The Clinton campaign has gone into overdrive over remarks Hollywood mogul David Geffen made about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former (definitely former now) pal Bill Clinton to Maureen Dowd in her column today….
here are a few choice Geffen quotes that the Clinton campaign calls “personal attacks” on the senator and the former president:
“Not since the Vietnam War has there been this level of disappointment in the behavior of America throughout the world, and I don’t think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is – and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? – can bring the country together….
“I don’t think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person,” Mr. Geffen says, adding that if Republicans are digging up dirt, they’ll wait until Hillary is the nominee to use it. “I think they believe she’s the easiest to defeat.”
And of Mrs. Clinton’s war stance and campaign so far: “It’s not a very big thing to say, `I made a mistake’ on the war, and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can’t,” Mr. Geffen says. “She’s so advised by so many smart advisers who are covering every base. I think that America was better served when the candidates were chosen in smoke-filled rooms.”
The Clinton campaign shot back today, saying the Obama campaign should denounce Mr. Geffen’s remarks….
Update: Well, the Obama campaign responds rapidly, and we’d add, pretty much just as sharply. From Robert Gibbs, the campaign’s communications director:
… It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom.
It is also ironic that Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because ‘he’s black.'” …
OK then. Will the adult running for president please stand up?
I think both campaigns should lay off the caffeine for a day or so. Talk about overreaction.
Yes, it does seem like really stupid noise that one hopes will lead to an amicable resolution. It is not in either candidate’s interest to let this fester.
It’s starting exactly as I expected, and it’s not even March. I predict, and many friends agree, that the attacks are going to occur daily once there are more hats in the ring.
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I’m happy to see the knives come out. I think this will bolster the chances that Al Gore will step in as a senior statesman and take the nomination.
the New Hampshire primary is NEXT february, right? We have a whole year of this to look forward to? Good lord…
Between new caucuses and earlier primaries, NH could be by mid-January. They have some law there that no matter WHEN another state has a primary, they will be a day earlier (which will eventually wind up with drunken voting on New Year’s Eve!)
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A National Committee Man, who is a friend, told me that fifteen years ago, the Mass. primary in March was 4th in the nation. Now, it’s 34th.
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The nomination process could be numerically over by the end of next February.
New Hampshire held its primary yesterday. Clinton edged out Edwards. Biden and Dodd dropped out.
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(Okay, I stole that joke, but still love it)
“Will the adult running for president please stand up?”
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You find that person here. Frankly, I wouldn’t want my candidate to be in the top two or three right now. Nothing like having a year-long target on your back. Why would anyone want to run for president at this point…
Won’t find that person in this article, I meant to say.
you were volunteering.
In seven years I’ll be old enough to run. And too poor to run. However, as a relatively new public school teacher I think I’m 187,670,453rd in the line of succession.
it sounded as if it was comments Geffen made at the Obama fundraiser, which I thought was a highly inappropriate move, but once I heard it was in an interview, unrelated to Obama’s campaign, the whole thing seems ridiculous. The Obama campaign shouldn’t have responded at all, but the response did well to point out the ridiculousness of the attack. That said, in actual campaign news, I think Obama made a bad move being the only one to skip the Nevada candidate forum today considering he was in LA yesterday.
…and couldn’t be bothered to go. Never gave an explanation why he couldn’t make it.
I believe he was in Iowa for the whole day, and I don’t think he stopped in Nevada…
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I was annoyed I went to New Hampshire for almost a week and forgot to look who would be in town before I left, but I don’t know if anyone was this past week.
Please, I don’t want to hear about Marc Rich, I don’t want to hear about the Lincoln Bedroom, I don’t want to hear about Bill’s recklessness.
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Dear President & Sen. Clinton, thank you for your service and I think you’ll contribute greatly in the Senate BUT ENOUGH! We don’t want to go through this again.
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No more Clintons or Bushs. It’s time for some new blood.
…the only adult running in either party is Bill Richardson, gov. of New Mexico. Maybe he’s biding his time, waiting for the two main contenders (sHillary and Obama) to kill each other off.
he’s BIDEN his time!
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HA!! Get it? Thanks, I’m here all week.
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Seriously, I agree with you. I still think Richardson, in addition to being an excellent candidate, is the one (currently) second-tier candidate with serious break-through potential, and silly spats like this only open the door wider for him.
…n/t but with a lot of đŸ˜‰