Hillary missed “Mister Soldier” moment

I was struck to read this piece from Richard Cohen, a good writer who is by no means a “wingnut conservative,” passionately taking on the MoveOn.org ad from last week. The ad managed to smear Gen. David Petraeus, show us what a few presidential candidates are made of, and apparently give America its first hard look at an organization which pours enormous money into Democrat coffers, and for that reason nearly owns leading Democrats.

Cohen writes and leaves a mark:

If there is a phrase more closely associated with both Hillary and Bill Clinton than “the politics of personal destruction,” it does not come to mind…”the politics of personal destruction” is a phrase both Clintons have used repeatedly — so much so, it seems, that for Hillary it has lost all meaning. When, for instance, Gen. David Petraeus was slimed as “General Betray Us,” Hillary Clinton looked the other way. This was the politics of personal expediency.
[...]
Almost instantly, though, it got pretty hard to find a Democratic presidential candidate willing to dispute MoveOn.org. To his credit, Joe Biden did. “I don’t buy into that,” he said. “This is an honorable guy. He’s telling the truth.” But lonesome Joe, whose virtues have yet to come to the attention of the vast and apathetic electorate, was seconded only by Joe Lieberman…and John Kerry, a man whose tomorrow is yesterday. When Clinton was asked about the ad, she avoided answering.
[...]
It is an odd standard Clinton has when it comes to smears. When the entertainment mogul David Geffen, once a Clinton supporter, called both Bill and Hillary liars, Hillary not only decried the remark as a particularly vivid example of the “politics of personal destruction,” but she demanded that Barack Obama do the same — and return a $2,300 donation Geffen had given him [link mine - admin]. Yet when Clinton herself was asked to repudiate the abuse of Petraeus, she either saw no reason to do so or, much more likely, was afraid to alienate an important constituency, the 3.3 million members of MoveOn.org, who stand symbolically at the frontiers of New Hampshire and Iowa. She would, it seems, rather be president than right.

Cohen is surprisingly rough on Mrs. Clinton in this piece - but he is right to be rough. She is the presumed Democrat nominee and possibly our next president and Commander-in-Chief. As such, she should be capable of defending an honorable soldier who has spent his lifetime training for and persuing the defense of his nation. That she could not do so, not on the fly, not without a script, not even from some instinctive place within herself, speaks volumes about Mrs. Clinton, and none of it is inspirational or impressive.

Last week, Mrs. Clinton could have had a “Mister Soldier” moment to rival Bill Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment, and she took a pass. Too much money to be lost. To much risk involved in defending a good man from the insidious reflex toward political assassination and absurdist theater that currently defines our national politics.

There will be a Sister Souljah moment for Hillary before the ‘08 elections, depend upon it - because she needs one - but such a moment will be carefully timed (Tom Maguire says it will be in the springtime) carefully crafted, scripted, wardrobed and softly lit…guaranteed to yield the most political profit possible without offending the people with the money.

UPDATE: Really, for someone who seems to want civility in politics (and that would be something worth applauding) this is infantile and beneath her. Not impressive.

Rhymes With Right tracked back with Watcher's Council Results...
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Watcher of Weasels tracked back with The Council Has Spoken!...
The Anchoress pinged back with Scanning the ’sphere
The Anchoress pinged back with Questions from the email and elsewhere
'Okie' on the Lam tracked back with Hillary Side Steps Her “Brother Soldier” Moment...
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Richard Cohen showing some talent, again… at Amused Cynic pinged back with Richard Cohen showing some talent, again… at Amused Cynic
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by TheAnchoress @ 12:59 pm. Filed under Election 2008, Our Hillary!, The Fourth Estate, US Military

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10 Responses to “Hillary missed “Mister Soldier” moment”

Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator Says:
September 18th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Clinton Calls For Universal Health Care…

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a call for universal health care, pl…
Richard Cohen showing some talent, again… at Amused Cynic Says:
September 18th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
[...] Anchoress has a nice commentary on Cohen’s surprising Hillary/Petraeus column here. Yes, it was indeed Hillary’s Sister Souljah moment, and she blew [...]
Watcher of Weasels Says:
September 18th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Submitted for Your Approval…

First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council li…
'Okie' on the Lam Says:
September 19th, 2007 at 1:08 am
Hillary Side Steps Her “Brother Soldier” Moment…

I heard about . . . What She Ducked — After Petraeus Is Slimed, Spineless Silence, the Richard Cohen piece in WaPo on the Dennis Prager show this AM, but due to constant distraction all day haven’t been able to find time to comment about it…
sanity102 Says:
September 19th, 2007 at 2:22 am
Wrong, Hil didn’t duck…she came right out and called the General a liar…”The reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief,” Clinton said Tuesday.

It should remind everyone why the military hated the Clintons–and no one wanted to pull “special duty” to the president.

I really wonder what it will take for the absolutes to get what their little illegal immigration tantrum will cost this country…a “Commander in Chief” that has no respect and no value for those who put their lives on the line for this nation.
The Anchoress » Blog Archive » Questions from the email and elsewhere Says:
September 19th, 2007 at 10:38 am
[...] Hillary missed “Mister Soldier” moment [...]
The Anchoress » Blog Archive » Scanning the ’sphere Says:
September 20th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
[...] Hillary missed “Mister Soldier” moment [...]
Watcher of Weasels Says:
September 21st, 2007 at 2:56 am
The Council Has Spoken!…

First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… the winning entries in the Watcher’s Council vote for this week are Is War With Iran Now Just a Matter…
The Colossus of Rhodey Says:
September 22nd, 2007 at 8:42 am
Watcher’s Council results…

And now… the winning entries in the Watcher’s Council vote for this week are Is War With Iran Now Just a Matter of Time? by Right Wing Nut House, and Dead Eyes by Acute Politics. There was actually a tie……
Rhymes With Right Says:
September 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Watcher’s Council Results…

The winning entries in the Watcher’s Council vote for this week are Is War With Iran Now Just a Matter of Time? by Right Wing Nut House, and Dead Eyes by Acute Politics. Here are the full results of the……