Well, I guess the world hasn't spun off its axis yet. I'll keep an eye out for raining serpents and frogs once I hear Hillary's been caught in a threesome with Limbaugh and Hannity.

Scaife saying you've 'moderated' is like Charlie Manson saying you've 'leveled out'.

It can be seen as a form of political genius to coin the phrase "vast right-wing conspiracy," be its target for many years, and then get it to work on your behalf.

You're take was a little bit different when this came out:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_02/010771.php

I read this article, and if you read further, basically, Scaife capitulated after he had lunch with Mr. Clinton, whom he characterized as one of the most charismatic people he had ever met. He is also going through an ultra-ugly divorce, which might make him a tad more respectful of the ugly private lives of others.

I read this article, and if you read further, basically, Scaife capitulated after he had lunch with Mr. Clinton, whom he characterized as one of the most charismatic people he had ever met. He is also going through an ultra-ugly divorce, which might make him a tad more respectful of the ugly private lives of others.

It just confirms what most voters already believe - partisanship is trumped up in order to distract people away from looking too deeply at who and what is mostly benefited by today's political system - The elite political/corporate class.

They use and abuse each other for their own purposes - not for the betterment of the Country. It's all top down with them. Can't wait to see Hillary and Bill's tax returns - and get a real gander at how much they have personally profited from their willingness to play the game.

OK--Before this gets out of hand--The word "jeremiad" describes a perfectly respectable literary genre, examples of which include Frederick Douglass's "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" speech and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. It is NOT synonymous with "lunatic attempts at character assassination." OK?

If I were a Democratic candidate like Hillary I wouldn't be running around touting my new found cred with Scaife.

Somehow, I think this is more about reaching out to the Limbaugh Democrat demographic than anything else.

Otherwise, I won't hold my breath about Scaife having a change of heart about Teresa Heinz Kerry anytime soon.

Link fixed: Cable news networks obsess over Teresa Heinz Kerry comment; downplay Tribune-Review's right-wing history

Don't forget that BIll also appeared on Rush Limbaugh's show.

They need smear merchants to really lie about Obama, and they know where to find them.

WJ Clinton was the most conservative Democrat in office since Woodrow Wilson and Scaife is telling us that Senator Clinton is even closer to his view? Wow.

No wonder Fortune said that Senator Clinton was Wall Street's choice for the presidency.

I also got a letter of commendation from the White House for my impeccable command of the English language.

The Hillary-Scaife rapprochement may have been in the works for quite awhile, but Hillary raised the ante considerably when she used that rapprochement as a springboard to keep Jeremiah Wright in the news.

Scaife has hardly become a Hillary supporter. If he backs her now, it's either because he thinks that prolonging the Democratic race will help the Republicans, or that (if it were possible) a Clinton victory would be better for the Republicans.

And, if Clinton's claim is true, that she only revived the Rev. Wright matter in response to Scaife's direct question, Scaife managed to get more poison thrown at the leading Democrat. Not a bad day for Mr. VRWC.

low-tech cyclist, will Hillary's comment keep Jeremiah Wright in the news, or will her efforts bounce back at her. It already seems that Wright is old news. The Scaife Cinton connection is just plain dumb unless you are hoping for a giant wacko cross over vote.

You know, I once respected and liked her. A lot! But, now, not so much...
This reminds me too much of McCain hugging Shrub.

Hillary, to even be seen with Scaife, is way over the line. To be seen answering his question's, kissing his ass, is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over the line!!!

What's the classic line about dog's and flea's?

Hillary, If you itch, don't wonder what bit 'ya! It was sittin' next ta 'ya!!!
And I mean IT!!!!!

Okay, I understand how a couple of terms with Bush as President can make a conservative troglodyte like even Scaife wistful for the days of the Clinton administration, but what exactly inspires her to all of a sudden see everything that he put them through as nothing more than water under the bridge? Scaife waged nothing less than a right-wing jihad against the Clintons, spending millions of dollars to portray them as -- literally -- lowlife drug dealers & murderers. Really, what's her thinking here? That a crackpot rag like the Tribune-Review is going to help her with her base? That his readers are really going to vote for her in the general, should she make it that far? (Remember, it's too late for Republicans to crossover for the PA primary. Registration is closed, so that can't be her thinking.) Look, I understand that politicians have to have thick skins, and that they have to make nice with people that they really don't like or respect, but if I'm Hillary Clinton, I wouldn't pee on Scaife if he were on fire. What gives?

>"- The elite political/corporate class. They use and abuse each other for their own purposes - not for the betterment of the Country."

Bingo.

Seemingly irrational decisions made by the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Gengis Khan, Caligula, and GW Bush all make sense when analyzed in this fashion.

I thought you might have done it, but it doesn't look like it. The whole point is who cares about Clinton's relationship to this guy. It's a campaign and sometimes you want/need the support of people you'd otherwise distance yourself from. (See McCain's relationship with Hagee or Falwell).

Besides I thought we'd finally realized the race was over and were getting ready to move on.

Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton should scratch out Mr. Scaife's eyes.

Okay, I understand how a couple of terms with Bush as President can make a conservative troglodyte like even Scaife wistful for the days of the Clinton administration, but what exactly inspires her to all of a sudden see everything that he put them through as nothing more than water under the bridge? Scaife waged nothing less than a right-wing jihad against the Clintons, spending millions of dollars to portray them as -- literally -- lowlife drug dealers & murderers. Really, what's her thinking here? That a crackpot rag like the Tribune-Review is going to help her with her base? That his readers are really going to vote for her in the general, should she make it that far? (Remember, it's too late for Republicans to crossover for the PA primary. Registration is closed, so that can't be her thinking.) Look, I understand that politicians have to have thick skins, and that they have to make nice with people that they really don't like or respect, but if I'm Hillary Clinton, I wouldn't pee on Scaife if he were on fire. What gives?

Means to an end, or possibly just a glimpse of what life is like amongst politicos and the elite...Nothing is ever personal. It's just business.

Here's my theory - Hillary is now angling to be McCain's veep. Why wait until 2012 to try to get back in the White House? For McCain, it would lock up all of the Hillary supporters who have become very anti-Barack and guarantee a win even if the economy and Iraq continue to go South. Since Lieberman has been at McCain's side for months now, look for Joe to broker the deal and keep an eye out for any time Hillary and Joe are together.

Added umusing factor - the thought of a unity ticket that included Clinton would probably make Broder's head explode.

Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul are starting to look good.

She's just lining them up to tear Obama down for the general election. She knows she's lost this thing and is just hoping that McCain can win so that she can run against him in '12.

Thus proving that all politicians are in one of two groups. Either they are whores, or they hire them.

Thus proving that all politicians are in one of two groups. Either they are whores, or they hire them.

Here's my theory - Hillary is now angling to be McCain's veep.

Sorry, but that's just some powerful stupid.

It's one thing to talk about Scaifeness and the likes, but there's no bleeping way that she's vying for anything less than President.

"Who cares about Clinton's relationship to this guy? It's a campaign and sometimes you want/need the support of people you'd otherwise distance yourself from."

She has the right to do whatever she wants, and I have the right to reject what she's done. This isn't an abstract philosophical question. If she chooses to play the Scaife card to gain votes, she's taking the risk of losing votes too. She should lose a lot of support for this.

Zap - A meeting between Hillary and Scaife cries out for a powerfully stupid conspiracy theory. I was not being serious.

Let me see if I have this right: Sitting next to Scaife, who helped do how much harm (and not just to her), Hillary announces that she would not tolerate a minister who, in a lifetime of much good service, also had some over-the-top moments. You would dump the minister but you're cool with this guy and his ilk. Wow. The hypocrisy and cynicism here are breath-taking.

Gee, if I remember correctly RMS spent millions of dollars attempting to take down Bill Clinton, and Hillary too, and generally speaking failed. It has never been particularly unusual for either Clinton to seek out political enemies (particularly those they have beaten Bush 1, Newtie, Bob Dole etc) in order to have reconciliation. I figure that if she can swallow it ya'll should be able to as well. It seems to me that RMS did a very good job of poisoning some Democrats opinion of the Clinton's so why should she care whether or not you approve? If not this, I'm sure she'll do something tomorrow to get your ire up, and if she doesn't, you'll just make something up.

I think Hillary's recent gaffes are so bad that they may actually be the result of some sort of illicit pressure on her. Take the Bosnia thing for instance-- Hillary isn't stupid; she may not be a military expert, but she has enough brains and she knows enough about warzones that she knows that you don't make yourself invulnerable to sniper-fire by jogging with your head ducked-- no one would put a First Lady in that kind of danger unless it was the only way out of an absolute emergency situation.

The idea that she would believe that people wouold take her word for it, that she would believe that all the veterans out there wouldn't be ridiculing her for this, is frankly amazing.

It's really as weird as when Hillary was accused of not leaving a waitress a tip-- the waitress downplayed the story to the press at first, but then the next day or so later the waitress was interviewed again, and became an anti-Hillary partisan. That situation smacked of a Republican bribe. If anyone's pushing Hillary around and she can't fight back, I really deplore the state our nation has come to, and I shudder to think what kind of pressure might be put on her.

Let me just make clear that I am not trying to revive Hillary's candidacy or anything-- if I am right, then Hillary's candidacy is over.

If Hillary can't find the conviction to resist the intimidation, then even if her popularity takes a lift somehow, they will just push her into one gaffe after another until it is impossible for her to win. Even if somehow Barack Obama were to scuttle his own chances- not likley, since the media is in his favor, but let's say for instance if he went psychotic or something, and no one could ignore it- we do not really want a president who is beholden to this kind of pressure, and in any event, they would just make her commit gaffes in the general election, too.

And Kevin wonders why Hillary gets a lot of bile thrown her way...

Has the bimbo with the dill pickle showed up yet?

Ahhh...Hillary--now it comes out. You're a life long Republican.

Father a stern Republican
You a Goldwater Girl
President of the Wellesley College Republicans.

Married to Mr. Triangulator.

Now Sciafe, Murdoch.. and what other right wing creeps ?????

That’s the $64K question in my mind right now. It’s essentially a question of exactly what layer of Dante’s Inferno Hillary Clinton has selected for herself.

Related to that is the question ofwho initiated the Scaife-Clinton meeting?

It is rather amusing that Obamabots actually believe that Clinton talking to a conservative paper is evidence of her "crimes" while Obama the Messiah doing the same is just proof that he is "post-partisan".

The sheer lack of sense displayed in these comments ... and even your own knee-jerk reflex, Kevin ... is pretty alarming.

And can we for pity's sake quit repeating the lie that Bill appeared on Limbaugh? A pre-recorded interview from a different show was played on the Limbaugh hour that day. Jeebus.

And how precisely are we to reach out to Republicans and in a spirit of warmth and cooperation get things done together if she doesnt repair damage to her caused by Bill? Or is the philosophy of cooperation and joint bi partisan progress fully usurped by Obama and limited to him alone?

Please Kevin, dont go bat crazy on Hillary!! Disagree with her, say you want Obama, say you disagree with her positions, say you love Obama's superlative rhetoric, thats all great. But please please please, you are one of the only blogs left that I read. Please dont join the ranks of so many other blogs as mere shills for Obama or to spend your time convincing us all that Hillary stinks and (the implication being) we must all stink or be dupes for supporting her. Please? If we are to have any chance of reconciliation and a full court Democratic press in the fall the snark and hypocrisy (criticizing her for the same things you admire in him like bi partisanship and cooperation with Republicans) should be reconsidered.

Then there was her mention that Wright would not have been her pastor, as if that was some nefarious accusation to make when it was perfectly reasonable. Having researched this guy now, he would not have been my pastor either and his statements have a Farrakhan-like quality to them on Israel and Hamas and Jewish people hate Farrakhan. People seem to want to ignore this, but my many Jewish friends tell me Obama has a Jewish problem. He can certainly win the general election without them, but the problem is real, like it or not. Of course people will say I am racist or anti-semitic which is garbage. I am telling you only what I hear.

Every time she tries to criticise Obama she is called a turd. Everytime he attacks her, its all justified, even the early attacks calling her Bush lite. No one had an issue with that at all as far as I could tell.

I dont know why people cannot understand that this double standard in attacks on her and chronic accusations of racism or helping McCain to defeat Obama are driving her people to McCain out of rage. The anger is real and palpable. I hear it everyday. I can only assume this means no one gives a darn about that, and I dont understand that either.

Let the campaign play out and we will be fine. Dont tell her she has to quit. She has earned the right to be put into nomination as the first serious woman candidate. She has earned the right to an up or down vote on her at the convention. If it goes multiple ballots so what? Many illustrious presidents won their nomination that way. Nothing says this all needs to be worked out before the convention. And think of all the positives if the dems conduct an orderly convention, select a nominee and then come together on TV. What ratings!

I'm done venting. People ask if Hillary wants Obama to lose the general so she can have another chance (complete garbage and another gratuitous insult as far as I am concerned). I wonder if Obama's supporters know how to win at all if they are so willing to throw over and ridicule half the party.

Isn't politics a cesspool?

When Obama cuddles up to someone who spent 12 years sliming him and trying to put him in the slammer give us a call.

I think this goes to show just how middle of the road to the right HRC is perceived to be. Regardless, this doesn't help McCain.

Hillary's becoming Bushified!

I meam, what with her practicing all the Rovism tactis she can get her hands on. It's like getting Bush all over again if you happen to vote either Hillary or McCain

Hillary is trying every nasty types of Rovism gimmicks to be had, projectionism, lies. How very Rovism of her to resort to trashing of Obama as a campaign ploy, knowing how Bush used this type of approach against his fellow GOP members. It is less about policy and more about nasty. What a big turn-off.

It just goes to show that anyone Bill Clinton campaigns for or with, generally loses.

Hillary is good a neutralizing her enemies. That is a plus for a President.

Hillary is good at neutralizing her enemies. That is a plus for a President.

Scaife and Ruddy like the Clintons now? Ha! They're just trying to do their part to keep Hillary's campaign alive, because they know it hurts the Democratic party. Not only that, but they know that McCain's best chance for victory is if Hillary wins the nomination.

"And, if Clinton's claim is true, that she only revived the Rev. Wright matter in response to Scaife's direct question, Scaife managed to get more poison thrown at the leading Democrat. Not a bad day for Mr. VRWC".

Was she actually asked about Rev. Wright at the press conference that took place AFTER the interview with the editorial board, which is where she actually read her statement on the matter? I don't think so.

Richard Mello Scaife. Damn. Unbelieveable. If she's capable of selling herself out to the point where she kisses the asses of people who actually accused her of being involved in a murder,what in the hell makes any of you think it would bother her at all to sell all of us out?

Bush makes everybody look good. It's the comparison thing.

WJ Clinton was the most conservative Democrat in office since Woodrow Wilson and Scaife is telling us that Senator Clinton is even closer to his view?...
No wonder Fortune said that Senator Clinton was Wall Street's choice for the presidency.

So, the US has elected conservatives, of varying fidelity, for 28 years and 36 of the last 40. Doesn't that tell you something?

[Scaife] is also going through an ultra-ugly divorce, which might make him a tad more respectful of the ugly private lives of others.

Hmmm. Does anyone else find it as interesting as I do that Scaife's ex-wife has given the max contribution to Obama's campaign?

Scaife IS the man and the MILLIONS behind the Vast Right Wing Conspriracy. There is NO ONE on the right more culpable for the Vincent Foster murder myth, for the allegations of rape against Bill and so on. Why the FUCK WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND trust him now???!?!?!?!? Seriously. It makes NO SENSE.

On top of that the Clintons are using anti-Obama materials from the American Spectator??!?!? The very magazine that has no credibility and spent MILLIONS publishing slander against he Clintons for years in the 90s?!?!?

At one point I supported Hillary, I used to respect the Clintons, but NO MORE. If this is her version of reaching across the aisle it only proves every nasty thing that the VRWC ever said about the Clintons-- that they'll do ANYTHING to get and stay in power.

I'm disgusted by them and nothing they could do now could take that away.

Oops, that last comment was mine. I didn't mean to post it anonymously.

I spent 8 years of my life professionally researching and reporting on the so-called VRWC. I was in DC during the late 90s and during impeachment. The idea that the Clintons would give Scaife or his right-wing trash of a newspaper the time of day is completely twisted.