NY Daily News: Bill Clinton told Ted Kennedy that Obama 'would be getting us coffee' a few years ago

[marmar]

Bill Clinton told Ted Kennedy that Obama 'would be getting us coffee' a few years ago: 'Game Change'

BY Helen Kennedy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, January 10th 2010, 2:44 PM


Bill Clinton helped sink his wife's chances for an endorsement from Ted Kennedy by belittling Barack Obama as nothing but a race-based candidate.

"A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee," the former president told the liberal lion from Massachusetts, according to the gossipy new campaign book, "Game Change."

The book says Kennedy was deeply offended and recounted the conversation to friends with fury.

After Kennedy sided with Obama, Clinton reportedly griped, "the only reason you are endorsing him is because he's black. Let's just be clear."

The revelations in "Game Change" are guaranteed to reopen the 2008 Clinton racial wounds that had been scabbing over amid his post-election public silence and his wife's high marks as Secretary of State.

Laden with potent pass-the-torch symbolism, the January 2008 endorsement of Obama by Kennedy and his niece, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg was a pivotal campaign moment that allowed the Democratic establishment to abandon the Clintons. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/01/10/2010-01-10_bill_clinton_told_ted_kennedy_that_president_obama.html

[leftstreet]

1. oh my

:popcorn:

[Sebastian Doyle]

2. Can't wait to hear the Clinton worshippers response to this.

:popcorn:

[FLAprogressive]

6. oh me too....

it's fun watching Clintonites....some act as if Clinton and Obama are not different sides of the same DLC coin.

[shopgreen]

17. "Political reporting" means "royal court gossip"

I do believe they are both part of the same DLC coin. Yet, the book is as glen says it is.


"Political reporting" means "royal court gossip" By Glenn Greenwald
08:20:11 PM »
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/

...This reaction has nicely illuminated what our press corps is. The book is little more than royal court gossip, churned out by the leading practitioner of painfully sycophantic, Drudge-mimicking cattiness: Time's Mark Halperin. And all of the courtiers, courtesans, court spokespeople (i.e., "journalists") and hangers-on who populate our decadent little Versailles on the Potomac can barely contain their glee over the opportunity to revel in this self-absorbed sleaze. Virtually every "political news" TV show is hyping it. D.C. reporters are boasting that they obtained early previews and are excitedly touting how intensively they're studying its pages in order to identify the most crucial revelations. Just try to contemplate how things would be if even a fraction of this media energy and interest level were devoted to scrutinizing the non-trivial things political leaders do.

Revealingly, one of the sections receiving the most attention is the microscopic examination of the sexual proclivities of John Edwards, his marital conflicts with his wife, and their various personality flaws. That reaction is predictable and, obviously, predicted, which is why the lengthy excerpt they released focuses on those matters. Notably, the Edwards scandal was relentlessly pursued and first "broken" by The National Enquirer, and I defy anyone to read the book excerpt on Edwards (to the extent you can even get through it) and identify any differences between the book's tone, content and "reporting" methods and those found in the Enquirer. Meanwhile, Matt Drudge -- crowned by Halperin and the co-author for his prior book, Politico Editor-in-Chief John Harris, as The Ruler of The World of Political Journalists -- has been (in return) screamingly promoting the book non-stop for days, as has Drudge's cloned, adopted child, Politico.

This is the most revealing aspect of this episode. The National Enquirer, Matt Drudge and Politico aren't aberrational extremes in our press corps. As Halperin and Harris correctly noted in calling Washington journalism "The Freak Show," they are at its epicenter, leading the way. The reason there is such a complete merger of interest among low-life tabloids, Matt Drudge, reality shows and the Washington political press corps is precisely because they are indeed indistinguishable -- merged. Even for people who thought that John Edwards' sexual activities were relevant when he was running for President or vying for a high administration position, at this point he is a completely destroyed, discredited non-entity with no political future, and mucking around in the life of him and his wife is pure sleazy voyeurism. Subjecting the Edwards to this sort of vicious, judgmental scrutiny is a cost-free activity, which is why so many are so eager to engage in it...

[chimpymustgo]

26. Please post this as an OP. Greenwald, as always, nails it.

[Old and In the Way]

27. Mark Halperin

'nuff said. I certainly won't lose any sleep over anything he 'reports'.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

21. It was even MORE fun in the Primaries when progressives said Barack was different.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:



:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[shopgreen]

10. I do not listen to vile gossip.

[seeinfweggos]

14. ok, so you don't like obama and you don't like bill clinton

and you are a democrat?

with friends like you. well at least you won't be working to defeat democrats in the fall. i guess that's good.

[Sebastian Doyle]

15. I like Democrats. Not DLC'ers.

And you're one to talk, serial Democrat basher.

[seeinfweggos]

18. i guess you are referring to the one single democrat you seem to like

and not your avatar either

[liberalmuse]

16. Well, my bullshit meter is tinging over this. Bigtime.

I'm sure as hell not going to jump on Clinton over this allegation until there's something more substantial to back it up, because I don't believe everything I read.

[saracat]

3. This book is nothing but sheer unudulterated garbage completely filled

with mischaracterizations and hate designed to rip appart the last vestigages of the Democratic Party.

[dflprincess]

11. Strange how no one complains about that in the threads

that discuss what the book says about the Republicans.

Personally, I think those sections are gospel. :evilgrin:

[saracat]

32. Actually there is quite a lot about the GOP I think is garbage too!

[Electric Monk]

4. Oh oh

:spank:

[Terra Alta]

5. do we really need to rehash the primaries?

*yawn*

[Canuckistanian]

7. ... and the Clintons put condoms on the WH Xmas tree

It's true, because someone said it one time.

[shopgreen]

12. and so many on DU are ready to believe anything they hear.

[graywarrior]

8. Jeeze, Ted describes it a little different in his book

Never mentions the coffee bit.

[Bucky]

30. There's certain things a gentleman doesn't talk about.

That's what you Halperin for instead: unsourced rumor mongering.

[shopgreen]

9. Gawd, what a sexist comment.

:P :P :P :P :P :P :9 :9 :9

[Beacool]

13. Oh, the saintly Teddy was offended by something Bill said?

That's a joke!!!

Teddy wanted to anoint Obama as successor to "Camelot" and he would have endorsed him regardless of what Bill may or may not have said.

:eyes:

[sendero]

19. I'm no big fan of Clinton....

... either of them, but I doubt that this was ever said by Bill Clinton.

[marmar]

20. A few years ago, I would have agreed with you.....After last year, I don't know.....

.... The Man from Hope, the first president I was eligible to vote for, the man whose 1992 campaign got me excited about politics, is really tarnished in my eyes now.

[sendero]

23. One thing for sure..

... I'm pretty disillusioned with Obama, I think he sucks as a president and I've made no secret of it here.

But if Bill said that, he's a fucking asshole racist and I can't STAND a racist. I wish we had some way of knowing.

[marmar]

24. I see the same thing happening with Obama as with Clinton......

From campaign trail idealist to compromised president.....Maybe that's just the system and it doesn't matter who gets elected. Whatever the case is, it's all very disheartening.

[seeinfweggos]

33. bill clinton was an excellent president. i hope obama is as good

so far he is doing an outstanding job

[Mike Nelson]

22. I Would Get Coffee for...

Clinton, Kennedy, or Obama!

[ChicagoSuz219]

28. So would I!

Assuming, for a minute, that Clinton did say this... I heard it as a reference to his age/inexperience, not as racist.

[Bucky]

31. I would get coffee for McCain, Lieberman, or Palin

just don't ask me what I'd dip in it on the way back from the kitchen... ;)

[Autumn]

25. Sure,

smells like bullshit to me.IMO

[quinnox]

29. Unrec'

I don't believe this, Bill Clinton would not make this statement in the first place. Sounds like B.S. to me! Just because some one writes a book they want to sell does not mean everything in it is true.