Monday, January 12, 2009

Hillary

Too bad I'm not in a place where I can live-blog tomorrow's Clinton confirmation hearings. Le politico reminds us to pay particular attention to the Kerry/Clinton interface:
While unlikely to be acrimonious, this exchange – tinged with the awkwardness most familiar to the high school prom court – is on the list for reasons of pure spectacle.

To wit: Kerry wanted to be president. Then Clinton wanted to be president. Then Kerry wanted Obama to be president. Then Obama became president. Then Kerry wanted to be secretary of state. But Obama wanted Clinton to be secretary of state. This all sets the stage for Tuesday’s confirmation hearing, where the back-and-forth will be finely parsed for any evidence of recriminations.

Or maybe Kerry will eliminate the need for such parsing by asking, “Why you and not me?”

6 comments:

  1. Wow - that might be just about the... well, the bitchiest thing I've ever read from Politico. For real, aren't their real issues about a Hillary appointment that could be covered in lieu of the high school hallway.

    Hey, Politico! Maybe they'll act like fucking professionals who are on the same fucking team! Jesus.

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  2. you're absolutely right. but just the fact that we're talking about Dem-on-Dem ego-wars goes to show you that there are currently no viable rock stars in the GOP caucus for politico to play "gawker" over.

    and it's too bad, because i really thought that Bob Corker had something special. Would his and Newt's being fellow Southerners keep him from consideration as a potential understudy for the Gingrich '12 ticket?

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  3. Here's a much better article that speaks to Wobs' "these people are pros" angle on the hearing tomorrow:
    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17334.html?xid=rss-page

    two fun quotations:
    1) "Tennessee Republican Bob Corker is also reportedly a concern to Clinton’s team, not so much over ideology but rather because he’s unpredictable, creative and has a knack for getting press."

    2) "Her path may also be eased by the fact that Obama’s attorney general-designate, Eric Holder, has become the main lightning rod for GOP opposition in the Senate."

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  4. Plus, Bob Corker's name alone makes him sound like a character from a Charles Dickens novel (Mr. Gradgrind, etc.) or maybe even All the King's Men. Or... the Invisible Man by Ellison.

    Right?

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  5. I dunno if I'm ever going to understand how Corker beat Harold Ford, Jr., who is about as moderate a damn Democrat as exists.

    There's one reason I can think of, but I can't bear to.

    By the way, Ben, Rudy told me there's been some weirdness in the Tri-Cities, lately? Are all the Minxes okay?

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  6. Oh, just say it, lips. Ford's black, and Corker played to a small minority's racist proclivities without getting caught by more mainstream folks.

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