January 15, 2016

You know, it was one thing to lose to this amazing, disarming political shooting star Barack Obama.

But to lose to the elderly socialist who's not even especially trying to win, just getting his ideas out there and providing some balance, lest everything slide to the right. That's downright humiliating.

My thought this morning upon reading "Hillary Clinton’s national lead is slipping faster in 2016 than it did in 2008" by Philip Bump in WaPo. Look at this graph!

122 comments:

PB said...

Criminals always think they can get away with it.

mccullough said...

She's as likeable as Nixon.

traditionalguy said...

She rolled along just fine until Trump went after her on her sole claim to fame being that she is a woman that rides the anti-sexist man issue into History.

Once the Dems watched that Sexual Harrasser/Rapist Enabler brand applied to Hillary with the deft touch of Trump, they decided to dump her and go elsewhere for a viable candidate.

Listen carefully and you can hear the Biden Campaign warming up in the BullShitter Pen.

rehajm said...

I saw that chart and thought of this. I imagine something like that is what the Clinton camp is clinging to.

Dude1394 said...

Failure, which has followed her almost in every political endeavor she has attempted ( except currying favor ) catches up to her eventually. It does appear that as Scott Adams said, the trump shot took her right out.

Fabi said...

'It's just a flesh wound!'

eric said...

Any minute now some guy is going to come here and call us all hillbillies and tell us Clinton will win in a landslide.

Limited blogger said...

So the preference cascade against Clinton starts now in the Democrat primaries.

If not now, it would occur quickly in the general election.

She might win California and Wisconsin.

grimson said...

Quite a fall for Gallup's Most Admired Woman of the last umpteen years.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Hillary, I hate to see you like this..."

"More Vodka, Huma: more Vodka."

"You haven't left your bed for days, not even to use the bathroom. You're just getting more and more drunk, wallowing in sheets soaked in vomit and urine..."

"Huma, I need it. I need the Vodka bad."

"Hillary, I haven't even mentioned the diarrhea in your hair. I don't even know how that could happen."

"VODKA, HUMA! For the Love of God, get me more VODKA!"

"Hillary, Remember what the doctors said."

"Yeah, yeah: if i keep drinking like this and skipping my medications I'll have another stroke and die. Maybe that's the best."

"Hillary! Don't say such a thing!"

"I can't stand to lose the nomination again. And to Bernie Sanders? First a black man, and now a Jew? Everything is in ruins..."

"You just need to sober up and you'll be back to the Ruthless Hillary I have come to Love."

"Love? Maybe if I die America will finally Love me then! They'll finally love Hillary, and cry and place flowers in street memorials like the little people do."

"Let's take a shower, Hillary: you'll feel better. Just you and me, naked, and the spray of hot water: it'll be just like old times."

"Once all the People love me I'll come back from the Dead and THEN they'll make me President! They would have to!"

"Honey, once you die, you don't come back."

"Tell that to Richard Nixon."

"What?"

"Nixon visits me, you know. We talk, and he Understands me."

"Oh, Hillary..."

"And Vince Foster. Sometimes he visits me, too, when I get the headaches. Oh Huma, the Pain! The Pain!"

"I'll get the Vodka, Hillary. I'll get it for you..."

"Huma?"

"Yes?"

"I can't feel anything. Am I shitting myself right now?"

"Yes you are, Hillary."

"OK.... Huma?"

"Yes, Hillary?"

"When I die, Burn Everything."


I am Laslo.

MaxedOutMama said...

Well, in fairness in 2008 she hadn't set up the private email server and used her position as Sec of State to essentially operate a fundraising scheme. Benghazi. A few minor little issues like that. We know more negatives about her now. We are being asked to vote for Richard Nixon AFTER all the scandals. It is not surprising that people want alternatives.

I would argue that this is quite rational. I know die-hard Dem cradle voters who are in a state of agony at the prospect of either having to vote for this person or not vote Dem. I can only sympathize at their horror.

If the heavens opened and a great light shone down around me, and a voice said "Vote for Hillary - it's my command," I would be at the doctor's next day demanding blood tests and brain scans on the grounds that I was hearing orders from Satan.

Dan Hossley said...

It's a good thing that her lead fell early. Gives her more time to stage a comeback.

virgil xenophon said...

MaxedOutMama is right on tgt here, but for sheer Gonzo humor, Laslo WINS THE THREAD!

rhhardin said...

It's all about the women's vote. What narrative will they follow.

Wince said...

Howie Carr last night noted Hillary's cackle is coming to personify what in fiction books is referred to "nervous laughter".

AllenS said...

Whatever happened to Bill Clinton? He was going to help Hillary. Where is he?

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

What's worse for Hillary is that Obama wasn't really trying to win in 2008. He was aiming for 2016.

This is why I don't understand Althouse's previous statements where she assumes Hillary is unbeatable. Clinton is an awful candidate. There is absolutely no enthusiasm behind her. Her influence among young progressives is minimal. She seems to be hated almost as much by the far left as she is by the right. I'm starting to think a potted plant could beat her. Perhaps her only chance is facing off against Trump. That assumes she hasn't been indicted by then.

rehajm said...

Well, in fairness in 2008 she hadn't set up the private email server and used her position as Sec of State to essentially operate a fundraising scheme. Benghazi.

These are Democratic primary voters. Servers and Benghazis are Republican smear tactics. They care about Clintons being too close to Wall Street, her lack of support for single payer healthcare, her being too soft on taxing the rich, not enough free stuff. Maybe one or two feel a twinge of hypocrisy about the sex scand...Ha! Probably not. But you get the idea.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

AllenS said...

Whatever happened to Bill Clinton? He was going to help Hillary. Where is he?

They determined that they need strong turnout from women for Hillary to win. As part of this effort, Bill is going around poling as many young women as he can.

Rumpletweezer said...

Isn't it time to relaunch her campaign? She hasn't relaunched it in months.

madAsHell said...

"I'm melting!!"

rehajm said...

The other thing I've noticed is the absence of her peers: the gaggle of pant suited Wellesley women who used to shill for her. Did they all get too old to care? Bad hips?

BarrySanders20 said...

When does Bernie say "You're likable enough, Hillary."

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"It's a good thing that her lead fell early. Gives her more time to stage a comeback."

Pretty much. One would have to be pretty uninformed to count her out already.

Obama's a joke and Bernie Sanders would indeed be a disaster, but I'll always feel a modicum of gratitude to both men if, between them, they kept a blatantly corrupt piece of shit like Hillary out of the White House. We can survive the goofiness of the American Left as in time it always grinds itself up. I'm not sure we can survive an endorsement for criminality by rewarding it with the highest office in the country.

BarrySanders20 said...

Rumpleman says: "Isn't it time to relaunch her campaign? She hasn't relaunched it in months."

Dust off the reset button. That worked great the first time. Pure genius.

hawkeyedjb said...

"Bill is going around poling as many young women as he can."

Is that a push pol(l)?

cubanbob said...

mccullough said...
She's as likeable as Nixon.

1/15/16, 9:37 AM"

Actually if you subtract Nixon's intelligence and left only his vices you still wouldn't be left with Hillary. And Nixon wasn't within a hundred miles as brazen in his criminality as Hillary and nevermind that Nixon was very small potatoes compared to Hillary in terms of crime.

Gahrie said...

Given the way that Nixon governed, and the way the democratic Party has enabled the Clintons and their behavior, I really don't understand the Democrats having a problem with Nixon any more. Hell if he had a D after his name they'd probably be trying to get Nixon on Mt. Rushmore about now.

Owen said...

rehajm at 10:21: ""The other thing I've noticed is the absence of her peers: the gaggle of pant suited Wellesley women who used to shill for her…" Word. I know some of the Wellesley set and they Do. Not. Feel. The. Love. It seems visceral, too, thus nothing she can talk her way past.

Also: Laslo is not just the thread winner, but the all-Galaxy all-time thread winner. Thanks!

FullMoon said...

Also: Laslo is not just the thread winner, but the all-Galaxy all-time thread winner. Thanks!
Really?
Wonder what Harvey Keitel would say about that.

RAH said...

Hilary corruption is so obvious Bill gets millions while she ok deals with the country . Plus she was so cavalier with security Like as Secretary of State is not an important position for keeping intelligence secure. Then she failed in Benghazi There was no reason not to send help and she refused

SteveR said...

People like free stuff and the last 7 years have made it seem acceptable. So Bernie's got that going for him when it comes to polls.

So do we know why Chris Stevens was in Benghazi yet?

Kevin said...

"Whatever happened to Bill Clinton?"

Trump happened to Bill Clinton. Now that Bill doesn't get a free pass as a sexual predator anymore, he's going into the political equivalent of the witness protection program.

That's why they are rolling out Chelsea as an attack dog - out of desperation.

Yancey Ward said...

She is less danger this time, though, absent an indictment or referral for one.

In 2008, she had Edwards still in the race at the time of Iowa (and certain publications had the dirt on him that could have driven him out of the race before Iowa and likely have given her a win in Iowa in 2008, but for "mysterious reasons" those publications held off and let her and Edwards divide each other's support).

Also, I seriously doubt Sanders really has the enthusiasm factor that Obama had, and was his main advantage in caucus states in 2008. Also, Sanders does not have one other factor that Obama had over Hillary- black voters in the southern caucuses and primaries. Absent the FBI recommending an indictment, she will be the nominee for the Democrats with almost 100% certainty.

madAsHell said...

In some sense, we ended up with Barack Obama because of Hillary. Nobody wanted to vote for a Clinton dynasty, and McCain was the evil Republican.

JPS said...

Several of you have brought up Nixon. The late, great Florence King had a line about Nixon that I think describes Mrs. Clinton fairly well:

"Nothing is more stressful than a misanthrope trying to be nice with no end in sight. It's hard enough on the people who must witness it, but just about kills the misanthrope."

Annie said...

She is just not likable. She is quite shrill, that corrupt, and her 'champion for women' schtick is just that.

Henry said...

It's very weird for a person without much personality run a cult-of-personality campaign.

Birkel said...

The more people see and hear Hillary Clinton the less they like her, personally and politically.

She is the opposite of Donald Trump in this regard.

Big Mike said...

Martin O'Malley had hoped he'd be this year's Anybody but Hillary (ABH) candidate, but that mantle has been bestowed by what's left of the Dumbocrat Party on Bernie.

Henry said...

I know people who are stoked for her to be president. Stoked. Hillary exclamation point. And yes, a big part of that is her being the first woman to be a favorite. But I can't put my finger on anything she proposes besides her own persona.

Technically, she is running a caretaker campaign. Obama was fab and she will continue the ulousnous. This is why she has nothing really to propose. She is the vice-president Obama never had.

n.n said...

Disarming... Translation: The Obama faction beat the Clinton faction at their own game.

Dan in Philly said...

Obama beat two bad candidates in Clinton and McCain, and remember McCain was leading until the 2008 meltdown which McCain botched so badly. It's not like his presidency was inevitable.
Clinton is kind of not a good politician.

dreams said...

Hillary now has a history of eight more years of failure, plus, she has a lot of FBI investigators pursuing her for possible criminal behavior so its understandable that even oblivious Dem voters would become more aware of her record.

tim in vermont said...

Hillary H Humphrey.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Chelsea's got another bun in the oven. I expect any day now for Hillary! to decide she just wants to spend her declining years being a grandma who bakes chocolate chip cookies.

exhelodrvr1 said...

"amazing, disarming"

Interpretation: He is black, so we didn't want him to be vetted properly.

PB said...

Rahm, who was hoping for the VP slot or a prominent cabinet position, has totaled his career and now Hillary is just a slow moving car-wreck of a politician, but picking up speed.

Hunter said...

Kevin said...
That's why they are rolling out Chelsea as an attack dog -

Careful...

Todd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Let's say Clinton bombs out. I believe Sanders doesn't have the will or energy to win the Presidential election and probably not the Democratic nomination. Who does that leave? I guess that means it will be Gov. Martin O'Malley for the Democratic nomination. (Rocky De La Fuente? Sam Sloan? Willie Wilson? John Wolfe, Jr?)

Churchy LaFemme: said...

While the Hillary panic is the feel-god story of the month, this is not really
appropos to this post: I think I've figured out why your site is one of those that never stops loading in my browser (the spinner continues spinning distractingly after things should be complete).

I think it's the "bloglines" widget which is just below the dated archive links and above the XML button in the right sidebar. "Bloglines.com" has been down since early 2015. Could you ditch that widget?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Perhaps its because she's a criminal?

Birches said...

We can only hope...

Sammy Finkelman said...

SteveR said...1/15/16, 11:21 AM

So do we know why Chris Stevens was in Benghazi yet?

No, but Hillary does, obviously, and that might point to his killers, or people in league with them.

Who knew he would be there? Who maybe tried to get him there that day? I don't think his killing was unplanned, and just a stroke of luck for the terrorists.

I don't think his trip to Benghazi was to arrange for the shipment of weapons to Syrian rebels. I think he was there to try to prevent weapons, particularly Manpads, purchased by Qatar or Saudi Arabia, from reaching them.

And he was succeeding.

His last meeting was with some Turkish (intelligence) official.

He couldn't stop one boat from leaving - it had left already, but he did arrange for Turley not to pass them along furtehr, without U.S. permission.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Kevin said..."1/15/16, 11:34 AM

That's why they are rolling out Chelsea as an attack dog

You know, you're right! They can't use Bill.

Sammy Finkelman said...

I think Hillary relies on focus groups.

But there many things that can work in a 20-person focus group - even three times, with 3 different focus groups - that won't work if they are exposed to the light of day.

The Bernie Sanders wants to get rid of Medicare and Medicaid is one of them.

It worked against Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole in 1996, but not now. Nobody beleives Sanders wants to replace them with nothing. Hillary is now in the position of being the only candidate who defends Obamacare, sort of.

buwaya said...

"Chelsea's got another bun in the oven."
Due in the summer. Good timing.
Thats a plus for a Hillary campaign, maybe.
OTOH Trump has another grandkid coming too.
So that part of the contest may be a wash.
Both will have babies to hold.

Sammy Finkelman said...

One BIG LIE of Hillary (in case you missed it, or it didn't hit you)

That she was a close friend of Ambassador Stevens. I don'tthink theres the slightest bit of evidence to back that up.

james conrad said...

I don't think it's a NEWS FLASH: that Hillary is an awful candidate, has been in the past and, is always going to be a bad candidate. She just does not connect with people and never has, add in changing times and all the Dem's have are two 70 year old people to offer voters this fall? This is going to get very ugly.

Rick said...

FullMoon said...
Wonder what Harvey Keitel would say about that.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu1JMbSLPvc

SteveR said...

Sammy Finkelman said...1/15/16, 1:47 PM

No, but Hillary does, obviously, and that might point to his killers, or people in league with them.

Yeah the "we're winning the war on terror" 2012 campaign story was more than the obvious short term deception to get to the election. Gowdy's people know and its going to bleed out, lying under oath is the Sword of Damocles.

Pookie Number 2 said...

It's more than the fact that Hillary's a bad candidate, although that's obviously true. The vast majority of Democratic Party supporters d terminus their policy preferences based on what feels good rather than on what works. That's why they support things like the minimum wage, even though the impact is actually more minority unemployment. So Hillary's competing for voters that generally prefer style to substance, and she's not blessed in the style department, to say the least.

Alex said...

As usual Laslo wins the thread.

Glug, glug. If Hitlery needs more vodka, I can send her some.

tim in vermont said...

Looks like the Dow.

Achilles said...

SteveR said...

"So do we know why Chris Stevens was in Benghazi yet?"

Selling Surface to air missiles to the "rebels" in Syria.

Rae said...

Why vote for a faux socialist/crony capitalist when you can have a real socialist?

Rae said...

Hey I just thought of a new word...fauxialist!

tim in vermont said...

Selling Surface to air missiles to the "rebels" in Syria

Exactly. Just like Iran Contra, they were gathering up untraceable weapons from Libya to get them to Syria. Both countries the major source of the refugee crisis and both the subject of Hillary's incredibly lousy judgement as Secretary of State.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Hillary just can't get that loser stink off of her campaign or herself.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Achilles said...1/15/16, 3:02 PM

SteveR said...

"So do we know why Chris Stevens was in Benghazi yet?"

Selling Surface to air missiles to the "rebels" in Syria.


That,. I think, is disinformation. It's the exact opposite.

Chris Stevens was trying to prevent some countries from giving (not selling - what, the rebels had money?) surface to air misisles to the rebels" in Syria. That's what the CIA was there for. To buy up the missiles before others could.

In case you haven't noticed, the rebels don't have them yet, and they never had them. If the United states was givinbg them to the rebels how come they never got them, and why would terrorists be interested in killing him? (they were going to the wrong radical Islmic groups?)

No. The problem for Hillary is that the person who engineered the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens is probably the same man who also killed Vincent Foster. If he went down, she would too.

In 2012, Prince Bandar bin Sultan was the head of Saudi intelligence and had earler bene the man put in charge of te eSaudi response to the Arab Spring In 1993 he had been the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, whose residence was across the street from Fort Marcy Park.




Achilles said...

If you support Hillary you are a disgusting human being.

The preference cascade has begun.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Prince Bandar has indeed been purged from all or most of his official positions, but he's still all right personally. It's one of the principles of the Saudi collective leadership that nothing bad happens to members of the Saudi royal family, absent extreme situations.

Right before Sept 11th, (Sept 1, 2001) the long term head of Saudi intelligence abruptly quit, but that;s all that happened.

Greg Hlatky said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Greg Hlatky said...

Hillary! - like Jeb! - is the quintessential K Street candidate, issue focused, poll-tested, image conscious, the host off which feed myriads of parasitic consultants.

Unfortunately for both of them, this isn't a year for K Street candidates. That's why Trump, Cruz and Sanders are scoring.

tim in vermont said...

Sammy Finkleman, Hillary's lawyer.

There is disinformation here, weapons were being bought up in Libya. That's as far as I will believe him.

Birkel said...

Oh, great.
Sammy Finkleman is here to derail another thread with meaningless comments.
Carry on.

JAORE said...

I still would (if force by threat of torture) bet on Hillary to win the primary.

An indictment would, of course, change all that. And I wonder how many hours the Biden camp is expending calculating when it REALLY is too late to enter to save the day. Likely just a few days AFTER indictment day. But before which primaries? So much planning, so any critical timing issues.

But if Hillary falters, and the Hill Toppers can not vote with their vaginas, whatever will do with them on election day?

Gives me the sads to think about it.

Bruce Hayden said...

Not sure of why Hillary seems to be taking a dive so early. It could be just lack of energy - you hear about Republicans campaigning hard, but not her. About the only thing that I can remember was her Scuby van (that apparently had a bed for her) rocketing across Iowa, and that was a number of months ago.

But, I don't think that we should ignore the effect that her emails, etc. are having on potential supporters. She has maybe 4 decades on the millennials. That might not be that bad, except that they seem more into integrity than earlier generations. I have talked to several millennial women about her, and merely having a vagina doesn't seem as important to them as the fact that she is an inveterate liar. The problem though for Republicans is that these women told me that the two Republicans that they would vote for Hillary over were Trump and Cruz. The left, in particular, seems to be fairly successful with these millennials in tarring Cruz as mean and a conservative zealot. Of course, this was before the FBI started talking about the investigation extending to public corruption, and if they find any, that could completely kill her candidacy - her email problem could be explained away as just too modern for someone of her advanced age, but trading millions for her husband and the foundation that now includes her name for American foreign policy is just too rank for this idealistic generation. We shall see.

Gusty Winds said...

It really rather simple. She sucks. She's a hypocrite. A liar. Doesn't believe anything she says. And everyone knows it. Even Democrats.

Static Ping said...

Chickens. Not hatched. Wake me up after South Carolina or after Hillary drops out, whichever comes first.

Bruce Hayden said...

I don't expect to see an indictment of Hillary. Rather, right now I expect (at better than 50%) a criminal referral for misuse of classified information and maybe public corruption. And, then either a refusal to indict, or a Presidential pardon. The difference is that the FBI director serves a 10 year term, running for maybe another 8 years, and was at least tokenly a Republican, while the AG serves at the whim of the President. So, I have much higher expectations for the FBI than I do for the rest of the DoJ and the President.

I don't really understand the relationship between the President and the Clintons. Somehow, they talked him into giving her one of the two or three most important cabinet posts, without her really having any credentials that would qualify her for the job. Was it merely to get Bill on board for campaigning in the general election? Or, do they have something on Obama? And, how much of Benghazi was him, and how much her? My personal guess is that the decision to stand down, and let the four die, was made in the White House, but maybe not directly by the President (remember, he went to be early for that flight to Las Vegas for fund raising). But, we just don't know. It was his ultimate call, and not hers. And, everyone has been blaming much of their failed foreign policy on her, but what if she were just obeying orders, and that the orders to suck up to Islamic despots and regimes was given by Obama? He is at least somewhat worried about his legacy, and in foreign relations and the state of the world after seven years of him in the White House, the results have been disastrous. Can he afford to have Hillary come out and tell the world that she opposed his pro-Islamic and pro-3rd World policies, but, like a good employee, just did what she was told, and it was all on him. Or, maybe they just had dirt on him, such as his school transcripts, etc. And, if they do, can he afford, even now, at this late date, to have the dirt on the front page of the NYT, WaPo, etc.?

As I said above, right now, I expect either that the DoJ won't indict (for what most of us here think are political reasons), or that she gets a Presidential pardon. And, maybe he can justify it for all the hard work she did for him. Or, maybe she is just too sick to go to trial. We shall see.

Bruce Hayden said...

Maybe I was wandering a bit there. In the middle section, I was trying to say that maybe the dirt that they now have on Obama is that he alone was responsible for Benghazi, as well as our disastrous response to the Arab Spring, and that keeping her quiet keeps this out of the public, at a time when his thoughts increasingly turn to his legacy.

Michael K said...

"Absent the FBI recommending an indictment, she will be the nominee for the Democrats with almost 100% certainty."

A Comey resignation might even derail Democrats. You never know when the stink gets too bad until it does.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

...elderly socialist...

Thankfully, Hammond had set his milk glass down before reading that.

How 'bout "superannuated demented pinko".

wildswan said...

Re Laslo:
yeah, BUT what about if Hillary's health really isn't up to it? She gets out and does the job but it is draining her, literally killing her - and her staff is slowly realizing that Bill the Raptor, Chelsea the attack puppy and Sid Vicious can't do for and she can't do it? People at the top get mistreated sometimes - like Michael Jackson with all his money and fame and with a "doctor" just shooting him up with drugs.

And Martin O'Malley knows the scoop and is like vulture, wheeling ... But there's Biden ... Fauxcahontas ... and after all, Bernie.

And picture after the Republicans settle on their candidate, then Hillary withdraws and then the Dems have a free-for-all in August. Biden/ Fauxcahontas and a Bernie write-in

It's all a joke but there's another economic catastrophe impending (so very strange) and another 9/11 and an EU migrant implosion. We need a leader, not a pink panter or a joke.

tim in vermont said...

Fielding Mellish Sanders.

In the movie Bananas, San Marcos represented Vermont and Fielding Melish represented Sanders, it was a roman a clef.

Just do an image search on Fielding Mellish if you don't believe me.

Bruce Hayden said...

One of the things that is a bit worrisome as I entered my 60s, and then proceeded through them, is that a lot of us are not as healthy as we once were. I have lost some fraternity brothers, as well as others I knew in college. And, I was surprised this year to hear how many of my fraternity brothers had prostate problems. Not like my father in his 90s, but still, far more noticeable than in my 50s.

Statistically, given how many people we see in this race this year in their late 60s and into their 70s, I am just surprised that more of them don't have health issues. Which is maybe a long way of saying that I would not be the least bit surprised to find that Hillary had health problems, and, yes, maybe a drinking problem too (and, long term drinking does adversely affect your health). We spend a lot more effort working out and eating better, and I just haven't see this with her.

Still, I don't think that her health issues are bad enough to keep her from running for President, as long as she doesn't have to do too much. And, that is, I think, part of the problem - I don't think that she is up for the run this time around, and was hoping to slide into the nomination, and then into the Presidency, based, I guess, on her awesomeness, and maybe her vagina (she probably still has one, but not so sure about the female stuff above there).

Susan said...

Sammy Finkleman said.....No. The problem for Hillary is that the person who engineered the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens is probably the same man who also killed Vincent Foster. If he went down, she would too.

In 2012, Prince Bandar bin Sultan was the head of Saudi intelligence and had earler bene the man put in charge of te eSaudi response to the Arab Spring In 1993 he had been the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, whose residence was across the street from Fort Marcy Park.


I had no idea Hillary had her own Sultan of Swat.

tim in vermont said...

Oh look, the socialists in Venezuela have suspended democracy and the rule of law. This is my shocked face :^O

Bill said...

She will survive this as she survived sniper fire in Bosnia. 'Cause she's Hillary!

Birches said...

And, everyone has been blaming much of their failed foreign policy on her, but what if she were just obeying orders, and that the orders to suck up to Islamic despots and regimes was given by Obama?

If this is the case (and I think it's possible), then she should have shown her worth and really answered the 3AM phone call instead of being a Yesman. I thought she'd be better at Foreign Policy than Obama, but she is still defending the Administration's worldview. If it wasn't her idea, she should have resigned. But that would require ethics and caring more about what is right than winning the next election. So, obviously, that was never going to happen.

Bruce Hayden said...

@Birches - if the decision to stand down was made in the White House (even if not by Obama), I am not sure what she could have done. She needed DoD buyin to get anything done, because they had all the assets (except for the ones that the CIA had - but the AC gunships that were apparently reasonably close were AF assets, as were any fighters that could have done fast flybys, etc.) Yes, she could have (offered to) resign if she had been offended by the stand down. But, that is a bit much to expect from a Clinton, esp. her. Maybe should have... Then, on the other hand, she could have been involved up to her eyeballs. WE just don't know.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"If it wasn't her idea, she should have resigned. But that would require ethics and caring more about what is right than winning the next election."

Screw winning elections. She would have missed out on all the lovely lolly and backhanders her position enabled her to, er, humbly accept on behalf of the charitable good works of the Clinton Foundation.

Bruce Hayden said...

Bit more here about sending help on 9/11/12: Report: U.S. Rescue Team Was on Its Way to Benghazi, But Was Turned Back. From this, it looks like maybe a Special Forces team was on the way, but was turned back, and that there were a couple of AC-130H “Spectre” gunships within a reasonable distance - the one in Sicily only 45 minutes away, and we also know that the guys at the CIA Annex kept lasering their attackers in case one of those gunships had shown up. The problem though is that they can't cross a national border (in this case, into Libya) without high level permission, presumably from the White House.

Bruce Hayden said...

Screw winning elections. She would have missed out on all the lovely lolly and backhanders her position enabled her to, er, humbly accept on behalf of the charitable good works of the Clinton Foundation.

What really looks bad now, at least to me, is that the Foundation has been renamed to include Hillary and Chelsea. It was bad enough that her husband made a little extra money with his speaking gigs with people with business before the State Dept. But, the real money went to what is now the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation (or thereabouts). Tens and tens of millions of dollars from parties with business before the State Dept.

Laslo Spatula said...

In 2016:

Hillary dies from a stroke.

Bill Clinton dies on an Island with young fresh girls and his pants at his ankles.

Chelsea dies giving birth.

Pick one.

Or two.


I am Laslo.

Michael K said...

"If this is the case (and I think it's possible), then she should have shown her worth and really answered the 3AM phone call instead of being a Yesman."

Yes, she should have enough judgement to see that this would not hold. Instead, she went whole hog on the video story and eve went on Pakistani TV to push it more.

In fact, she has no judgement and is a failed SJW who sold out for millions.

Paul said...

"Criminals always think they can get away with it."

PB,

Bill Clinton showed one could get away with it... And Hillary saw no reason she could not get away with it. But she is defiantly not the brains of the family.

Fred Drinkwater said...

Bruce: regarding Obama, and Hillary getting the SoS position, there's no need to strain your brain about it. Hillary got SoS because neither she nor Obama are fundamentally serious people. Both think of DC as just the ultimate crony-prize, the source of all influence and funds. Neither really gives a damn about governing, or knows anything about how to govern. It's all about them. So the SoS position was just a handy prestige slot to slide Hillary into, keeping the patronage where it belongs.
When an honorable person imagines "public service", that image is the opposite of what Hillary and Obama are doing.
Long ago I predicted here that HRC would not be nominated. I take comfort in seeing her nomination look less likely every day. Even Bernie would do less damage, provided Congress is both numerically and actually in opposition.

Fred Drinkwater said...

Jesus, Laslo. Chelsea may be worthless, but that "death in childbirth" thing was too much even for me. Even though you built in an out for yourself in the post.

narciso said...

Lazlo and Ritmo, signs of moderation,

narciso said...

she became secretary of state, but not before giving her contributor lists, being stripped of negotiating authority, and having her more loyal staffers, reassigned,

retired said...

You'll still vote for her even if she's being indicted on 18 USC 1924 charges on election day.

Hagar said...

Monica Crowley (yes, I know) said the other night that there are some really taut sessions going on between Hillary! and the White House right now regarding what they know about each and what is going to happen if either side leaks any of it.

That chart may indicate that it finally is getting through to people what a dreadful state the Democratic Party is in as Obama leaves office.
Their candidates are Hillary! or Sanders, and if those two fall by the wayside, the relief pitchers are supposed to be Cherokee Liz and/or Slow Joe.
Such as she is, Hillary! is the only one of these who is capable of running a government and getting anything whatever she wants done, done.

And the DNC chair is Debbie Blabbermouth Schultz!

I don't think much of the Republican candidates (except Fiorina and Carson) not to mention Reince Priebus, but at least they are not totally implausible.

Mark said...

The problem is that Obama lied when he said she's "likeable enough."

Mark said...

Another problem is that the reaction from most anyone under their early 30s is "who the hell is she and why is she so automatically entitled?"

I'm Full of Soup said...

AllenS asked:

"Whatever happened to Bill Clinton? He was going to help Hillary. Where is he?"

Trump has had the Big Dog spayed. So, he is pretty much useless in more ways than one.

Unknown said...

It almost restores my faith in this country and its voters to think that Hillary! is not automatic. Almost.

Unknown said...

AJ Lynch said...

Trump has had the Big Dog spayed. So, he is pretty much useless in more ways than one.

And mentioned upstream.

It was the ease with which Trump did it that is truly impressive. No one in 20 years has been able to make the horndog pay for his vices in any significant way as Trump has in just one week. This man Trump may well be the candidate on fire.

Laslo Spatula said...

Fred Drinkwater said...
"Jesus, Laslo. Chelsea may be worthless, but that "death in childbirth" thing was too much even for me. Even though you built in an out for yourself in the post."

Yeah, a little rough. Still.

She could have gone her own way, and lived a respectable, honest life.

She has instead chosen to be a willing and eager active participant of the corruption of the "Bill Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation" -- she even gets equal billing in the name.

$354,190,170 in assets as of 12/2014.

That foundation is the Mafia of American Government, and Chelsea is proud to be a Face for it, and to profit from it. Every time she cashes a check a little more of America dies.

Bring back the guillotine.

I am Laslo.

cubanbob said...

Laslo, chill. Whats poor Chelsea supposed to do for a living? Walk away from the vig that mountain of money can produce for her every year and do what?

Bob Loblaw said...

Well, in fairness in 2008 she hadn't set up the private email server and used her position as Sec of State to essentially operate a fundraising scheme.

Democrats don't care if their candidate is a crook. If she goes down it'll be because Sanders is offering more free stuff.

Rusty said...

Bruce Hayden said...
@Birches - if the decision to stand down was made in the White House (even if not by Obama), I am not sure what she could have done.

I was told on this very site that no order was given to stand down. So. You're lying.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Rusty said...
I was told on this very site that no order was given to stand down.


That was the conclusion of endless Republican majority committees that pored over the actual facts rather than your fevered imaginings.

Rusty said...

So what you're saying, ARM, is that the republicans waited 13 hours.

Bruce Hayden said...

The problem there is that the people who would/should have been sent thought that they had gotten a stand down order. So, what gives?

To start with, as I understand it, there are standard orders for things like what happened on 9/11/12 in Benghazi, Libya. And, they involve getting there fast with as much fire power as you can. So, everyone assumed that was what would happen, and everyone started spooling up, apparently to the point of Special Forces actually getting airborne. But, one of the rules of the game is that our military forces cannot typically cross a national border unless given permission by higher ups, and that ultimately means national command authority. Apparently, there are some exceptions where there are standard orders, for example in war zones, but they weren't applicable that night. Apparently, the permission from the top to cross the Libyan border was never given that night. So, the Special Forces had to turn back, and the Spectre gunship based in Sicily couldn't take off, since everyone was waiting for permission to cross the border, and that permission never was granted. So, maybe technically, AR is correct, that no "stand down order" was given, but instead, the permission to proceed that everyone expected was apparently not issued.

We knew from the start that something hinky happened that night, with the CIA contractors apparently repeatedly lasing the terrorists, and there being nothing anywhere close that could take advantage of such. And, this lasing is apparently brought out in the movie. Why? My theory is that these guys, all (I think) ex military, knew that SOP was to send help, in order to never leave an American behind. This has been the policy since at least Vietnam. And, so, they fully expected help, esp. in the form of air assets, and esp. the Spectre gunship in Sicily (or another one around the horn in Africa) to be deployed. It was the perfect weapon for that sort of fight. But, the expected help never arrived.

Normally, I suspect, the President would have been given the order to sign, allowing our military to cross the Libyan border. What we don't know is whether it was ever presented to the President, or if his minions took it upon themselves to keep it from him, or turn it down in his name. And, then, the Obama Administration used that to deny that anyone was told to stand down, because legally, maybe no one was explicitly told to do so. Rather, instead, permission was just never given.

Some day we will find out what really happened that night in the White House, and in the calls to/from senior Administration figures, including the Secretaries of Defense and State. It should be interesting.

Fabi said...

Chelsea deserves no sympathy. She may not -- yet -- be a criminal, but she's actively participating in what may eventually be determined a criminal enterprise.

Rusty said...


"We knew from the start that something hinky happened that night, with the CIA contractors apparently repeatedly lasing the terrorists, and there being nothing anywhere close that could take advantage of such."

Supposedly there were air assets on the tarmac in Sicily waiting for an order. It is unclear if we had armed drones in the area. Poor bastard lasered for, waht? Four, five, six hours waiting for some asset that never showed up. It's a 45 minute flight from Sicily. 13 fucking hours. Asking for help that never came. But nobody sent an order not to help.

Leigh said...

Benghazi alone is bad enough. Then there are the classified emails kept insecurely on her server which she then tried to destroy. Finally, though, is the public corruption: steering support from the U.S. to foreign countries and companies who contributed to CGI. With all that under her belt, it takes BALLS to run for office.

Now, I imagine, she's weighing: will I win vs. will I lose, get prosecuted & convicted, and give up all chance of a pardon? If there's a 1% chance she's going to the big house instead of the White House, she pulls out, gets pardoned, and holds her grandchildren. So, if the FBI recommends indictment, I think that will be the nudge she needs.

While we ponder her dilemma, enjoy these delightful highlights of her interview on Lifetime:

http://freebeacon.com/blog/hillary-clinton-lifetime-interview/

walter said...

Chelsea really needs to be careful in protecting her journalism credentials...

C'mon Sir Spatula,
Can't you make use of Anthony "Quagmire" Wiener in this story as a literary device..a tool?
He's flexing on NY values on his twit feed.

PianoLessons said...

Ann - you make the same mistake the Nobel Peace Prize Committee made in 2009 with your blog post heading - Barack Obama was simply NEVER an "amazing, disarming political shooting star". He was a media creation. He was an unexceptional first year US Senator. His liberal resume had been well crafted and planned by forces way beyond his own powers.

Dems won with Barack in 2008 (and 2012) because there has always been a THEY behind Barack Obama. I have no clue who they are. I just know he did not deserve a Nobel Peace Prize in the first six months of his Presidency and...he had no experience to prove he could be a good POTUS. This is a clue to how he got elected in 2008 - WHY?

IMO Barack Obama will be found to be the very worse POTUS we have ever had because he has done so much to deconstruct the USA - he has managed to create chaos in so many areas of governance - he has managed to take pride in the fact that he inspired the Arab Spring that has not worked out very well in the Mideast.... we'll wait and see if real historians will record what actually happened.