Sen. Clinton Defends Private Jet Travel

Want a little insight into the way the Clinton mind works? Watch how Hillary defends her use of private jets paid for by a guy who bilked millions of dollars out of senior citizens:

”Whatever I’ve done, I complied with Senate rules at the time. That’s the way every senator operates,” the Democratic presidential contender said in an interview with The Associated Press during a campaign stop in Las Vegas.

Clinton’s travel, along with and consulting fees paid to her husband, the former president, have come to light recently in a lawsuit against Vinod Gupta, a Clinton contributor and chief executive of the data company, InfoUSA Inc.

The lawsuit by company shareholders accuses Gupta of excessively spending millions of dollars, including $900,000 worth of travel on the Clintons.

Sen. Clinton, who complained about corporate America’s largesse and skyrocketing executive pay during campaign events Wednesday, said she did not believe her message was undermined by her acceptance of the private flights. In line with Senate rules then in effect, Clinton’s campaign has said she reimbursed Gupta at the cost of a first-class flight, typically a significant discount off the expense of a private jet.

Hillary the lawyer (and Bill too) always move the discussion to legal ethics (what was technically legal – often what I can get away with) rather than morality. She doesn’t discuss whether it was morally right to take money from a sleezeball who stole from the elderly or whether it seems hypocritical to sound off about the “haves and the have nots” when she is traveling via private jet at regular airfare rates. Nope, she says “I followed the rules at the time.” And she throws in an “everybody does it” just in case she needs further cover. Sounds like a teeenager making excuses.

Just like Mr. Edwards Hillary has no shame in promoting a steal from the rich and give to the poor populist strategy as long as she gets to keep her money and lifestyle. Nice work if you can get it I guess.

Hillary Struggling to Top GOP Stragglers

Here is a headline that has to give Hillary nightmares: Clinton Holds Single-Digit Leads Over Huckabee, Brownback. That’s gotta hurt.

The Rasmussen report also contains this little nugget (which we have touched on before):

However, in general election match-ups, she typically is outperformed by Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D). That’s largely because voters have such strong opinions—one way or the other—about the former First Lady. Forty-seven percent (47%) of American voters say they will definitely vote against Clinton if she’s on the ballot in 2008.

Hillary Clinton is now viewed favorably by 49% of likely voters, unfavorably by 51%. That includes 22% with a Very Favorable opinion and 35% with a Very Unfavorable opinion.

Maybe Hillary’s charm offensive isn’t working out so well? Maybe people aren’t exactly thrilled about her new economic plan? If she is struggling to out poll two GOP candidates with low name recognition and high negatives she isn’t the juggernaut many believe her to be.

Hillary and Obama appease anti-war left

Hillary is a centrist Democrat, right? She is supposed to be the candidate with the most foreign policy experience and something of a hawk. That may be, who can tell what Hillary really believes, but she knows that the liberal base is virulently anti-war so she will tell them what they want to hear. And apparently vote that way too:

Courting the anti-war constituency, Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) both voted against legislation that pays for the Iraq war but lacks a timeline for troop withdrawal.

“I fully support our troops” but the measure “fails to compel the president to give our troops a new strategy in Iraq,” said Clinton, a New York senator.

Sure, Hillary “fully supports” the troops she just doesn’t want to stop using them as a bargaining chip to use against the President. She knows the bill will pass and she can burnish her anti-war credentials. Nice.

Porn Star endorses Hillary

In an interview with PR.com Porn superstar Jenna Jameson reveals she is a big an of Hillary Clinton and her husband (warning: slightly risqué pictures and mature content at the above link):

PR.com: Who’s your favorite democratic front runner for 2008? Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards?

Jenna Jameson: I love Hillary. I think that in some ways she’s pretty conservative for a democrat, but I would love to have a woman in office. I think that it would be a step in the right direction for our country, and there would be less focus on war and more focus on bettering society.

Not surprisingly Ms. Jameson is “extremely liberal” and a big fan of Hillary’s hubby Bill:

PR.com: Is it safe to assume that you’re a liberal and a democrat?

Jenna Jameson: Yes. I don’t like to label myself as a democrat, but I’m certainly extremely liberal.

PR.com: Do you find that the climate of the adult industry changes when there is a Republican administration versus Democratic?

Jenna Jameson: Absolutely. The Clinton administration was the best years for the adult industry and I wish that Clinton would run again. I would love to have him back in office. I would love to have Al Gore in office. When Republicans are in office, the problem is, a lot of times they try to put their crosshairs on the adult industry, to make a point. It’s sad, when there are so many different things that are going on in the world: war, and people are dying of genocide. It’s sad that they feel that they have to target the sex industry, and not target the problems with insurance and the homeless and the AIDS epidemic. There are so many things that need to be cleared up before fucking pornography. I look forward to another democrat being in office. It just makes the climate so much better for us, and I know that once all our troops come home, things are going to be better and I think that getting Bush out of office is the most important thing right now.

Not sure this is the kind of support Hillary is looking for, but every vote counts right? I suppose compared to a porn superstar like Jenna, Hillary might claim to be conservative. But it seems to me that Hillary agrees with the sentiments expressed by Ms. Jameson and that her supposed conservatism is a thin act. If Hillary thought she could win as an “extreme liberal” she would run as one.

Hat tip Just Hillary

Hillary in the lead in Ohio

But with high negatives

A recently released Quinnipac poll has Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic presidential candidates in Ohio. She has the lead with 38% with Senator Barack Obama in second with 19% while Edwards and Gore lag behind with 11% and 10%.

Interestingly enough, another New Yorker leads on the GOP side as well with former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani leading Senator John McCain 23% to 17%. And Both McCain and Giuliani lead Hillary in a general election match-up; Giuliani 47-43 and McCain 45-44.

What is really interesting, and has to be troubling for Mrs. Clinton, is her high negatives. The former first lady has 45 unfavorable versus 46 favorable with only a net of plus 1. This is the lowest of any of the major candidates of either party.

How could this be? Must be that right-wing conspiracy Hillary is always talking about. How else could so many Americans have an unfavorable opinion about such a public servant? Perhaps they don’t buy attempts to show the Senator’s softer side with video chats and sweet talk. Maybe they remember her machinations in the White House (Health Care, travel office, billing records, etc.). Maybe they have a gut feeling that the velvet covering the iron fist is pretty thin. Maybe they are right . . .

Hillary in Ohio

Hillary Clinton was in Ohio this weekend, raising money for her Presidential campaign and the Ohio Democratic Party. In typical fashion Hillary proved that she can still raise money with the best of them and that she is willing to tell the liberal base what they want to hear on Iraq.

In a speech Saturday Clinton lashed out at President Bush claiming that Americans were “ready to end this government by the few, of the few and for the few” in order to “get back to a balance in our country.”

Yeah, that’s exactly what I think of when I think of Hillary and Bill: balance. Funny how Bush garnered more votes than any candidate in history in the last election and yet he somehow heads a administration “by the few, of the few and for the few.” I don’t recall husband Bill ever garnering more than a mere plurality but he nevertheless always seemed to claim a mandate from “the people.”

Hillary also threw out some red meat for the anti-war left: “Let me be clear,” she said. “If this president won’t end this war during his time in office, when I am president, I will.” She must be talking about the war she voted to authorize and the one her party is intent on undermining at every turn.

Perhaps, Hillary could explain exactly how she plans to “end the war” without plunging the country into even more violence and bloodshed and giving Iran a free hand in the region. But don’t look for strategic coherence from her campaign. Instead, expect her to continue to tell each side what they want to hear.

As Joe Hallet noted in the article, Clinton continues to try and paint herself as a moderate despite her rhetoric Saturday:

Despite the Democratic primary process’s natural tug to the left, Sen. Clinton generally has sought to avoid the red-meat partisan rhetoric and continued to burnish credentials as a moderate.

So Hillary claims to be a sensible centrist politician but blasts President Bush and calls for surrender in Iraq when she thinks it will help her campaign. Hillary knows that there is a strong anti-war sentiment in Ohio – Sherrod Brown’s anti-war rhetoric played a central role in his defeat of Mike DeWine – and that the liberal activist base is passionately anti-war. But because of her history as a hawkish Democrat, the base – particularly the online left – is suspicious and wary of Clinton. It will be interesting to see if she can convince the left that she will end the war, while at the same time retaining her image as a centrist, responsible leader in foreign affairs.

One thing that hasn’t changed is her ability to raise money. Clinton raised $550,000 for the Ohio Democratic party on Saturday and more than $200,000 for her own campaign. It is also clear that Hillary will be spending a lot of time in the crucial state of Ohio:

If Clinton wins the nomination, she no doubt will all but take up residency in Ohio for the campaign. The state decided the 2004 race and is expected to be the epicenter of the 2008 presidential campaign. Last night’s visit was her second in as many weekends to Ohio, and on June 10, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will deliver the commencement address at Ohio State University.

Lucky us.

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