Crossposted at Switzerblog.
So Hillary's embrace of right-wing talking points is leading even the righty National Review is starting to swoon for her. After the ABC debate debacle, much has been made about the, um, paucity of quality questions. Much of the media agrees that ABC should be embarrassed by the quality of the questions, and Obama has enjoyed mocking them for wasting the first hour of the debate before asking about a real issue.
But today, Hillary had this to say:
Hillary: Well, we were both asked some pretty tough questions, and you know, that's part of what happens in a debate and in a campaign. And I know he spent all of yesterday complaining about the hard questions he was asked. But you know, being asked tough questions in a debate is nothing like the pressure you face inside the White House. And in fact, you know, when the going gets tough, you just can't walk away. Because we're going to have some very tough decisions that we have to make. And I think that we need a president who can take whatever comes your way. You have to stand strong. You have to fight for the American people. Because it will not be easy to stand up against the special interests. {Switzernote - that's rich}
Anchor: So you were fine with the debate? You didn't see any problem with them?
Hillary: Well, can I say I've been through, what, 23 of these debates? And if you'll recall, I was asked some pretty tough questions in nearly every one of them. That goes with the territory. Having been inside the White House, I know the pressures inside the White House, I know how hard it is every single day. When the going gets tough, you can't run away. It's going to be tough going dealing with these hard problems... The special interests are going to be a lot tougher than 90 minutes of questions from two journalists.
Yeah, Hillary's really gonna stand up to those special interests. Heh.
But here's what gets me about this. The only people calling the wasted first hour of the show "tough questions" are ABC, conservative douchebags, and...Hillary. Not one complaint I've seen at Kos, from any progressive, and least of all from Obama has been about "tough questions". No, the complaints I've seen have been that those questions were a waste of time. ABC's time, the viewer's time...everyone's time.
The National Review has this to say:
...And every once in a while, when she demonstrates she has the guts to 'go there' in front of a Democratic audience that want their debates to be criticism-free lovefests, I’m tempted to say, 'I like the cut of your jib, Senator.'"
...
Hey, is anybody else getting this weird tingle up the leg when Hillary speaks lately?
You know, Hillary likes to talk about who Obama's known or worked with in his life...perhaps the company you keep works both ways! When right-wingers start to like the 'cut of your jib', you're on the wrong path.
But here's what really concerned me when I heard the audio clip of Hillary making her statement above: They weren't tough questions. They were stupid questions. And it concerns me that Hillary can't tell the difference anymore.