Not her health benefits, of course, but the benefits of doubt that blacks, humanitarians, Obama folk, media and millions of others have been giving Hillary Clinton for years.
Early on, it was apparent that her husband cheated on her, more than most, and, incredibly, Hillary stayed. Many thought she wanted political power and had made a Faustian deal, sparing Bill a divorce scandal in return for a shot at the White House later. Despite the shot at the White House part coming true later, most gave her the benefit of the doubt, asserting it was a private matter between Hillary and Bill made ugly and public by a "vast right wing conspiracy".
Later Bill went back on his campaign promise to stop the killing in the former Yugoslavia. Again, some, such as Sally Bedell Smith and Christopher Hitchens, believed Hillary did not want another Somalia disaster threatening her health care reforms so Hill urged Bill to ignore the Bosnian cries for help (See Hitchens' Slate article here) resulting in over 250,000 deaths. Supporters gave Hill & Bill the benefit of the doubt defending Bill's inaction by asserting Europeans should help Europeans.
In 1994, the unthinkable happened. Over 56,000 blacks per week were being butchered in Rwanda - a murder rate 5 times the Holocaust. Clinton was quick to get Americans out and supported Belgium's call to pull UN troops out rather than send more troops in. To get around that pesky UN Genocide Convention, Clinton instructed Secretary of State Christopher and UN Ambassador Albright not to let anyone use the word "genocide" so the US could avoid it's moral and legal obligation to intervene. Some say Hillary was behind this policy of inaction that let 800,000 die needlessly (See Hillary's Genocide Problem). Others gave Hillary the benefit of the doubt and believed her when she said she had urged Bill to intervene. Even African-American leaders gave the Clintons the benefit of the doubt about the worse genocide in African history (see Where's Black Outrage Over Rwanda).
During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Billy Shaheen, her New Hampshire Co-Chair, resigned over remarks he made about Barack Obama's past drug use, and his insinuation Obama not only used, but also dealt drugs. Shaheen claimed he was only raising an issue that Republicans would have raised in the fall (See Clinton Adviser: Obama's Past Drug Use A Liability). Earth to Billy: An attack on a Democrat during a Democratic Primary is a Democratic attack not a Republican attack. Some suggested this was only the latest example of a Classic Clinton tactic of smearing a political opponent, waiting for the smear to get a lot of media coverage so it "sticks" then apologize for the comment. Net result: the smear still gets out there and it's cheaper than paying for an ad! Others (you guessed it!) gave Hillary the benefit of the doubt and resented that Mr. Shaheen made Hillary's campaign look "out of control".
I could come up with a hundred more examples of deeply offensive behavior, or comments, by the Clintons, or their supporters, that require the benefit of the doubt over and over again.
Yesterday, Friday, May 24, 2008, Hillary Clinton lost her benefits (See Hillary's Big Mistake). When asked whether her remaining in the race was hurting the Democratic Party, she mentioned that her husband's campaign didn't "wrap up" until June (it was over in March, 1992) and that "We all remember that Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California".
WHAT IS SHE IMPLYING???
In the context of a question about why she's in the race still (when she has no real chance to win) she brings up RFK's assassination? Most might say she's implying that, if only someone would take out her opponent, she'd win this thing. Once again, some may give her the benefit of the doubt but, ding-ding-ding, she's all out of benefits.
No more for you, Hillary! You've used up all the good will even your supporters had for a woman and a couple who put themselves first, at the expense of others, for the last time.
It's especially offensive given that her opponent is a black man and blacks have a sad tragic history of losing their leaders to a sniper. America's heart still hurts from the loss of Dr. King. Colin Powell, although absurdly popular, never ran for fear of assassination. Is there some nut job out there that will hear her words and "step up to help"? It was a grossly irresponsible comment that I could rant about some more but I thought Keith Olberman said it best, the comments were "Unforgivable".
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