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Snappy comeback from Clinton

Posted by Marcella Bombardieri, political reporter January 7, 2008 07:03 PM

SALEM, N.H. – Hillary Clinton just now had about as adept a response as one could imagine to a bizarre disruption during her speech in the Salem High School auditorium.

Fifteen minutes into the event, a 20-something man stood up and started yelling over and over, “Iron my shirt!” as he held up a sign carrying the same message. A second young man in a different area joined him with the same handmade sign.

We were just sitting here trying to absorb the strangeness of the event when she came right back: “Oh, the remnants of sexism are alive and well!”

A minute later, after the police had removed the two men, Clinton said she was going to take questions, “if there’s anybody left in the auditorium who wants to learn how to iron his own shirt.”

46 comments so far...
  1. Oh come on!!! How convenient for Hillary that this happened. Who doesn't think this was planted??? Are we really to believe that a 20 something year old man is really so backward in his thinking?

    Posted by Kim Bergstrom January 7, 08 10:00 PM
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  1. yeah because sexist 20 years olds are so hard to find...

    Posted by Eric Shellan January 7, 08 10:03 PM
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  1. Hillary is really pulling out the stops. It was announced on MSNBC that she has taken over her campaign and now she is trying to rally the women of America. Despicable!

    Posted by achievadiva January 7, 08 10:48 PM
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  1. Are you insane Kim? I'm sick of everyone assuming the worse of Hillary when they don't even freaking know her. Since when is it good that protesters interrupt your event and draw attention to something other than the message you are trying to spread? Sexism is real and alive in the twenty-first century. Vote Hillary 08!

    Posted by Taylor January 7, 08 10:52 PM
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  1. satan is alive and well in america

    Posted by satan January 7, 08 10:53 PM
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  1. He actually was a plant. A bit too outrageous for me, but anything goes in these desperate political times, and one can never be too calculating.

    Posted by Rob H January 7, 08 11:01 PM
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  1. Doesn't everyone see what is going on here? It is misogyny, plain and simple. It is acceptable in our society, where thankfully racism is not. I ask those who previously supported Hillary, are you so easily swayed? Nothing has changed from a week ago except for spin, and what seems to be the anointing of a new messiah. Please see through this people.

    Posted by DWJ January 8, 08 12:01 AM
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  1. It is sad to see how some people could even believe this is a plant. I tell you what is a plant (by Republicans), it is this almost coronation of Barak Obama. This so call overnight "wave" "movement" and mesmerization with a young attractive but inexperience candidate is the creation of GOP spinners and masterminds who do not want to see Hillary be the nominee. Who is to benefit if Obama, a cool positive nice orator, but clearly way out of his league when it comes to experience in most if not all issues? The Republicans. If they tore apart a hero (John Kerry) and brought down a Novel Peace Prize winner (Gore) with such ease what do you think they would do with an inexperienced Obama with a middle and last name that even he thinks he has to explain?

    gpv

    Posted by glavela January 8, 08 12:32 AM
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  1. Hillary is toast but it is all illrelevant as the democrats do not have a canidate who can take the White House.It will be Mc Cain or Rudy.It is a sad day for America as we are still dealing with career politicans who really do not represent the middle class American who are the backbone of this country.Wish Lou Dobbs would run!

    Posted by BOB January 8, 08 01:18 AM
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  1. It's quite possible that the episode was planned by the Clinton campaign. One of the two men was found to have a Clinton for President" sticker on his carrying case. See the following article at http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2008/01/sexist-jamokes-disrupt-hillary.htm , which reports that one of the men, "Nick Gemelli, who is 21, and born at least a decade after “iron my shirts” was an anti-women’s rights slogan, didn’t have much of a rationale. “I just don’t think a woman should be President,” he said.

    He couldn’t really say why, but he agreed that he was a health care voter, as the sticker on his carrying case implied. The “Hillary for President” sticker was a bit more of a puzzle.

    Posted by Pete A. January 8, 08 01:31 AM
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  1. It just has to be a Right Wing consipiracy (and politics as usual from
    the same entrenched professional politicians).

    Posted by W Lavery January 8, 08 05:38 AM
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  1. I totally believe this. What a sad state of affairs we live in where men still fear women and strong women at that.

    I was at an Obama rally and men were carrying signs "Bro's before Ho's". He lost my vote.

    P.S. The man could've gotten his sticker from the rally, they do hand them out at rallys.

    Posted by Jane January 8, 08 07:32 AM
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  1. I applaude these two youngsters for getting interesed in politics at thier relativly young age. Refreshing if you ask me. But I wouldn't be surprised to hear a few beers, no beers or maybe chili persueded thier decision to do this.

    Posted by youngeezy January 8, 08 08:12 AM
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  1. Cadolfo, I said I LOVE YA WATCH OUT FOR TRAFFIC!!

    Posted by Chillin Guy January 8, 08 09:30 AM
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  1. Guys. It was a radio show hoax. Do your research.

    Posted by Nick January 8, 08 09:37 AM
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  1. I could support either Obama or Clinton, or most of the Democratic nominees for the presidency. Mere intelligence and curiosity would be a quantum improvement over the current catastrophe in the White House.

    But the quality of discourse here on this bulletin board among folks actually empowered to vote. I don't know.... Was Hillary's angst exhibited yesterday a calculated manipulation, or was she simply exhausted and discouraged after hours-on-end of grueling campaigning in the face of declining prospects? I don't know about anyone else, but I might shed a tear or two, especially if I really cared about the future of this country, which I believe Clinton does -- and Obama, too.

    Posted by John January 8, 08 10:04 AM
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  1. Toucher and Rich really aren't funny. I try to listen to their show but it like listening to opie and anthony for retards.

    Posted by supreme being January 8, 08 10:07 AM
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  1. Yeah you conspiracy theorist should do your research it was a Radio hoax! T & R Keep it up fellas!

    Posted by FG January 8, 08 10:16 AM
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  1. It was a Radio gag. Not a plant. Some guys from WBCN afternoon show. It's a funny show. T &R

    Posted by G January 8, 08 10:36 AM
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  1. Sexism IS alive and well in America. I just came in from holding visibility signs here in NH and several men driving by made like they were wiping their eyes from crying (a twisted homage to Hillary's emotional words last night). One man walking by clearly thought she was weak because she got emotional. Regardless of who the guys were at Salem High, sexism is rampant. Believe it.

    Posted by photomonk January 8, 08 10:40 AM
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  1. It was Bill!

    Posted by Paul January 8, 08 10:52 AM
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  1. '(Misogyny) is acceptable in our society, where thankfully racism is not.' -DWJ
    'You ain't seen nothin' yet' -BTO

    Wow. Well, if you don't think republican rottweillers that we haven't even heard of (i.e. the new Karl Roves) are hard at work with their reverse-reverse-reverse-reverse psychology tricks , you better laugh now at what a fool you are.
    Republicans:
    Huckabee: fight Islamic fanaticism with Christian fanaticism (USA: all done)
    McCain: Continue the war and let someone else finish when the economy is tanked and he's finished with his ONE term (his choice, he's old, folks)
    Giuliani: Mayor 9-11 is good at being there when we get attacked. No foreign policy...we will be attacked again because he will piss off the world (and US).
    Romney: Even Republicans don't get he's the best for the economy because their afraid of him making his religion (cult) too powerful. Strange politics.
    Ron Paul: good critic of the government, but unelectable because he's too good a critic of the government.
    Fred Thompson: His script is running out and he needs some sleep.
    Democrats:
    Richardson: Our inherent national racism will prevent his election and he may indeed not be able to clearly plan for the country's future, if it has one.
    Edwards: Beating a dead horse about the Middle class and whatnot. He's a surely third place finisher overall. Besides, ever notice he blinks an awful lot?
    Hillary: She's a nice lady and very intelligent and knowledgeable about the world and where we need to go as a country, but there's open sexism that is tolerated in the USA and therefore, she won't make it to the White House.
    OBAMA: speaking of White House...Racism IS alive and thriving and it is almost like a cringe-comedy (e.g. the Office) to watch the usurpers of Hillary quietly planning to turn up the heat on the Black man who can dream like MLK. I hate to say it, but this country may wind up in the toilet and become a scattered mess because the doctrine of tolerance is carried too far, i.e. tolerance of intolerance, the KKK and open Misogyny being allowed to thrive without punishment=approval. USA's doomed because of the perception that there is a fundamental right to tear down another individual through lies, slander, and secretive maneuvering in order to attain our ends. Read Machiavelli's "The Prince" and you will learn about America (the Abusive Hamburger Machine).

    VOTE for Bush again and make him clean up his s#it!

    Posted by P Rimeter January 8, 08 11:10 AM
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  1. Although offensive, Toucher and Rich are still the funniest guys on FM.

    Posted by cubedweller January 8, 08 11:31 AM
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  1. I don't like Hillary either, but then again I'm not looking for a wife. I'm looking for a president. I respect her experience and dedication to want to help this country back from the brink that 8 years of selfish, Republican rule has brought us. And like it or not, with Bill as an automatic ambassador to most countries that we need as allies during these scary times, she is really the best choice for the thinking person. I'm also afraid that I agree with many who feel that the Repulicans would love to have Obama to run against and destroy. Hillary would be much tougher to take down. I'm with you, Jackie. Thinking should not be optional in a presidential election.

    Posted by Donna January 8, 08 11:33 AM
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  1. you people make me sick.............give me a break! she is real, honest and has a HECK of a lot more experience than Osama (oops) i mean Obama

    Posted by hoorayforhillary January 8, 08 11:44 AM
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  1. I'm just guessing here - but the boys were probably doing their darndest to get onto YouTube with their little "funny" signs.

    Posted by Mags-YouGoGirl! January 8, 08 11:56 AM
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  1. Toucher and Rich rule, and this was a great prank pulled on an utterly worthless human being...

    Posted by TB January 8, 08 12:19 PM
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  1. This wasn't a plant by the clinton campaign it was a plant by the toucher and rich afternoon radio program on WBCN m-f 3-7pm on 104.1. So to all you conspiracy theorists get over it just a juvenile prank for national recognition for this great radio show!

    Posted by Chip Koty January 8, 08 12:26 PM
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  1. I think this board needs cleaning up -- too many fake posts. Many posted to make it look like supporters of certain candidates are racists, sexists, both -- or just plain stupid.

    Posted by GPhil January 8, 08 12:29 PM
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  1. Orikinla, you need to cut back on the caffeine. Next time I have a party and I want my guests to leave, instead of putting Joy Division on the stereo as I normally do to begin the exodus, I'll just let you start talking to people. Get a grip.

    Posted by John T January 8, 08 12:33 PM
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  1. Couple shirts, No shirts........... sexism?

    Posted by chilli guy January 8, 08 12:39 PM
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  1. People are so fooled and taken by charasmatic qualities. When you look at the facts, you vote Hillary.

    Posted by richard January 8, 08 12:52 PM
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  1. Hill hasn't ironed a shirt, driven a car, shopped at a store, and all the other boring things normal folks do for many, many years. How dare she then pretend to be one of us, or for us. Fake and phony.

    Posted by joe luke January 8, 08 01:01 PM
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  1. I would like to know who killed RFK.

    Posted by FrankD! January 8, 08 01:04 PM
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  1. It is a sad day in America when human kind is any thing but- Didn't your Mother teach you respect...Give 'em Hell Hill; they're afraid that you're too smart for them already.

    Posted by Toni Ivers January 8, 08 01:11 PM
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  1. There are a lot of hateful paranoid people on this thread. What is really scary is the the extreme right and have lined up to skewer Clinton. She's most likely the closest one we have to a stable moderate. I know the Bush years were bad but this election has lost all common sense.

    The Obama train has left the station and it's like 1976 all over again. There was an angry, we're going to take it all back electorate that threw Ford out of office, only to end up with Jimmy Carter. I'm sorry to say that I was among the disenchanted masses that voted for him. Carter offered the promise of change just like Obama. The Patrick campaign of 2006 was a dry run for the Obama message and it has grabbed hold, to what I don't know. There is no substance with his plan, ah but it offers hope... In two years we'll be hoping that his term is over soon. The one thing me want is a strong international leader as our president, not one that's going to get us into a hostage crisis just like Tehran in the fall 1978. You'll end up wishing Clinton or McCain was president.

    If you don't learn from history you're bound to repeat it.

    The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
    Benjamin Franklin

    Posted by Joe in NH January 8, 08 01:14 PM
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  1. They were from the afternoon drive show "Toucher and Rich" on WBCN, Boston's rock station, and 100% not plants. Listen to them brag about it today at 3pm if you want.

    Posted by Dave January 8, 08 01:24 PM
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  1. For all of you who are intimidated and so hateful toward Hilary I have to say reading your commentary and realising how scared you truly are only makes me resolute to stand by my gut instinct and vote for her. I have EVERY confidence that she will make an excellent leader for this country as other women leaders around the world including Ireland have done. Being female has little or nothing to do with who is best qualified for the job-what honestly matters is integrity, wisdom, a sense of justice, honesty, compassion for those less fortunate, confidence, and courage. All of these characteristics are hard to find in one person but I feel Hilary has the fortitude to see this country and all in it through these dark, post-Bush times. I do not envy her as she will face challenges of insurmountable porportions however I do have confidence and optimism which she has impressed upon me that we can make things better.

    Posted by Maura P Smith January 8, 08 01:29 PM
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  1. It isn't paranoia to suggest that Hillary Clinton uses carefully chosen plants in her audience to ask questions. It is a reported fact. Whether she or her campaign planted this particular heckler I have no idea, but it fits. She is trying to get attention and she is trying to win back the women's vote after Oprah gave her support to Obama, so this is the type of thing that I would expect from Hillary at this point. Otherwise who heckles someone who is in second place with sexist, yet non-vulgar verbiage that can be reported freely?

    People hate Hillary because she is manipulative, insincere and will stab you in the back when you aren't looking... basically all the reasons that Mitt Romney is really annoying but he isn't nearly as slick and polished a manipulator. It is not because she is a woman.

    Playing the gender card is Hillary Clinton's strategy for winning back the Women vote from Oprah and Obama, so it fits.

    Posted by Pat O January 8, 08 01:52 PM
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  1. Overall Obama has more election experience as a candidate than Clinton. Sure, Clinton has one more US Senate election than Obama and 4 more years in the Senate, but I personally would value his experience in the Illinois Senate more than her experience as First Lady. Sure she got to meet a lot more foreign dignitaries than Obama, but being President is about more than just knowing people's names at cocktail parties.

    Posted by Pat O January 8, 08 02:17 PM
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  1. A plant by the Clinton campaign?

    If you believe that , you probably also believe that:
    1) 9-11 was an inside job,
    2) JFK and his brother was assinated by the FBI,
    3) the Apollo mission to the moon was faked,
    4) the US Government is hiding a captured UFO in Area 51
    5) Princess Dianna's death was faked so that she could live in isolation
    6) Princess Dianna was killed by MI6 (British Secret Service) because she was a threat to the British throne
    7) Princess Dianna's deathe was a cover for enemies who had targeted Dodi Fayed
    8) Jews have a secret plan to dominate the world
    and 9) Paul McCartney really died in 1966

    Personally, as a transplant to New Hampshire (and feared as one of those "from away"), a 9 year resident of the state and a local politician, I have both witnessed and borne the brunt of this same form backward thinking. It's as if the women here have been brainwashed by the menfolk to believe that politics is the birthright and dominion of those born male, and any woman foolish enough to step out of her assigned "role" by being assertive, competent, intellegent or (heaven forbid) actually better than her male counterparts, is labeld "controversial", called "a bitch" and her behavior is considered unacceptable.

    I'm both embarrassed for the citizens of Salem and the State of New Hamphire, but I'm also appalled at the level of hatred and ignorance it took for those men to behave in the shameful manner that they have.

    These people also owe Hillary a sincere apology.

    This sexism issue is a bigger issue than all of the other political issues combined.

    I wanted to vote for Ron Paul. ... but the behavior by those Bozos in Salem has convince me that I need to use my vote to send a signal that this sort of behavior is unaceptable and won't be tolerated.

    Posted by Another_Controversial_Woman January 8, 08 03:27 PM
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  1. Hillary reminds me of a pretty straight shooter. She is what you see. A hard working politician who knows the inside operations of politics – probably relies on advisors for advice, but would make up her own mind. Obama seems to be getting much of the under 30/educated vote. I’ve heard he is even getting some of Hillary’s female vote. He also seems to be getting much of the celebrity vote. Not sure if McCain has a chance. To bad he didn’t have his act together two votes ago (beat Bush). I would have liked to have seen how he would have done.

    Posted by Ed January 8, 08 07:00 PM
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  1. Whatever happened to teaching your children "Sticks and Stones"

    I hate this ultra sensitive society we have created here in America. One of my favorite things in 07' was that dog said the word "nigger"

    American people were not upset by the fact that we made a TV Icon out of a murderer. We chose to be upset over words he used and not the actions he made in his past.

    We are hypocrites...The bottom line is I got a realgood laugh out of the Iron my shirt statement. Hillary actually had a good comeback herself.

    I am voting for Duncan Hunter or Jimmy Tide.

    Ron and Fez 12-3 EST...XM 202

    Posted by Pat Battle January 8, 08 10:00 PM
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  1. This guy was a plant. Tuesday morning someone called in to the Tom Finneran's show on WRKO in Boston. The caller had attended the rally in Salem, NH. He said he almost collided with a van full of Hillary supports on the way in to the rally. One of the people in the van was the same guy shouting Iron My Shirt.

    Notice how quickly Hillary asked for the lights to be turned up and "It's very dark in here." And the lights came up immediately to allow the cameras to capture the action.

    Posted by Jim Carty January 10, 08 06:04 AM
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  1. Other candidates are planning to get in on this ingenious roust for free publicity etc. I mean why can't others bring in their own plants?

    Huckabee is considering: Fleece My Flock

    Obama is considering: Pick My Cotton

    I guess in the end only the Clinton's could get away with such a sleazy social class warfare stunt such as these. Their sensibility is non-existent and to think this is anything other is ludicrous.

    Posted by Jack's Porch January 10, 08 12:48 PM
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  1. so yeah, that was completely rude and sexist, and i can't approve of those two men's actions, but oh my gosh this is so funny!!

    Posted by alison January 12, 08 10:36 PM
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About political intelligence Field reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors covering the 2008 presidential campaign and the national maneuvering of Bay State politicians.

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