God of the Universe says
claim to care for people
call yourself progressive
your policies hurt poor folk
.
absurd thought –
God of the Universe says
elect women presidents
who cover for their husbands
who rape other women
.
if you’re MAD
punish your country
VOTE for Hillary
.
http://www.hillaryproject.com/
Go here and watch ‘The Hillary Show’ with Howard Dean. It’s Hillarious!
http://www.stophernow.com/
http://absurdthoughtsaboutgod.blogspot.com/
🙂
.