Philly Mayor Michael Nutter and Philly-area Congressman Patrick Murphy (PA-08) were on local NBC television this morning discussing the presidential campaign. In an interesting twist, Nutter, who is black, was advocating for Clinton while Murphy, who is white, was advocating for Barack Obama.
First off, it’s rewarding to see these two frequent Drinking Liberally attendees on my teevee representing the political establishment of Philadelphia. But it’s sad to see Mayor Nutter being reduced to making very lame arguments in defense of the Clinton campaign.
Asked about the decision to invade Iraq, Rep. Murphy (who fought in Iraq) pointed out that the then chairmen of the Senate Armed Services Committee (Carl Levin) and Intelligence Committee (Bob Graham) both voted against the war, and that Clinton didn’t even read the National Intelligence Estimate. She has no excuse for her poor judgment. Nutter’s retort? “I was against the war, too, so what?” Nutter then argued that making a speech opposing the war is different from making a decision, and that Rep. Murtha supports Clinton. I don’t think Nutter got the better of this exchange.
Asked about political contributors, Nutter argued that Barack Obama takes money from lobbyists and Big Oil executives just like Clinton. Murphy pointed out that Obama does not take money from registered lobbyists or political action committees, and that any American citizen (who isn’t a registered lobbyist) can contribute to Obama’s campaign. Again, the Clintons are reduced to saying ‘Obama is just as bad as we are’, and that argument doesn’t even have the merit of being true. Obama has over a million donors whose average contribution is $92.
Asked about the tape of Hillary Clinton (not) dodging sniper fire in Tuzla, Bosnia, Mayor Nutter argued that there ‘must have been gunfire somewhere in Bosnia that day and who knows what the intelligence briefing on the plane was?’ Of course, all we have to do is listen to the Tuzla pilot to know that there is no merit whatsoever to Clinton’s fairy tale. She was not told there was sniper fire and if there had been any doubt about the matter, they would not have landed. Rep. Murphy took the high road and used this opportunity to point out that Obama is running a positive campaign…unlike someone else he won’t mention.
Ask about whether television coverage has been fair to their candidate, Nutter said, “There are many opportunities for the coverage to be more fair.” Murphy said, “Yes.”
So, the Clinton campaign is reduced to complaining about the media, falsely arguing that Obama’s contributors are the same as hers, dismissing the significance of a horrible vote authorizing military force in Iraq, and insinuating that Obama is too black to win the general election. Oh, and Nutter did bring up the grave injustice of Michigan and Florida…so add delegitimizing the process to their list of talking points.
I can imagine what it’s like to do walk-lists for Clinton’s campaign these days. Find 90% white neighborhoods with few creative class or college-educated people, and go knock on their doors to make sure they get out to vote against the black guy. That’s got to be a soul-crushing exercise for her volunteers. I can’t see too many of her young people sticking with politics after this campaign. Down in the muck, dabbling with white flight and fear to try to eke out victories in a long since lost cause. Congratulations to Bill and Hillary. This is what has come to.
History will record their campaign as the last in the George Wallace style. Add to Lewinsky and impeachment, and stir. That’s going to be their shameful legacy.
