Hillary Clinton, the political chameleon par excellence, is triangulating her position on the Iraq War in a cynical effort to appear tough-minded and to placate the antiwar, leftist base at the same time....'Hilary's War Triangulation,' Joseph Klein, Frontpage Magazine,, 2/5/2007
The question of course is rhetorical. Despite his subsequent mythification as the Che Guevara of the Democrat Party, Robert F. Kennedy was as calculating as Richard Nixon. That's why he was so intensely disliked by Gene McCarthy supporters. Originally a staff attorney on the House Un-American Activities Committee, where his mentor was Joseph McCarthy, a stout supporter of his brother's plans to intervene in Vietnam, Bobby's turn against the war struck many as pathologically opportunistic. Everyone knew that Richard Nixon was an opportunist of course. But both of them were. For a while, Bobby stood out because he was the late president's brother, but, observed apart from that, he was shrill, manipulative, and humorless, traits which should sound very familiar.
In her path to the Democrat nomination for the Presidency, Senator Clinton shows many of the same signs, as this article by Joseph Klein suggests. It's a strong argument, soundly based, but, as with both Richard Nixon and Bobby Kennedy, it may not matter much. Clinton's real power -- this is more than noticeable in New York's recent Senate campaign -- is not based on charm, rhetorical skill, or charisma. Like Robert Kennedy's and Richard Nixon's, it lies primarily in the calculated manipulation of fear. Opponents among Democrats and Republicans had better pay attention.
Luther
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