All in All, a G'Day for Hillary
"I need all the sympathy I can get," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton confessed early this afternoon.
Apparently so. Trailing Sen. Barack Obama in delegates, the popular vote and opinion polls, the New York Democrat chose an unusual shoulder on which to cry -- that of Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd.
The two were planning to talk for five or 10 minutes at the Brookings Institution at noon, after a speech the prime minister gave and before Clinton traveled to Harrisburg, Pa., for a campaign event. But the pair spent a half hour behind closed doors, and they emerged smiling and whispering for the mostly Australian cameras.
Rudd immediately offered the former first lady the pity she was seeking.
"I have every sympathy for Hillary today," he said.
The prime minister, in granting his sympathy, was referring to the rigors of the campaign trail. But it is widely suspected that his Clinton sympathies go deeper than that.
The source of this speculation is Rudd's appearance last November on a show called "Rove Live," hosted not by Karl Rove but by Australian comedian Rove McManus. During an interview that included the question "who would you turn gay for?", Rudd was asked whether he preferred Clinton or Obama. He chose Clinton.
That, however, was before the Labor leader defeated incumbent Prime Minister John Howard. Now in office, Rudd must be more circumspect. An Australian reporter asked the prime minister, with Clinton at his side, whether he stood by his endorsement.
"I'm a good friend of Senator Clinton's," was his vague reply.
That's not a denial. It should also be noted that Obama won't be getting the face time Clinton got with Rudd. Though the prime minister is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with presumptive GOP nominee John McCain, he is doing his meeting with Obama by telephone.
Too bad for Clinton that foreign heads of government don't have superdelegate status.
-- Dana Milbank
By washingtonpost.com Editors |
March 31, 2008; 2:08 PM ET
Hillary Clinton
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Posted by: GandalftheGrey | March 31, 2008 2:43 PM
Well, I'm so pleased for Hillary that she has one supporter left. Too bad that he can't vote for her.
Posted by: Lilly | March 31, 2008 3:18 PM
Good riddance to John Howard however this mate's even bloody worse.
Posted by: Roddy Langstaffel | March 31, 2008 3:59 PM
Obama's life story:
Born to polygamist muslim father and converted mother
Brought up by muslim step father and converted mother in Indonesia, country of Bali bombing
Converted to Christianity and mentored by "Black KKK" leader Wright
Funded Wright to reward domestic terrorist "Farrakhan"
Friend of "Liberal Tim McVay" Dorhn and Ayres (http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/22/15723/1610)
Other than that he is "Gandhi" or
Enemy of the state
Posted by: Seed of Change | March 31, 2008 4:19 PM
Innocent whiteman was killed today in Philly by a group of 5 gang members for fun.......
This story takes place everyday in the street of Chicago.....
Obama and Osama's word's are spreading those hates in heart of innocent young people.
Obama makes his daughter listen to "Black KKK" message. What do you think is the effect of that?
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080328__Targeted_for_no_reason_.html
Posted by: Seed of Change | March 31, 2008 4:21 PM
Will Hillary now claim another "victory" in another Big state? Australia where she won the popular vote 1-0, thus giving her the momentum she sought to go all the way to the convention. Sympathy indeed !
Posted by: jmsbh | March 31, 2008 4:48 PM
Even by normal Dana Milbank standards, this one was more irrelevant that usual.
Posted by: citizenjane | March 31, 2008 5:41 PM
Barrack Obama insulted Australia and its previous Prime Minister last year by trivializing Australia's commitment to Iraq. Australia is the only nation that has stood with the US in every conflict since WWI. Is poking your finger in the eye of your allies your idea of "change", Mr. Obama?
No wonder Rudd is backing Hillary.
Posted by: Platypus | March 31, 2008 7:19 PM
And the point of this article was exactly what? That Hillary couldn't find an actual US citizen to speak to in the United States?
Posted by: rvloser | March 31, 2008 8:11 PM
to milbank & all the pie-in-the-sky far-left: when mccain landslides obama in november please take a good long look in the mirror, I assure you that's where you'll find those responsible for the defeat that should never have been.
african-americans you've surprised this white liberal, while I've heard the rants of people like wright before, I didn't know it represented the mainstream of african-american thinking. now I know. after all the years of supporting minority causes, I will no longer. barack's candidacy will destroy the Democratic Party & set back race relations for many years to come. it's quite unfortunate.
Posted by: binnewater | March 31, 2008 8:44 PM
How is it all the racists, hacks and whack-jobs seem to find this discussion boards? Present company not excluded.
Anyway I'm not even sure what this article was supposed to be about... what is she doing spending time with him now? Are Aussies a big constituency suddenly?
Posted by: ep thorn | March 31, 2008 11:12 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Among the debts reported this month by Hillary Rodham Clinton's struggling presidential campaign, the $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign staff stands out.
Clinton, who is being pressured to end her campaign against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, has made her plan for universal health care a centerpiece of her agenda.
The campaign provides health insurance to all its employees, their spouses, partners and children -- and that wasn't interrupted by any lag in payments to insurance providers, said Jay Carson, a Clinton campaign spokesman.
He said the campaign this month paid off all outstanding bills to Aetna Healthcare and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Those payments will be reflected on a report the campaign will file this month with the Federal Election Commission, which Carson said will show "zero debt owed to both vendors."
"Sometimes invoices are not paid immediately because we need additional information for our records, or to verify expenses," Carson said in a statement e-mailed to Politico. "Sometimes invoices arrive at the very end of the month at the cutoff of the reporting period, which means that we are required to report them as a debt on the current FEC report, even where they are paid in regular course during the next month."
But the unpaid bills to Aetna were at least two months old, according to FEC filings.
They show the campaign ended last year owing Aetna more than $213,000 for "employee benefits."
During the first two months of the year, the campaign did not pay down any of that debt. In fact, it accrued another $16,000 in unpaid bills last month, and it finished the month owing Aetna $229,000.
(Excerpted from article by Kenneth P. Vogel in Politico.com)