Top McCain aide: Thanks for softening Obama up for us.

[Abacus]

Last Friday, March 7, the Council on Foreign Relations hosted a discussion among top foreign policy advisors to Mr. Obama (Susan Rice), Ms. Clinton (Mara Rudman), and Mr. McCain (Randy Scheunemann). There’s audio of the whole event here. The event wasn’t insightful, but the tensions between the campaigns kept it from being boring. As you can imagine there were a few testy exchanges, including one where after Ms. Rudman told a rather large fib about Mr. Obama and NAFTA. More on that later.

The most revealing comment was not on foreign policy - a matter on which all of the advisors remained rather bland - but on the Democratic primaries. Mr. Scheunemann addressed Ms. Rudman:

Well, let me first address what Mara said about the experience and judgment. Can I just say, please keep running those 3 a.m. phone call ads about who you want to answer the phone - (laughter) - because we like those.

http://2parse.com/?p=347

[Bullet1987]

1. You think Clinton and her supporters give a shit at this point about the Party?

It's all about payback, spite, and getting back at Obama over Ferroro.

[easy_b94]

2. I hope Hillary looses her seat over this

[Thepricebreaker]

3. She will burn that convention down if she must. n/t

[Cha]

11. And on her way she's

Burning more than a few bridges.

I can't wait until that little decider wannabe gets the hook.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. whatever... they also said "thanks for picking Kerry" in 2004

I don't know what weight I'm supposed to give the standard Republican line.

They're not electorally stupid... they know how to create and exacerbate division.

[Abacus]

6. You do know that we lost in '04, right?

I like Kerry, but he wasn't the best candidate to put up against Bush. As it turns out, they were correct to thank us. (Crap, am I a Republican now?)

[EFerrari]

7. We didn't lose, they stole it. People hated Bush more than they disliked Kerry.

[Abacus]

9. We needed someone like Clinton or Clark in '04,

We need someone like Obama or Kerry now.

[EFerrari]

10. We need to work election protection so our winner gets seated.

:)

[Abacus]

12. I certainly agree with that :) /nt

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

14. The point is they would say the same either way

The same way no matter who we pick, they will be "the most liberal Senator"

[Yes We Did]

17. Yeah, and how did Kerry work out for us? Yeah... That's what I thought.

[oasis]

5. Yup, let's just give "Mr. Hope" the green light. Hillary had no business running

once she found out Obama had thrown his hat in the ring. :eyes:

[Abacus]

8. What? Are you in the correct thread?

I didn't say or imply anything of the sort.

[oasis]

15. If this is a "Hillary Should Not Oppose Barack Because it Makes the GOP Happy"

thread, then I posted correctly.;-)

[Abacus]

16. Not quite,

it's a "Hillary Should Not Use Rovian Fear Tactics that Even Clinton Supporter Paul Begala Says Gives Ammunition to the Republicans" thread.

[bunnies]

13. Hillary will make sure that if *she* cant win John does.

I think thats pretty obvious by now.

[cindyw]

18. I like to think he is getting tougher not softer.