Tag: Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton v. Donald Trump: Live Blogging

hillary clinton v. Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton v. Donald Trump. (Screenshot)

10:39 p.m.

And, it’s over. Handshakes.

10:37 p.m.

Trump goes after Rosie O’Donnell.

Rosie O’Donnell.

Says he was going to say something terrible about Hillary and her family, but decided not to.

10:34 p.m.

Trump said Clinton does not have a presidential look, Holt said. She’s the first female nominee of a major party.

“I don’t believe Hillary has the stamina. I said ‘the stamina.'”

As soon as he visits 128 countries or spends 11 hours testifying before a congressional committee, “then he can talk about stamina.

10:33 p.m.

Trump wanders again. “We are losing billions and billions of dollars.”

10:30 p.m.

“Words matter when you run for president and they really matter when you are president,” Clinton says. She acknowledges that this campaign has troubled many world leaders.

“Our word is good,” she reassures.

Says Trump never said what his alternative would be to deal with Iran.

10:28 p.m.

Holt: Do you support the current U.S. policy on first use [of nuclear weapons].

Trump says China should “go into” North Korea, Iran has power over North Korea.

10:27 p.m.

Trump: Saudi Arabia and others should be paying us money.

10:24 p.m.

Clinton speaks of Iran. Sanctions were not enough.

President Obama, John Kerry, she helped, shut down Iran’s nuclear program.

Speaks of Trump’s “cavalier attitude” about nuclear weapons.

“A man who can be provoked by a Tweet should not have his hand anywhere near the nuclear codes.”

10:22 p.m.

Trump keeps naming Sean Hannity as his source.

Trump says that he has much better judgment than Hillary Clinton.

“I think my strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament.”

10:19 p.m.

Trump: ISIS formed because of a vacuum formed  by Barack Obama and Secretary Clinton.

10:18 p.m.

Trump: “NATO could be obsolete.” Says NATO does not focus on terror.

10:17 p.m.

Hillary speaks of cooperating with Muslims in America, not alienate Muslims and push them away like Trump has done.

10:16 p.m.

Clinton: George W. Bush made the agreement to leave Iraq. The only way we could have stayed would have been to have an agreement with the then-Iraqi government to protect American troops. That did not happen.

10:14 p.m.

Trump: “Had we taken the oil,” there would be no ISIS.

10:13 p.m.

Holt: “How will you prevent home-grown terrorism?”

Trump: Speaks of ISIS.

10:12 p.m.

Clinton: “I have put forth a plan to defeat ISIS.” It does entail going after them online. We must also intensify air attacks against ISIS. Take out their “claim of being a caliphate.”

“We’re hoping to push [ISIS] out of Iraq in a year.”

This would be awesome.

10:10 p.m.

Trump talks about his endorsements.

Now talking about ISIS.

10:08 p.m.

Clinton: We are not going to sit idly by and let state actors go after public and private information.

“I was so shocked when Donald invited Putin to hack into Americans.”

10:07 p.m.

Hillary Clinton speaks on cyber security. There are independent hackers. There also cyber attacks coming from states. “The most recent and troubling of them has been Russia.”

10:05 p.m.

Trump says Clinton treated Obama horribly.

“As far as the lawsuit,” admits he was sued, “we settled with no admission of guilt.”

That just means cash flowed and the other side was silenced.

10:03 p.m.

Clinton: [Trump] has started his race for president on this racist, birther lie.

Clinton: Trump was sued in 1973 because he would not rent to African Americans. “He actually was sued twice by the justice department.”

10:01 p.m.

Talking about a birth certificate. President Obama’s. “I was the one who got him to produce the birth certificate.”

Lester Holt: “The birth certificate was produced in 2009. You continued to speak about it in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and January 2016.”

10:00 p.m.

“I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. I did. You know what else I did? I’m preparing to be president.”

[APPLAUSE]

9:59 p.m.

Again, Lester Holt has lost control. Trump rambles on.

9:56 p.m.

Trump: “In New York City, we had 2,200 murders, and stop and frisk brought it down to 500.”

Hillary: Crime has continued to drop under the current mayor. We have to work with faith communities

9:54 p.m.

Clinton speaking of “implicit bias,” which is a problem for all of us, she says. Police now are having to handle a great deal of mental health problems on the street.

9:52 p.m.

“We’ve got to address the systemic racism in our justice system. We can’t just say ‘law and order.'”

Clinton is glad the federal government is ending private prisons. “I want to end them in the state systems.”

9:51 p.m.

Hillary Clinton bemoans the negative picture Trump paints of the Black community.

“Stop and frisk was found to be unconstitutional,” Hillary says.

9:50 p.m.

Trump bemoans Chicago, “I have property there.”

9:48 p.m.

Holt: “Stop and frisk has been ruled unconstitutional.”

Trump: “No, you’re wrong.” Blames the judge and current mayor.

9:47 p.m.

Trump, “African Americans live in Hell.” Calls for bringing back “stop and frisk.”

9:46 p.m.

Trump: “We need law and order. When I look at Charlotte, NC, a city where I have investments.”

9:44 p.m.

Holt turns to the question of race. “Everyone should be respected by the law,” Clinton says. “And everyone should respect the law.”

Clinton speaks of “brave police officers” who also want reform.

Clinton: “We have to tackle the plague of gun violence.”

9:43 p.m.

No focus. Clinton and Trump go back and forth. Lester Holt again tries to take the reigns.

9:42 p.m.

Trump, “Look, it’s all words. It’s all sound bytes.”

Regarding people who did not get paid, “I took advantage of the laws of the country.”

9:40 p.m.

Hillary speaks of people she’s met who were “stiffed” by Donald Trump.

Trump does not deny the accusation from Clinton, “Maybe he didn’t do a good job and didn’t deserve to be paid.”

9:38 p.m.

Again, Trump speaks. Lester Holt has lost control.

9:37 p.m.

“As far as my tax returns, you don’t learn much from tax returns. You learn from financial disclosures,” Trump said.

9:35 p.m.

Hillary Clinton: Trump’s paid zero in federal taxes. What’s he hiding? “There’s something he’s hiding.”

“Were he ever to get near the White House, what would the conflicts be?”

9:34 p.m.

Clinton, “For 40 years, or 39, everyone running for president has released their tax returns.”

9:31 p.m.

Lester Holt to Trump: “You have not released your tax returns.”

“I’m under a routine audit and I will release them” as soon as the audit is over.

Dancing away from the question, now talking about a trade deficit.

Holt presses Trump on his taxes. Trump says he gets audited often by the IRS.

9:30 p.m.

Trump goes after Clinton again. “We are in a big, fat, ugly bubble.”

9:28 p.m.

Lester Holt has lost control of the debate. Clinton speaks of the “Trump loophole,” “Trumped up trickle down” economics.

“I don’t think top-down works in America,” Clinton says.

9:19 p.m.

Hillary speaking of her record. Donald Trump keeps squinting.

The moderator, Lester Holt has already lost control of the debate.

9:18 p.m.

Hillary is keeping her cool. Donald Trump is speaking to Hillary.

 

9:15 p.m.

The debate is on. Donald Trump is wandering, drinking water already. Hillary’s best take-away so far? “Trump Dump Trickle Down Economics.

 


How Hillary got her groove back

“Today I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can!”

With those words, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton ended her historic run for the White House and endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States. Senator Clinton said everything she needed to say, and more, with her sound endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for president Saturday.

While some supporters called for Clinton to form a third party and challenge both Democrats and Republicans for the White House, there’s no indication that Mrs. Clinton took any of these ideas seriously.

Instead, Mrs. Clinton graciously thanked her supporters, strongly urging them to support Obama’s candidacy.

To all those who voted for me, and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding. You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country.

Some have said Hillary dallied too long on her campaign, that she should have spent more time talking about Barack.

But those words ring hollow.  Her supporters stood by her even as she spoke Saturday, and this was their time as much as it was hers.

This has been an extraordinary primary campaign season.  For the first time in the history of the United States, a woman and a black man stood as the front-runners overall in the primaries.  Both Clinton and Obama top John McCain in national polls throughout the primary campaigns.  Senator Clinton stood strong until she decided that it was time to suspend this campaign, and endorse another.

I would caution Democrats who might resent Hillary staying in the campaign as long as she did.  Some, I know, have become angry that she didn’t “get it” like they thought she should and bow out, leave the once crowded stage so Barack could concentrate on November.

But I disagree.

What she did, in fact, was extraordinary, and we owe her our gratitude.  Senator Clinton fought.  This was not ego — this was history in the making.

Hillary did not “get her groove back” by endorsing Senator Obama.

The Senator from New York had it all along.


It’s Hillary-day

Today, it’s all about the Senator from New York.

Today, Senator Clinton endorses the Senator from Illinois for President of the United States. Today is Hillary-day.

The Associated Press reported Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton met Thursday at the Washington home of California Senator Dianne Feinstein, and emerged from the meeting laughing.

They spent one hour alone, without aides, without Senator Feinstein, “in two comfortable chairs facing one another.”

No one else was present during the meeting and nothing was served except water.

“There was a desire on both sides, I think, to have private meeting,” Feinstein said.

This has been a spectacular campaign season.

“They called me when it was over,” Feinstein said. “I came down and said, `Good night everybody, I hope you had a good meeting.’ They were laughing, and that was it.”

Today, it’s all about the Senator from New York.

Mrs. Clinton, thank you. Thank you for hanging in there. Thank you for fighting.  Thank you for taking this nation where it has never, ever gone before. Thank you for taking the challenge and not giving up. Thank you for fighting to the end. Thank you demonstrating strength, integrity, and class.

Madame Senator, thank you.

Today is your day.

The best is yet to come.


Hillary Clinton will ‘strongly’ back Barack Obama

From HillaryClinton.com:

Dear Friend,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party’s nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you — and everyone who supported me — a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I’m going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Full-speed ahead to the White House.  Republicans are terribly overconfident, and Democrats have a ton of work to do.  Focus must remain on policy differences: McCain/Bush II, or a strong voice for diplomacy and common sense in Barack Obama.

The candidates couldn’t be more different.


Has the Well Run Dry for Clinton?

The Chicago Sun-Times’ Michael Sneed reports on rumors circulating among Democrats that Hillary Clinton’s campaign is running out of money:

Scoop du jour? Sneed hears major money problems in the Clinton camp may soon become a coroner knocking on her campaign door.

To wit: Word is the cash feeding into Hillary Clinton’s campaign coffers has not only slowed down in a big way, undisclosed campaign debts that have yet to be made public could signal the end and have insiders biting their nails.Translation: “It won’t necessarily be politics which may force her out of the race,” said a top Dem source. “There is no hanky panky going on, but Hillary needs to raise money to stay alive . . . and word is she may not be able to climb out of the money hole.”

The buckshot: “I think it’s safe to say Hillary’s not going to dip into her pocket again,” the source added. “And if her employees start taking pay cuts while chasing the dream . . . it’s usually the beginning of the body becoming totally cold.”

That would be too bad, but yet another sign that Mrs. Clinton might want to consider another path for herself.

Look, I could be dead wrong, and Hillary could somehow wrap up the Democratic nomination for President.  Mathematically, it does not appear that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will have enough delegates to claim the prize before the convention.  However, Senator Obama has the energy right now, and I don’t see that lapsing. 

Sen. Bob Casey’s endorsement in Pittsburgh today was an extraordinary coup for Obama. Casey is a moderate, pro-life Democrat with wide appeal to the voters of Pennsylvania.  My father called me today from Pittsburgh, and he was beaming.  Dad is already a strong Obama supporter, but was especially heartened to hear about Casey’s “thumbs-up” for Barack.

I said earlier that Obama would close the gap.  I’m not foolish enough to make predictions.  Many in the media made that mistake many times in the past.  Forget Dewey Defeats Truman (Thank you Chicago Tribune for that).  I remember going to sleep late on election night in 2000 after Peter Jennings told me that Kerry had won Florida.

Oy.

I disagree with some of my friends on Facebook who say that White America will be scared off by a black face.

Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. has the worst conceivable name for a politician in the post 9-11 era.

But I know he can to do it.

Americans are ready for hope again.

And this time, the path to hope does not lie with a Clinton.


Hillary Landing in Bosnia


Passportgate: Big Brother Watching The Dems

Yet another sleazy scandal from the Republican Regime. From WTEA TV’s The Pittsburgh Channel:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that the passport files of both Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama were accessed without authorization by employees of the State Department.

News organizations this morning were reporting that Sen. Barack Obama’s passport files had been accessed by the State Department. Now it’s Hillary as well. Now it’s Condi Rice making the Apology Circuit:

“We are very concerned about this,” Ms. Rice said. “I told him that I was sorry and I told him that I myself would be very disturbed if I learned that somebody had looked into my passport file.”

The breaches occurred in 2007. Two State Department employees have been fired over the incident.

So, what did they know, and when did they know it?

And who else did they take a peek at?

UPDATE: 11:37 a.m.

According to The Swamp at the Chicago Tribune, Sen. John McCain’s “passport files got an unauthorized viewing at the State Department.”

Will someone in the Bush Administration please speak up for the Bill of Rights?


Barack Wins Wyoming

The Senator from Illinois has taken Wyoming Democratic caucuses.  As he should have.

The Sun-Times reports:

Barack Obama captured the Wyoming Democratic caucuses Saturday, seizing a bit of momentum in the close, hard-fought race with rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for the party’s presidential nomination.

Obama generally has outperformed Clinton in caucuses, which reward organization and voter passion more than do primaries. With Saturday’s victory, the Illinois senator has now won 13 caucuses to Clinton’s three.

Barack has a distinct edge when it comes to caucusing.  Give him and his supporters a few minutes of your time, and they will convince you of his passion for serving this country.  Obama demonstrates the vision Clinton lacks.  But Clinton is smart and would serve this country well.

Here’s the problem Democrats have that Republicans do not: we have two excellent candidates running for President of the United States.  Before that, we had many more excellent candidates who were running for  President of the United States.

The Republicans had to settle.  Ask them.  They’ll tell you.