Posted on 10/03/2001 6:41:42 PM PDT by majic12
Wednesday Oct. 3, 2001; 9:27 p.m. EDT
Hillary Compares Her Critics to Osama bin Laden
Former first lady, now New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton says she knows what it's like to be the victim of the kind of maniacal hatred that cost up to 7,000 of her constituents their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks on Manhattan's Twin Towers.
"Oh, I am well aware that it is out there," Mrs. Clinton said, of the "murderous anger" that drove Osama bin Laden to conspire to turn two commercial jetliners into kamikaze dive-bombers and plow them into the World Trade Center.
In an outrageously bizarre attempt to coopt the Twin Tower tragedy for her own political ends, Mrs. Clinton explained to the New Yorker magazine: "One of the most difficult experiences that I personally had in the White House was during the health-care debate, being the object of extraordinary rage. "I remember being in Seattle. I was there to make a speech about health care. This was probably August of '94. Radio talk-show hosts had urged their listeners to come out and yell and scream and carry on and prevent people from hearing me speak." Sen. Clinton told the New Yorker the experience gave her a "firsthand look" at what it's like to confront terrorism head-on. "There were threats that were coming in, and certain people didn't want me to speak, and they started taking weapons off people, and arresting people. I've had firsthand looks at this unreasoning anger and hatred that is focused on an individual you don't know, a cause that you despise — whatever motivates people."
Tuesday October 2 2:02 PM ET
Sen. Clinton Tested by Attack
By SHANNON McCAFFREY, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Two days after a pair of hijacked planes toppled the World Trade Center, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites) found herself cooling her heels outside House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office.
After helping put together a deal that would funnel $20 billion in aid to New York, the former first lady stepped aside in the final negotiations for fear her presence would be polarizing.
The Trade Center attack is proving a test of Clinton's political savvy in working the legislative process. The freshman senator is being asked to deliver billions of dollars in aid to New York. It is a chance for Clinton to make good on her promise to be a roll-up-her-sleeves lawmaker who can deliver for constituents.
University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said Clinton will be judged by how she responds. ``This is one of the defining events of the past 100 years and she is right at the epicenter,'' Sabato said.
The aid negotiations offer some insight: On Sept. 13, Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer (news - bio - voting record), her Democratic colleague from New York, emerged from the Oval Office flush with victory after President Bush (news - web sites) agreed to their request for $20 billion.
Just hours later, the deal started to unravel as a few influential Republican lawmakers balked. As the night wore on, Schumer and Clinton furiously worked the phones to alert the New York congressional delegation to the problem, and to secure the help of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Supporters led by Daschle went to Hastert's office. But Clinton hesitated, concerned her presence would inflame the opposition, aides said.
New York Republican Reps. John Sweeney and James Walsh - with their close ties to the House leaders and seats on the powerful Appropriations Committee - made the case behind closed doors.
Clinton talked instead to reporters and lawmakers who passed by.
``It is all about how best to deliver for New York,'' Clinton said later. ``That's what this is all about.''
So far, Clinton's efforts have been well-received.
``It seems almost crass to say it, but if anyone has profited from this politically it is Hillary Clinton (news - web sites),'' Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker said. Clinton, he said, has been in the public eye - supporting grieving firefighters, for example - without monopolizing the limelight.
Clinton received her highest approval rating ever, 59 percent, in a Quinnipiac University poll of New York state voters released Tuesday.
``I think she's handled herself superbly,'' former New York Mayor Ed Koch said.
Few members of Congress are watched as closely.
When the president addressed the joint session of Congress in the days following the attack, cameras captured Clinton on the House floor chatting with Schumer, yawning and, in one instance, rolling her eyes.
Aides explained that Clinton was simply tired, but critics lambasted her as insensitive. Her demeanor spawned letters - pro and con - from readers in newspapers such as the New York Post and The Washington Post.
``Lots of people yawn during long speeches. Her yawn was invested with political meaning,'' Sabato said.
The Trade Center tragedy has also prompted some changes from Clinton. She has lashed out at Bush since he took office, but now praises him for responding quickly to New York's needs.
She even opened up a bit on a subject about which she is normally reticent - her daughter, Chelsea. Clinton described her panic in the hours after the attack when she was unable to immediately locate her daughter, who was just a dozen blocks away from the Trade Center.
But perhaps the most intriguing development has been the seeming thaw between her and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (news - web sites). Giuliani belittled Clinton as a carpetbagger last year when they were running against each other for the Senate, a race Giuliani dropped out of while he underwent treatment for prostate cancer.
The day after the Trade Center attack, Giuliani and Clinton toured the rubble together along with other politicians. The once-bitter rivals appeared downright friendly - whispering together, occasionally clasping arms or sharing a laugh.
Giuliani is now depending on the senator's help delivering needed federal dollars. And by several accounts, their staffs are working well together.
``Politics is politics,'' Clinton said in an interview. ``But once you're elected you come together. We've been working closely together and it's been extremely positive.''
Hmmmmm, somebody with a weapon, went after Shillary, got arrested and it didn't make the New York Times?
Wanna buy a bridge before Osama blows it up?
LOL. Good God, what a dope! That's all that comes to mind. What a dope!
If I had lost a loved one in the WTC or Pentagon, I would make it my life's work to drive this bag of crap from public life.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.