Clinton ad raises commander-in-chief issue
Hillary Clinton passed up chances in the last two debates to directly question Barack Obama's readiness to be commander in chief.
But a new dark and foreboding ad that will start airing in Texas today -- four days before what could be a make-or-break primary for Clinton -- raises those doubts.
It doesn't mention Obama by name. Instead it shows sleeping children as a phone rings.
"It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep," the narrator says. "But there’s a phone in the White House and it’s ringing. Something’s happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call.
"Whether it’s someone who already knows the world’s leaders, knows the military -- someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world," the announcer continues. "It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"
The ad ends with a photo of Clinton on the phone.
A press release from the Clinton campaign sent out with the ad includes testimonials from retired generals Wesley Clark and John Watkins and from former Navy secretary John Dalton. "Inevitably, another national security crisis will occur," Clark said in the release. "And when it does, voters shouldn’t have to wonder whether their president will be ready. As president, Hillary will be ready to act swiftly and decisively."
David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, called the ad a "shopworn tactic" that he said will only train voters' attention on who has the better judgment to keep the country safe.
"This is about what you say when you answer that phone, what kind of judgment you demonstrate," Plouffe told reporters this morning. "We agree that voters are thinking about who they believe is best able to keep them safe and protect the country. We think increasingly in these primaries and caucuses they've been settling on Senator Obama."
When questioned about his national security credentials, Obama has highlighted his stand on Iraq versus Clinton's vote to authorize the war -- a vote she now says is her biggest regret in public life.
"Senator Clinton's red-phone moment in her career was in 2002, and she supported the Iraq war, supported George Bush, did not even read the National Intelligence Estimate," Plouffe added. "We think ultimately an ad like this is going to make people focus on who's got the right kind of judgment. We think it's an evaluation that's going to benefit us."
In response, the Obama campaign also reissued an ad it first aired last October in which retired Air Force general Merrill A. McPeak vouches for Obama.
"Judgment is what we need from our next president," McPeak says, citing Obama's opposition to the Iraq war. "The old Washington hands have let us down. We need a new leader to lift America."
This is the worst kind of fear-mongering. this ad represents the kind of gutter-politics that the Clinton people will stoop to. Shame on you Hillary Clinton, why can,t you leave the stage while there is something left of your reputation. Shame on you.
Lets see ! Whitewater scandal, Failure to file income taxes, Travelgate and overall deceptive behavior by not only Hillary but Bill in their previous stint in the White House ! And you America want them back in charge of our country? Something is very wrong with that line of thinking. Obama offers a new approach and ethical behavior something very foreign to the Clintons!
All Obama does is hype his "speech" against the war when he was not a member of the U.S. Senate. And he always points out Hillary's vote for the war.
Easy to talk when you don't have to actually put your name on the line to either vote Yes, No or maybe Present.
Since Obama became a member of the U.S. Senate, how has he voted to express his stand against the war? Nada, nothing! He has voted to fund the war every time that he had a chance to make a stand.
That's why OHB is all talk and no action!
Considering a White House will Bill Clinton in it, it might not be Hillary answering the phone.
I think It makes you think! Good for her...She does have more depth, both life and actual exp..McKain has even more exp. With all that is going on in the world, at the end of the day, it is a real concern for Americans. Who has the judgement to handle these many challenges?..Obama ultimately hasn't dealt w/ the pressures of real personal, political/war conflicts..he wasn't even in the Senate when the Iraq bill was voted on. You get the sense that though the message is sleak , like Deval Patrick, he doesn't really have the meat to deliver.
To me Hillary over plays her experience. If you think about it her pre-senate experience it is similar, but less outstanding than that of Nancy Reagan. Nancy Reagan was first lady of the nation's largest state rather that from the woods of Arkansas before she was first lady for two term in the White House. Since being in the senate Hillary's big moments have been her two votes in support of the war mongering Pres. Bush - invade Iraq and work on invading Iran.
David,
Obama said no to a war that he thought was not right. Once the forces were in there because of executive branch decision, he voted to fund it because he cannot ditch the troops who are the middle of battle field. That's shows his patriotism. At the same time, he is working to bring the troops back home. How can you possibly find anything wrong with that? Your reasoning look ridiculous. You sound like you have some other motive in opposing Obama.
What's next Hillary? A new "Field of Daisies" commercial? A little mushroom cloud action? Just don't let the door hit you in the A** on the way out.
It is easy and more comfortable for me to image the person answering the phone to be Obama. I trust his judgement and want him to be our next president. He seems to be able to keep issues in perspective and knows he will have to find bipartisan solutions to our problems to move the country forward.
I wonder if Hillary's erratic behavior in the face of a campaign crisis is any indication of how she would handle a national crisis.
When JFK and Richard Nixon ran for president in 1960, Richard Nixon had by far much more "experience". I am glad that the "inexperienced" candidate won.
While is Hillary making McCain commercials
Is not one definition of "insanity" doing the same things over and over and expecting different results? How is Hilary going to be ANY different than what we have had in Washington for an insufferably long time: INEFFECTIVE POLITICIANS. If you want to see REAL change in this country you need to elect someone who thinks, and acts a bit differently. Of all the VIABLE candidates that would in fact be Barrack Obama. I, for one, think that the United States needs massive change to get us out of the horrendous situations we have gotten into (Iraq being only a small but highly visible example). Wake Up people. Vote for REAL CHANGE in Washington !
OMG what will she stoop to next? Will she answer the phone or Bill if he is in bed with her. Let us get rid of the Clintons once and for all.
I would want John McCain answering that call over either Barach or Hillary. Both are not cut out to protect us in the World. Hillary is self-serving and Barach is too idealistic in a realist World.>
Hillary is all about power and nothing else. She plays the injured little bird when things do not go her way and can be ruthless when she wants to destroy someone I have had enough of her, Bill, and their tactics. >
Bill was a fence rider all through his Presidency, but his charm and political tactics were what everyone saw. He lacked substance, character, and the fortitude to protect our domestic security, by cutting the military and intelligence services which placed our country in the situations that brought us to war. America embodies all that is good and Worldwide fanatics only want to tear that and each of down.>
Which Hillary would answer?
I prefer someone without mood swings, thank you!
Didn't Kerry Healy try to use fear when she was down in the polls? Remember the infamous parking garage ad? It's a sign of desparatation when you need to scare people into voting for you.
Well, last time Hillary got the call she ended up alienating Congress so much that Health Care reform never got passed... that was with a Democratic Congress and her charismatic husband as the president. If Hillary Clinton hasn't alienated our military and foreign leaders as much as she has her own people, then something has been lost in translation.
Last time we had a president as paranoid as Hillary Clinton, his people were authorizing break-ins against the democratic party in response to a supposed vast left wing conspiracy. What will paranoid Hillary do when faced with the demons of her "vast right wing conspiracy"? Our country can't suffer another paranoid fear mongering president or the inevitable violation of our civil liberties and law that will follow.
I'm not thrilled with this tactic, but I don't think it is as ugly as some people here imply. Although Barack sounds like a nice guy - a very decent person - I'm not convinced he has the experience he should have to lead this country. Listen to some of the debates, and it was clear to me that Hillary has a much deeper understanding of many issues - domestic and international. If such a call does come in the middle of the night at the start of their presidency, I do believe Hillary would be better able to deal with the issue. I do wish she would take the high road - I really do. But, I don' think this ad is so outrageous. (I haven't seen it - just read about it here).
We should all understand that when OHB was voting against the war the was not US senate vote it was a State of Illinois vote. Plus come on people he did not have all the false information to rely on the vote so what would he have realy voted for same as most Senators did for the war get off the vote issue Hillary vote the way any person given false information would of for War.........?
Is Senator Clinton so indispensable that if something happened to her, she couldn't be replaced and it would be the end for the United States? It looks like that's the premise here.
Shame on you Hillary! Shame on you for making an ad that actually asked whether or not Barack is qualified to be commander in chief. Shame on you Hillary for making an ad that addresses hard issues that a prsident will face. And more importantly, shame on you Hillary for making an ad that makes viewers think instead of letting their feel-good attitude dictate their vote.
*uhm how is this fear tactics? She doesn't mention Obama by name, the ad doesn't say there is a war, disaster, etc? Oh I guess it's a scare tactic because it actually gives a real life scenario. I think Hillary just called CTV and told them not to pay attention to the ad because its just rheteroic(oh wait...).
The only reason the Clintons have had so many problems during their times in office is because they helped create them. I don't want Hillary answering the phone, she's more likely to jump to conclusions and act irrationally - just as we have been seeing these past few months (blaming her campaign advisors for her mistakes, complimenting Obama one day, and denouncing him the next --- on the same issues)...
She scares me.
Of course she even sleeps in a pantsuit. Nice!
Obama all the way.
not if a consideration!
Hillary is the one we need to answer that phone. Obama simply will not have a clue how to answer that phone. If those folks want to put their personal security and economic wellbeing in the hands of a cheap fraud like Obama, go ahead. It's a free country.
I'm not thrilled with this tactic, but I don't think it is as ugly as some people here imply. Although Barack sounds like a nice guy - a very decent person - I'm not convinced he has the experience he should have to lead this country. Listen to some of the debates, and it was clear to me that Hillary has a much deeper understanding of many issues - domestic and international. If such a call does come in the middle of the night at the start of their presidency, I do believe Hillary would be better able to deal with the issue. I do wish she would take the high road - I really do. But, I don' think this ad is so outrageous. (I haven't seen it - just read about it here).
Hillary has simply become a nuisance candidate - a spent force.
I empathize with her difficulty in reconciling the fact that what she thought was her presumptive right and birtright - the presidency - has slipped through her fingers.
All Hillary gets is well deserved for her negative messages of doom and gloom. What she wants to give America is much of the same lunacy Bush has during his two terms.
America needs a new president with new, fresh, inspiring and achievable goals.
NO MORE BUSH AND CLINTON - their time has passed - Thank God.
No one wants her to perpetuate the hardships Bush started 7.5 years ago
Hillary! please go quitely into the sunset with your like-mind, Bush.
3 AM, the White House phone rings, something is happening in the world, and Bill is partying at a bar smoking cigars with Monica ... now you want Hillary to answer that phone??? Can you imagine someone going 'nuclear' here?
I'd say let John McCain answer the phone!
McCain has big advantages over Hillary and Obama when it comes to being Commander-in-Chief. As one who has been in combat, he knows how terrible it is, and the consequences it can have on individuals. He will not be quick to get us into a conflict we don't want or can't win. On the other hand, if we do get into a conflict when (and if) he is President, he will not poll test or get consumed with political correctness as I fear the other candidates would do as President.
Unlike the Washington Post, this paper failed to give any real context to this fearmongering ad, including similar approaches used by Johnson, Mondale, Reagan, and GHW Bush or noting the fact that as HRC presents herself as qualified she has had no real military experience other than sitting on the senate committee for military affairs. With little experience, she may be suggesting she has good judgment, this too questionable in light of her vote on Iraq.
Good for Hillary, its time that the voters take a hard look at the candidates. The issue of the 3:00 AM phone call a real and present danger and we need someone who can lead and make the tough decisions. The last time we had a feel good president was in 1976 when my generation voted out the republicans for change and we got one term Jimmy Carter, one of our worst presidents. Carter gave us sweaters for an energy policy, out of control inflation for an economic policy and the 444 day Tehran Hostage Crisis. An earlier poster was correct, in that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, we’ve done the Carter~O’Bama pendulum swing before.
After Carter the pendulum swung back to Reagan~Mitt Romney, let’s not repeat bad history and learn from our mistakes. We need a moderate perspective. I think we’ll be just fine with Clinton or McCain, but we need to stop the O’Bama “Platitude Feel Good express”.
First of all, this country was in its best shape during Clinton's Admnistration. Do you not remember bringing us into the black and out of the red, cheap gasoline, plentiful jobs, etc. He was a great world leader and ambassador to foreign countries and leaders who loved him for the most part. He has also gone down in the history books as one of the best Presidents this country ever had, regardless of the Lewinski scandal. I would love to have that stability, comfort, and respect again back in this country. Did you know their is a federal investigation pending into the church Obama belongs to? Do you know he will not recite the pledge of Allegiance to the flag? What has the guy done as a Senator? Absolutely NOTHING! What are his plans for this country? I haven't seen anything, have you? No, you haven't. Hillary at least has concrete plans and timelines in place has been present, accounted for and voted on all issues in the Senate. I want someone who is responsible and reliable running this country again!!!!
LOL. This commercial is hilarious. She wears glasses to read? I didn't even recognize her. What if she can't find her glasses at 3am??? What if she needs to read an important document to make a decision???
Barack Obama doesn't wear glasses. That's why I'm voting for him.
Obama is more likely to answer the phone with a greater ability to assess the situation from multiple perspectives and understand the needs of US people. He is connected to middle class and poor people; he has inspired the youth of this country to get involved. I put my money on Barack and the youth of this country. We need change, real change. Not the fear driven rhetoric of the past.
Good for Hillary. The difference between the two is like the difference between a coach and a cheerleader -- with Hillary being the coach. One has experience, and one has spirit. There's nothing wrong with spirit -- we're all on the same side -- but you need experience to coach and lead. Why doesn't Barak just sit back and wait ten years? He needs some mellowing and ripening -- he's a young man and he shows the callous side of youth as when he plays down the Farakhan issue.
Good for Hillary. The difference between the two is like the difference between a coach and a cheerleader -- with Hillary being the coach. One has experience, and one has spirit. There's nothing wrong with spirit -- we're all on the same side -- but you need experience to coach and lead. Why doesn't Barak just sit back and wait ten years? He needs some mellowing and ripening -- he's a young man and he shows the callous side of youth as when he plays down the Farakhan issue.
EXCUSE MY OPINION
Voters stop at least for a moment the HONOR AND WORSHIP to B. HUSSAIN OBAMA.
See the reality what is he doing to the young people: Instigating them because he knows they very easy to brain wash. With promises, that IS only fantasy in his own mind.
Did B. HUSSEIN OBAMA, explains everybody:
WHAT IS HIS FATHER’S DREAM? (In his book)
Everybody is so busy honoring the worship to HIM. LIKE IF HE IS THE ANTI-CHRIST.
Showing his disrespectful way of expressing himself against Mr. McCain, and President Bush.
HE IS TRANSMITTING DISRESPECT FOR OTHERS.
Only those that are not brainwash are the only ones that see the reality.
He is only showing off. ACTING LIKE IF HE IS THE MESSIAH OR THE ANTI-CHRIST.
NO, NO, NO, NO, FOR ------ B. HUSSEIN OBAMA
FEAR TACTICS-
The Republicans have jammed fear down our throats for 8 years, it is why we are at war. It is why Obama is willing to go into Pakistan (if Pakistan won't do it themselves) without permission to get rid of Al Qaida. It is the reason we have The Patriot Act.
This message says something different to me.
History:
When 9-11 happened, Bush didn't and couldn't respond right away. When Katrina happened he waited days before making a comment or visiting.
I FEAR Bush's lack of response - lack of concern.
Present:
On Super Tuesday, when tornados were hitting the midwest, Clinton responded in her speeches that SAME night. Clinton thanked the voters for battling the storm and gave understanding and sympathy to those who lost homes and loved ones. It took until Wednesday for Obama to notice.
When the motorcycle driver in Clinton's motorcade was killed, Clinton stopped campaigning right away to be with his family.
---------------------
It isn't fear that makes me want to know who is answering that call at 3 am. It's compassion and the belief that America deserves better.
Have a Heart - Clinton '08
Bubba hit the nail on the head!
Why is it that the Obama people are so filled with hate for Hillary? It is not the other way around. Is it because it takes maturity and experience to lead and maturity and experience to make proper judgements? Obama has been raised to the level of rock star by the press, and while I'm sure he is a decent man, he lacks the focus and the tenacity to be president. He has shown himself to be flip, superior and seems to have a sense of entitlement about him -- which is a surprising quality for someone black who has grown up in America. He is not ready to handle the tough decisions.
Hillary Clinton underestimated her opponent Obama (first mistake) and miscalculated what the people want - real change (second mistake).
She is just not the right person for the job right now. Obama will be the democratic nominee and our next president.
If Nancy Pelosi were running - it would be a different story - we might have our first female president.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON is the right president for America.
What happened on 9/11 was very much real and lots of people were killed on our America Soil. Barack Hussein Obama will never change my mindset about 9/11.
Barack Hussein Obama can't even tell the truth about his real name...what gives?
Obama's Ties to Terrorists Come Under Scurtiny. http://www.nysun.com/article/71421
On March 3, 2008 the REZKO trial will start on March 3, 2008. Hopefully, America will finally know the truth about the relationship between REZKO and OBAMA. America deserves to know the truth.
Get the popcorn ready. Hope you have time to read all 64 news articles located at the webpage www.suntimes.com then, do a search...REZKO...and all 64 news articles will appear.
Barack Hussein Obama is not presidential material for America.
9/11 is real and I will never change my mindset about 9/11.
Forget it BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA....enough of your rhetoric.
Barack Hussein Obama - your rhetoric and NO experience is finally showing.
VOTE FOR AMERICA - VOTE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON - PRESIDENT!!!
VOTE - "MY AMERICAN MAMA" - HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON - PRESIDENT!!!
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON is the right president for America!!!
Is Bill supporting Obama now?
"If one candidate’s trying to scare you and the other one’s trying to get you to think, if one candidate’s appealing to your fears and the other one’s appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope." Bill Clinton 2004.
Sorry, I don't think Hillary is a bad person or anything but she just doesn't seem to know who she is from one day to the next. She's just not someone whose lead I would ever follow. With her as a leader, I'd be going in a different direction depending on which way the wind was blowing. I rather follow someone who seems to have a strong sense of self.
Obama!
FEAR FEAR FEAR. Hillary is sounding like the GOP more and more. I love Hillary but her desperation is getting disgraceful. WHATS MORE DISGRACEFUL ARE YOU HILLARY SUPPORTERS DENEGRATING OBAMA!!!!! WHAT THE HECK????? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??? If Hillary got the nomination i would gladly support her and most Obama supporters feel that way. Not so with many of the Hillary folks. It's her or nothing. Sad Sad. Perhaps those who voice this opnion are those "new Voters" who never participate in elections untill this election cycle. If you think you will be dissapointed that your candidate wont get the nomination try getting an old lobbyist riddled neo-con hack for pres then tell me what dissapointed feels like. Get with it. Find SOME UNITY do your best not to be so petty.
Oh and by the way......All this talk about Obama's oopposition to the war meaning nothing because he wasnt in the senate when he denounced the war is hogwash. The guy was running for office when public support for the war was at it's highest. He took a political risk by saying he opposed to the war. For those of you who tthink he was standing up for soemthing because he had nothing to lose could not be more wrong. He stood to lose his senate race, his reputation and tarnish the public perception of his judgement. Judgement oddly enough that has helped propell him into a delegate lead and 11 straight primary wins. Ask yourselves something and ask honestly....Did you support the idea of war in the beggining? If you say you did not then you are either a liar or part of the miniscule 20% of the entire country who was opposed at that time. Dont tell me you were lied to or the reason WHY you originally supported the war, because i did myself and i get that. But just ask yourself who had better judgement in the end? honestly ask yourself that question....then ask yourself who you would want to answer the red phone.
I'm sitting here, trying to determine what Senator Clinton and her campaign thinks make her more experienced ... better prepared to be our Commander-in-Chief? Being once First Lady? As a recently retired Army officer, I believe Senator Obama's proven judgment would better suit us than Ms Clinton's White House experience. In my book, judgment trumps experience every time. As for Senator McCain and his experience as a Naval pilot and ship's captain? The choice is easy. I, again, choose Mr. Obama's proven judgment.
I'm sitting here, trying to determine what Senator Clinton and her campaign thinks make her more experienced ... better prepared to be our Commander-in-Chief? Being once First Lady? As a recently retired Army officer, I believe Senator Obama's proven judgment would better suit us than Ms Clinton's White House experience. In my book, judgment trumps experience every time. As for Senator McCain and his experience as a Naval pilot and ship's captain? The choice is easy. I, again, choose Mr. Obama's proven judgment.
Its 3 AM and Hillary is fully dress, made up and wearing jewelry? She's not ready she's keeping track of Bill
In his first major public address since a cancer crisis, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan said Sunday that presidential candidate Barack Obama is the "hope of the entire world" that the U.S. will change for the better.
The 74-year-old Farrakhan, addressing an estimated crowd of 20,000 people at the annual Saviours' Day celebration, never outrightly endorsed Obama but spent most of the nearly two-hour speech praising the Illinois senator.
"This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better," he said. "This young man is capturing audiences of black and brown and red and yellow. If you look at Barack Obama's audiences and look at the effect of his words, those people are being transformed."
HOPE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD-- ha ha ha
Farrakhan compared Obama to the religion's founder, Fard Muhammad, who also had a white mother and black father.
FOUNDER OF BLACK MUSLIMS HAD A WHITE MOTHER AND BLACK FATHER LIKE OBAMA-
"A black man with a white mother became a savior to us," he told the crowd of mostly followers. "A black man with a white mother could turn out to be one who can lift America from her fall."
Farrakhan also leveled small jabs at Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, suggesting that she represents the politics of the past and has been engaging in dirty politics.
Farrakhan's keynote address at McCormick Place, the city's convention center, wrapped up three days of events geared at unifying followers and targeting youth.
It had a different tone from a year ago, when Farrakhan made what was called his final public address at a Saviours' Day event in Detroit. The 74-year-old was recovering from complications from prostate cancer and months earlier had temporarily passed on leadership duties of the organization's day-to-day activities to an executive board.
© 2008 Associated Press.
Senator Clinton's going to China, speaking about human rights ... and going to 80 countries while the First Lady hardly makes her an automatic shoe-in for Commander-in-Chief. If going to countries, talking about human rights make one qualified to by CINC, then I suppose nearli all State Department employees qualify.
Do people REALLY think that there will not be a crisis in the world during the next Presidential term??
I think that is very naive, maybe all this dreamy hope talk has made people delusional. There will not be instantaneous world peace, people. We cannot have a naive idealistic President who is selling false hope to people.
Also, are people REALLY as scared about this ad as Obama is? Obama, you need to try to be BRAVE, ok? It's just a realistic ad concentrating on Hillary's experience.
If Obama gets scared from a 30 second TV ad, how the HECK can he be President?
Hillary 08!
I think BOTH Barack Obama and Hillary Clnton have excellent (if very different) qualities, as well as liabilities and dirty money (yes, Obama, too). That's why it's such a close race, and why so many people are still undecided. I do think this ad was beneath you, Hillary, especially in light of your calling on the Obama campaign to "stop their Carl Rove tactics." I will support one of you in Novemeber, but can't quite bring myself to vote for either one of you right now.
I liked this ad. I think it makes you think.....makes you think who you want to answer the crisis phone, whether it is a Democrat or Republican. For all of you that think it was a terrible ad, well, Obama has come back with his copy-cat ad. I don't hear much complaining about that. After all didn't Obama often say, "I agree with Senator Clinton" in the debates. Debates, issues, ads.....he's flying on HER coat tails! The media makes Clinton out to be the bad one while Obama gets a free ride!
What if Monica accidentally is the one to pick up that phone ...............? Well, I guess it would be better than the "SHREW" in traning.
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