The False Claim:
That Hillary won Texas and Nevada.
The Truth:
Let me provide some context with a quote from the incomparable Howard Wolfson:
"This is a race for delegates. It is not a battle for individual states. As David knows, we are well past the time when any state will have a disproportionate influence on the nominating process." from the Washington Post 1/16/2008
and, (from the Washington Post):
Howard Wolfson, communications director for Clinton, echoed that sentiment. "Hillary Clinton won the Nevada Caucuses today by winning a majority of the delegates at stake," he said.
First - (and most importantly), as Howard Wolfson stated, and according to the law and the democratic process therein, the winner is the one that wins the most delegates. In Nevada, Obama won 13 delegates to Clinton's 12. According to math, 13 is more than 12 and, according to Wolfson, Obama won by winning a majority of the delegates at stake. In Texas, although Hillary got her Limbaugh Bump in the popular vote (if you deny it, why did Bill go on the Rush Limbaugh program?), thanks to his more dedicated voters, Obama will win 98 delegates to Hillary's 95. Again, that pesky objectivity that is math gives Obama another win. And one in a Big State, no less.
Second - Adding standards, or changing them, in order to give the perception of a win, is not a win. It is something losers do to make themselves feel better about being losers (so is not congratulating the winner, for that matter). Statistics can always be interpreted in any number of ways to justify and/or argue any point - just because you find a favorable interpretation doesn't mean you're right.
15 January 2008
01 January 2008
Fact Sheet: Northern Ireland
The Lie:
That Hillary Clinton was instrumental in the negotiations that brought peace to Northern Ireland.
The Quote:
"I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland." (from CNN's American Morning, March 5, 2008).
The Vetting:
First - Most importantly, the bottom line is she was not involved in any negotiations, and she was not directly involved in the political process. She was not an integral player, nor did she help to draft, the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. She went to N. Ireland and gave speeches, which, as we all know, is not relevant according to Hillary's own standard.
Second - The main players say she was not involved politically or relevantly (as per her commander-in-chief 3am standard.) Lord Trimble, one of the people who won the Nobel Prize for his role in the peace process called Hillary's claims "silly," adding:
"I don’t know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around." Her recent statements about being deeply involved were merely "the sort of thing people put in their canvassing leaflets" during elections. "She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I don’t want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player."
Additionally, Conall McDevitt, an SDLP negotiator and aide to Mr Hume during the talks said in the same article:
"There would have been no contact with her either in person or on the phone. I was with Hume regularly during calls in the months leading up to the Good Friday Agreement when he was taking calls from the White House and they were invariably coming from the president."
Lastly, according to an AP report, Brian Feeney, an author and former leading Belfast politician from the same party as John Hume, leader of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party, stated, quite clearly:
"The road to peace was carefully documented, and she wasn't on it."
Third - People who defend Hillary, or disagree with the previous statements, have nothing specific to offer. They just claim indignation, acting like it's insulting to even question her experience. Many people say she was very supportive, and very knowledgable, but, then again, so was Bono, and he hasn't claimed he passed the commander-in-chief threshold (though he had a much larger role in the process than Hillary Clinton). Also, since she won't release her records we only have public records to go on, and, according to all those, she didn't formally do anything.
Fourth - Even though she was involved in getting women involved in the peace process (not singlehandedly, and amongst many others), this is not relevant commander in chief experience (and if getting people involved in politics is relevant, Obama has demonstrated more of an ability to that during this election then she ever has).
Sidebar:
The only concrete example Hillary gives regarding her experience is the following anecdote, given in Nashua, NH on January 6th, 2008 (from the Telegraph):
That Hillary Clinton was instrumental in the negotiations that brought peace to Northern Ireland.
The Quote:
"I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland." (from CNN's American Morning, March 5, 2008).
The Vetting:
First - Most importantly, the bottom line is she was not involved in any negotiations, and she was not directly involved in the political process. She was not an integral player, nor did she help to draft, the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. She went to N. Ireland and gave speeches, which, as we all know, is not relevant according to Hillary's own standard.
Second - The main players say she was not involved politically or relevantly (as per her commander-in-chief 3am standard.) Lord Trimble, one of the people who won the Nobel Prize for his role in the peace process called Hillary's claims "silly," adding:
"I don’t know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around." Her recent statements about being deeply involved were merely "the sort of thing people put in their canvassing leaflets" during elections. "She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I don’t want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player."
Additionally, Conall McDevitt, an SDLP negotiator and aide to Mr Hume during the talks said in the same article:
"There would have been no contact with her either in person or on the phone. I was with Hume regularly during calls in the months leading up to the Good Friday Agreement when he was taking calls from the White House and they were invariably coming from the president."
Lastly, according to an AP report, Brian Feeney, an author and former leading Belfast politician from the same party as John Hume, leader of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party, stated, quite clearly:
"The road to peace was carefully documented, and she wasn't on it."
Third - People who defend Hillary, or disagree with the previous statements, have nothing specific to offer. They just claim indignation, acting like it's insulting to even question her experience. Many people say she was very supportive, and very knowledgable, but, then again, so was Bono, and he hasn't claimed he passed the commander-in-chief threshold (though he had a much larger role in the process than Hillary Clinton). Also, since she won't release her records we only have public records to go on, and, according to all those, she didn't formally do anything.
Fourth - Even though she was involved in getting women involved in the peace process (not singlehandedly, and amongst many others), this is not relevant commander in chief experience (and if getting people involved in politics is relevant, Obama has demonstrated more of an ability to that during this election then she ever has).
Sidebar:
The only concrete example Hillary gives regarding her experience is the following anecdote, given in Nashua, NH on January 6th, 2008 (from the Telegraph):
"I remember a meeting that I pulled together in Belfast, in the town hall there, bringing together for the first time Catholics and Protestants from both traditions, having them sitting a room where they had never been before with each other because they don’t go to school together, they don’t live together and it was only in large measure because I really asked them to come that they were there. And I wasn’t sure it was going to be very successful and finally a Catholic woman on one side of the table said, ’You know, every time my husband leaves for work in the morning I worry he won’t come home at night. And then a Protestant woman on the other side said, ’Every time my son tries to go out at night I worry he won’t come home again’. And suddenly instead of seeing each other as caricatures and stereotypes they saw each other as human beings and the slow, hard work of peace-making could move forward."
The Telegraph, however, disagrees with her story in order to discuss those pesky facts:There is no record of a meeting at Belfast City Hall, though Mrs Clinton attended a ceremony there when her husband turned on the Christmas tree lights in November 1995. The former First Lady appears to be referring a 50-minute event the same day, arranged by the US Consulate. The "Belfast Telegraph" reported the next day that the café meeting was crammed with reporters, cameramen and Secret Service agents. Conversation "seemed a little bit stilted, a little prepared at times" and Mrs Clinton admired a stainless steel tea pot, which was duly given to her, for keeping the brew "so nice and hot".
So, from a groundbreaking, solo trip to N. Ireland where she singlehandedly negotiated peace against generations of hate, to a meeting in a coffeeshop, while on a trip with her husband, where she admired a teapot for less than an hour.Fact Sheet: Macedonian Borders
The Lie:
That Hillary Clinton was instrumental in opening up the borders of Macedonia to Kosovar refugees. Also, that she did so by landing in a dangerous war zone.
The Quote:
"I negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo." (from CNN's American Morning, March 5, 2008) and that she "traveled to the international border on the edge of the war zone" (her "factcheck" website).
The Vetting:
First - The only two people who back this claim up are Hillary and an aide that works for the Clinton campaign.
Second - The border opened one day before she landed, on May 14, 1999 (and only a very small section of it). This means, bar none, she did not negotiate to open the borders. As Ivo Daalder, a former NSC official under President Clinton who was responsible for the Balkans, said:
"There's the inconvenient fact that the agreement to open the borders happened the day before she got there.I have no doubt that the diplomats used the prospect of her visiting Macedonia to open the Macedonian borders. The question is, was she instrumental in negotiating the opening of the borders to all tens of thousands of refugees to pass? The answer is no."
Also, the government said it could be closed at any time. Additionally, refugees were too afraid to cross the very small section that was opened, anyway. (According to an AP report).
Third - According to the same AP report, Bill Clinton's presidential envoy to the Balkans at the time in question, Robert Gelbard (who advises Obama), states that:
"I cannot recall any involvement by Senator Clinton in this issue. The person who was able to get the border opened was Mrs. Sadako Ogata [the U.N. high commissioner for refugees]... [Hillary] had more of a role on some foreign policy issues than a lot of other first ladies, including, for example, the current one. My own firsthand experience, though, is that her role was limited and I've been surprised at the claims that she had a much greater role than certainly I'm aware of on the issues I was working on."
Also, Gelbard said he had questioned other U.S. officials directly involved and none remembered involvement by Clinton. Lastly, There were no public reports at the time of Clinton negotiating to keep the border open.
Fourth - (According to a great article by the St. Petersburg Times and CQ's Politifact website) Clinton visited the area for a little more than EIGHT HOURS (most of which was meeting with NGOs and refugees). It is impossible that she had legitimate and substantial meetings in the span of 10 minute meetings (don't forget she had to travel in between destinations, as well as take part in the scheduled photo shoots)
"She arrived at 9:20 a.m. and left at 5:45 p.m. According to the itinerary provided to news organizations, she arrived at the camp and was briefed on relief efforts at 10 a.m., toured the camp at 11 a.m., and met with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at 1:30 p.m. The meetings all took place within the space of a single afternoon. The itinerary shows photo opportunities for the traveling press at 2:20 p.m. with Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence; at 2:50 p.m. with President Kiro Gligorov at the president's residence; and at 3:30 p.m. with first lady Gligorov at the president’s residence."
Fifth - (According to factcheck.org) Hillary did not travel to an active combat zone, she travelled to a refugee camp that had been visited by Richard Gere and Bianca Jagger. Furthermore, "much of the "war" in Kosovo consisted of NATO airstrikes against the Yugoslav troops who had forced thousands of ethnic Albanians to flee Kosovo, and the nearest NATO ground troops were deployed in Albania, more than 100 miles away from Clinton."
Sixth - None of this is to say we should not admire Hillary Clinton's dedication to a humanitarian cause, and this is not to say she did not bring some attention to that section of the world, but humanitarianism isn't relevant presidential experience, (if it is, we should elect Angelina Jolie.)
That Hillary Clinton was instrumental in opening up the borders of Macedonia to Kosovar refugees. Also, that she did so by landing in a dangerous war zone.
The Quote:
"I negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo." (from CNN's American Morning, March 5, 2008) and that she "traveled to the international border on the edge of the war zone" (her "factcheck" website).
The Vetting:
First - The only two people who back this claim up are Hillary and an aide that works for the Clinton campaign.
Second - The border opened one day before she landed, on May 14, 1999 (and only a very small section of it). This means, bar none, she did not negotiate to open the borders. As Ivo Daalder, a former NSC official under President Clinton who was responsible for the Balkans, said:
"There's the inconvenient fact that the agreement to open the borders happened the day before she got there.I have no doubt that the diplomats used the prospect of her visiting Macedonia to open the Macedonian borders. The question is, was she instrumental in negotiating the opening of the borders to all tens of thousands of refugees to pass? The answer is no."
Also, the government said it could be closed at any time. Additionally, refugees were too afraid to cross the very small section that was opened, anyway. (According to an AP report).
Third - According to the same AP report, Bill Clinton's presidential envoy to the Balkans at the time in question, Robert Gelbard (who advises Obama), states that:
"I cannot recall any involvement by Senator Clinton in this issue. The person who was able to get the border opened was Mrs. Sadako Ogata [the U.N. high commissioner for refugees]... [Hillary] had more of a role on some foreign policy issues than a lot of other first ladies, including, for example, the current one. My own firsthand experience, though, is that her role was limited and I've been surprised at the claims that she had a much greater role than certainly I'm aware of on the issues I was working on."
Also, Gelbard said he had questioned other U.S. officials directly involved and none remembered involvement by Clinton. Lastly, There were no public reports at the time of Clinton negotiating to keep the border open.
Fourth - (According to a great article by the St. Petersburg Times and CQ's Politifact website) Clinton visited the area for a little more than EIGHT HOURS (most of which was meeting with NGOs and refugees). It is impossible that she had legitimate and substantial meetings in the span of 10 minute meetings (don't forget she had to travel in between destinations, as well as take part in the scheduled photo shoots)
"She arrived at 9:20 a.m. and left at 5:45 p.m. According to the itinerary provided to news organizations, she arrived at the camp and was briefed on relief efforts at 10 a.m., toured the camp at 11 a.m., and met with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at 1:30 p.m. The meetings all took place within the space of a single afternoon. The itinerary shows photo opportunities for the traveling press at 2:20 p.m. with Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence; at 2:50 p.m. with President Kiro Gligorov at the president's residence; and at 3:30 p.m. with first lady Gligorov at the president’s residence."
Fifth - (According to factcheck.org) Hillary did not travel to an active combat zone, she travelled to a refugee camp that had been visited by Richard Gere and Bianca Jagger. Furthermore, "much of the "war" in Kosovo consisted of NATO airstrikes against the Yugoslav troops who had forced thousands of ethnic Albanians to flee Kosovo, and the nearest NATO ground troops were deployed in Albania, more than 100 miles away from Clinton."
Sixth - None of this is to say we should not admire Hillary Clinton's dedication to a humanitarian cause, and this is not to say she did not bring some attention to that section of the world, but humanitarianism isn't relevant presidential experience, (if it is, we should elect Angelina Jolie.)
Fact Sheet: Bosnia Landing
The Lie:
That Hillary Clinton risked her life flying into the Bosnian war zone, where her helicopter had to literally swerve violently out of the way of missiles and perform a "corkscrew landing" so she could negotiate with the Bosnian government and single handedly stop the genocide.
The Quote:
(from the Washington Times, 12/29): And in a direct jab back at Obama, she recalled visiting Bosnia on a plane that made a tight corkscrew landing to avoid potential attacks. "Somebody said there might be sniper fire," she said, adding tartly, "I don't remember anyone offering me tea on the tarmac."
this includes the ridiculous quote from Hillary that the White House policy was: “If it's too dangerous, too small, and too poor, send the first lady.”
The Vetting:
First - The war ended three months before she landed. The Dayton Accords were signed on December 14, 1995. She landed in March of 1996.
Second - She was accompanied on the trip by her daughter, who was 16 at the time (and who, I suppose, also has also crossed the commander-in-chief threshold now), as well as Sheryl Crow and Sinbad. They also brought "a big screen TV and candy bars, designed to boost the troops’ morale", according to factcheck.org
Third - None of the other people in the helicopter have ever mentioned any harrowing near death experience (Sinbad actively called her on it).
Fourth - As per the NY Times in 1996, it was part of a goodwill tour, which most people would say is not relevant experience.
Fifth - She may, actually, have been offered tea on the tarmac, although she probably had her beverage of choice already waiting for her. The truth is, this part of the statement might be true.
Update!!
It's about time that the media has started to pick up on this. Check here out for video of Hillary's Bosnia landing and how big a lie she telling now (though, if getting shot at is relevant experience, 50 cent in 2008.)
That Hillary Clinton risked her life flying into the Bosnian war zone, where her helicopter had to literally swerve violently out of the way of missiles and perform a "corkscrew landing" so she could negotiate with the Bosnian government and single handedly stop the genocide.
The Quote:
(from the Washington Times, 12/29): And in a direct jab back at Obama, she recalled visiting Bosnia on a plane that made a tight corkscrew landing to avoid potential attacks. "Somebody said there might be sniper fire," she said, adding tartly, "I don't remember anyone offering me tea on the tarmac."
this includes the ridiculous quote from Hillary that the White House policy was: “If it's too dangerous, too small, and too poor, send the first lady.”
The Vetting:
First - The war ended three months before she landed. The Dayton Accords were signed on December 14, 1995. She landed in March of 1996.
Second - She was accompanied on the trip by her daughter, who was 16 at the time (and who, I suppose, also has also crossed the commander-in-chief threshold now), as well as Sheryl Crow and Sinbad. They also brought "a big screen TV and candy bars, designed to boost the troops’ morale", according to factcheck.org
Third - None of the other people in the helicopter have ever mentioned any harrowing near death experience (Sinbad actively called her on it).
Fourth - As per the NY Times in 1996, it was part of a goodwill tour, which most people would say is not relevant experience.
Fifth - She may, actually, have been offered tea on the tarmac, although she probably had her beverage of choice already waiting for her. The truth is, this part of the statement might be true.
Update!!
It's about time that the media has started to pick up on this. Check here out for video of Hillary's Bosnia landing and how big a lie she telling now (though, if getting shot at is relevant experience, 50 cent in 2008.)
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