Hannity's memory lapse: "I don't remember Chelsea Clinton being attacked"
SUMMARY: On Hannity & Colmes, Hannity said, in reference to Internet rumors about Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter, "[T]hey tried to make the attack that she has a young daughter, pregnant and engaged. Is that fair that they would attack that? I mean, I don't remember Chelsea Clinton being attacked. I don't remember Al Gore's children being attacked. I thought there was a general rule that children of candidates ought to be left alone." In fact, Chelsea Clinton was not "left alone" -- not by Sen. John McCain, and not by Rush Limbaugh.
On the September 1 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, co-host Sean Hannity said, in reference to Internet rumors about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter, "[T]hey tried to make the attack that she has a young daughter, pregnant and engaged. Is that fair that they would attack that? I mean, I don't remember Chelsea Clinton being attacked. I don't remember Al Gore's children being attacked. I thought there was a general rule that children of candidates ought to be left alone." In fact, Chelsea Clinton was not "left alone" -- not by Sen. John McCain, and not by Rush Limbaugh, who has hosted numerous prominent Republicans on his syndicated radio show.
McCain reportedly told a "joke" about Chelsea Clinton in 1998, saying: "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." The late columnist Molly Ivins reported of Limbaugh:
On his TV show, early in the Clinton administration, Limbaugh put up a picture of Socks, the White House cat, and asked, 'Did you know there's a White House dog?' Then he put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton, who was 13 years old at the time and as far as I know had never done any harm to anyone.
When viewers objected, he claimed, in typical Limbaugh fashion, that the gag was an accident and that without his permission some technician had put up the picture of Chelsea -- which I found as disgusting as his original attempt at humor.
As Republican strategist Mary Matalin noted on Hannity & Colmes, Sen. Barack Obama denounced public discussion of Palin's family, saying it had no relevance to her qualifications as governor or vice president. He said: "Let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits and people's children are especially off limits."
From the September 1 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:
HANNITY: Let's talk a little bit about the vice presidential choice, Sarah Palin, and your thoughts on her. I can tell you every person that I have met here -- there is an energy. Conservatives, they love her. And there have been numerous attacks by different liberal organizations -- National Organization for Women and some others against her. How do you think they're going to stand up?
MATALIN: Well, you know that there were -- the Democrats are worried by this choice, because they don't know how to attack her. They've tried every which way. They've tried the kitchen sink, but all it's done is revealed their elitism, their sexism, their hypocrisy. They're not going to make it stick. And it's not just about conservatives, although that's a big chunk of it and her position on life, and the obvious talking the talk, not just walking the walk. It's regular mainstream women who've prioritized their families, but wanting to have good jobs, don't want to be overtaxed, get the energy issue.
HANNITY: We're running out of time, but they tried to make the attack that she has a young daughter, pregnant and engaged. Is that fair that they would attack that? I mean, I don't remember Chelsea Clinton being attacked. I don't remember Al Gore's children being attacked. I thought there was a general rule that children of candidates ought to be left alone. And Alan knows I've said that many times.
MATALIN: Right, and in fairness, Barack Obama did --
HANNITY: He did say that, yeah.
MATALIN: -- pretty fast out of the box, said, "off-limits, off-limits." So, credit to him. Credit to every -- let the games begin.
HANNITY: Let the games begin.
I agree with Hannity and Senator Obama, children should be left alone. I wish Rush would have thought the same when he smeared Chelsea Clinton or when that scumbag David Schuster made his "pimping" remark about Chelsea. Or when McCain made fun of Chelsea. Disgusting.
But please leave Gov Palins daughter alone.
Forget Chelsea, how about Malia Obama (OK - in few years, but still...) Can you imagine? These same people who are loving the Palins for [what they have so often called a moral failing in the past] would make her the face of black teens everywhere, and a example of the family breaking down. (Does this sound like the 'Pub's or the Dem's: If she can't even control her own family how can she run a gov't?)
And besides... I don't see the Democrats "attacking" Bristol (or even Sarah) Palin. They're using the issue to show that the Republican abstinence only strategies on sex-ed don't work. The ISSUE is fair game, and the 'Pub's are the ones that put this girl in the spotlight.
Driving into work today I heard some evangelical nut-job (GoP voter) saying how abstinence only sex-ed is important, but that "kids will be kids." ANd my head almost exploded. FIRST - apparently 'kids will be kids', only applies to white, republican evangelicals. And SECOND - if 'kids will be kids' doesn't PROOVE that abstinence only sex-ed is a popintless failure? DOesn't that PROOVE that we need to give these kids some REAL sex ed? COMPREHENSIVE sex-ed that includes ACCURATE INFORMATION about contraception? (As well as STD's, Pregnancy, ABSTINENCE - it can still be in there, etc...) Apparently not to these religious nut-jobs.
After all - an educated populace would have a liberal bias. Can't have that. The GoP needs it's legion of ignorant rednecks to fill the polls in droves for them, or they won't be able to keep stealing from most of those very same people!
Totally.
The slimy comments and jokes about Chelsea never had anything to do with Clinton's ideology. They were just slimy frat-boy ad-hominem attacks by the GOP faithful.
With very few unfortunate exceptions, what's being talked about regarding Palin and her daughter has everything to do with ideology...and hypocrisy.
Imagine if the Jebmeister ran. His kids alone would be one hell of a liability. Neelle the pillhead, Jeb Jr, the one who likes to have sex in cars and punch out cops and George P, the stalker...
And don't speak ill of The First Twins....especially Jenna, whose pics were all over the place, be it being falling-down drunk or showing the world she goes pantyless..
Also, she should be asked whether or not she thinks her soon to be son in law now wants children.
He says on his MySpace page that he doesn't want kids.
Also, summer's over. Why aren't they married yet?
I agree with Hannity and Senator Obama, children should be left alone.
Remember, it was Palin herself who dragged her daughter into this, as some kind of proof of her own maternity, It wasn't anybody else.
And, if the republicans are going to make an issue of her Mom-ness as a virtue, then it's issue they made, nobody else.
Last night, Ed Schultz brought this up. It left the Repubs speechless- they couldn't rebut him!
"it was Palin herself who dragged her daughter into this, as some kind of proof of her own maternity"
Yeah, but who made up these disgraceful rumors about her daughter being the mom of her son? What idiot bloggers brought it up in the 1st place?
No one knows. That's what makes me suspicious.
I wouldn't put it above the wingnuts to start their own whisper campaign just so they can denounce the Left.
They've done it before.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/17933/7330/417/579267, one poster on the daily kos. That's all I found. Looks like the story's attributed to the dailykos.
for more perspective on how this rumor could have started
http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html
I forgot to add that for that one blog I found, there were many conservative blogs (townhall, and the like) that decried it and seemed to blow it out of proportion and draw outrage from it.
So I guess I found the idiots.
Yipes, My4cents, I just went to your link--
In a letter she e-mailed to relatives and close friends Friday after giving birth, Palin wrote, "Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this." She wrote it in the voice of and signed it as "Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father."
We're just getting rid of a Prez who gets personal orders from God, now we've got a member of God's steno pool going for VP.
We've been hearing for years from people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson about how God speaks to them and how they interpret the word of God for us, the unwashed masses.
A stenographer sounds pretty good. At least she'll be giving us the verbatim, not the interpreted word of Jesus Christ, our risen Savior.
"What idiot bloggers brought it up in the 1st place? "
According to an NPR news report today, the rumors have been circulating around Alaska for some time.
According to an NPR news report today, the rumors have been circulating around Alaska for some time.
It take a while for rumors like that to get from town to town by dogsled......
:-)
Yeah, but who made up these disgraceful rumors about her daughter being the mom of her son?
There's nothing disgraceful about asking questions, about some ridiculous statements on the part of Palin (like her water breaking right before an 8-hour flight!)
And don't forget, you outraged Dems, that if Palin wanted to establish her OWN maternity, she didn't need to drag her daughter into it, to say, 'it couldn't have been her-- she's pregnant right now!'
There are better ways. Ever heard of a birth certificate?
Will you Dems PLEASE show some brains and some balls?
What the hell are you babbling about? DEM'S??? It wasn't DEM'S that dragged the dauighter into this!!! It wasn't DEM'S who didn't just show a birth cirtificate? THAT'S YOU IDIOTS!!!
(I'll remind you that it was the Repug's who wouldn't accept Obama's own birth cirtificate as legit!!!)
I don't think it's up to me or you to 'leave it alone'. Politics is a dirty world and it was Gov. Palin's choice. I do agree that a teenage daughter's pregnancy should not be political fodder.
But, seeing it playing out,
talk radio endlessly playing Obama's 'don't want to be punished with a baby' comment regarding his nine year old daughter and teenage pregnancy,
glorifying Palin by suggesting that MOST Americans go through this so she is just like us (more than Obama) so we should vote for McCain/Palin,
blaming the Democrats that this story came out when in fact they themselves announced it
does not leave me with much compassion.
That's why I can't accept this nomination at face value. No way could she have passed a serious vetting, if they really wanted her as VP.
How do you pronounce that?
I would pronounce "Governor Sarah Palin" as follows:
LOO-zur
:-)
Okay--I'm missing it. Where's the "attack" on Palin's daughter?
However, I do think the Democrats are in danger of overplaying their hand on this. Best to leave it to the bloggers.
Are you kidding me? The democrats are the ones saying the children are off limits!
It is the conservative media that is overplaying the hand and SAYING its the democrats doing it.
I mean when Obama and Biden both say children are off limits and are focused on the actual issues what more can you say.
Okay--I'm missing it. Where's the "attack" on Palin's daughter?
There isn't any-- it's a canard.
Even worse, the MSM is ignoring the fact that Palin used her daughter's pregnancy as a rebuttal to claims about her own. Nobody else did. Yet, they actually feel guilty about covering the story!
Republicans: "Jump."
Mainstream Media" "How high?"
On the other hand, if the baby is in fact the governor's, the official story goes that she gave a political speech in Texas AFTER her water broke, then took a five hour plane flight back to Alaska, then drove an hour to deliver the baby in a small town hospital. Not a crime, but certainly peculiar behavior.
She claims that her doctor told her that her course of action was acceptable. This is a LIE: there is no MD in the world who would not have told a patient in this condition (especially a VIP patient) to get to the nearest hospital ASAP.
You're right-- these so-called "rumors" are justified-- the whole thing is FUBAR.
What makes me extremely ANGRY is this holier-than-thou attitude of some Dems that we shouldn't be talking about this... but hey, you guys-- it was PALIN who directly dragged her daughter into this, unnecessarily.
There were OTHER ways for her to establish her own maternity, in order to rebut these stories-- which were really just questions.
Get a life, Dems, and learn to fight.
Gee, you're forgetting
the Obama netowrk, MSNBC
David shuster saying Hillary Clinton was "pimping out " Chelsea.
What a weak argument!
A couple of jokes in poor taste, while distasteful, is not the same thing as digging dirt on the children and trying to use it to destroy the child's parent's political career.
Obama has a history of dirty pool against his opponents, he litigates his opponents off the ballot or smears them unmercifully.
The left is panicking over Palin
How's the weather on your planet?
Here on planet Earth, things are quite a bit different.
Not this leftie. I'm doing anything BUT 'panicking' over this choice.
I am just sitting back all relaxed watching this pathetic debacle grow bigger with each passing day. With much delight.
I'm with you Rabbitluver. This feeling of euphoria the Cons feel is like a kid at Christmas. Then is bored by noon with some of the presents. The luster of newness will soon pass and Elaine will have to apeear in fromt of ALL of America to prove that she is capable of be the VP of the USA.
Thank God the Cons no longer care about experience. By the way, what is Elaines' stance on Iraq? She's hasn't had one up to now.
And leave all of her kids out of it..even the soldier. Let him do his duty na dplease don't follow him. He will be in enough danger.
Listening to McCains' twin speak..Pres. Bush. Actually, it is nice to see the Republicans happy.
Obama has a history of dirty pool against his opponents, he litigates his opponents off the ballot or smears them unmercifully.
I'm convinced. The verification you provided for your points was logical, clear, concise, and...
Oh, wait, you didn't provide a scintilla of backup for your baseless smears. Next time you want to throw some crap, try a shovel. That way the stink of your hands won't give you away when you try to interact with polite company.
If you have a selectively forgetful memory, you just might be a Republican.
If you’re for abstinence and your teen daughter is pregnant out of wedlock, you just might be a Republican.
If you claim that experience is the most important “thing” and turn around a pick a political novice as your possible successor, you just might be a Republican.
If you’re a complete opportunist and hypocrite, you just might be a Republican.
If you decide that a dry drunk is a person you want to have a beer with, you might be a republican.
If you think the world was created with two nudists and a talking snake, you might be a republican.
If you denegrate the service of veterans who are your political opponents, but cheer wildly for draft dodgers and non-combatants because they talk tough and wave a flag, you are definately a republican.
Let's stick to the facts and stop telling half the story.
There was also a piece of fruit involved if I'm not mistaken.
nudist...vegans...wow
vegans populated the earth, how novel.
There was also a piece of fruit involved if I'm not mistaken.
All right, let's leave Larry Craig out of this...
"Memory lapse"? Hardly.This is standard issue Hannity in all his deeply disingenuous and hypocritical glory.
I disagree. Hannity is too stupid to plan to forget something in advance. We are, after all, talking about the dumbest person on radio (and by fault, tv). Remember, he gets his talking points from Mark Levin, a loser so vile that when he was young, his mother would regularly have to fight the cat to rescue him from the litter box. And if isn't written down, Hannity doesn't say it. He apparently is in need of a new fax from levin, because like a skipping record, every sentence he says since early last week ends with "Obama doesn't think Iran is a threat".
No, in fact Hannity is so devoid of thought that it's a conceptual impossibility for him to have a loss of memory.
Shamity can't remember which side of an issue he is on from day to day, let alone 12+ years ago.
I disagree, Oscar. Hannity has some very solid positions on issues.
Unrepentant terrorists - AGAINST !
Hateful bigoted preachers - AGAINST !
For more information on his positions, tune into Hannity & Colmes.
Also, carrying water for the Republican candidate.
During the primaries, he was so disdainful of McCain and supportive of his candidate Ghouliani that I had to to flip the channels to keep the stench out of my car.
Oh, thanks Col. Now you've ruined it.
At least give a *spoiler alert* next time.
Some issues for sure, but I think he was against McCain before being for him and surely he was against Hillary before he was against Obama. I guess what I should have said is that he doesn't remember unless it's written down for him, probably in Crayon on butcher paper (anyone remember butcher paper?)
the rumor of the son not being hers is not new. it has been floating around in the alaskan ether for months. i wish i could find the original posting, but i cannot remember where i saw it. i think it was 'reddit' or something. she shocked everyone in alaska when she revealed herself to be pregnant at 7 months, and doing the math, that would put the genesis of the rumor at about a year ago. so, unless the republicans were planning on tapping (for lack of a better term) her for the vp slot that long ago, this is not a rovian whisper campaign. not saying that makes it any more acceptable as a line of attack, but enquiring minds want to know.
Oh, they are getting DEFENSIVE over on the Insannity board...
http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?t=820841
The fact that any of you, on both sides are even talking about the kids. Does not matter who started it (sound like small kids pointing to the other) lets just stop it now!!!!! We can talk about the candidates themselves, what they believe, what they stand for, but their kids are off limits. PERIOD> and you wonder why other Americans whom you think would make good leaders do not run. This is why!!! Nobody is perfect!!!!! You all make me sick, this whole topic is wrong.
You all make me sick
Looks to me like you were plenty sick before you started posting here.
Here is how it is currently being played out in the media..... Levi Johnson is mother telling us that the children need their privacy, but at the same excited that he is leaving for the convention to be with the Palin family (and the media)...and telling us he is now forced to deal with media attention. Levi Johnson is also referred to as just "Levi" to protect his identity, but mom is in the news talking about him. Uh, who brought this upon them, and who is using them for media attention?
Huffington Post, Rachel D'0ro Sept. 2, 2008:
[.....].....Levi Johnston's mother said her 18-year-old son left Alaska on Tuesday morning to join the Palin family at the convention where Sen. John McCain will officially receive the Republican nomination for president. The boy's mother, Sherry Johnston, said there had been no pressure put on her son to marry 17-year-old Bristol Palin and the two teens had made plans to wed before it was known she was pregnant.
"This is just a bonus," Johnston said.
The young man's presence could set off a media frenzy around the young couple as photographers and cameramen scramble for pictures of the two teenagers. On Monday, Palin and her husband, Todd, said their 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, planned to have the baby and wed a young man identified only as Levi. The family asked the media to respect the young couple's privacy as has been the tradition with children of candidates.
Sarah Palin is scheduled to address the convention Wednesday night and traditionally her family would join her at the conclusion of her speech.
Sherry Johnston said she was worried about her son dealing with all the attention. She said it was difficult enough for teenagers to deal with any pregnancy, having the entire nation watching made it worse.".......[....]
Yep, the liberal democrats are the biggest hypocrites ever.
The liberal democrats are the ones that say give a woman a right to choose, they say to hand out condoms in school, but when a 17 year old daughter of a republican candidate is pregnant, it's like national news. haha!
PS. Why not ask how old Barack's mom was when she got pregnant with him, hmm? This would be just prior to her being ditched by her husband. Yeah, it was close to the same age. Where's the outrage?
Sarah Palin FTW!
A great ticket indeed!
You guys know me by now...
I will NEVER vo for a Republican, period.
I continue today, even this morning, after that crap hole of a speech by a person not fit to tie Sen Obama's shoes, that my circle of friends WHERE impressed.
I need new friends no doubt, but most of us do have "friends" that rare not exactly the brightest bulbs in the package.
I'm hearing, and I know it's just from a few, but I AM hearing things like, "The Media is really digging into Palins past without doing the same vetting on Sen Obama." or "The far left are spouting things that should be left alone, private things that we have not seen about Obama, like his admitted drug use and womanizing ways."
Most do see, whether true or not, and I say not, that the News Media mainly MSNBC and CNN have been way over the top against Palin while never asking the same kinds of questions about Sen Obama.
I only care about winning, not the message of MMA that the media is against the Democrates, I see it as if they are mostly on our side and recent numbers show the number of favorible news reports and articals are extreamly favorable to our cause.
We are really blowing and misjudging this election imho, if we forget "fly over" or heartland people in America. Most Americans in the areas we MUST WIN are NOT fans of the media and DO believe that the media is left of center, while all polls show most Americans consider, though do not vote, "slightly right of center".
We best remeber the preception of what we blog and how we attack this unqualified Paliin. If we piss of middle america, no matter how many urban votes or minority votes we get, we will LOSE, and I refuse to go quietly this time, WE MUST WIN, but we better get smarter about this.
TALK ONLY ISSUES and direction, NO MORE PALIN and we must somehow find a way to get others on our side that blog to understand this message or we will have one hell of a time come November trying to figure out when it all went wrong.
TO: Max DH,
Sen Obama's mother was 18 and not married and ALSO chose to have Sen Obama. rather than an abortion.
So ?
I will agree that the media would never have asked him, nor did they.
This worries me... The right wing nut logs have a valid point, and the "small minded" mid Americans remeber it. Where was the questions about Obama's children ? Where was the inquiry into the DNA samples being requested by some horrible bloggers and now some in the media.
We are KILLING ouselves !!! We will lose if we do not stop this line of questioning and INSTEAD, talk about TAX CUTS and JOBS and HEALTH CARE !!!
Palin > Obama (and her families cuter too!)