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Jonathan Alter's Boorish Column

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:46:05 PM EST
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By Big Tent Democrat

Why smart writers like Jon Alter write stupid columns like this remains a mystery:

If Hillary Clinton wanted a graceful exit, she'd drop out now—before the March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries—and endorse Barack Obama. . . . [T]o withdraw this week would be the best thing imaginable for Hillary's political career. She won't, of course, and for reasons that help explain why she's in so much trouble in the first place.

What reason could that possibly be? That she wants the voters to decide? The hubris and boorishness inherent in Alter's really dumb column is amazing. The funny thing is he imagines it is advice on how to be dignified. It seems to me Alter needs some lessons of his own on grace.

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    Jonathan Alter's Boorish Column | 39 comments (39 topical)

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    the nutballs (5.00 / 8) (#1)
    by Kathy on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:47:58 PM EST
    should come with a warning--"I hated the first Clinton and I am doing everything I can to destroy this one, too."

    Why is this called journalism still?  It is muckraking, plain and simple.

    It's not muckraking - (none / 0) (#12)
    by scribe on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:10:59 PM EST
    its properly called "slinging bullsh*t".

    Muckraking is actually what the targets of investigative journalists call good reporting.

    Parent

    depends on who is being investigated! (none / 0) (#16)
    by Kathy on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:23:13 PM EST


    Parent
    That HRC is still in the race is amazing (5.00 / 4) (#2)
    by Angel on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:54:51 PM EST
    considering the fact that she has had to run against other campaigns as well as the media.  I have come to hate the media.  They destroy people, good people.  And they do not report the facts with an unbiased viewpoint.  Everything is spin, spin, spin.  

    How very Florida 2000 of him (5.00 / 8) (#3)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:55:29 PM EST
    Let's quit counting votes and declare victory...for the good of the country...

    Alter is just another member of the "I don't know how to quit (hating) the Clintons" crowd.

    During impeachment, I honestly thought he was Republican.

    What are they so afraid of? (5.00 / 6) (#4)
    by CognitiveDissonance on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:58:21 PM EST
    For anyone who actually looks at delegate counts, it is pretty obvious that this race is far, far from over. They are still very close, Obama's recent run notwithstanding.

    That's why these constant cries we've heard of late that Hillary should drop out make me question why the shrillness? What exactly are they afraid of? That Rezko is going to start biting big time in a couple of weeks? That the Obama Cult is going to start self-destructing and scaring off the grownups? That other skeletons are going to come out of the closet? Why are they in so much of a hurry to rush to judgment when many of us have yet to vote? I am reminded that Bill Clinton didn't clinch his '92 run until June. We are still in February. This isn't over by a long way.

    They're afraid Hillary will win (none / 0) (#30)
    by Xeno on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 09:33:55 PM EST
    Actually, they (pundits and Obama followers) are terrified of that prospect. If Clinton rolls up big wins next week it will be Obama who is suddenly on the ropes. The only way they figure they can circumvent that is by forcing Clinton out of the race before the next set of primaries.

    This is a strategy born of desperation, at least on the part of some.

    Parent

    Not to mention (none / 0) (#31)
    by RalphB on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 09:56:16 PM EST
    that if they convince enough people she can't win, it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Worthy of a campaign that looks a lot like an EST for now.


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    Hit Nail On Head (none / 0) (#36)
    by kenoshaMarge on Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 08:22:32 AM EST
    I too believe that the media is trying to convince people that Hillary Clinton is (a)unlikable (b) unelectable (c)is all ready defeated unless she cheats, which (d)being a Clinton she probably will. Keep repeating and never fail to espouse the "Hopeful" candidacy of Obama and you have a candidate that is a miracle by still having any chance at all.

    Hillary may well lose. I fear she will. But if there is one thing that a lot of people have come to see in this campaign it is that the media needs to get the hell out of choosing our candidates for us and then needs to try, at least a little, for some balance in their reporting. (I am filing that notion under F for Fat Chance!)

    Parent

    Short attention span. (5.00 / 6) (#5)
    by oldpro on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:59:12 PM EST
    Alter is probably one of those people who goes home at the seventh-inning stretch if his team is behind.

    Urging Hillary Clinton to become a quitter at this stage of her life is as big a joke as this campaign commentary has produced.

    Alter was sure Obama would win NH (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Josey on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:00:50 PM EST
    and was on Charlie Rose the night before the primary assuring viewers that his candidate, Obama, was a centrist.
    If Obama were behind by the a bit at this point (5.00 / 4) (#8)
    by nemo52 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:06:58 PM EST
    would Alter, and so many others, be calling for HIS graceful exit?  crickets  -- exactly.  Graceful exits are only for the girls.

    Ain't that the truth. (5.00 / 2) (#10)
    by oculus on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:07:41 PM EST


    Parent
    Ah, I see in my future (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Firefly4625 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 07:01:43 PM EST
    being part of a HUGE letter-writing (e-mail) campaign to Newsweek, CNN, MSNBC and the rest - if Hillary wins TX and OH - to CALL FOR OBAMA'S "graceful" EXIT - considering, donchaknow, he doesn't know how to win the big states.

    I'd love to see them buried under HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of e-mails. But, first things first - we've gotta help Hillary win the big states!

    Parent

    Ah, not only boorish but also sexist. (none / 0) (#13)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:12:30 PM EST
    BTD missed that one.

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    I've said it before, and I'll say it (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by scribe on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:08:03 PM EST
    again - the longer HRC stays in the race (or, said another way - that there are two Dem candidates), the better for the Dems.

    It has seemed pretty obvious (to me, anyway) for quite some time that the corporate media's approach to this election has been to whittle down the Democratic field to one, the presumptive nominee, as quickly as possible, and then to spew against that nominee all the vitriol their Republican masters can generate.

    This was also my point in arguing for more Democratic debates or, as I said it earlier, that "...they should go all Lincoln-Douglas all the way to the convention".  So long as there are two Dem candidates "going at it", the media cannot escape their weakness for the horse-race, and cannot start picking on one (or the other) for fear of being deemed "partisan" in favor of the one not-picked-on.

    So, the media took their strategy to rid themselves first of the candidate who scared corporate America most - Edwards.  They did him in by burying him in non-coverage.  

    Now, they're going after Hillary, using all the reasons one might choose to point at her.

    And they will then go after whichever one is left standing, to try to close the gap between Republicans and Democrats.

    Yes, they're testing the waters with smears and slanders directed at each of the Democratic candidates - today a funny hat, tomorrow a nasty name.  Whatever.  Their point is to try to get a reaction (other than the media's consumers giving them a sharp rebuke) out of the candidates, first, and to find out what will work with the audience, second.  

    Which, BTW, is a good reason to join the Action being promoted over at FDL.  For those who are HRC fans - remember, it can, and will, be just as easily her.  The Obama slander is just a test run to see what the media can get away with.

    So, go rebuke them.

    There is no reason to get out (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by Joike on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:13:54 PM EST
    HRC has been campaigning for what must seem to her to be an eternity.

    She has every right to play this contest out to the end.

    I love it when people with nothing but time on their hands can blithely advise a person to simply give up on something they've worked so hard to achieve.

    Hey, Giants, you're down by a few points to an undefeated team.  Just quit.  No point trying to win even though you have the ball and there is time left on the clock.

    Why not tell all those under-privileged kids around the world to not even bother.  If you're down, there's no point in trying because you are behind.  No such thing as a comeback.

    What a maroon.

    She's not (5.00 / 6) (#17)
    by rooge04 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:27:06 PM EST
    even that far behind. Yes, Obama has won the last 11 contests, but so what? They're still close. I hate that the media does this. Trying to 'shame' her into conceding. Then they rip her for not conceding like they know she won't because she's such a bi**h like that. If this primary has taught me anything at all is that the media's power to change the narrative of an election is overwhelming. They're dancing on her grave and she ain't even having trouble breathing.

    What REALLY hurts party unity (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by mg7505 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 08:36:17 PM EST
    is this inane, defeatist commentary from LEFT-wing pundits (assuming Alter actually is a Democrat). Honestly, whoever the nominee is will need the support of as much of the media as possible -- goodness knows the majority of the "free" press is sold out to the Republicans. Imagine a rabidly anti-Clinton writer like Alter having to defend Clinton against the McCain onslaught this fall. Any intelligent person will realize Alter is insincere, and there goes his credibility (he certainly has none left with me). If Alter thinks he's somehow helping the Democratic party by continuing the hypocritical, sexist infighting and destroying his own credibility, he's wrong.

    Alter should learn a lesson from the Right-wing commentators: start using your column to criticize McCain! That would probably even help Obama more than yet another empty call for Hillary to exit the race.

    I predict that next week (none / 0) (#7)
    by Kathy on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:04:40 PM EST
    Alter will rail against Nader as well?  Maybe throw in a little Huckabee?

    And when Clinton takes the lead after 4 March, Alter will call for Obama to step down?

    And monkeys will fly outta my butt.

    You forgot Romney, who may (none / 0) (#9)
    by oculus on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:07:12 PM EST
    throw his hat back into the ring.  (Guess he believed that NYT story!)

    Parent
    I think he's the presumptive (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by scribe on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:13:43 PM EST
    candidate-in-waiting, being held there by the party elders in the event McBush really starts to tank, or winds up unable to campaign because of his chicanery with public funding.  I see the story on his "availability" today as being a reminder of that - to him, McBush, and the party faithful.

    The NYT article seems to me to have been an exercise in trying to weld the Rethugs together through the old common enemy.  Every high-school coach has made teams that way, so why not the Rethugs?

    Parent

    Would (none / 0) (#37)
    by kenoshaMarge on Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 08:24:33 AM EST
    pay to see that Kathy. I always hear about such events but have never witnessed it. (Never mind, I just read what I wrote and I sound like an old pervert.)

    Parent
    Clinton should run as long as she wants to (none / 0) (#19)
    by Bob In Pacifica on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 07:18:40 PM EST
    but the question is still there. When should a candidate drop out, and how much will it hurt party unity to continue the race?

    I myself think she should run as long as she wants. I heard Alter suggest that a continued run past March 4th will hurt her politically next year as far as being Majority leader in the Senate. I think she doesn't have a chance of that, so she might as well keep running.

    Party unity (5.00 / 0) (#23)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 08:12:44 PM EST
    And how much will it hurt party unity to continue to call for a legitimate candidate to drop out of the race?  One who around 50% of the voters voted for?

    Party unity has already been screwed up at the hands of many players, Mr Unity(tm) being part and parcel of that.   Why not let the race play out?

    Parent

    By the way (none / 0) (#20)
    by Bob In Pacifica on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 07:20:05 PM EST
    I've seen plenty of people here and elsewhere suggest that other candidates should drop out. I think it's natural that once your candidate is in the lead you'd want to "call off the jam," as they used to call it in roller derby.

    I've seen more people call for her (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by RalphB on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 07:26:02 PM EST
    to drop out than Huckabee.  At some point, it's time to cut the crap out.


    Parent
    Good, Bob in Pacifica (none / 0) (#29)
    by BarnBabe on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 09:32:13 PM EST
    Hi, I gave my dinner poll numbers from last night and you commented with yours which were opposite. Nice. But, what I was getting at was that these women are in Pennsylvania and have not voted yet. And  4 times a year get together so no discussing politics in between. I want my chance to vote and it will not be until April. Hate that. Anyway J closed the comments last night before I could explain myself. So, that was it.

    Parent
    Hillary, if she was (none / 0) (#22)
    by OldCoastie on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 08:01:08 PM EST
    a "good woman", would shut up and let Obama win... nicely... isn't that what good girls do?

    that attitude disrepects both Hillary and Obama...

    ok, i see the core problem: (none / 0) (#24)
    by cpinva on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 08:19:05 PM EST
    Why smart writers like Jon Alter.........

    why do you think he's smart? i've seen nothing that would cause me to conclude that about him, ever.

    so, we have a not-so-bright guy telling a really, really smart person they should quit, because they're, um, well................ahead.

    yeah, he's a smarty alright. sorry, i am underwhelmed by his smartness.

    It's obvious that Alter is a quitter (none / 0) (#25)
    by g8grl on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 08:25:11 PM EST
    I'm sure every time he tries to accomplish anything, if there is any type of resistance, he quits.  It seems as though he thinks it's the American way, graceful exit when the going gets tough.  Why actually compete in anything if you can just pretend to compete only to a point where you can quietly get out without making too many waves.  Or maybe he just thinks women shouldn't compete with men?

    on Dan Abrams (none / 0) (#27)
    by white n az on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 09:17:07 PM EST
    Alter made an ass of himself.

    It seems so awkward that he is getting out in front of this but that's the Newsweek/MSNBC that we all know and hate.

    Really? (5.00 / 0) (#28)
    by Lena on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 09:24:24 PM EST
    What happened?

    In skimming through the article, I was surprised by what a jerk he came off as...

    I had heard his name before, but now I know to avoid his writing in future. His reasoning isn't exactly compelling, and his analytical skills seem pathetic... So it's easy to see how he could come off as an ass on the TV. Would have loved to see it.

    Parent

    Well you guys sure to be having fun (none / 0) (#32)
    by flyerhawk on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 10:09:31 PM EST
    flaying the media.  It has become a national pasttime.

    Regardless if Hillary loses both Texas and Ohio, how many of you think he should concede?  If she loses PA as well, how bout then?  She could certainly take this all the way to the convention if she so chooses.  I suspect many, if not most, would want her to do that as well.

    Why Shouldn't voters (none / 0) (#38)
    by kenoshaMarge on Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 08:26:55 AM EST
    get the chance to vote? What's with conceding defeat before being defeated? Why should only states that vote early have a say?

    Parent
    More Interesting (none / 0) (#33)
    by Seneca on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 10:50:21 PM EST
    More interesting than Alter's questionable - though reasonable, in a some ways - column is BTD's one-sided response.

    On display every day here is the effect of total, ideological allegiance to an Idea (in this case, Hillary Clinton's candidacy). The need to justify the Idea becomes so desperately urgent that the believer cannot admit even the slightest criticism of the Idea. Our thinking becomes one-sided these days...Obama supporters cannot admit moments when he is hypocritical and Hillary supporters cannot admit the Machiavellian nature of her campaign...

    Yes, Alter is probably wrong. But his idea is not totally unreasonable. The argument could reasonably be made that in prolonging this process she is selfishly putting her own quest for power ahead of the interests of the party. This is not my view, but it is a view a reasonable person might have. Someone not in the thrall of ideological fanatacism would be able to recognize both the good and the bad in Alter's column, even if the column is ultimately misguided.

    Though, to practice what I preach, I will applaud this site for it criticism of the recent assaults on Barack's "patriotism."

    Seneca, (none / 0) (#34)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 11:19:25 PM EST
    I just stopped in and saw your insult to TalkLeft. Don't do it again if you want to keep commenting here.

    Kerry did the noble thing and quit (none / 0) (#35)
    by lily15 on Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 06:43:39 AM EST
    He didn't fight for Ohio.  The lawyers were ready. His supporters were behind him.  But he gave up.  For the good of the country he told us. Yep. Kerry did the "noble" thing and missed an opportunity to expose what happened in Ohio.  Isn't it apropos that Kerry is supporting Obama....These people are just so noble, aren't they?  Because they've been so right in the past.  Noble is for losers.  The Republicans pushed this same meme on Kerry.  It would be unseemly for him to contest Ohio.  And Kerry bought it.  Some people are suckers. And even more never learn.

    And Gore (none / 0) (#39)
    by kenoshaMarge on Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 08:29:20 AM EST
    If Democrats keep doing what they perceive as "best for the country" as in capitulating, there won't be much of a country left. At least not for us peasants.

    Parent
    Jonathan Alter's Boorish Column | 39 comments (39 topical)

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