Hillary's Bosnia Lie(s) will ensure a GOP victory if she wins the Democratic nomination.

[Indepatriot]

The Kochs will have this on a 24/7 loop for all to see. Those who forgot will be reminded. Those who didn't know will be appalled. I'm not saying the GOP candidates are a better alternative. They are not. I AM saying that this incident makes HRC UNELECTABLE. (jurors: if this isn't relevant to choosing a winning candidate, what is?)

[djean111]

1. The Bosnia lie is an insult to all veterans. n/t

[roguevalley]

23. she forgot that world of warcraft doesn't constitute military experience.

[cali]

2. fucking ridiculous.

[cali]

12. lol. thanks, Ag

[Cali_Democrat]

26. I don't think you needed to edit it.

Your initial post was accurate, but perhaps grammatically incorrect.

[cali]

29. funny, I think you're that and so much.... well, let's just say

You encompass a great many "qualities"

[Cali_Democrat]

36. Thank you. nt

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. No it will not.

This was old news at the time of the 2008 primaries and it got thorough exposure then. She handled the fall out from it well enough then, next time around it would be an even more minor blip. Every one has to deal with a few warts, this will dominate nothing. Sorry to have to disagree. I'm backing Bernie but this doesn't concern me if Hillary gets the nomination.

[karynnj]

18. Yes and no - Bosnia did not cause her to lose, but she did not handle it well.

The Bosnia claims became an issue when, in reality,her campaign was no longer the favorite to win. Though the Bosnia claims started as early as December 2007, they only became a big issue issue in late February and early March. The best summary article I can find was written by a journalist who was on the 1996 trip. https://sharylattkisson.com/hillary-clintons-dodging-sniper-fire-in-bosnia-tale/ What is clear is that the campaign and HRC did NOT handle this all that well. Even worse, Bill Clinton revived the story when the story was nearly dead in mid April - and worse, blamed it on HRC's exhaustion.

So, it is true that the Bosnia story and how it was handled did not lose her the nomination. The reason though was that - even though it was hard to see at that time - she had already transitioned from the inevitable winner (up to February 5) to the underdog.

The first inkling that the Clinton team was worried, was the new meme that started almost as soon as the super Tuesday results were in - that there was a "national primary vote count" and that superdelegates might opt to go with a candidate who won that - while losing the delegate race. Only ONE candidate could have benefited from that - and it was an indication that they saw they really could lose the race for delegates. (Super Tuesday was February 5, 2008)

The campaign expectation had been that it would be that day when HRC became the de facto nominee. In reality, the two candidates were in a near tie with Obama actually winning slightly more delegates. Additionally, Clinton's team had not done as much as they should have for the next group of contests - because they were seen as really likely to be sort of after she won. Obama's campaign had dug in well in those states. When they did very well in those states, the Clinton campaign was obviously losing. By the time that the Bosnia story was there, Obama was the frontrunner.

It is hard to know the impact that this could have in 2008. It is an old story and it has been corrected. However, consider that attacks work best when they hit something that fits with previous views of the person. (ie Clinton could have misspelled potato or any other word and it would have been inconsequential ). Here - this fits two things. The more extreme is that she has a "Walter Mitty" streak - and that could include claiming other things that where her involvement was less than hyped. The other is that it feeds the view of being dishonest and lying. I think THAT is what is being referred to when they speak of a potential Republican ad.

[Tom Rinaldo]

19. Bottom llne, IMO, they would go for her with other hit pieces

This one turns out to not be such a clean hit anyway. If they didn't have more fresh material to work with, this might serve their purpose but they have other charges they would lead with. If they try digging back too far with rehashed "controversies", I think it would backfire against the GOP. They almost always have a tendency to overplay their hand, and using this material I believe would be an example of just that.

[karynnj]

22. I agree that newer attacks will be the focus

but I think they might list it and other "rw laundry list examples" to expand an attack from something specific to a pattern. it is true they will do that to anyone, but this is an area where Hillary Clinton - much more so than Bill Clinton, has given them ammunition.

Needless to say, given their cast of characters, the Republicans might have no standing to speak of accuracy or honesty.

[Walk away]

5. Unless she is rumming against a republican (sarcasm)....

who are on the record as lying constantly about important things. "My brother kept us safe"

[Indepatriot]

8. "My brother kept us safe" is a misguided opinion. Lying on camera several times about coming under

sniper fire is not. Besides, " Our candidate lies less than yours is NOT a winning platform.

[Walk away]

33. It's too bad no one seems to care enough about Bernie to bother to check....

if he has ever lied. Maybe now that he has managed to get on a magazine cover America can find out more about him and his politics.

[Politicalboi]

6. It's just the opposite

[Walk away]

34. Hillary was IN Bosnia. Where was Bernie? nt

[pa28]

38. Just like Patton.

[HassleCat]

7. I think people are accustomed to this

The Gipper told a whole story abut being present when US forces liberated a Nazi concentration camp. Only true Reagan haters, like me, held it against him. The lapdog media reported it as some kind of joke, a funny anecdote, a parable like those Jesus told. Of course, the corporate media will hound her about it, since she's not Ronald Reagan, and the Hillary Haters will have it on their websites, but I think most voters will ignore it. If she is hounded too mercilessly, people may even feel sympathetic toward her, the way they felt toward her husband when he was being impeached for lying about oral sex.

[Indepatriot]

10. So, "our candidate lies less than yours, and shucks, we really like her husband" is a winner?

[HassleCat]

39. Yes, of course

You an see it as the lesser of two evils, if that's how it impresses you. Keep in mind, this is what we get in the normal course of things. It's not good situation, but the voters are conditioned to accept it.

[restorefreedom]

9. i actually think her current hawkishness is a bigger threat.

sure nobody likes a liar, but her present positions and history regarding war war war are much more of a threat in an election. Nobody's gonna forget the Iraq war, and the fact that she seems to be completely hawkish about other countries as well notably iran, is not going to endear her to many people. Except for the GOP wing nuts and the MIC, nobody wants to see another war.

[jfern]

37. Including the Saddam Al Qaeda lie she made up

[Hortensis]

11. Frivolous, and I'm NOT saying this as a Hillary supporter.

I've refused to grab on to plenty of obvious Republican mis-speaks over the years

One SHOULD wonder why Hillary, who knows that every. single. public. step. she has taken in decades is recorded, usually on film, and that every. single. public. and. private. action is always mined for ammunition by her enemies, so badly mischaracterized what happened when she stepped off a plane 24 years before -- in front of cameras and a crowd of witnesses. I.e., told a baldfaced lie guaranteed to delight her enemies and offend offendable veterans.

It was unquestionably a brain fart. Either she

1. Forgot that she is always under fire and that such a big, dramatic lie would be immediately and eagerly snatched up by her many enemies to use as ammunition. (I find this one literally impossible to believe.)

Or,

2. After having made a number of trips into risky areas over her career, and long after this one took place 24 years before, she genuinely misremembered what happened, at least long enough to make this mistake. Misremembering, or recalling memories wrong, happens to all of us all the time.

As for this election, sure this hurts her among people who wouldn't vote for her anyway, which is to say it doesn't hurt her at all -- with them. I think this is where those eager to magnify anything that can be used against her miscalculate its impact.

The question is whether as another negative piled on top of serious position questions it will influence enough undecided voters to make a difference. Its virtue, of course, is that it'll seem clear enough on a negative TV ad. No need to actually think or know anything about this "issue."

[Indepatriot]

14. Hope you know a good chiropractor after all the contortions you just went through....

[NCTraveler]

15. Lol nt

[LonePirate]

16. This will never be an issue in the 2016 campaign.

It's questionable ancient history and nobody cares. If it is any consolation, I'm sure there is a GOPer somewhere who appreciates all of the opposition research against Dems being conducted by DUers.

[roguevalley]

24. Thank you for consulting your crystal ball for us. This will be there with a zillion other things

because they said two years ago they were digging for her with a religious zeal.

[AgingAmerican]

17. This is stupid

I never fell for this one. Sinbad isn't privy to military and secret service communications. I do remember Obama supporters going on and on and on about this one back in 2008.

[roguevalley]

25. given that my nephew was in the bosnian war and got sniped every time he went to the latrine

this matters to me. What a complete ass hat remark this was. Put santorum there instead of her and you would have it as a sig line. No quarter on those who use war for a tool of advancement. Fuck that shit forever.

[cheapdate]

20. Clearly, many of my fellow Americans feel differently,

but flying into Tuzla, Bosnia during the Bosnian War WAS dangerous. There WAS gunfire and ordnance all around the airfield. Planes landing there had very recently been hit by gunfire. There WERE snipers operating in the general vicinity. If her memory of what must have been a tense experience gave solidity to her (very rational) fear of being shot and killed, then I can understand.

Same for Brian Williams. He WAS flying in a formation of military helicopters over contested territory. The formation WAS attacked and shot at. So...here is Brian Williams strapped into his seat while the door-gunner is returning fire with a machine gun. My God, that had to have been a terrifying experience. One of the other helicopters in the formation WAS hit with gunfire. If Brian Williams retelling of the event was off in some of the details, then I can easily understand.

These "incidents" are non-issues to me. But of course, many of my fellow Americans see things differently.

[HereSince1628]

21. It'll be an automatic connection between reporter and subject

in an MSNBC Brian Williams--Hillary Clinton interview

I think this could work out.

[4139]

27. It helped sink her in 2008 without being on TV ads

March 19, 2008

PRINCETON, NJ -- New Gallup Poll Daily tracking finds Hillary Clinton with a 49% to 42% lead over Barack Obama in national Democratic voters' presidential nomination preference. http://www.gallup.com/poll/105205/gallup-daily-clinton-moves-into-lead-over-obama.aspx

Then Saturday March 22, 2008:
Sniper Fire, and Holes In Clinton's Recollection
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/21/AR2008032102989.html

[Ron Green]

28. Whether or not the Bosnia lies will be a vulnerability, there is so much baggage.

And that's the problem with HRC as the nominee: it'll become a giant negative campaign, with mountains of mud 24/7 on both sides.

With Bernie, it'll be "Socialist!!!1!" until people figure out that's meaningless, and then it'll be (can we hope?) issues. And that's precisely where we have to with elections in this country, right? Make it about issues.

With Hillary it's still negative attacks. We can't afford that any longer.

[SonderWoman]

30. And Bernie's lie about being the wealthiest nation on earth

When we're not, while wanting to spend $18T and claiming taxes won't go up will sink him before he even begins.

[Tom Rinaldo]

31. He will need to talk economics, true

But I think Americans can grasp the pros and cons of his programs including the cost benefit analysis now that someone (Bernie!) is willing to lay it all out there - most Democratic office holders just won't go there because they are too beholden to their big donors, if not outright complicit in the rigged status quo - Bernie can and will blow that wide open.

In regards to saying America is the wealthiest nation on Earth - that is about as controversial as apple pie whether or not it is technically true.

[artislife]

40. Lame nt

[JoePhilly]

32. Another dumbass RW talking point posted on DU.

[neverforget]

35. She shouldn't have said it

[artislife]

41. It isn't made up

It is a Hillary talking point. She is the source of this....smh