thedrifter
04-10-07, 07:45 AM
Hillary & the Military
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 10, 2007; 7:24 AM
When Hillary Clinton jumped into this race, I wondered whether we would have to endure an endless rerun of Travelgate, Whitewater, Rose Law Firm billing records, cattle futures, Monica, vast right-wing conspiracy and all the other controversies of the '90s.
But at least, I figured, we wouldn't have to go through all the military mishegoss, as with her husband avoiding the Vietnam draft or John Kerry being challenged to prove that he really deserved those Purple Hearts.
Wrong!
We are now being invited to ponder the question of whether Hillary really tried to enlist in the armed forces, as she has maintained.
It's an odd little episode, and I have no reason whatsoever to think that the senator is making it up. But there are enough people who don't believe anything she says that I doubt we've heard the last of this one.
National Review's Jim Geraghty marshals the circumstantial evidence:
"The New Republic's cover piece on Hillary Clinton's views on the use of military force repeats the old story of a 27-year-old Hillary Rodham attempting to join the Marines in 1975.
"You'll have to pardon my skepticism, but after a bit of Googling and Nexis-ing, I have to ask . . . has anyone besides Hillary ever confirmed this story? (Because the recruiter was such a skeptic, according to her story, it is unlikely the Marine Corps ever took her name down on any records.)
"Even the New York Times story from when the then-First Lady first mentioned it (1994) seemed to suggest something in the timeline seemed a bit odd:
"She and Mr. Clinton married on Oct. 11, 1975 in Fayetteville.
"So, if she was talking to a Marine recruiter in 1975 before the marriage, was she briefly considering joining the few, the proud and the brave of the corps as an alternative to life with Mr. Clinton, who was already being widely touted as a sure thing for Arkansas Attorney General?"
In that Times account--which was by Maureen Dowd--Hillary said she was told by a recruiter: "You're too old, you can't see and you're a woman."
"UPDATE: On July 24, 1994, a columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reprinted a letter which reportedly appeared in the July 11 edition of the Navy Times:
"I was assigned as an enlisting officer in an Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in one of the largest major metropolitan areas in the country in 1974-75 . . .
"Recruiters were desperate to get anyone they could into the service. I personally witnessed the following abuses:
"-- A legally blind recruit who had undergone cataract surgery.
"-- A Marine recruit with a medical history of polio who had special waivers from the Corps to get in.
"-- Recruits with records of assault and battery, grand theft auto, sodomy, and lighting fire bombs in their high school cafeteria. Many applicants were given five choices by judges -- Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or jail -- and we were grateful to get them . . .
"I have no doubt that if a 27-year-old female with a doctor or bachelor of laws had appeared before any recruiter's desk and inquired about entry into the armed forces, that recruiter would have probably been willing to violate a half-dozen clauses of the UCMJ to get her in."
So let's review: Hillary Clinton says this strange incident happened. Journalists are skeptical because it doesn't sound like her. No one with firsthand knowledge has contradicted the account. And one recruiter who knows nothing about the situation says it sounds impossible to him.
Not much there, I'd say. But that's not going to stop her detractors.
I've noted a couple of times that the press seems obsessed with Romney's religion, but there are also polls showing that a significant chunk of the country won't back a Mormon for president. Newsweek contributor Kenneth Woodward:
"In May, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Republican presidential hopeful, will give the commencement address at Pat Robertson's Regent University. What better opportunity for Mr. Romney to discuss the issue of his Mormon faith before an audience of evangelicals?
"When John F. Kennedy spoke before Protestant clergymen in Houston in 1960, he sought to dispel the fear that as a Catholic president, he would be subject to direction from the pope. As a Mormon, Mr. Romney faces ignorance as well as fear of his church and its political influence. More Americans, polls show, are willing to accept a woman or an African-American as president than a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . . .
"To many Americans, Mormonism is a church with the soul of a corporation. Successful Mormon males can expect to be called, at some time in their lives, to assume full-time duties in the church's missions, in its vast administrative offices in Salt Lake City or in one of many church-owned businesses. Mormons like to hire other Mormons, and those who lose their jobs can count on the church networks to find them openings elsewhere. Mr. Romney put those same networks to effective use in raising part of his $23 million in campaign contributions. Moreover, Mormons are perceived to be unusually secretive."
The piece draws a rejoinder from Captain Ed:
"In my opinion, Romney should use the occasion to explain why he's speaking at Robertson's college at all. Robertson serves as the embarrassing old uncle that can't control his mouth at family reunions . . .
"All of this drivel serves only to perpetuate Mormon bigotry. I could care less what Romney's conception of God is, as long as it doesn't involve strapping on suicide vests or inducing hundreds of people to drink poisoned Kool-Aid. Mormons have lived and thrived in this nation for over a century, and except for a few lunatics who no longer belong to the main Mormon church and insist on polygamy and child marriage, cause no more problems than anyone else. We're not electing an American Pope, we're electing a president, and Romney's choice of religion is neither debilitating nor exotic."
If the Watergate movie had been made today, "Follow the money" would become "Follow the e-mail":
"The widespread use of private email accounts by some top White House officials is sparking a congressional probe into the practice and whether it violates a post-Nixon law requiring that White House deliberations be documented," says the Wall Street Journal.
"A top Democratic lawmaker says outside email accounts were used in an attempt to avoid scrutiny; the White House says their purpose was to avoid using government resources for political activities, although they were used to discuss the firing of U.S. attorneys.
"Last year, Scott Jennings, an aide in the White House political affairs office, used an account he had set up at the Republican National Committee instead of his official White House account to help plan the firings of eight U.S. attorneys who had run afoul of the administration. A copy of that email, among others, has surfaced in the subsequent flap over those firings."
Is the Web coming into its own--at least for Democrats?
"Seven candidates for the 2008 Democratic Party nomination will take part tonight in a live 'virtual town hall' forum about the Iraq war, in what is being billed as the largest and most ambitious experiment yet in harnessing the power of Internet technology to reshape participatory democracy," the Boston Globe reports.
"Calling in by telephone, candidates Joseph Biden , Hillary Clinton , Christopher Dodd , John Edwards , Dennis Kucinich , Barack Obama , and Bill Richardson will each answer several questions about Iraq. The liberal activist group MoveOn.org , which is hosting the event, asked members to vote on which questions to ask from among 6,800 queries proposed by members for the forum."
Will Gonzales survive? Apparently he's not yet in fighting shape, reports Newsweek's Mike Isikoff:
"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee--a session widely seen as a crucial test as to whether he will survive the U.S. attorney mess. But even his own closest advisers are nervous about whether he is up to the task.
"At a recent 'prep' for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales's performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances. During the March 23 session in the A.G.'s conference room, Gonzales was grilled by a team of top aides and advisers--including former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie and former White House lawyer Tim Flanigan--about what he knew about the plan to fire seven U.S. attorneys last fall. But Gonzales kept contradicting himself and 'getting his timeline confused,' said one participant who asked not to be identified talking about a private meeting. His advisers finally got 'exasperated' with him, the source added. 'He's not ready,' Tasia Scolinos, Gonzales's public-affairs chief, told the A.G.'s top aides after the session was over, said the source."
Kevin Drum reacts at the Washington Monthly:
"Everyone prepares for congressional testimony, but this is ridiculous. If Gonzales was planning to simply tell the truth, he wouldn't 'keep contradicting himself' in practice sessions and he wouldn't need to bring his schedule to a standstill in order to figure out what he's planning to say. He'd just review the appropriate documents to make sure he had his dates straight and then tell Congress what happened.
"Obviously, though, that's not quite what he's planning to do, is it?"
Could Obama lose votes over this?
"here's a lot to admire about Barack Obama- his views, his forcefulness, his life experience growing up in various parts of the world. And he has a lot to say about how we, the United States, can be more humane and respectful citizens of the world," says Russell Shaw.
"But as do many of us, Sen. Obama has had a bad habit. He's been a smoker for most of his adult life.
"Obama is trying to quit, but until he does, I have a problem with him lighting up.
"The issue for me is that here is a guy while professes that we should respect the third world and its citizens, his smoking habit directly feeds the marketing and distribution engines of tobacco companies that have much if not most of the same Third World hooked. These companies are viciously aggressive in promoting their poison. Look at the billboards, and then see crowds with cancer sticks in their mouths."
Joe Klein warns the left to "think about the effects of impeachment: If successful, you get President Cheney. If unsuccessful, you get a latter day precedent--any President, and especially the next President, is more likely to be impeached than not. Impeachment was cheapened by Republicans in the last administration; it shouldn't be cheapened by Democrats in this one. It should be saved for the most blatant cases of serious criminality, not for criminal adolescence and incompetence."
Even though conditions look favorable for the Dems in 2008, says Dick Polman, "actual Republican candidates (Rudy Giuliani, John McCain) are consistently beating actual Democratic candidates (Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards) in the early survey match ups. No matter who does the polling -- Time, NBC-Wall Street Journal, Zogby, Fox, Rasmussen, Newsweek -- the results have been the same: Giuliani and McCain defeat the Democratic first tier. You're not likely to see those results advertised on the liberal websites.
"But here's the hitch: You won't find many Republicans crowing about those results, either. Because they know that the prevailing national mood is working against them. And they know that these early polls generally don't mean squat.Consider these hypothetical match ups, taken one year prior to previous presidential elections, culled from the Harris and Gallup surveys:
"1. In February 1995, Bob Dole was favored over incumbent President Clinton by 51 to 45 percent. (In November 1996, Clinton beat Dole by 49 to 41 percent.)
"2. In March 1991, the senior George Bush was beating Mario Cuomo by 78 to 17 percent, and few even heard of Bill Clinton. (In November 1992, Clinton beat Bush by five points.)
"3. In February 1983, Walter Mondale topped incumbent Ronald Reagan, 47 to 41 percent. (In November 1984, Reagan hammered Mondale in a landslide.)
"4. In April 1975, incumbent Gerald Ford trailed Ted Kennedy by 50 to 43 percent. (Kennedy never ran, and 19 months later, Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in a squeaker.) When you see that kind of track record, you have to wonder why pollsters even bother to take these kinds of soundings so far in advance."
Or why the media keep relentlessly publicizing them so far in advance.
AP says the approval rating for Congress is now up to 40 percent.
Sam Zell, who just closed a deal to buy the Tribune Co., sounds like a conservative: "Asked to assess the five newspapers he reads daily -- The Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times and London's Financial Times -- he quipped that he read the New York Times 'to sort of find out what the other side thinks.' "
The D.C. madam--the one who supposedly had some high-profile clients-- has been talking to Brian Ross for a "20/20" piece.
That Fox News/Congressional Black Caucus debate has likely collapsed now that Hillary and Obama have followed John Edwards's lead in pulling out.
CBS radio and MSNBC have each suspended Don Imus for two weeks for his offensive and insulting crack against the Rutgers women's basketball team. Imus spent much of yesterday apologizing, first on his program and then on Al Sharpton's radio show. Here are reports in the New York Times, L.A. Times, USA Today and New York Post.
From the NYT: "Mr. McCain said in an interview in Phoenix yesterday that he was a 'believer in redemption' and hoped that Mr. Imus could satisfy his critics with his apology."
From the LAT: "Imus apologized again for the slur he used to describe the Rutgers team, saying he was embarrassed about the episode. He said he spent the weekend reaching out to black leaders, adding that he wants to express his regrets in person to the basketball players and their families. 'They need to know that I'm a good person who said a bad thing,' he said."
From USA Today: "Many experts predict Imus will survive, because his loyal fan base accepts him and his humor. Bob Steele, a media ethicist at the Poynter Institute, believes Imus also has support inside CBS and NBC, which have 'been willing for years to run the risk that his behavior, as problematic as it has been, will not hurt their bottom lines.'"
Ellie
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 10, 2007; 7:24 AM
When Hillary Clinton jumped into this race, I wondered whether we would have to endure an endless rerun of Travelgate, Whitewater, Rose Law Firm billing records, cattle futures, Monica, vast right-wing conspiracy and all the other controversies of the '90s.
But at least, I figured, we wouldn't have to go through all the military mishegoss, as with her husband avoiding the Vietnam draft or John Kerry being challenged to prove that he really deserved those Purple Hearts.
Wrong!
We are now being invited to ponder the question of whether Hillary really tried to enlist in the armed forces, as she has maintained.
It's an odd little episode, and I have no reason whatsoever to think that the senator is making it up. But there are enough people who don't believe anything she says that I doubt we've heard the last of this one.
National Review's Jim Geraghty marshals the circumstantial evidence:
"The New Republic's cover piece on Hillary Clinton's views on the use of military force repeats the old story of a 27-year-old Hillary Rodham attempting to join the Marines in 1975.
"You'll have to pardon my skepticism, but after a bit of Googling and Nexis-ing, I have to ask . . . has anyone besides Hillary ever confirmed this story? (Because the recruiter was such a skeptic, according to her story, it is unlikely the Marine Corps ever took her name down on any records.)
"Even the New York Times story from when the then-First Lady first mentioned it (1994) seemed to suggest something in the timeline seemed a bit odd:
"She and Mr. Clinton married on Oct. 11, 1975 in Fayetteville.
"So, if she was talking to a Marine recruiter in 1975 before the marriage, was she briefly considering joining the few, the proud and the brave of the corps as an alternative to life with Mr. Clinton, who was already being widely touted as a sure thing for Arkansas Attorney General?"
In that Times account--which was by Maureen Dowd--Hillary said she was told by a recruiter: "You're too old, you can't see and you're a woman."
"UPDATE: On July 24, 1994, a columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reprinted a letter which reportedly appeared in the July 11 edition of the Navy Times:
"I was assigned as an enlisting officer in an Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in one of the largest major metropolitan areas in the country in 1974-75 . . .
"Recruiters were desperate to get anyone they could into the service. I personally witnessed the following abuses:
"-- A legally blind recruit who had undergone cataract surgery.
"-- A Marine recruit with a medical history of polio who had special waivers from the Corps to get in.
"-- Recruits with records of assault and battery, grand theft auto, sodomy, and lighting fire bombs in their high school cafeteria. Many applicants were given five choices by judges -- Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or jail -- and we were grateful to get them . . .
"I have no doubt that if a 27-year-old female with a doctor or bachelor of laws had appeared before any recruiter's desk and inquired about entry into the armed forces, that recruiter would have probably been willing to violate a half-dozen clauses of the UCMJ to get her in."
So let's review: Hillary Clinton says this strange incident happened. Journalists are skeptical because it doesn't sound like her. No one with firsthand knowledge has contradicted the account. And one recruiter who knows nothing about the situation says it sounds impossible to him.
Not much there, I'd say. But that's not going to stop her detractors.
I've noted a couple of times that the press seems obsessed with Romney's religion, but there are also polls showing that a significant chunk of the country won't back a Mormon for president. Newsweek contributor Kenneth Woodward:
"In May, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Republican presidential hopeful, will give the commencement address at Pat Robertson's Regent University. What better opportunity for Mr. Romney to discuss the issue of his Mormon faith before an audience of evangelicals?
"When John F. Kennedy spoke before Protestant clergymen in Houston in 1960, he sought to dispel the fear that as a Catholic president, he would be subject to direction from the pope. As a Mormon, Mr. Romney faces ignorance as well as fear of his church and its political influence. More Americans, polls show, are willing to accept a woman or an African-American as president than a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . . .
"To many Americans, Mormonism is a church with the soul of a corporation. Successful Mormon males can expect to be called, at some time in their lives, to assume full-time duties in the church's missions, in its vast administrative offices in Salt Lake City or in one of many church-owned businesses. Mormons like to hire other Mormons, and those who lose their jobs can count on the church networks to find them openings elsewhere. Mr. Romney put those same networks to effective use in raising part of his $23 million in campaign contributions. Moreover, Mormons are perceived to be unusually secretive."
The piece draws a rejoinder from Captain Ed:
"In my opinion, Romney should use the occasion to explain why he's speaking at Robertson's college at all. Robertson serves as the embarrassing old uncle that can't control his mouth at family reunions . . .
"All of this drivel serves only to perpetuate Mormon bigotry. I could care less what Romney's conception of God is, as long as it doesn't involve strapping on suicide vests or inducing hundreds of people to drink poisoned Kool-Aid. Mormons have lived and thrived in this nation for over a century, and except for a few lunatics who no longer belong to the main Mormon church and insist on polygamy and child marriage, cause no more problems than anyone else. We're not electing an American Pope, we're electing a president, and Romney's choice of religion is neither debilitating nor exotic."
If the Watergate movie had been made today, "Follow the money" would become "Follow the e-mail":
"The widespread use of private email accounts by some top White House officials is sparking a congressional probe into the practice and whether it violates a post-Nixon law requiring that White House deliberations be documented," says the Wall Street Journal.
"A top Democratic lawmaker says outside email accounts were used in an attempt to avoid scrutiny; the White House says their purpose was to avoid using government resources for political activities, although they were used to discuss the firing of U.S. attorneys.
"Last year, Scott Jennings, an aide in the White House political affairs office, used an account he had set up at the Republican National Committee instead of his official White House account to help plan the firings of eight U.S. attorneys who had run afoul of the administration. A copy of that email, among others, has surfaced in the subsequent flap over those firings."
Is the Web coming into its own--at least for Democrats?
"Seven candidates for the 2008 Democratic Party nomination will take part tonight in a live 'virtual town hall' forum about the Iraq war, in what is being billed as the largest and most ambitious experiment yet in harnessing the power of Internet technology to reshape participatory democracy," the Boston Globe reports.
"Calling in by telephone, candidates Joseph Biden , Hillary Clinton , Christopher Dodd , John Edwards , Dennis Kucinich , Barack Obama , and Bill Richardson will each answer several questions about Iraq. The liberal activist group MoveOn.org , which is hosting the event, asked members to vote on which questions to ask from among 6,800 queries proposed by members for the forum."
Will Gonzales survive? Apparently he's not yet in fighting shape, reports Newsweek's Mike Isikoff:
"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee--a session widely seen as a crucial test as to whether he will survive the U.S. attorney mess. But even his own closest advisers are nervous about whether he is up to the task.
"At a recent 'prep' for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales's performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances. During the March 23 session in the A.G.'s conference room, Gonzales was grilled by a team of top aides and advisers--including former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie and former White House lawyer Tim Flanigan--about what he knew about the plan to fire seven U.S. attorneys last fall. But Gonzales kept contradicting himself and 'getting his timeline confused,' said one participant who asked not to be identified talking about a private meeting. His advisers finally got 'exasperated' with him, the source added. 'He's not ready,' Tasia Scolinos, Gonzales's public-affairs chief, told the A.G.'s top aides after the session was over, said the source."
Kevin Drum reacts at the Washington Monthly:
"Everyone prepares for congressional testimony, but this is ridiculous. If Gonzales was planning to simply tell the truth, he wouldn't 'keep contradicting himself' in practice sessions and he wouldn't need to bring his schedule to a standstill in order to figure out what he's planning to say. He'd just review the appropriate documents to make sure he had his dates straight and then tell Congress what happened.
"Obviously, though, that's not quite what he's planning to do, is it?"
Could Obama lose votes over this?
"here's a lot to admire about Barack Obama- his views, his forcefulness, his life experience growing up in various parts of the world. And he has a lot to say about how we, the United States, can be more humane and respectful citizens of the world," says Russell Shaw.
"But as do many of us, Sen. Obama has had a bad habit. He's been a smoker for most of his adult life.
"Obama is trying to quit, but until he does, I have a problem with him lighting up.
"The issue for me is that here is a guy while professes that we should respect the third world and its citizens, his smoking habit directly feeds the marketing and distribution engines of tobacco companies that have much if not most of the same Third World hooked. These companies are viciously aggressive in promoting their poison. Look at the billboards, and then see crowds with cancer sticks in their mouths."
Joe Klein warns the left to "think about the effects of impeachment: If successful, you get President Cheney. If unsuccessful, you get a latter day precedent--any President, and especially the next President, is more likely to be impeached than not. Impeachment was cheapened by Republicans in the last administration; it shouldn't be cheapened by Democrats in this one. It should be saved for the most blatant cases of serious criminality, not for criminal adolescence and incompetence."
Even though conditions look favorable for the Dems in 2008, says Dick Polman, "actual Republican candidates (Rudy Giuliani, John McCain) are consistently beating actual Democratic candidates (Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards) in the early survey match ups. No matter who does the polling -- Time, NBC-Wall Street Journal, Zogby, Fox, Rasmussen, Newsweek -- the results have been the same: Giuliani and McCain defeat the Democratic first tier. You're not likely to see those results advertised on the liberal websites.
"But here's the hitch: You won't find many Republicans crowing about those results, either. Because they know that the prevailing national mood is working against them. And they know that these early polls generally don't mean squat.Consider these hypothetical match ups, taken one year prior to previous presidential elections, culled from the Harris and Gallup surveys:
"1. In February 1995, Bob Dole was favored over incumbent President Clinton by 51 to 45 percent. (In November 1996, Clinton beat Dole by 49 to 41 percent.)
"2. In March 1991, the senior George Bush was beating Mario Cuomo by 78 to 17 percent, and few even heard of Bill Clinton. (In November 1992, Clinton beat Bush by five points.)
"3. In February 1983, Walter Mondale topped incumbent Ronald Reagan, 47 to 41 percent. (In November 1984, Reagan hammered Mondale in a landslide.)
"4. In April 1975, incumbent Gerald Ford trailed Ted Kennedy by 50 to 43 percent. (Kennedy never ran, and 19 months later, Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in a squeaker.) When you see that kind of track record, you have to wonder why pollsters even bother to take these kinds of soundings so far in advance."
Or why the media keep relentlessly publicizing them so far in advance.
AP says the approval rating for Congress is now up to 40 percent.
Sam Zell, who just closed a deal to buy the Tribune Co., sounds like a conservative: "Asked to assess the five newspapers he reads daily -- The Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times and London's Financial Times -- he quipped that he read the New York Times 'to sort of find out what the other side thinks.' "
The D.C. madam--the one who supposedly had some high-profile clients-- has been talking to Brian Ross for a "20/20" piece.
That Fox News/Congressional Black Caucus debate has likely collapsed now that Hillary and Obama have followed John Edwards's lead in pulling out.
CBS radio and MSNBC have each suspended Don Imus for two weeks for his offensive and insulting crack against the Rutgers women's basketball team. Imus spent much of yesterday apologizing, first on his program and then on Al Sharpton's radio show. Here are reports in the New York Times, L.A. Times, USA Today and New York Post.
From the NYT: "Mr. McCain said in an interview in Phoenix yesterday that he was a 'believer in redemption' and hoped that Mr. Imus could satisfy his critics with his apology."
From the LAT: "Imus apologized again for the slur he used to describe the Rutgers team, saying he was embarrassed about the episode. He said he spent the weekend reaching out to black leaders, adding that he wants to express his regrets in person to the basketball players and their families. 'They need to know that I'm a good person who said a bad thing,' he said."
From USA Today: "Many experts predict Imus will survive, because his loyal fan base accepts him and his humor. Bob Steele, a media ethicist at the Poynter Institute, believes Imus also has support inside CBS and NBC, which have 'been willing for years to run the risk that his behavior, as problematic as it has been, will not hurt their bottom lines.'"
Ellie