Watched Carville and Bill Bennett on CNN just now. Bennett was right, and Carville was a mess.

[Faygo Kid]

I never thought I would say this, but Bill Bennett was right, and Carville was a drooling mess, in discussing the New Yorker. Carville loved it - The New Yorker has a great reputation. Therefore it was good. Bennett called it for the crap that it is, neither funny nor effective, as satire is supposed to be.

There is ugliness afoot in this land, and it isn't all the Freepers, or the Bushites. I am calling James Carville out on this one. And I am really, really unhappy that I am not surprised by his comments, because I would much rather be shocked.

Here at DU, we don't speak about the unspoken. But if I, who worked for Gene McCarthy in 1968 and cast my first (and best) vote for George McGovern in 1972 have to remain silent about the import of Carville's remarks - well, let's just say DU has seen better days.

For those of you who see this before it is deleted, I hope that you join me in recognizing that there are issues that need to be dealt with if we are to prevent a President McCain. I mean no offense to others. But this has gone on long enough.

[NattPang]

1. Carville was a mess because he was more interested

in defending the New Yorker,
than defending Barack Obama.
It was quite obvious.
Someone should let him know
that John McCain has this
acting coach who helps people
who need to lie better on
television.

[TheDonkey]

3. unfortunately primary bitterness is still in full force

we saw the hysteria over fisa and now the defense of the New Yorker smears. It's a mess all right.

[Frustratedlady]

8. Have you ever noticed that when Carville is lying...

he can't open his eyes?

[NYC_SKP]

27. Yes, and I noticed he rarely can open his eyes!

[Cha]

57. When Obama is President..

carville can take comfort that his drooling had no part of that and we as a country can move forward without him and his ilk.

[Not the Only One]

2. well, Carville still thinks of Obama in terms of "presumptive" nominee

I haven't seen much evidence that Team Clinton is really on board with getting Obama elected. It's all perfunctory, bare-minimum stuff.

[NattPang]

5. Same Clinton MO as before.

It isn't ever about the country,
and what we need.

[EV_Ares]

10. Yeah, was thinking the same thing. Also, where is William and what is he doing.

Maybe they called up their friends at the New Yorker, who knows. Everything is such a screwed up mess anymore it seems. Whatever the hell occurs, I will just continue doing my little part in trying to help Barack get elected. Man, if he makes it through all the crap that has been thrown at him, he will be a pretty well seasoned young President his first day in office.

[MonkeyFunk]

24. umm...

Obama IS the presumptive nominee. :shrug:

[tabatha]

4. Mike Malloy also loves it.

[Ian David]

6. Part of the reason why Hillary lost is because she had douchebags like Carville working for her. n/t

[Colobo]

7. Exactly.

[EV_Ares]

11. Yeah, all he cares about his himself and anyone who could sleep with Cheney's top assistant, you

can't trust anyway.

[Beacool]

16. Carville was not on her payroll.

He was a supporter, but an unpaid one.

[Ian David]

28. Imaqgine how much more we would have seen him on TV if he was paid. n/t

[BeyondGeography]

29. You're right...he called Bill Richardson "Judas" for free

Smart dude, that Carville.

[Colobo]

40. ZING!

[Beacool]

53. Bill Richardson deserved it.

For various reasons and he (Bill) knows them.

[AllentownJake]

51. Carville was never "working" for her

and if he was things might have been different. Carville gave occasional advice and appeared on TV in support of her but never was a part of the campaign in any capacity other than someone who provided advice occassionally.

If she had Carville instead of Penn we'd be talking about Hillary's chances in November right now.

[Beacool]

54. You're probably correct.

But he hasn't worked for a campaign for years, he doesn't want to do it anymore. He'll give informal advice if asked, but nothing more.

[Pirate Smile]

9. The last time I saw Carville on CNN he was issuing threats toward the Obama camp and throwing a fit

about a NYT article. I would say he hasn't exactly climbed on the bandwagon yet. He may also just like the cover but he also still has the daggers out for Obama.

[Faygo Kid]

12. This was ugly tonight. And we still face this opposition.

Can't say any more here at DU about this very formidable problem. We all wear happy faces for unity, and deny reality, even though it is everywhere.

So here is a smiley face for you: :D

[butterfly77]

45. As does the New Yorker mag..

some of the media is trying to protect the Magazine saying there is no need to cancel your subscription..

[Peacetrain]

13. I was really confused by that interview too.

Did not understand it at all.

[Octafish]

14. Something's wrong, all right.

Either they're with them or they're compromised by extortion.

It has driven me mad for 45 years this November 22.

[Sugarcoated]

15. It felt very bizarro world

Bennett defending Obama and Carville, not really. Strange days indeed.

[Tutonic]

17. Carville, Lanny Davis, Howard Wolfsohn are three examples of

the good ole boys that controlled the political system until three months ago. Now they have no place to go--so like a bad body oder they keep following after the body politic. Also if these people are indicative of the type of politicians that Bill and Hillary are--then thank your lucky stars that Obama is the candidate. These "good ole boys" ain't nothin but the democratic version of red neck racists. Come November 5, 2008 the body is gonna get cleansed and leave the stench behind.

[Diane R]

23. Recommending a post. Well said.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skwmom]

19. Carville is a Clinton hack.

[Youphemism]

20. Carville is into vicious campaign tactics. Tact and empathy evade him. /nt

[Max_powers94]

21. Yall thought I was crazy when i said the Clintons maybe behind the New Yorker cover

:tinfoilhat:

[EstimatedProphet]

30. You're right. We did. We still do.

[Sheets of Easter]

31. One point in your sentence is correct.

[Colobo]

41. You know what? I've thought about it... it's not that far fetched...

[Ron Green]

22. You are wrong. Carville kicked Bennett's ASS.

Bennett kept saying how the magazine cover "failed" as satire, but if it failed, why in the hell was he on TV talking about it? The fact is that we DO need a "wide strike zone," as Carville put it, and we need MORE, not fewer, ideas and points of view in the public discourse. Bennett said that he has proclaimed "hundreds of times" on his radio show that Obama is not a Muslim. What bullshit! And why should it matter whether he's a Muslim or not? I cannot overstate the importance of this magazine cover as news, and how it begins to bring to light the lies and laziness that have too long passed for journalism in this country.

And when Anderson Cooper, over and over, has to remind people that the perceptions about Barack and Michelle are not true - well, that's a step in the right direction.

[EstimatedProphet]

32. Exactly

Do people really not get that the cover puts the whisper campaign in the light? That what it does is force everyone to deny the rumors going around, or look stupid? That's the entire point! This is one example of why it's working!

People don't like the cover, so they assume that the people that do are wrong, and then whatever they are arguing is automatically wrong by default. So automatically Carville "lost" because Bennett said things that the OP agreed to, rather than actually looking at what is going on.

[wyldwolf]

39. yep. And they're defending BILL BENNETT!!!

[mtnsnake]

50. That's what so-called DU activists do. They whine about great Dems like Carville & applaud repukes

instead. Figure that.

[Skwmom]

25. The more the Republicans can rely upon the Clinton gang to do their dirty work the better.

They can use it in the future to court the black vote.

[spag68]

26. Carville

I'm sorry if someone gives me grief, but I've always thought that he was a little creepy. And that wife of his is a real gem, too.

[wyldwolf]

33. Amazing. One, maybe two, people in this thread saw the interview...

... and everyone is ready to defend Bill Bennett based on their analysis of the interview because they can't let go of the primaries???

Unbelievable. Well, not really. Most people hear acted like they'd never seen a presidential primary before.

Reminder:

Bill Bennett - Neoconservative, "drug czar," "I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could ... abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." Yeah, THAT Bill Bennett.

And you'll defend that creep because your high-minded ideals were compromised in a political race?

:rofl:

[Vinca]

34. Actually, my husband and I happened to catch the interview together

and my husband muttered, "I never thought I'd see the day I'd agree with Bill Bennett." Me either. It's got nothing to do with the primaries.

[wyldwolf]

35. "It's got nothing to do with the primaries." Really?

The what is everyone else in this thread talking about?

[Vinca]

36. Excuse me. Am I allowed an opinion independent of everyone else?

I mentioned primaries because you mentioned primaries in your post. The primaries, in my mind, are long gone and I don't go there. There's no reason to look back when the future is so important. I thought Carville was being a jerk. He's often a jerk and it's got nothing to do with Clinton or the primaries.

[wyldwolf]

38. you certainly are, but then again why would you even think my post was referring to you personally?

Your name wasn't even in this thread until you replied to my post.

And surely you're not blind to see people piling on the Clintons and Carville in this thread and referencing the primaries.

[Faygo Kid]

42. OK, then, I've got Vinca's back. And it's Carville who is "piling on."

He's bitter, and it's time for this BS to stop. We have a nominee. It would be nice to see an all-out effort to prevent the words "President McCain" from becoming a reality, but Carville is so obviously embittered that he is less than useless. If he's going to be so obvious, he should at least just shut the hell up.

We have an election to win here, and it's time to get on the train.

[wyldwolf]

43. you just proved my point by having "Vinca's back." Kindly show us...

...where in the interview Carville was piling on? Your very reply shows it is you who can't let go of the primaries. Anyone with a different opinion is not the enemey. It IS time for this BS to stop. So stop it.

[Skwmom]

44. Who is defending him? I just said he was smart enough to use it

to court the black vote for the Republicans. Just because Bennett is a schmuck doesn't make Carville any less of one.

[Skwmom]

37. Hey Carville, great job you're doing in trying to win back the black vote for the Clintons.

You are a political genius (but hey, you've been schooled by the best of them).

[book_worm]

46. No surprise, I gave up on Carville years ago.

[Renew Deal]

47. Maybe Carville is trying to tell people something.

Like don't blow this up.

[LowerManhattanite]

48. This is the clown who bandied about “Judas”, went back channels to his wife...

“Madame McCheney” with info damaging to Dems, and embarrassed himself by putting a fuckin' trashcan over his head on-air—after getting everything wrong, wrong, WRONG as usual...

Carville's a joke. Useful and maybe even talented and insightful once—but a joke now.

He's got no game to speak of any more.

[AllentownJake]

52. He hasn't played the game for a long time in the US

As a pundit he's terrible, as a strategist I'd want him.

[mtnsnake]

49. Over the past 2 weeks Carville defended Obama more vigorously than any other Dem talking head

and here you are, sticking up for the Republicans like a true imbecile who is only doing this to turn it into another Carville/Clinton hate fest. James Carville is one of the only Democrats with enough balls to stick it to Republicans when they go after our candidates. If you paid any attention at all, you would have noticed this last week when Carville was on TV defending Obama from Republican attacks when all other Dems were saying nothing.

[Beacool]

55. Why bother to waste your breath?

:shrug:

[Major Hogwash]

56. I saw it too, unfortunately, and I realized that Carville has no clue why he is wrong.

Obama has already said the cartoon was tasteless and I agree with Obama.
It was about Obama and his wife, after all.

So, people that are still defending that piece of shit magazine should realize this was about Obama and his wife, Michelle.
And if they were offended by the cover - and they said the cover was tasteless, so I think they were - then I feel that I am right to agree with them.

If this cover would have been on some rightwing blog or magazine, I would have denounced it just as quickly.
It wasn't funny, and it doesn't help change the political discourse in this country, the way that Obama wants to change political discourse in this country.

[EstimatedProphet]

58. .

:rofl: