A Republican and A Democrat Say Stupid Things....

[Rick]

What in the hell does this have to with Hillary Clinton?

Oh I see. Their names are similar.

Very astute observation.

Really adds a lot of insight to the conversation.

It has considerable to do with it. If it's just about being pampered she fits that catagory also.

It's more partisan than anything, Rosen screwed up she needs to learn from it and move on.

Defending a bone head mistake doesn't do anything but increase the glare...

[dgs49]

The American presidency has frequently been held and sought by people who "never had to work a day in their lives." The Kennedy's, FDR, the Bush's, and so on. Did anyone ever try to impugn Eleanor Roosevelt's bona fides by pointing out that her economic stratum made her completely insulated from the Depression? Would anyone have ever made such a remark about the Sainted Jackie Kennedy?

Hardly.

While it is true that having lived a priveleged economic existence does insulate one from the experiences of the truly poor, there are not many politicians at this level or First Ladies who have ever lived in a trailer park or had to worry about making a rent payment (as most Americans have).

The Hillary person made a collossally stupid remark, which I'm sure she totally regrets. The problem is that she implicitly demeans the classic American household paradigm and the women who assume the vocation of housewife and mother. This is the feminist version of "freedom of choice." You are free to choose whatever you want, unless that choice offends our sensibilities. No intelligent and capable woman can be fulfilled unless she has a career independent of any husband. To fail to do so is to be a slacker.

Clearly, the Republicans are engaged in a war against women.

More distressing to me is the shortage of politicians in either party who have ever had a real job - meaning a responsible job in the private sector, in which they were accountable for results.

[Lord Jim]

Defending a bone head mistake doesn't do anything but increase the glare...

Which, as I pointed out, at least in this case, Team Obama and the DNC seemed to realize at once....

Some folks around here...

Not so much....

[Joe Guy]

It has considerable to do with it. If it's just about being pampered she fits that catagory also.

Okay. Hillary Clinton was pampered also, even though she actually has worked at a job.

And how does that fit in with the debate of the interpretation of Hilary Rosen's statement about Ann Romney?

[Sue U]

Hillary Clinton had a suburban middle/upper-middle-class upbringing, but to call her "pampered" is a stretch. She parlayed her academic success and considerable skills into jobs in the political and legal fields. As she told us 20 years ago, she was not going to stay home and bake cookies. And she doesn't have to apologize for choosing to have a career outside the home.

And no one needs to apologize for choosing to be a stay-at-home mom either, but the fact is that this not really a "choice" most women actually have. It is an economic luxury to have such a choice at all.

[Joe Guy]

Defending a bone head mistake doesn't do anything but increase the glare...

Which, as I pointed out, at least in this case, Team Obama and the DNC seemed to realize at once....

Some folks around here...

Not so much....

Actually, I think Obama and company know all too well that it does no good to attempt to appeal to the logic of the masses. Explaining what was said in its context would be a waste of time and effort, so it's better to play politics and claim that a mistake was made and move on.

You should know that, being that you sometimes advise others on how to deal with the government.

[Econoline]

For someone who is supposedly a "communications consultant" and a political insider, it was a stupid, gratuitous and tone-deaf comment.

I pretty much agree, though I would put my emphasis on the "tone-deaf" part. In my first comment in this thread, I said that it wasn't all that stupid as a comment, but Rosen was stupid for saying it, and for the way she said it.

Although economic hardship is not among them, Ann Romney has certainly had her share of struggles in her life, and any "strategist" with a lick of sense should know to steer well clear of anything that could in any way be construed as a personal attack on her, regardless of the subject matter. At this point in the election cycle, I doubt there is anyone who doesn't know the Romneys are incredibly wealthy and not exactly in tune with the economic concerns of the working class; Mitt has done a stellar job of making that clear all by himself. No one needs Hilary Rosen stepping all over herself to say the same thing.

Can't disagree with anything there either.

Defending a bone head mistake doesn't do anything but increase the glare...

Which, as I pointed out, at least in this case, Team Obama and the DNC seemed to realize at once....

Some folks around here...

Not so much....

Which is why most of us here are neither politicians nor political consultants....

And I can't see Team Obama and the DNC worrying much about unwanted glare in a place like the Plan B Forum (though I'm sure quaddriver's given them some really dire warnings about us folks! )

[Rick]

OK Hillary Clinton wasn't pampered.

A sound bite is a sound bite on this one Rosen screwed the pooch.

I understand her point, but that is not the point JimBob was making.

She is a strategist she should know this stuff...

[Sue U]

And I can't see Team Obama and the DNC worrying much about unwanted glare in a place like the Plan B Forum (though I'm sure quaddriver's given them some really dire warnings about us folks! )

Enjoy your stay at Gitmo, Econoline!

[Joe Guy]

OK Hillary Clinton wasn't pampered.

A sound bite is a sound bite on this one Rosen screwed the pooch.

I understand her point, but that is not the point JimBob was making.

She is a strategist she should know this stuff...

That has been my argument. Jim is not accepting Rosen's intended meaning. He is hung up on one line, as are most media and talk show hosts.

[Rick]

In the context of his original statement neither am I, the fact that she made it possible for anyone to hang on that one point is where she went afoul.

As a strategist she knew this, her bad live and learn.

I'm sure she's not going to be trashed this time

[Joe Guy]

Rosen's biggest mistake was forgetting for the moment that the 'opposition' never keeps statements in their proper context, especially if they can pick any one line and twist it into meaning something completely different.

It's like that famous day when President Reagan was in Germany and said, ''Mr. Gorbachev! Where? Down this hall?, after having just asking Gorbachev where the men's bathroom is located. The spinmeisters turned that into a completely different statement, which the Democrats were forced to accept because it would have been politically incorrect to tell the American public about a side effect of President Reagan's hypertension medication.

It's nothing new. It has never been about context. It has always been about picking and choosing sound bytes to support your candidate or to attempt to destroy the opposition.

[Rick]

Yer correct spin affects those with hypertension in very strange ways.

Take for instance if I had hypertension and I was at Gob's house, if someone put the right spin on me his dog and I would have a fight over who should be removed from the corner 1st.

I think I would have the advantage because his dog is blind but that's a whole nother spin...

[Lord Jim]

While I fully understood the point that Hilary Rosen was making, I was shocked by the way she brought Ann Romney into her remarks. It was completely unnecessary, and to call it inartful phrasing would be exceedingly generous. For someone who is supposedly a "communications consultant" and a political insider, it was a stupid, gratuitous and tone-deaf comment. Although economic hardship is not among them, Ann Romney has certainly had her share of struggles in her life, and any "strategist" with a lick of sense should know to steer well clear of anything that could in any way be construed as a personal attack on her, regardless of the subject matter. At this point in the election cycle, I doubt there is anyone who doesn't know the Romneys are incredibly wealthy and not exactly in tune with the economic concerns of the working class; Mitt has done a stellar job of making that clear all by himself. No one needs Hilary Rosen stepping all over herself to say the same thing.

ETA:

As for Allen West, he is another in a string of Tea Party embarrassments for the GOP. "Plantation Republican" indeed.

I really don't see a single thing to disagree with there...

Including the ETA...

If my party manages to retain control of the House in this election cycle it will unquestionably do so with a reduced majority....

And the one's who's heads will most be lined up for the chop will come from the ranks of the minority of members elected in 2010 whose victories had an intimidating affect on the rest of the membership...

The "Gee, I don't see why it would be such a big deal if the US defaulted on its debts" crowd....

Frankly, I really wouldn't miss them....