Look, Bob Kerrey is a very bright guy.

[cali]

He knows that emphasizing Obama's middle name is a flash point. He knows that his comments can be chopped up and used by the right wing. He knows that "Madrassa" is a four letter word with 8 letters to many people.

Had he been sincere in his "praise" of Obama, he would simply have ommitted those references.

[geek tragedy]

1. It's just another volunteer doing his own thing.

Just like those other people. Just a coincidence.

At this rate, if Clinton gets the nomination I may start a "draft Bloomberg" movement.

[polichick]

6. Maybe a volunteer looking for a new paying job. nt

[BeyondGeography]

2. He did call Bill Clinton "an unusually good liar" once

Sounds bright to me.

[sniffa]

3. he is. he meant to say exactly what he said.

aiming for the lowest common denominator. up here in Pinkoville, bigotry is still a problem; we just hide it better by using codewords and winking and nodding.

k&r

[aquart]

4. So we can't say Obama's name or mention anything about his childhood.

Including kindergarten. And we can't talk about his drug use.

This is fun.

[MGKrebs]

5. snarf!

[JackORoses]

7. playing dumb does not change the issue at hand

neither does being dumb.

If you cannot see the calculation in this,
then I see why you are voting sHillary in the first place.

[sniffa]

8. it's ok

sometimes, special people need to be given some leeway.

see, i complimented.

[Zueda]

17. You must understand that the parity created by...

Clinton-Bush years has created a small group on both sides that will blindly follow the Bush and Clinton families.

In Bush's case I believe we refer to them as the 24% group.

Fortunately... these "democratic 24 percenters" will serve us well when we have a democratic president.

[goodhue]

9. no doubt

About this you are spot on

[styersc]

10. You may think that Kerrey was trying to hurt Obama with these

"slips" but Kerrey and Sheheen have done Obama a giant favor. By pinning these attacks on the "Clinton War Machine", the right wing has treated Obama as an injured victim worthy of pity and protection. By wagging fingers at the HRC campaign over these comments, they will not be able to turn around and use these issues against Obama. If I see a conspiracy, I see this as a concerted effort by the HRC and Obama campaign to clean him up for a VP spot- which I brelieve has been the goal all along.

[TwilightGardener]

11. Agree--this wasn't sincere praise, it was a grenade wrapped in a bow.

[Beaverhausen]

12. Cali, it's not often we agree

but your post sums up perfectly what I have been thinking since I started reading about this incident here. Kerrey knew exactly what he was doing.

This is really sad.

[creeksneakers2]

13. My conspiracy theory

Bob Kerrey hates Bill so he buddies up with Hillary and gets the stage for an endorsement announcement, then says stuff to mess Hillary up so he can get even with Bill for beating the crap out of him in the '92 primaries.

[Quixote1818]

14. Kerry and Edwards did the same thing with Mary Cheney being a lesbian

because they knew "lesbian" was a 4 letter word to the Republican base however Mary Cheney was fair game in my opinion because they were calling out Right wing hypocrisy. The Clinton camp clearly made the calculation to attach the word Madrassa and Obama so people would start associating him with the Muslim religion and 9/11 terrorists. This is the LOWEST form of shit on the planet! I am utterly disgusted and furious about this! :mad: :grr:

[cali]

22. I agree with you about the Mary Cheney thing but I didn't

like it because I think it reinforced the idea that there is something wrong with the word "lesbian".

[Joe the Revelator]

15. Wanna know what I like about you Cali?

[readmoreoften]

16. Kerrey is a union-busting, centrist. I'd expect nothing less from him than that. /nt

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

18. Review the real history of it and see if it is still so 'obvious'

Yes, he's smart. He is also a loud-mouthed eccentric and 'maverick' gaffe machine who is a sincere admirer of Obama and... oh Hell, you read it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3854233&mesg_id=3854233

Anything anyone wants to say about a professional hit-artist like Mark Penn (or even Billy Shaheen) is fine, but it is comical to think Bob Kerrey was trying to injure Obama or promote Clinton in any way in his remarks, particularly since he has said exactly the same things before without anyone questioning his sincerity at the time.

But he endorses someone and presto, it's like he is an interchangeable golem.

Good heavens... the Clinton campaign would not entrust such a job to Bob Kerrey! He would as likely as not marched outside to report what he had been asked to do and endorsed Obama on the spot. He's not a Clinton loyalist... he's a Clinton irritant with a big ego about his unique decency, and a sincere, and oft-stated fondness for Obama's middle name. (I was surprised he endorsed here, given all the history)

You can call him crazy for thinking his remarks were a sincere compliment to Obama, but he thought so. (And saying Bob Kerrey is crazy is not a great stretch anyway)

[ruggerson]

19. You're wrong. Read Kurt's post.

n/t

[rufus dog]

20. He has crossed the river to Liebermanville

Fuck him

[Occam Bandage]

21. He meant to. And I'm glad he did.

If Obama is to be the nominee, we need to realize that the GOP will attempt to make an issue out of it. Better we get it out in the open and inoculate him against that line of attack now than spend the first month of the campaign trying to figure it out.

[TheWebHead]

23. well Kerrey has pushed me over to being anti-Clinton

This continued doofus smear he's attempting to run isn't fooling anybody.

Should Obama send a former senator supporter of his out on the television airwaves in the coming days saying: "I know we keep reading reports that Hillary Rodham is a corporate controlled lesbian whose marriage to Bill is purely for political reasons, but I have to tell you I'm a great fan of Senator Rodham and admire what she's done in politics."