Accidental Blogger

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is currently in the sliming mode even though her mother, daughter and other well wishers continue to appear at campaign events with stories of the soft and compassionate side of her nature. Ever since Barack Obama overtook her in the polls in Iowa and closed the gap in New Hampshire, the Clintonites have turned nasty. They have delved into Obama’s kintergarten essay to prove that he is unappetizingly ambitious, brought up the matter of his adolescent drug use to speculate that he may have also been a dealer and hubby Bill went on Charlie Rose to slyly imply that Obama is a political neophyte voting for whom will amount to rolling the dice (whereas his wife has been tried, tested and fire-proofed by the vast Republican attack machine).  I expected nothing else from the well oiled Clinton machine which is given to knee-capping any one it perceives as an obstacle in its path.

I am however quite surprised that Bob Kerrey, the charismatic erstwhile governor and senator from Nebraska for whom I have voted and my kids have campaigned, said something very strange while officially endorsing Hillary Clinton in Iowa. He brought up Obama’s middle name (Hussein) and his Muslim father and grandmother. The comment, an apparent non-sequitur, seems to make little sense unless one sees it as either a genuine admiration for Obama’s unorthodox upbringing or more likely, yet another careless seeming calculated ploy to remind voters of his "questionable" background and make them nervous about his electability.  A few weeks ago, Hillary had fired an Iowa campaign coordinator for making similar insinuations. Yesterday Kerrey, her high profile supporter did the same. So what’s going on? 

Now president of the New School in New York City, Kerry previously served as senator and governor of Nebraska. A Navy SEAL in Vietnam, he was wounded in combat, losing the lower portion of one leg. During his years in public office, Kerrey earned a reputation as an independent operator who followed his own script.

At the podium this morning, Kerrey touted Clinton’s long years of experience in public life and asserted she would become "a strong, reliable and compassionate commander-in-chief."

After the event, he mused about her chief competitor, Sen. Barack Obama.

"The fact that he’s African American is a big deal. I do expect and hope that Hillary is the nominee of the party. But I hope he’s used in some way. If he happens to be the nominee of the party and ends up being president, I think his capacity to influence in a positive way without spending a penny the behavior of a lot of underperforming black youth today is very important, and he’s the only one who can reach them."

Kerrey continued, "It’s probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There’s a billion people on the planet that are Muslims and I think that experience is a big deal." He added, "He’s got a whale of a lot more intellectual talent than I’ve got as well."

Earlier a beaming Hillary stood on the stage and said this about Kerrey:

"I am absolutely overwhelmed personally to have my friend of 25 years, Bob Kerrey, endorse me with such a vote of confidence,"

A friend of 25 years?  Didn’t Senator Kerry say a couple of things about her husband in 1992 and 1996?  Then again, given the mysterious relationship between Hill and Bill, perhaps that DOES make Kerrey her friend.