You've Just Lost My Vote, Hillary

Actually, that's not entirely true, because Hillary basically lost me in 2002 when she casted her very cowardly vote in support of the Iraq War.

But now I won't even vote for her in the General Election should she get the nomination. Indeed, I'm may actively campaign against her given all the bullshit that went down today.

Where to begin. This is as good of a place as any I guess:

In a Cabinet-style setting, surrounded by retired military leaders, Sen. Hillary Clinton said the public should ask whether Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama has met the criteria needed to become the nation’s commander in chief.

“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington.

“I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,” she said.

What the fuck? For Christ's Sake, Hillary, maybe you and McCain should get a room. And what exact experience do you have that demonstrates you've crossed the commander-in-chief threshold, Hillary?

And speaking of sex and politics, check this out:

An aide to Hillary Clinton likened Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama to independent prosecutor Ken Starr on Thursday, comparing criticism of her to the 1998 probe that led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson criticized Obama's promise to take a more aggressive stance with the New York senator after she won three of four states on Tuesday in their hard-fought battle for the Democratic nomination to face Republican John McCain in November's election.

"I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president, but perhaps that theory will be tested," Wolfson told reporters. * * *

Obama, an Illinois senator, said on Wednesday he planned to step up his criticism of Hillary Clinton and raise more questions about her national security credentials and issues like her refusal so far to release her recent personal tax returns.

Was Wolfson referring to the Ken Starr, that Republican sex maniac who presided over the Clinton PenisGate Scandal (i.e., the scandal which revealed that Hillary's husband was being blown by Monica Lewinski)? Does the Hillary Campaign really want to bring all that up at this particular moment in history?

And why don't you want to release your tax returns, Hillary? After all, wasn't it you who criticized your opponent for Senate a few years back when he didn't release his tax returns?

Eight years ago, when Hillary parachuted into NY to become our Senator, she and Howard Wolfson became completely obsessed with opponent Rick Lazio's tax returns, which he did not release until the end of August..

They talked about them at every opportunity. In early July, Hillary called it "frankly disturbing." A guy in an Uncle Sam outfit was dispatched to be a nuisance at various Lazio events in August. Howard himself showed up once to try to rattle Lazio by offering him a copy of some Chappaqua property tax receipt after Lazio said he'd release his state returns as soon as Hillary released hers (which didn't exist, because she had just moved up here).

And do you remember last week when someone in Obama's camp was accused of contacting the Canadians to explain that Obama really wasn't going to do anything to hurt NAFTA? Well, check this out:

A storm of reports in the Canadian media say that the Nafta-gate flap last week involving Barack Obama was started by a key aide to Canada's prime minister - who told journalists that Hillary Clinton's campaign - not Obama's - had contacted the Canadian government to play down its Nafta-bashing.

The Canadian Press wire service - the equivalent to AP - reports that Ian Brodie, chief of staff to Stephen Harper, was talking to journalists last week: "Brodie was asked about remarks aimed by the Democratic candidates at Ohio's anti-Nafta voters that carried economic implications for Canada." It quotes a witness who reported Brodie's remarks: "He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton's campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt ... That someone called us and told us not to worry."

Excuse me? Hillary undoubtedly got people to vote for her as a result of the original story, but now it turns out that it was Hillary's campaign that made those reassuring remarks to the Canadians.

Anyway, I wouldn't vote for Hillary now even if you held a gun to my head, particularly given that she seems to have no problem praising John McCain while at the same time attacking Obama. And something tells me that I may not be the only progressive-leaning person in this country who feels that way.

In fact, the only thing that would piss me off more at this point is if Obama doesn't go nuclear against Hillary given all that went down today.