I was never a fan of Hugo, but I did respect the fact that he was one of the only South American "leaders" who actually did something for the poor classes. He actually built roads, which endure beyond petty dictators, and funded real opportunities for poor children to get an education. He has also squandered billions of petro-dollars on propping up septagenerian regimes in Cuba and other, wasteful, political objectives.
Lately though, he seems to have morphed into a cartoonish version of a Banana Republic (Dole Corp.) dictator. That being said, he does face actual US/neocon type of interference and belligerence. At least one insurrection was backed by US corporate interests, who happen to be friends of the Bush Administration. This recent posturing and troop movement is probably nothing more than that.
That being said, I wonder if you, Turkana, will give me your take on the recent Clinton press conference at which she said,
Sen. Hillary Clinton said the public should ask whether Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama has met the criteria needed to become the nation’s commander in chief.
“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington.
“I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,” she said.
Calling McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee a good friend and a “distinguished man with a great history of service to our country,” Clinton said, “Both of us will be on that stage having crossed that threshold. That is a critical criterion for the next Democratic nominee to deal with.”
A few days ago, I posted an entry in which I declared that Hillary had FINALLY jumped the shark. Until that post, I had been content to wait and see. I would, and still will vote Democratic this election, but after she praised McCain's experience in order to denigrate Obama's, she lost my sympathy, probably forever. Now, she insists on jumping again and yet again over the Heterodontic carcass.
The most perfidious aspect of this repellent conversation, is the pretense that the Presidency is MOST importantly, about being Kommander in Chief. To me, nothing is farther from the truth and more demeaning to the office of the Presidency.
I certainly blame the poisonous influence of Mark Penn for this perfidy. But she hired him and refuses to fire him and indeed, seems to be following his wisdom. To me, she's ready on day one to pay off her friends from K-Street. This kind of statement is simply inexcusable. No hyperbole is necessary.
Posted by DemnNewJ at March 6, 2008 05:58 PMi think it was a dumb thing to say. mccain has not proven he's ready to be cic, he's proven the opposite. i think she should be arguing that mccain's unfit for command. i also think the whole experience thing is dumb, but i also think obama's change thing is dumb. politicians say dumb things. i also think this is being blown out of proportion, in the shrillosphere. have i mentioned that politicans say dumb things?
Posted by Turkana at March 6, 2008 06:05 PMThink Obama would be wise to just ignore Hillary's Kommander-boating, turkana? Looks like she's decided to make it her new theme and is delighted with it. Think it's some coincidence this precise formulation has been the day's message the last several days?
This is her route to "victory". It's more negative than last week and it reinforces the Repub's "this campaign is about fear, war and terror!" theme.
Pump up McCain creds, tear down the Dem. Great strategy. Good Christ.
This is the new ring of her circus, it's not just some needlenose flyspecking on a meaningless commment by the "shrillosphere".
Posted by euzoius at March 6, 2008 06:23 PMAnd don't forget how the shaky oil markets love it when a huge exporter (like Venezuela) starts having military "issues" on its borders.
Posted by euzoius at March 6, 2008 06:26 PMThink it's some coincidence this precise formulation has been the day's message the last several days?
Gee, I hope not. That'd be dumb.
Has anyone heard about the Russian arms dealer who got picked up in Thailand? Nicolas Cage played him in a movie a while back? Apparently, the DEA has a warrant on him for helping the FARC rebels. He has lots of friends in high places, from what I've heard, though he's officially on everyone's watch lists.
Posted by iamcoyote at March 6, 2008 07:48 PMcoyote,
i saw that. wonder if it had to do with what was found in ecuador. this whole situation is going to be fascinating to watch. bush has certainly been waiting for a chance to pin something on chavez, and he will now try- whether or not it's valid.
Posted by Turkana at March 6, 2008 07:57 PMwonder if it had to do with what was found in ecuador.
The timing's awfully convenient, innit?
Posted by iamcoyote at March 6, 2008 08:26 PMGee, Bush hasn't hated anyone this badly since Sadaam.
Shock and awe, Venezuela style?
Posted by TIKI AL at March 6, 2008 08:36 PMShock and awe, Venezuela style?
Oh great... 3 fronts to fight.
At least our troops will be a few hours away from some decent R & R.
The luxury of sitting at a desk
Clearly, there is danger in this unfortunate incursion. The Colombians could have notified Ecuador ahead of time. The likelihood of Ecuador being cahoots with the FARC is zero. Chavez is a dictator and is exploiting the situation exactly as any other dictators do. The Colombians suffer from the violent FARC and it's difficult to blame them for trying; they just did it Bush-like.
The danger is is small. Ecuador fights difficult economic conditions; Colombia is a basket case. Only Chavez may be interested in action.
I don't see in the post any relevance to the Democratic primaries or to the GE. One wonders whether way too many people wake up in the middle of the night screaming HRC or Obama. Guys sleep well, eventually the process ends and the Democrats will have a nominee.
Posted by Koshembos at March 7, 2008 05:16 AMjay,
you're wrong. on the national level, all politicians do.
Posted by Turkana at March 7, 2008 06:18 AM