Clinton's Faux-Pas: Her "Calculated" Response to the Spitzer Question

I’d rather have a president who is calculated like Hillary than someone like George W. Bush whose Administration has miscalculated everything from the Budget to the War in Iraq.

A candidate who listens to polls would make for a president who hears what the American people want. Shouldn’t a president be responsive to the people and be aware of the pulse of the nation as opposed to being like George W. Bush who is so out of touch that he vetoes legislation like SCHIP, which the majority of people want?

The words “conviction” and “principle” are euphemisms for “stubbornness” and “narrow-mindedness”. Bush has “convictions” and is deemed “principled”, because he follows one narrow position–even if it’s the wrong position. That’s like calling a dog “smart” because it’s able to follow the smell of food in the trash.

And the hounds were all out at last night’s debate, salivating at any fodder Hillary would give them as they relentlessly dogged her.

Hillary proved to be human, however, and so she actually had to think about her answers. As a front-runner candidate, she had to consider the politics of her responses; as a woman, she had to consider the strength of her voice; as a leader, she had to take into account the logic and rationale; above all, as a human being, she had to be sympathetic as well.

Hillary’s response to the driver’s license question wasn’t confusing to me. The onus falls on the Bush Administration, which has failed on this issue. Hillary was clear that she sympathized with Gov. Spitzer’s situation. Whether she “agreed” with the position or not is moot, since it is Gov. Spitzer’s reserved power as a State governor.

But let’s not be fooled into thinking that there’s a right and a wrong position here anyway, because this is the black-and-white fallacy that Republicans operate under. The issue of offering drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens is an ethical dilemma, which means that any position any politician takes will inexorably be criticized from one angle or another.

Clinton’s position has been consistent and clear. But, perhaps, we’ve all been so dumbed-down as a result of 7 years of Bushspeak that we can’t appreciate/understand the complexity of Clinton’s arguments, which consist of more than just nouns and verbs, but clauses and conditions as well.