Why did Clark *Whisper* to that woman that his father is Jewish?

[Melinda]

In response to a question from a Jewish woman at an appearance today, Clark answered that he definitely supports Israel, but then leaned over to whisper in her ear (caught on video complete with sound) "My father was Jewish." It was picked up by Fox and played several times this afternoon.

Why the whisper?

[SahaleArm]

1. It's well known his birth father was Jewish n/t

[tishaLA]

2. Just curious: did that woman

identify herself as Jewish? I didn't hear that part.

[Jerseycoa]

4. I can't remember exactly

But something about is he for the Jewish people.

[tishaLA]

5. She asked whether he supported Israel

or "please say you support Israel" or something like that. I didn't hear her identify herself as Jewish, though.

[Myra]

9. The woman said "I hope you support Isreal"

And he said (paraphrasing) "Of course I do, my father was Jewish BTW."
And I think he said more, but I don't have a transcript.
Yet.

[tishaLA]

15. Right. But the woman didn't say she was Jewish

apparently she "seemed" Jewish enough to have been called that in the first post.

[Jerseycoa]

3. It was hardly a whisper nt

[Melinda]

7. Was he kissing her ear then?

lmao, it was an obvious whisper.

[SahaleArm]

11. Do you have a point? You obviously have an opinion n/t

[Jerseycoa]

14. It was obviously not a whisper

It was a jam-packed room full of talking people. Clark sings from the rooftops that he is half-Jewish. It's a thing of joy for him. But, why not sully it just because you can?

:freak:

[Egnever]

24. horse shit

It was a whisper. And one of his oonly answers in that jam packed room that required leaning in and speaking directly in someones ear.

[TrueAmerican]

8. True

The Dean Supporter who started this thread heard about it. So I don't know how it could of only been a whisper.

[Egnever]

23. WTF?

He leaned over and whispered it in her ear. he didnt have any trouble comunicating with any of the other people he was talking to. He didnt lean over and whisper in the guys ear when he said he would "kick thier asses" only seconds before the Jewish answer.

And I for one at least am not really thrilled that he is such a strong Israel suporter. Israel is heavily to blame for the strife in the I/P conflict. Its long past time we got past pretending that it isnt.

[demgrrrll]

17. Fox News is going to trash all the Democratic contenders. I don't

think they are going to be fair or balanced. We will need to work around them as best we can. My grandfather was Jewish and I have mentioned that fact in when it was part of the flow of the conversation. No big deal. No big deal here either. Once again you have the fear factor and anyone who is going to win is going to have to fight and fight hard against obstacles like Fox News and the lap dog press.

[deminflorida]

6. Clark in his biography video plainly states that his father was...

Jewish. But of course I would expect the brown shirts at Fox to pick up on something like this and run with it.

[tishaLA]

10. Yes, but they don't believe in separating people

based on religion, remember? Although one of their memebers has already identified the questioner as Jewish even though the questioner didn't identify herself that way. Curious.

[Melinda]

13. You are accusing me of "1939 NAZI Germany tactics"?

My children lost family at Dachua. Shame on you. I am alerting on your post.

[deminflorida]

18. Well my wife is from Poland, as well....

So watch what you post sometimes....

[Melinda]

21. Follow your own advice and quit with the personal attacks.

My post was fair and not attacking. I asked WHY General Clark whispered his response; there was no attack on him or any of his supporters.

One would think he would be proud of his heritage, and not reduce it to an apparent "whisper". If you choose to be offended by my question, then that's your problem, but do NOT EVER, EVER say such hateful things to anyone again, much less one who is on the same team as you are.

*edited for typos and clarity

[deminflorida]

25. Well if it was heard it wasn't a whisper was it...but it sounds like

you want to make it a whisper.

[tishaLA]

26. I'm sorry but you haven't disclosed your secret knowledge

about the woman's religious background yet. Why did you identify her as Jewish? What did it have to do with your question?

[deminflorida]

28. It's a bait, and I might add a pretty trashy one at that....

n/t

[Melinda]

32. "Secret knowledge"?

Now that's a froggy leap. Are you suggesting my observation, based upon his initial response to her question, to be an unreasonable deduction? :eyes:

[deminflorida]

35. Good Bye, Congratulations, this is the first thread I'm going to use

the ignore button on.....

[tishaLA]

39. Now I get it

based on HIS response to her question, you determined that she was Jewish even though she never said she was.

That's perfectly clear. And lame baiting.

[Melinda]

40. His response? Nope, try again.

[tishaLA]

41. You yourself call it

"my observation, based upon his initial response to her question". So I ask again: did she identify herself as Jewish? Why do YOU identify her as Jewish? What does her perceived Judaism have to do with your question?

[Melinda]

48. What was her first question - do you know?

Why would General Clark tell the woman his father was Jewish? Where's the relevancy?

[tishaLA]

51. It was in response to her question about Israel.

So tell me: how do you know she was Jewish? Do you know? Where's the relevance?

[Name removed]

58. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tishaLA]

60. Keep on bating

[spychoactive]

46. maybe it's me...

but some people seem overly sensitive...when i see a supermodel on tv and my son asks me "dad where do you think she's from?" and if i would say "brazil!,she looks brazilan!" is that racist?

if the woman said: "i'm not jewish" when clark spoke those words, then she'd be the racist from someone's perspective...ugh...people it will not go away if we keep seeing it where it is not...inventing something to eliminate leaves you in the same place you were when you started...

maybe i'm being over-sensitive
;)

[Melinda]

50. I just wanna know why he leaned in and whispered it.

And many are being overly sensitive; it's not a personal attack.

[LandOLincoln]

73. It was a STAGE whisper

meant to be heard (and meant to be funny, and was) and of course the woman was Jewish, why else would she be so concerned about his position on Israel?

[spychoactive]

74. i know melinda my question is:

did you expect such a wondrous fuss over this very simple question???

i'm kinda new to the DU (two months now...) so maybe it's common...

hang in there
spike

[LiberalBushFan]

31. you were just so curious

as to whether Fox news might have perhaps been spinning something that could easily be spun that you needed to ask DU members

[deminflorida]

20. There, I edited my post, so if you're a really big person...

Why don't you explain what your getting at with your's?

[Syrinx]

12. it was a "stage whisper"

Nothing sinister about it. He was just trying to "connect" with that particular woman.

[TrueAmerican]

16. That sounds like a plausable answer

The sums it up.

[pocoloco]

54. Seemed obvious to me too.

What is not obvious is why you would have to explain it to someone or rather why someone would need it explained?

LOL

[Syrinx]

67. yep

[Clark Can WIN]

68. Exactly. Wes is a handsome man, and he was speaking to an older lady

I've been around him when he was campaigning in mixed crowds and the older ladies just SWOON around him.

He's not stupid for gadsakes.. He knows how to catch a ladies heart. Hold her hand, lean close to her and say something nice in her ear.

There's no here here.

[drfemoe]

77. Plausible ..

He knows how to catch a ladies heart. Hold her hand, lean close to her and say something nice in her ear.

He may be the absolute favorite among the "SWOON" voters. Do they have a lobby? They are going to make all kinds of special interest demands for their voting bloc. "Smile pretty!" "Look into my eyes!" "Whisper to me!"

[Clark Can WIN]

78. Sure

While he's at it, he can take out the trash too.

:toast:

[TLM]

76. Yeah I don't see anything wrong with it...

Wouldn't be the first time a politician tried to use a bullhorn to announce how subtle they are.

[Egnever]

19. There was a lot of really wierd stuff in the period after the Q/A

Someone asked him if he was really a patriot fan and he said well I am a football fan and the patriots are the home team here so I am wearing thier jersey.

Then the guy went on to ask him if people wouldnt consider that pandering and he said No I am a patriots fan.... ????

lots of really strange stuff in that whole apearance I would like to get my hands on a transcript.

He spoke on prescription drugs and said something to the effect that it costs close to a billion dollars to bring a drug to market and someone needs to pay those costs. But he said nothing about the fact that most of the R%D on drugs is financed by our government so that its not a true risk for the drug companies.

Then he went on to say that the reason that drugs are cheaper in canada is because the government there negotiates for the lower prices but that it wouldnt be fair for america to do that...WTF?

So much stuff really my head weas spining. I was really trying to watch this apearance hoping that I would hear his stances on things other than just the military. And while he did have things to say about non military a lot of his answers were very strange or even contradictory from what I have heard him say before.

One example of a different stance was in todays speech he seemed to be advocating for a stronger american presence in the software field when just a debate or so ago he seemed willing to write it off as an industry we would never get back.

He apears to be a good man, but I dont think he stacks up as ready to be president. He would most likely be better than bush though as he does seem to at least care about the human condition.

[SahaleArm]

22. "R&D on drugs is financed by our governement" - Source?

He spoke on prescription drugs and said something to the effect that it costs close to a billion dollars to bring a drug to market and someone needs to pay those costs. But he said nothing about the fact that most of the R%D on drugs is financed by our government so that its not a true risk for the drug companies.

He said the process of drug approval is extremely expensive and requires large amounts of capitalization to go through the multi-phase process. Does your head always spins when it's anyone but Dean?

One example of a different stance was in todays speech he seemed to be advocating for a stronger american presence in the software field when just a debate or so ago he seemed willing to write it off as an industry we would never get back..

This is flat out bogus as it takes his comments out of context. He has since clarified what he meant and added that National Security depends on domestic software development.

[digno dave]

33. ooops

I remember that quote from the debate. He said something like "let the indians have the software, we will work on more advanced stuff" or something like that. I am sure about quote prior to coma, but not sure about after.
I know what he was trying to say but it kinda came out sounding bad. I wondered if he would get any flack for that and i guess he has. I'm down here in shrubland so i don't hear anything.

About Fox, it's obvious that they are going to hammer Clark every little chance they get. O'Reilly rarely mentions him, and when he does it's alway something like "well, this Clark guy isn't gonna get very far". I remember he said that to Leiberman during an interview and Leiberman actually told him that Clark was ahead in some national polls.

[SahaleArm]

43. As stated in my post "Out-of-Context"

He was pointing out the next set of high-paying jobs will be driven by US R&D in more areas than software (Energy, Environment, etc.). He was a bit overzelous but there's no way he plans to move jobs overseas, see his economic/jobs package.

[Egnever]

52. ok so heres the context

BROKAW: If you canceled NAFTA and WTO, I don't think it'll address a concern that Andy Grove, who is one of the founding geniuses that Silicon Valley, has, which is that he says by the year 2010, General Clark, in India, they'll have more people working in software and software services than we will have in this country. And he sees no evidence in either party of a public policy to address that critical component of our economic future.

CLARK: Well, I'm very concerned about exactly what Andy Grove has said, and canceling NAFTA and WTO will not solve the problem.

We have to have the right policies to create jobs in America, and to have companies that are hiring in this country stay in this country and not outsource.

So here is what I'll do: When I am president, the first thing I will have is $100 billion job creation program. Then we'll go and look at the tax code. We'll take away any incentives for companies that want to outsource or leave the country. And we'll have incentives for companies to create jobs in here.

But we need to go beyond all of that. We really need a national goals program. Software was great, the technology and the information revolution was great, but there are a lot of technologies out there. We've got great scientists in this country. We need to set some national goals. We have the mechanisms to do it, put the research money in to basic and applied research and let those inventions and discoveries come out in intellectual property that we can use in this country to create employment.

Energy and environmental engineering are two very fertile areas for the growth of American jobs.

CLARK: We want to be ahead of the software revolution. Let them do the software in India; we'll do other things in this country.

We can do that. All it takes is leadership.


complete 180 from what he said tonight.

[SahaleArm]

61. And does that means let them do 'all' the software? No.

Other than Kucinich and Gephardt none of the other candidates will kill the WTO. The answer he gave in context makes sense - Innovation, new technology, and R&D will drive job growth.

[Egnever]

65. I dont dissagree with the new technology portion of his answer

I disagree with the "Software was great, the technology and the information revolution was great, but there are a lot of technologies out there." part of his answer.

And again thats not even close to what I heard him say tonight. I like tonights answer much better personaly and I fully understand why he imediately backed away from the one he used in the debate.

It doesnt change my impresion though that I have no way of knowing what this guy is really all about except when it copmes to the military.

He seems more than willing to say whatever he thinks people will go for.

The answer he gave when asked about his patriots jersey would have worked for almost any of his domestic policy as well IMHO

Again he seems like a decent man. I just dont trust his positions enough
on anything other than military matters to make him my choice for president.

In fact the answer he gave to that woman that started this thread pushes me away from even his foriegn policy experiance,

It is long past time we started taking Isreal to task for its part in the I/P conflict

[SahaleArm]

66. Well we'll just agree to disagree because from my perspective...

you're seeing what you want to see; I can't change that.

[Myra]

49. Well welcome to DU dingo dave, and to candidate smearing!

You sure hit the ground running.

:evilgrin: :thumbsup:

[Egnever]

34. here are a couple

he pharmaceutical industry receives a massive amount of taxpayer support with almost no accountability. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends more than $1 billion a year of our tax dollars for drug research and development. When a new drug is discovered by the NIH or an NIH-funded research project, the product is given over to a drug company for sale and distribution. The company then charges any price it wants for the taxpayer-developed product. As a result of NIH research, it was determined that Johnson & Johnson's Levamisole, an anti-worm drug for sheep and horses, could also treat colon cancer in humans. With that new research, developed by taxpayer dollars, Johnson & Johnson began charging $6 per pill to treat colon cancer in people, 100 times what they had been charging for the same product when they sold it to treat sheep and horses

http://www.house.gov/bernie/publications/opeds/1999-04-15-prescriptions.html

Currently, taxpayers fund more than 36% of all medical R&D through the NIH, with much of that R&D given to the pharmaceutical industry. At the same time, drug companies are permitted to sell those products at any price they see fit.

http://www.house.gov/bernie/press/2000/06-14-2000.html

[SahaleArm]

42. Where are Bernie's numbers coming from? Total R&D cost > $3-Billion

Drug companies still spend 100's of million dollars on bringing their developments to market. Specifically in administering the FDA's 3-phase trials, marketing, and distribution.

According to Bernie the entire drug R&D market is only $3 Billion dollars, not sure where those numbers are from. But in essence Clark's position is to bargain down prices with a new program in the meantime buying from Canada should be legal.

[Egnever]

47. No idea

And I was incorect in stating most of the R&D comes from the government.

Aparently acorfing to bernie only 36% does. I am certainly no expert on this but it would seem to me that R&D is also legitimately writen off as a buisness expense on these companies taxes so theres even more relief from the tax payers.

Where are you or clark getting your numbers?

[SahaleArm]

56. OK I don't have a bone to pick since I also thought Clark...

wasn't as specific as he should been, but the questioner should have asked a more exacting question on retort. I also believe we should have direct bargaining power over drug prices as does everyone who panned the Republican drug bill. One quick example is Pfizer who spent ~$5.8 Billion dollar on R&D in 2002. Here's the last 4 years of R&D not including SG&A:

2002 ~ $5.8 Billion
2001 ~ $5.6 Billion
2000 ~ $7.6 Billion
1999 ~ $4.0 Billion

[Egnever]

62. Interesting numbers

where are you getting those?

I agree that the follow up from that guy was weak. I also agree that bargaining power is crucial. There is absolutely no excuse for other countires to be alowed to bargain and america not to be able to. Of course since america doesnt have national health insurance I sopose we dont really have a lot of bargaining power.

Absent the ability of americans to colectively bargain I would say there should be price restrictions put in place to hold american pricing equal or at leat relative to pricing negotiated by other countries. There is no excuse for the drug companies being alowed to put the cost of R%D on american consumers just because they can. When it would be just as easy for these American companies to spread the cost between all of thier customers.

I would call what they are curently doing gouging. Wesleys answer to that mans question lead me to believe he thought it was justified.

[SahaleArm]

63. Brokerage account research...

But this info is from the SEC filings and should available on Yahoo-Finance.

At times his analysis is too intellectual and needs to be sound-bited, most Americans have 15-second attention spans. He was decribing why US drug costs were high: He stated that drug companies were suffocating competition (possibly illegal) and that the rest of the world needs to share the costs of R&D.

He was intimating that the problem is more than bargaining power, it's the fact that precription drug industry is motivated by profit, not the health and well-being of the American populace.

[Egnever]

70. Wow

Well I will juust have to watch it again as I doubt there will ever be a transcript.

I will just leave it at we aparently both heard different things. Perhaps it is because you are familiar with his policies and I am not. So that you understood what he was trying to say while I was trying to make sense of what he was saying.

Like I said below. I will keep watching him. I would much prefer to trust the guy and be hapy no matter who gets the nod be it Dean or wesley. I am not near there yet.

[SahaleArm]

71. OK maybe I embellished a little ;)

I don't think he's against profit per se, but the lack of competition both in pricing and the industry.

[Jerseycoa]

29. I give up

Maybe the best thing to do is both sides come to an agreement. We can agree that Dean supporters will never see, hear, understand or like Wesley Clark. We can agree that Clark supporters will never see, hear, understand or like Howard Dean. That way, we can all stop talking to brick walls.

[Egnever]

36. Absolutely not

Wesley is stelar when it comes to speeking on foriegn policy. Hands down the best in the race. Unfortunatly thats where it seems to end

[spychoactive]

38. amen

hey kids: we're all on the same team let's not tear each others asses out, the tribes will be merging soon and we're gonna need to work together, we hafta transplant the shrub...be good family...

[SahaleArm]

30. Clark's Prescription Drug Plan includes full power of negotiation

Affordable: Making prescription drugs affordable for all seniors. We should allow Americans to import less expensive medications from Canada, with the appropriate safety precautions. We should cut the corporate tax shelters and red tape that keep inexpensive generics from entering the market. And we should also allow Medicare to use the same purchasing tools that are available to the private sector, including the power to negotiate directly with drug companies for bulk discounts on popular drugs.

http://clark04.com/issues/prescription/

[Egnever]

37. Sounds great but thats not even close

To what he said in that town meeting.

[SahaleArm]

44. So what exactly did he say and what was the exact question?

Since you're quite sure of yourself you must have remembered...

[Egnever]

57. well I certainly ont remember it verbatum

But it was along the lines of the american public footing the bill for R%D and if he was made president he would asure that other countries would be required to take on the costs of that same R&D so that the burden didnt fall entirely on the american public.

Basically making excuses as to why it is ok for the Drug companies to be making an almost 30% profit on the backs of the american public. But he would make it better by making sure other countries paid thier fair share.

I would love to get ahold of a transcript though if you come across one let me know will you?

[SahaleArm]

64. OK but I'm pretty sure your answer has been editorialized ;) n/t

[Egnever]

69. Yes it is definately more the impresion that his words left on me

Than it is close to what he actually said at this point. Again I would love to get my hands on a transcript of this speech as I really do think he was all over the place tonight.

I honestly see Wesley as the only contender in this race besides Dean and I truely want to like him. I mean that.

My problem is every time I hear him speak I am left with a worse impression than before.

He seems to be a man of some conviction perhaps I just dont agree with his policy?

I am not sure yet I will keep watching. I really would much prefer to be happy with wichever one of them gets the nod instead of being afraid of what will hapen If Dean doesnt

[girl gone mad]

45. I was listening..

during his answer on drugs. I did hear him say it wasn't right that we wer covering the costs of development, paying for R&D and giving drug companies 7 year exclusive patents and yet other countries get to negotiate the prices down and we don't. That's what I heard anyways.

[Myra]

72. Thanks girl gone mad.

He did say a heckuva lot during the hour and a half,
most of it on domestic policy, a lot of it on health care.
So I hope there's a transcript soon.

[Donna Zen]

53. The point of the Canadian vs US drug costs is:

that while he understands where the cost is coming from, it is only fair to pass that cost along to the other buyers outside the US. We are paying twice. Basically, he understands where the cost is coming from and he disagrees with how the cost is being covered. I agree that tax payers often, but not always, pony the bucks for the R&D.


He will negotiate with Canadian firms if our drug companies continue on this path.

Hey_your in NE, you cheer for the Pats. I'm also a Steelers fan...why does this make a person unfit to be president?

[spychoactive]

27. i think it is as simple as this:

it looked to me like he was just trying to be 'charming' (for lack of a better word at this very moment)...sort of like making the conversation more intimate, either that, or he is simply aware that there are media outlets such as FUX that will have everyone talking about it (just like we are..)

a clever trick, there are people frivolous enough with their vote to vote for him just because he swore, this is publicity and discussion that can't bite him in the ass because it's already known he has jewish relative(s) and why would he be ashamed of that?

they got us again

one love
spike

[Donna Zen]

55. Original Question

I watched him leave a room like this a many times. He sometimes does a quick thank you, but he often leans into toward the person and speaks near their ear.

Nothing to see here.

[Melinda]

59. Thanks Donna.

I've never heard him speak outside of the democratic debates, nor seen him interact with others in that type forum, so I am unfamiliar with that aspect of his personality. That makes sense, and I appreciate your response.

[Renew Deal]

75. I saw it and I have met him.

It's his way of getting close with people. He meant no harm. We will see if it means anything.

[OKNancy]

79. Why, to be close and intimate

I'm not quite sure what the point of all this is, but he whispered because that is a way to be close to someone and to share an intimate moment. Nothing more.
Are people saying he is ashamed of it? I don't get it.

[robbedvoter]

80. Glad you buy Faux spin - I watched the event - he talked to people in a

crowd - on a way in and out. It was a noisy room, he spoke closely, not wispering. He makes no secret of his roots - are you making something of it?Am I glad the dean supporters raised the level of conversation by getting the censoring of nicknames! Way to go, guys! Now we are debating Faux innuendo!

[Moderator]

81. I am locking this thread.

This is inflammatory.

This implies that Clark is ashamed of his Jewish ancestry. This violates the new candidate posting rules.



DU Moderator