Did Hillary stop by a "garden party?"
Yep, that song did jump into my head when I saw this story on the LA Times blog this afternoon:
An amazing coincidence today on the campaign trail in Iowa with Hillary Clinton.
The New York senator was in Donnellson, Iowa continuing a broad statewide tour by herself, her husband, Magic Johnson and relatives and friends who've spread out to all 99 crucial counties to tell stories about her to soften and help personalize the Democratic candidate's calculating image in what's become a very tight caucus race.
According to the Associated Press, at a campaign forum in the fire station, which will be a caucus site come Jan. 3, Clinton happened to be asked about her religious faith. Practicing Methodist, she responded, adding, "I'm often asked if I'm a praying person and I am a praying person. My father prayed at his bedside every night and we prayed at the table over dinner."
Then, the most incredible thing happened. Someone pointed out that Clinton's childhood Sunday school teacher, Rosalie Bentzinger, from her Park Ridge, Ill. days happened to be right there in the very same Iowa fire station at that same moment. What are the odds? The Sunday school teacher stood up. Clinton rushed over to hug her. It was a warm moment.
The 84-year-old Bentzinger gave Clinton a photograph she happened to have with her. And Clinton announced, "She has a picture of my confirmation class -- March 27, 1959."
Last month, some folks may recall, Clinton was forced to admit planting questions in a similar forum audience in Newton after a student revealed a Clinton campaign staffer had handed her a question on global warming to ask. Clinton denied this was a regular practice and vowed it wouldn't happen again.
Today, Clinton aides said they were unaware the Sunday school teacher was in the crowd. Still, the incident happened to make a warm story to help personalize the candidate.
OK, maybe that was a coincidence. Maybe her old Sunday School teacher did retire to Iowa, or maybe she's been so thrilled that Hillary's running for president that she decided to head out to Iowa to show her support. But this does raise eyebrows, as it should. She doesn't just have one or two incidents of planting operatives and questions. More than a couple have been found, and initially, she denied the charge claiming "it's news to me." She admitted it just a short while later.
So yeah, I think it's OK to speculate on this one. It could have been a harmless coincidence, but can anyone tell me that a politician like her, hungry for the presidency, wouldn't go back to what she thought might help her? If she did plant her Sunday school teacher there (or informally asked her to be present), then it won't look good, and it's not going to help her at all in this Extreme Makeover tour.
Publius II
ADDENDUM: What the Hell, I'll add this too. Bryan's got the new Hillary campaign ad -- the "holiday" one over at Hot Air. All I can say is that this is extremely telling of the woman who would be president, including the non-geniune happiness and enthusiasm from somebody that is so fake to begin with. She reminds me of the stereotypical relative that chisels on a smile for the holidays because it's expected, not because they're happy to see family and friends. Bryan adds this critique of the ad:
My jaw dropped when I watched this one the first time. Hillary’s Christmas ad says nothing at all about Christmas. The gifts make the connection, of course, but check out what the gifts are: universal health care, bring the troops home, etc. All of the gifts are funded in one way or another with your money. And she’s portraying herself as a thoughtful gift-giver by taking your money and giving it back to you in the form of expensive government programs, some or all of which you might not actually want or need. If that doesn’t typify liberal thinking, I don’t know what does.
If these are her gifts to us, then I want receipts so I can exchange the damn things for sensible things, like our money back. We aren't going to sign on to any of this crap. Trust me, go watch the ad. Don't worry. She doesn't cackle. She says ONE thing only.
Publius II
An amazing coincidence today on the campaign trail in Iowa with Hillary Clinton.
The New York senator was in Donnellson, Iowa continuing a broad statewide tour by herself, her husband, Magic Johnson and relatives and friends who've spread out to all 99 crucial counties to tell stories about her to soften and help personalize the Democratic candidate's calculating image in what's become a very tight caucus race.
According to the Associated Press, at a campaign forum in the fire station, which will be a caucus site come Jan. 3, Clinton happened to be asked about her religious faith. Practicing Methodist, she responded, adding, "I'm often asked if I'm a praying person and I am a praying person. My father prayed at his bedside every night and we prayed at the table over dinner."
Then, the most incredible thing happened. Someone pointed out that Clinton's childhood Sunday school teacher, Rosalie Bentzinger, from her Park Ridge, Ill. days happened to be right there in the very same Iowa fire station at that same moment. What are the odds? The Sunday school teacher stood up. Clinton rushed over to hug her. It was a warm moment.
The 84-year-old Bentzinger gave Clinton a photograph she happened to have with her. And Clinton announced, "She has a picture of my confirmation class -- March 27, 1959."
Last month, some folks may recall, Clinton was forced to admit planting questions in a similar forum audience in Newton after a student revealed a Clinton campaign staffer had handed her a question on global warming to ask. Clinton denied this was a regular practice and vowed it wouldn't happen again.
Today, Clinton aides said they were unaware the Sunday school teacher was in the crowd. Still, the incident happened to make a warm story to help personalize the candidate.
OK, maybe that was a coincidence. Maybe her old Sunday School teacher did retire to Iowa, or maybe she's been so thrilled that Hillary's running for president that she decided to head out to Iowa to show her support. But this does raise eyebrows, as it should. She doesn't just have one or two incidents of planting operatives and questions. More than a couple have been found, and initially, she denied the charge claiming "it's news to me." She admitted it just a short while later.
So yeah, I think it's OK to speculate on this one. It could have been a harmless coincidence, but can anyone tell me that a politician like her, hungry for the presidency, wouldn't go back to what she thought might help her? If she did plant her Sunday school teacher there (or informally asked her to be present), then it won't look good, and it's not going to help her at all in this Extreme Makeover tour.
Publius II
ADDENDUM: What the Hell, I'll add this too. Bryan's got the new Hillary campaign ad -- the "holiday" one over at Hot Air. All I can say is that this is extremely telling of the woman who would be president, including the non-geniune happiness and enthusiasm from somebody that is so fake to begin with. She reminds me of the stereotypical relative that chisels on a smile for the holidays because it's expected, not because they're happy to see family and friends. Bryan adds this critique of the ad:
My jaw dropped when I watched this one the first time. Hillary’s Christmas ad says nothing at all about Christmas. The gifts make the connection, of course, but check out what the gifts are: universal health care, bring the troops home, etc. All of the gifts are funded in one way or another with your money. And she’s portraying herself as a thoughtful gift-giver by taking your money and giving it back to you in the form of expensive government programs, some or all of which you might not actually want or need. If that doesn’t typify liberal thinking, I don’t know what does.
If these are her gifts to us, then I want receipts so I can exchange the damn things for sensible things, like our money back. We aren't going to sign on to any of this crap. Trust me, go watch the ad. Don't worry. She doesn't cackle. She says ONE thing only.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 8:08 PM
1 Comments:
The event is being reported as a long-lost reunion between Ms. Clinton and her Sunday School Teacher.
The problem with the event is that Hillary and Ms. Bentzinger are hardly strangers, having met at a similar campaign event in April of this year.
Ms. Bentzinger is hardly an unknown retired Sunday School teacher living in obscurity, either. Ms. Bentzinger is a well-known regliious scholar and leader and even has a religious scholarship named after her.
Hard to beleive Clinton did not recognize her in the crowd, considering they shared BBQ together a few months earlier:
Event Name: Senator Hillary Clinton at a BBQ Fundraiser in Fort Madison, Iowa
Event Date: April 3, 2007
Caption: Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., right, greets Keith Fraise, left, and Rosalie Bentzinger during a campaign stop at the rural Fort Madison, Iowa home of Eugene Fraisse on Monday, April 2, 2007. Bentzinger was Senator Clinton's Sunday School teacher when she lived in Park Ridge Il.
Headline: Senator Hillary Clinton at a BBQ Fundraiser in Fort Madison, Iowa
Venue: Fort Madison
Location: Fort Madison
Credit: Mark Hirsch/WireImage.com
Keywords:
Item Title: Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., right, greets Keith Fraise, left, and Rosalie Bentzinger during a campaign stop at the rural Fort Madison, Iowa home of Eugene Fraisse on Monday, April 2, 2007. Bentzinger was Senator Clinton's Sunday School teacher when she lived in Park Ridge Il.
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