Hillary hit job

Back in 2008, the Oklahoman engaged in a huge smear job against potential Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and letter after letter were incredibly critical of her. It's not surprising that Oklahomans-- being as conservative as they are-- would hate Clinton, but it seems like a wasted opportunity for a paper to devote space to opinions about someone that stands no chance of getting the state's electoral votes, instead of to discussing potential GOP candidates? But then again, the Oklahoman has never been about serving the public interest. Instead, it is about propaganda.

ANYHOW...

Since rumors have been stirring about Clinton running again in 2016, it seems that the paper has taken to revving up its hit campaign-- while at the same time delivering couched jabs at President Obama. Thus, we get another letter from Tom Miller of Oklahoma City. I say "another" because we've seen him before. Indeed, Miller is one of the paper's part-time columnists, and has been bashing Clinton for years (along with Obama, Clinton and Obama, the Democratic Party, and so on-- you get the point).

In any case, it's hard to imagine the Oklahoman running a more worthless letter than Miller's. He writes:

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recently said she's praying that Hillary Rodham Clinton is the next Democratic presidential candidate... If Clinton is the nominee, she'll be 69 years old when running. If elected, she'd be the second-oldest president to ever take office, following closely behind Ronald Reagan. Reagan was 69 years and 349 days old when inaugurated and Clinton would be 69 years and 86 days old at her inauguration.

I'm not suggesting that old age should eliminate a person from serving as president. However, voters should certainly know the candidates' age, place of birth, educational records, occupational accomplishments and health records before they vote. If Clinton does become the next Democrat candidate for president, I hope the media do a better job of making her background known than they did with Barack Obama.

Jesus. Maybe Miller isn't aware, but Hillary Clinton has been in the public eye since 1992. There have been about a hundred books written about her. I mean, he's whining that the press might not "do a better job of making her background known" and yet he can tell you how old to the day Clinton would be if she were sworn into office!

So clearly, it's not even really about Clinton. Instead, it's just a bunch of dog whistles to right wing thralls (Birth certificate! College transcripts!) to keep them salivating. And to top it off, Miller offers a parting shot: "America deserves better than another divider." Unfortunately, Obama has governed largely from the center-right (Romney-inspired healthcare reform, maintaining Bush-era tax cuts, weak financial reform, etc.). Nevertheless, the far right-- represented by theocrats and plutocrats-- have refused to accept any concessions but still succeed in pegging Obama as a "divider." This is thanks on not small part to the power of right-wing media, of which the Oklahoman is a part.