What is it about Cindy McCain? I'm sure she is a very nice person, and there's no question she is attractive. BUT, there's something spooky about her eyes, a kind of calculating coldness that goes right through you. It's almost as if she might be one of the "Children Of The Damned" all grown up. Does anyone else get that feeling?
Posted by PretzelsOne at February 22, 2008 02:18 AMYes, but it's just from pulling her skin back too tight on her last face lift. She's not nearly as scary as the devil worshippers at Stonehenge.
But I'm not so sure she's such a nice person. She took John away from Carol Shepp(fashion model and 1st wife), after she ended up 5 inches shorter in a serious auto accident.
I'll give her a pass on stealing drugs from charity because she was addicted at the time.
First Lady potential? Well, at least she didn't kill her boyfriend with her car and tell the voters that stemcells will never cure them.
Posted by TIKI AL at February 22, 2008 03:13 AMjust a regular girl next door
Posted by dennis at February 22, 2008 03:21 AMPretzelsOne, I am laughing out loud. I had exactly the same reaction to her, but thought it was just me. Night of the Living Dead comes to mind.
Posted by Judith at February 22, 2008 04:20 AMPreying mantis look?
Posted by tfitznc at February 22, 2008 04:46 AMHer eyes are really really light and it makes her look kind of possessed. It's probably attractive up close, but from far away, it makes her look like she has no iris or pupil.
Posted by CG at February 22, 2008 05:49 AMShe really does look like a grown up version of the children in "Village of the Damned". Ha! Good catch!
So far, she doesn't strike me as First Lady material. Her eagerness to take Michelle Obama's remarks out of context and run publicly with the mis-characterization demonstrates intellectual dishonesty. If she keeps it up, she'll be competing with her own husband for lowest ethics awards.
Posted by jcricket at February 22, 2008 05:59 AMI don't know if it was too many prescription drugs, alcohol or the last botox treatment but poor Cindy Lou did have a stroke a few years back... at such a young age.
Posted by Seven of Six at February 22, 2008 06:19 AMcomment on the "debate". I broke my rule and watched it, all of it. Obama seemed stiff at the beginning and Clinton came out firing on all cylinders. It seemed that after watching Clinton walk into the "plagiary" trap, Obama's "silly politics" comeback got him going and from there out he seemed very comfortable. Clinton fell flat trying to use Kirk Watson's gaffe as a dig on Obama. Note to Hillary: a guy who is a very popular local politician is probably not a good target. Clinton, with the benefit of speaking last, got a great round of applause for her final comments. But since she spent the last week telling us that Speech's are just talk, and Talk isn't work....it's hard to give her too much credit for that. Politicians give speeches for a living. In short, I was impressed with Clinton, except for the attempts at mud-slinging. Once Obama hit his stride, he was impressive also. I will happily support either one. I do wish Clinton would quit including her 8 years as a president's wife as "experience". I mean, who'd want Laura Bush to be president?
Posted by T2 at February 22, 2008 06:31 AMOn Wednesday night in Dallas the Secret Service stopped checking the people entering the forum for weapons an hour before the Obama speech. Is this the next primary? Dodging bullets? And in Dallas?
Posted by Bob In Pacifica at February 22, 2008 07:04 AMI do wish Clinton would quit including her 8 years as a president's wife as "experience". I mean, who'd want Laura Bush to be president?
Oh that's not fair. Clearly, Hillary Clinton was more engaged in the workings of the Bill Clinton administration than Laura Bush has been in the G W Bush administration.
Other than that I agree with your comments. I think at this point trying to slam Obama isn't gonna score her any points. She needs to articulate why she should be president and let the chips fall where they may. I think her debate performance and the half-hearted attempts at using the 'plagerism' thing reveal that she doesn't really want to go that way. So she shouldn't.
7of6 and Tiki
CNN is reporting that Repug Rick Renzi has been indicted.
I do wish Clinton would quit including her 8 years as a president's wife as "experience". I mean, who'd want Laura Bush to be president?
Hillary was involved in policy and was instrumental in getting the schip program started. Laura hasn't been involved in anything like that. I do think Hillary's experience as First Lady is important.
Posted by CG at February 22, 2008 08:11 AMCNN is reporting that Repug Rick Renzi has been indicted.
The amazing thing about this is that AZ repug congressman John Shadegg resigned... except now that Renzi has been indicted... Shadegg is now running again for re-election.
While AZ starts turning purple, the republi-cons are fighting for their dear lives here in AZ.
The Laura crack was a joke...duh. I'm not saying Hillary's input into Bill's presidency was no more than Laura's into W's. It clearly was on substantive issues, just as his input will be if she is president. But even if she talked with him each and every day about any and every thing he did (not counting the, uh, obvious) it's not the same as being an elected official of government, making decisions that can be racked up as on the job experience. Having a book read to you about fishing doesn't make you a good fisherman...it might help you become one some day, granted. But you don't have experience fishing until you fish. It's my opinion that Clinton should/can run on her Senatorial record and leave it at that.
Posted by T2 at February 22, 2008 09:29 AMI'd probably like Laura Bush for President over the others, except to Obama.
Last night he stumbled a bit on the health care issue but revved up and got going. Health insurance premiums are the biggest issue, imo. And there is a major difference between Hillary and Obama although his 'forcing parents of children to buy insurance' gives me pause. But mostly Obama knows the plight of the lower middle class who are getting the brunt of exorbitant health insurance premiums for often minimal coverage.
Hillary's walking off the cliff on this issue by blameing the uninsured as the problem and not seeing that she's blaming the victims. Obama's aware of people who are in the 'trades, small businesses, artisans and craftspeople, self employed contractors, and many employees of small businesses that don't provide insurance. There are millions of us out there who are scraping along with 30 to 50 K a year and we can't save enough for a decent retirement let alone pay outrageously high premiums that don't even cover half of the costs of a possible crisis.
Obama gets it. Health insurance premiums are too high and we shouldn't force the least incomed to pay for it. Hillary's plan like the present situation will cover the poor...but that's at a barely livable level who are eligible for Medicaid...but the lower middle class w/o employer based insurance would have to pay full freight and it won't despite what she thinks lower health insurance premiums for the upper class that she represents.
Posted by datadave at February 22, 2008 10:17 AMHaving a book read to you about fishing doesn't make you a good fisherman...it might help you become one some day, granted.
Well, if Hillary spent 8 years reading fishing books and Obama hadn't spent any time reading fishing books I consider Hillary to have the advantage when they both went fishing for the first time. Of course this is not only thing to consider. But it is a valid point of experience. Spending 8 years living in the White House observing the way things REALLY work, as opposed to how you HOPE to make them work, is important in my opinion.
Posted by snark at February 22, 2008 10:29 AMWhat snark said. Plus she has experience with foreign leaders and has relationships with some of them.
Obama gets it. Health insurance premiums are too high and we shouldn't force the least incomed to pay for it. Hillary's plan like the present situation will cover the poor...but that's at a barely livable level who are eligible for Medicaid...but the lower middle class w/o employer based insurance would have to pay full freight and it won't despite what she thinks lower health insurance premiums for the upper class that she represents.
Both Hillary's plan and Obama's plan supposedly lower costs, basically in the same way. If you think his will lower costs and hers won't, then I don't think you really understand their plans. Hillary also caps premiums at a percentage of income. And one way to lower costs is to get everyone into a plan, because the uninsured don't pay their bills and doctors and hospitals pass that cost onto insurance companies who pass it on to us.
A Dallas police officer died after he crashed his motorcycle while escorting Clinton's motorcade. Wow, that would make me feel really really guilty.
Posted by CG at February 22, 2008 10:37 AM"The 35-count indictment, issued in Arizona, includes charges of conspiracy, money laundering, insurance fraud and wire fraud. The arraignment will be on March 6 in U.S. District Court in Tucson, the Justice Department said.
The Renzi investigation was highlighted during a congressional inquiry last year into the Bush administration's firings of nine U.S. attorneys. One of the dismissed prosecutors, Paul Charlton, had been in charge of the probe.
Democrats said the firings may have been carried out to slow public corruption cases against Republicans. Though that was never proved, the scandal drove Attorney General Alberto Gonzales from office in September."...(Bloomberg)
Hmmmmm.... Renzi and Rezko. I'm not doing any land deals with people with 5 letters in their name that include r, e, and z.
Posted by TIKI AL at February 22, 2008 11:16 AMi will tell you what ..i don't know what is going to happen..and i will pull for hillary til it's over...but that man obama does not have a magnanimous bone in his body..she on the other hand is a very gracious woman..for whatever it's worth
Posted by dennis at February 22, 2008 11:46 AMcg, If you think people in the lower middle class will vote for probably a 5 thousand a year 'tax' for health insurance when they are avoiding that "tax" for financial reasons you're mistaken. That 'working class' vote is what is needed. They are insecure now and won't put up with wonkish statements from people who are already covered in their tenured jobs..(as Clinton, Krugman, et al are). The lower middle class working person is getting hammered. Unless she's a teacher or in a major corporate job.(both not hiring at the moment) Clinton's plan will mean financial suicide unless she promise's Low Cost govt. plans for these people in need. So far, on her website ...she's hiding the socialized part of it, which I'd like to see but doubt she's got the you-know-what to raise taxes on the Terry McCauliffes and hedgefund managers to pay for it and we know from gays in the military that Clinton's plans will harm rather than help those who become encumbered under a upperclass biased plan such as hers. In fact, it's window dressing and enforced payments to the insurance companies that will not pass on savings to the others who don't need the savings anyway. In Mass. after their plan was enacted, insurance premiums went up 10 percent or more. Savings?
Obama knows that the fight will be for a plan of govt. attack after he gets elected. So far, Clinton's plan is a gift to the insurance industry. She will not say what the Per Centage of Income cap will be....if it's anything over 5 Per cent of income for the average incomed (lower middle class) it'd cause like a mass exodus over to McCain. And Obama has the wisdom to see that.
Currently 16 to 17 percent of our GNP goes to an inflated and corrupt health care system that gives minimal care and works the best for wealthy people but not the rest of us. The well-off pay maybe one percent of income into it other than their taxes which btw probably mostly funds the Medicaid class. So that leaves the vast middle paying nearly all of the private health care premiums. (people with wealth opt for cheaper high deductibles which are incredibly cheap knowing that they have the pocket cash to make for the difference..e.g. I can get a 100,000 deductible for 20 bucks a month and say I'm insured).
Health insurance premiums are actually a highly regressive tax upon the American middle class. I am sure Hillary will go for a 10 percent or more of income caps...that would devastate the finances of the 30 K a year small business employed or self insured person who can't or won't get a corporate job or a govt. job. That'd be 10s of millions of us in the current job mix. You want cleaning ladies to pay 10 percent of their income to fat-cat mutual? Easy for one who's probably got insurance free from his boss....but remember Hillary's plan will encourage bosses to drop plans knowing the govt. will enforce people to buy their own...letting corporations off the hook.
You know that the Business Roundtable has been demanding of workers paying their own insurance for some time now. And Hillary's getting a ton of money from Big Pharma and Big Health Insurance companies.
Posted by datadave at February 22, 2008 11:58 AM10%? That's a pretty big assumption.
I would be interested in knowing more about what's going on in MA since their plan was implemented. But my understanding and your understanding of Hillary's plan are different. I just rented Sicko--maybe I'll learn something about the industry and change my mind.
Posted by CG at February 22, 2008 02:06 PM"I do wish Clinton would quit including her 8 years as a president's wife as "experience". I mean, who'd want Laura Bush to be president?"
I am not a fan of Hillary by any means, or of Obama - I voted for Edwards even though he had already withdrawn - but come on! Hillary was hardly the same kind of First Lady as the Stepford Laura Bush has been. Hillary was very actively aware of and engaged in political matters.
Posted by Shirin at February 22, 2008 02:50 PMCG. thanks for response. I haven't seen Sicko either. Moore's been attacked I think unfairly for his enlightening documentaries even though they have a 'bias'..but there always is...if one has a point of view.
I admit a selfish view as I dropped health insurance after decades of getting nothing for it and hearing my agent grumble about 'socialized medicine' while doing little or nothing while smoking a pack or more a day. I made a point of dropping by his home office to pay my bills. I couldn't afford the increasing rates and wondered about the small print. What if I can't work if I am injured or sick and can't pay premiums?...no more coverage! I asked about insurance to pay for disability? The premiums for the absolute minimum needed was higher than the health insurance premiums even. It was Mutual of Omaha, a highly regarded insurance company. I realized it was a total ripoff. My taxes to govt. are a far better investment.
I hope Clinton will flesh out her govt sponsored portion indicated on her website: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/healthcareplan/
Posted by datadave at February 23, 2008 06:29 AM