Hillary's Macaca Moment

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

The archetypal example of the changes wrought by YouTube is the defeat of Virginia Senator George Allen due in part to his now-infamous Macaca moment.

The Year of the YouTube Campaign Video (Forensic Version)

by DHinMI Tue Mar 25, 2008

...We're currently in a very peculiar YouTube moment in the Democratic nomination contest. Over the last week Hillary Clinton has been trying to slough off criticism that she had a Walter Mitty Moment, in which she claimed that in 1996 she once landed in Tuzla, Bosnia, under sniper fire and had to run to her vehicle to escape the flying bullets. The truth, you probably now know, is that the Dayton accords had been signed the previous year, and that the Tuzla airport was safe enough that the President had visited it earlier in the year. Not only didn't she have to run for her life, she in fact participated in a calm ceremony on the tarmac with many people, including the President of Bosnia, an 8 year old Bosnian girl, and her daughter Chelsea.

What makes this a YouTube campaign moment isn't that someone caught Hillary Clinton in an unguarded or reckless moment and posted the video on YouTube for all to see. No, what makes this a YouTube campaign moment is that the video from 12 years ago has ended up on YouTube to show that Clinton is completely wrong in almost every one of her assertions about that visit to Tuzla.

As Keith Olberman explained, just about every detail Clinton gave was false, she's told the false story multiple times, she and her campaign refused for several days to admit she was wrong, and even now her mea culpa is hedged, not particularly forthcoming and is still less than candid in admitting that what she said was false:

...In the past, a campaign might have hoped that something like this would go away, that the traditional media, especially television news, would not run the old video. But the old video got out, via YouTube, and people have been looking at it for days...except, apparently, Hillary Clinton, who is still talking about what she was told, which doesn't hold up to what we, thanks to YouTube, can see with our own eyes.

more at the link

Wider still and wider: Tuzla-gate hits the front pages

by MBNYC Tue Mar 25, 2008

Ah, Google News: such a thing of beauty when you're tracking a story spreading like wildfire.

CNN: Clinton says she 'misspoke' about sniper fire

First Read: Clinton 'Misspoke'

CBS News: Starting Gate: Sniper Fire

ABC News: Footage Questions Senator's Account of 1996 Trip to Bosnia

Now, take a wild guess at just what's all over the morning shows? Oh no.

And the print media? Oh lord, yes, there's more >>>

MBNYC's diary :: ::
USA Today: Clinton says she 'misspoke' about sniper fire, calls misstatement a 'minor blip'

The New York Times: Clinton Says She ‘Misspoke’ About Dodging Sniper Fire

The Los Angeles Times: Video contradicts Clinton's tale of harrowing Bosnia arrival

The Washington Post: More Incoming Fire For Clinton

The Baltimore Sun: Clinton's 'landing under sniper fire,' a 'misstatement'

The Seattle Times: Clinton: "misspoke" on Bosnia incident

Interjection: what do you think all those quote marks around 'misspoke' mean? Maybe that nobody's buying that interpretation? But there's more.

The Boston Globe: Clinton embellished Bosnia visit

Oh, wire services, right, can't forget about those.

AFP : Clinton embarrassed over Bosnia gunfire claim

The Press Association: Clinton admits Bosnia memory 'blip'

The Associated Press: Clinton 'Misspoke' About '96 Bosnia Trip

....more at the link

[uponit7771]

1. I'm not a Hillary supporter but I don't see the lie she told being more of a story than her support

...for NAFTA.

It does show she has a lying habit though and will lie when the truth serves her better.

Conspiracy Theory: Hillary is catching flack for Obama by doing stuff that's basically stupid

[Larkspur]

8. She was using her embellished Bosnia story to promote her "credentials"

as Commander-in-Chief. That's why this lie is big. Pointing it out and putting the video where everyone with Internet access can view it greatly undermines her credibility. Also, McCain will be laughing at her over her excuses she uses to claim the title "Commander-in-chief". Unlike Hillary and Bill, McCain did at least serve in the military and he did experience real combat and mistreatment as a POW. Don't agree with his current warmongering but McCain will eat up Hillary over her Command-in-chief "experiences".

I agree that her NAFTA support is also a big problem, but her lies came out in paper not video.

[snooper2]

10. It's called, being calculated...

Don't think for a second any word that comes out of her mouth hasn't been scripted......

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

34. Tuzla lie = lack of creditability + lack of foreign policy experience

Snipers just shot down two of her big claims of superiority over Obama

[Cha]

46. hilary uses fake sniper fire to boost her experience for

CIC and she thinks she's going to debate mccain who was in the military?

hilary has dishonored those who she helped send into combat and those in the military by her lies.

[krkaufman]

63. But isn't that the painful irony of politics?

People are raised-up and taken-down, all too often, for all the wrong reasons. (Though, in Hillary's case, this has become an issue because the lie was intentional, and necessary, to puff-up her foreign policy credentials -- falsely.)

[mrJJ]

2. Billary 08... back to the future

Heres your 2 for 1 deal

misspoke
1 : to speak (as a word) incorrectly
2 : to express (oneself) imperfectly or incorrectly <claims now that he misspoke himself>
intransitive verb

liar
1: a person who tells lies

"I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia, and as Togo said, there was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn't go, so send the First Lady. That’s where we went. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."


"I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again," he said with a clenched jaw and stern expression that day. "I did not have sexual

relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time, never. These allegations are false."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/starr072998.htm

FBI to Test Dress

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/starr073198.htm

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

35. "DIGG" this up : CBS Exposes Hillary Clinton Bosnia Trip. watch!

CBS Exposes Hillary Clinton Bosnia Trip. watch!

up to 1,883 at this time.

Go to this link
http://digg.com/politics/CBS_Exposes_Hillary_Clinton_Bosnia_Trip

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

52. Also "DIGG" this up: MSNBC picks up on Hillary's "embellishments" watch!

MSNBC picks up on Hillary's "embellishments" watch!
VIDEO — msnbc.msn.com (US Elections 2008)
743 DIGGS so far
Digg it up to keep it going!

[stillcool]

58. I liked a comment I read..

the poster stated that the key demographic between Clinton and Obama is internet usage.

[stillcool]

57. Damn...every time I go there..

the comments impress me.

[CoffeeCat]

3. This is like a gift to the Obama campaign...

...because it's a scandal that underscores one of the primary concerns that Democrats have
about Hillary Clinton--that she's a dishonest politician who can't be trusted.

This video--combined with her absurd lies about this event--speaks directly about her honesty and
integrity.

This situation plays into the suspicions that many have about her.

Refusing to admit that she did not tell the truth--only digs her in a deeper hole.

This really is a stupid thing. She exaggerated for political purposes. However, it's potent--because
it could cause some of her soft support to ditch her.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

20. Yes, Hillary's bullshit: the gift that keeps on giving. . .

She's an amateur compared to Bill's more clever lying. Maybe four more years of practice and she'll be ready for 2012.

[Cha]

47. It's also called getting Hoisted On Her Very Own Petard!

Give hilary enough rope and she's doin' her own job. Wonder who takes credit for giving hilary the sniper fire scenario and rehersing it with hilary?

It shows how she lies with great ease, too, almost like a sociopathic liar.

[Bonobo]

4. Actually her Macaca moment was when she said "Ghandi used to run a gas station."

Blech. Some Progressive.

Blech.

[Drachasor]

43. I can't believe she got away without more criticism on that

[Bullet1987]

5. The big thing about this story is that she's been CAUGHT in a blatant and false lie!!

That's Bush-like reckless lying.

[NightWatcher]

9. reminds me of Bill's "I did not have sex with that woman" kind of blatant lie

and this one is biting her in the ass all over the news for a second day. :)

[Cha]

48. They really do have a lot in common.

And it's not the presidential material kind.

[juajen]

6. Brilliant move on Clinton's part.

Days of unpaid for commercials on all major TV stations, with a young, petty First Lady en route to foreign places, dangerous places, and in Bosnia, stranger still; Bill's war was won, you know, with absolutely no casualties.

This footage also reminds voters that Hillary visited over 80 countries while First Lady, a lot of them alone or with Chelsea. Yeah, baby, that IS valuable experience. She even visited Africa, and not to see her Grandmother.

Are ya'll getting the comparison? So, she got a little confused, and forgot that the sniper fire was all around in the hills, not where she was standing!

"Let it sink". LOL

[Johnny__Motown]

11. a little confused? OK, well if Clinton supporters and Obama supporters are both happy about this

then it is all good....

[Larkspur]

12. So brilliant that it will play right into McCain's hands

McCain will laugh Hillary out of this country over her petty excuses she's using to claim the title "Commander-in-chief". McCain will remind America that it was he, not Hillary and Bill, who served in our armed forces, saw combat and was mistreated as a POW. Hillary was too busy painting her fingernails and cropping her hair.

[Joe the Revelator]

15. You understand that blatent spin, like your post, just makes you look foolish.

Really.

[Ian_rd]

16. Your post rules.

"Visited over 80 countries ... Yeah, baby?" Great, maybe that means she can sell her experience without lying.

"Young, pretty?" Is this an issue I should be considering as part of her experience?

"No casualties?" Who are you counting?

[IndependentDem]

17. i think you forgot to use the :sarcasm: smiley..

besides, what I believe is important is not the fact that what she said was incorrect-- more important is why she said the things. and to me the claim she made that they sent her if it was too dangerous for bill-- well that is a slap in the face to President Clinton-- to imply that he was such a coward that he would rather send his wife and daughter. thats disgusting. And exactly what does "a young, pretty First Lady" have to do with the presidential election?

[peaches2003]

27. As delusional a post as Hillary's Bosnia lie

:crazy: And she really is off the wall today. Doing a Pittsburgh radio interview and goes into her cackling screeching laugh trying to explain how she 'misspoke'. Evidently she's now not only lying, but laughing at those who still believe anything she says.

[txaslftist]

30. Well, if you can't tell real experiences from ones you made up...

...what good is experience?

[Jed Dilligan]

37. "Young, petty First Lady" LOL

The rest of your post makes me want to :puke: when I think of the American boys and girls under sniper fire in her war right now, and the trauma they will carry for the rest of their lives.

[Cha]

49. hilary's "petty" alright.. A petty

Liar.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

38. I've visited many countries, too.

Shouldn't I be President?

[cemaphonic]

42. Bill's war?

Our military involvement in that war was a 3-week long NATO bombing campaign at the very end (and there were a few NATO casualties, just not American ones).

I worked at NATO headquarters during the summers of 1995 and 1996, so I am very well aware of the Clinton administration's role in bringing peace and stability to Bosnia. But calling it "Bill's war" is quite an exaggeration.

[stillcool]

59. this one is brilliant as well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. This whole mess is just screaming for some gifted artists to put

together a YouTube video. I'll leave it to you youngsters to get right on that. I'm glad the media is calling her out for this, but I don't expect them to go after her the way they did Obama. Afterall, she can play "victim" better than anyone I know.

[Cheap_Trick]

28. I could see HRC's people using it

Footage of her getting off the chopper, walking slow and easy to the greeters, talking to the little girl, with her lies playing in the background. With CGI, they add in bullets whizzing by, mortars exploding. The commerical ends with the slogan "Hillary Clinton: Cool Under Fire".

[F.Gordon]

13. Macaca??

Interesting choice of words there Sparky. But thanks for keeping the "high ground".
:hi:

[txaslftist]

31. Macaca as in saying something stupid into a camera...

...thinking nobody would check it out.

macaca moment indeed.

[Emillereid]

14. For the life of me I don't understand why a politician would lie about something

like this - for chrissakes she was a public figure and everything she did was recorded. She has repeated it so many time one wonders if she has somehow convinced or deluded herself. The lies about her vote for the Iraq war and her position on Nafta were bad enough, but to make up story details out of whole cloth is stupid. Maybe she's found her new calling - fiction writer.

[gorekerrydreamticket]

29. Obviously, to make herself look tough and fearless, etc. which would

be nice qualities for a President. However, in this case, there is more an appearance of foolishness and poor judgement for taking your minor child into a hazardous situation if you, in fact, believed that there was inordinate danger.

[txaslftist]

33. "Well, there was a saying around the White House ...

... if the situation was too dangerous for the president, we send the first lady..." -HRC

My ass.

[gorekerrydreamticket]

36. Yes, that implies they were trying to kill her or in the least, thought she was expendable...

if it is to be believed. Who was the "we" in that sentence supposed to be, by the way?

[wileedog]

40. That's the troubling part

Dishonesty is one thing - I kind of expect it in a Clinton.

But the sheer, unadultered stupidty of this lie is mind-boggling. There were reporters on the plane with her!

And even if it was true, how does getting shot at make someone a more qualified President? Why even risk the lie in the first place?

To me this is one of those 'lack of judgement' issues almost as much if not more than the dishonety issue.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

18. So many macaca moments, I can't keep track of all the bullshit coming out of Hillary's mouth. . .

This one is a classic though. Even the cover-up is another macaca moment. What an embarrassment. Hillary needs to get off the stage and pronto! We need to start going after Gramps McCain.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

21. the Carville attack on Bill Richardson was over the top

and then the DSCC had the idiocy to use Carville in their latest
beg for money email.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

23. Yes, but to be fair, you can't attribute Carville's comments directly to Hillary, although. . .

I won't be surprised if it turns out she gave the directive. He does, however, reflect the same kind of Rovian mentality that Hillary has displayed time and time again. Anything to improve her chances in 2012 I guess. Some Democrat she is!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

32. has she rejected and denounced it? Seems Bill said endorsement was useless now

since Richardson's only value (to Bill Clinton) was in garnering the Hispanic
vote, and that moment had passed.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

54. That's a very fair comment and I don't know the answer. If Hillary hasn't rebuked Carville for ...

that statement, then she should be admonished also. It's dispicable what Carville said about Richardson, who's a good man and deserves the utmost respect. Carville is the Judas for being a traitor to the Democratic cause and damaging our chances of winning in November against the Rethugs. What a jerk!

[snappyturtle]

19. Hillary is using the Bosmia under fire story to enhance her experience

credentials. Why does she think that the visit to Bosnia would be worth more if she arrived under fire? That fact that she would appear more strident? or stupid? imho

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

24. For supposedly being "the smartest woman in the world," Hillary's sure showing poor political skills

[The Night Owl]

22. Comparing an exaggeration to a racial slur... a new low.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

25. the racial slur - that would be when Clinton told Richardson endorsement was worthless now

now that Texas (and most of the Hispanic vote) had been decided.

Yes, Bill was insulted by Bill Clinton's latest racist moment.

[JTFrog]

26. Hyperbole Hillary.

"I say a lot of things — millions of words a day — so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement," she said.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

39. Someone needs to clue the Clintons into the fact that there's this thing called the Internet

If you are a public person, pretty much every move you've made from the mid-90s on has been documented and is easily available to anyone with a modem connection. The 'net brought Bill down with Monica Lewinsky and it may be Hillary's undoing now.

[baldguy]

41. This isn't fair.

Allen's "macaca" moment displayed his evil soul.

Hillary's Tuzla moment only displayed her ambition.

[coalition_unwilling]

51. How about HilBillary's statement that she was 'mis-led' on pre-war

claims of Iraqi WMD? Does that also show only her 'ambition' or does that show her 'evil soul'? (That is, she's willing to sacrifice the lives of 1,000,000+ Iraqi civilians to prove how 'tough' she was on national security.)

Or perhaps you think HilBillary was actually telling the truth when she claimed she was 'mis-led'? If so, she has to be the biggest dupe in the history of American presidential politics.

[baldguy]

56. Allen is a vile, racist pig.

Can't say the same thing about the Clintons, no matter what you may think of them otherwise.

[stillcool]

60. If I wasn't sure before..

I certainly am now. Calculating liar.

[catgirl]

55. How about calling Obama a "blank screen"?

Was that just her ambition taking over? I think this Hillary
moment shows that she is an ambitious liar.

[KingFlorez]

44. Two different situations

You can't compare an incident of nasty racism to a ridiculous embellishment. Hillary shouldn't have said there was sniper fire when there wasn't, but to compare it to George Allen's statement is ludicrous.

[Cha]

45. If she wouldn't lie just flavor her morning bacon

she wouldn't be in this mess. If nothing else I hope this starts the m$$$m looking into her other "misspeaks" about Obama.

[Shakespeare]

50. I think it's more accurate to say it's her "I have a wide stance" moment.

I'm stunned that her campaign is trying to excuse the exaggeration. She needs to just own it and go on.

[rniel]

53. I think

Sinbad just got some new material for his new HBO special.

[grantcart]

61. kick

[VolcanoJen]

62. And, apparently some wingnut inserted himself into a Chelsea Clinton event...

... and asked Chelsea how she and her mother "survived the sniper fire in Bosnia." Chelsea said the US Military and Secret Service kept them safe, but deflected the question as one her mother had already addressed.

The YouTube's already up. I won't link to it. It's actually pretty nauseating that someone would take this fight to Chelsea, if you ask me.