Clinton Criticisms = Unfair Gore Liar Tag?

An interesting comment from Sen. Evan Bayh, a Clinton supporter, appearing today on MSNBC, trying to explain Bill Clinton's inaccurate defense of his wife's Bosnia inaccuracies.

"Sometimes, these things take on a life of their own. I'm reminded of the 2000 campaign, where AL Gore, every little statement was kind of dissected, and by the end of that, you would have thought he was a serial liar of some kind."

You kinda know what he's saying, but it's a troubling comparison to be making or at least worrying about: the accumulation of Clinton misstatements leading to the (unfair) perception that she, like Gore, is a serial liar?

One would think that the Obama campaign would pour the fertilizer for this, not Evan Bayh.

After the truncation on the above video, Mitchell says: "And he lost."*

To which Bayh responds: "But that was a caricature that was stitched together. It’s the same way with Hillary Clinton. She misspoke, she apologized and we need to move on."

* = Gore won the popular vote.

Comments

Al Gore isn't even a liar, so he certainly can't be a serial liar!

and your * should say:

* Gore won the popular vote, and Florida was stolen from him in the Electoral College

Posted by GreenGuy | April 11, 2008 3:35 PM

I wish the media would make the differentiation between "misspeak" and "lie." She didn't misspeak, she lied, period, and she did it not once, but several times, about several different things. And she said "I am sorry" but never said what she was sorry for. (Probably being caught in a lie.)

There is a world of difference between her lying and Gore being "quoted" as saying things he never said.

Posted by john m | April 11, 2008 3:39 PM

That's fine except that there was no truth to virtually any of the items used against Gore. And now we have both Bill and Hillary obviously "misspeaking" on more than one occasion.

Ya know, as a critic of political reporting in the style of the War on Gore, I'd be all set to sympathize with the Clintons on this to some degree.

If they weren't so eager to attempt to master the broken political culture of misrepresentation and innuendo that they claim to decry.

Posted by Vermonter | April 11, 2008 3:43 PM

What an insulting comparison. Gore's supposed lie about "inventing the internet" was completely made up by the media. He never used those words.

That's nothing like Clinton's obvious lies.

A better comparison might be to Bill's lies: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.}

Posted by Mike | April 11, 2008 3:47 PM

Yes it's an unfair comparison... unfair to Al Gore!

What the hell is Evan Bayh thinking? He's clearly not helping his chances for VP with this.

Posted by Andy E | April 11, 2008 3:58 PM

This is ridiculous. Gore spoke poorly ("no controlling legal authority"), but it was the media and GOP that invented the idea of his claiming credit for the internet and Love Canal. Gore has many faults, but a serial liar he is not.

Bill Clinton, on the other hand, is a serial liar. And I say that as a Hillary supporter.

Posted by B.S. | April 11, 2008 4:00 PM

"One would think that the Obama campaign would pour the fertilizer for this, not Evan Bayh."

Not really as Obama actually respects and honors Al Gore... It's no secret that there is no love lost between HRC and the Man Who Should Be President. This is reprehensible of Evan Bayh. I'd expect such talk from scum like Lanny Davis but Bayh surprises me. I thought he had more class than that.

As others have stated, the Clintons ARE serial liars; Gore is anything but. When I saw the clip of Bill in IN, I was sorely hoping someone - anyone! - in the crowd would yell: "That's a lie!!!" I dare anyone in the media to call this - yet again - on the Clintons to their faces.

Posted by Judy | April 11, 2008 4:08 PM

It would help the Clintons' case if Bill hadn't added eight separate lies (see Marc's previous link to Tapper) in the span of two mintes in his attempt to blame the media for calling out Hillary's lies.

Posted by good bayh | April 11, 2008 4:45 PM

Mis-spoke! Ha!

Evan Bayh must have mis-spoke when he said that Hillary Clinton mis-spoke. I'm sure he meant to say that she's a liar.

Posted by Clinton/Pyrrhus '08 | April 11, 2008 4:57 PM

Wow. Just goes to show how disorganize all facets of the Clinton campaign has become. Actually, they've always been this disjointed. One of the reasons for their current predicament.

http://www.political-buzz.com/

Posted by matt | April 11, 2008 5:02 PM

"Bill Clinton, on the other hand, is a serial liar. And I say that as a Hillary supporter.

Posted by B.S."

With friends like you...

Anyway it's always funny when the 'Hillary supporters' trash her to no end. One has to wonder what kind of an idiot supports someone they think is a serial liar or has a serial liar out stumping for them? Did ya ever wonder that about 'Hillary supporters' that trash her to no end. I do. I always wonder if they are that stupid or do they think we are.

Posted by hadenough | April 11, 2008 5:08 PM

hadenough, I think you answered your own question.

Posted by Clinton/Pyrrhus '08 | April 11, 2008 5:21 PM

* = Gore won the popular vote.

...but lost the PR war for FL. Perceptions do matter.

And leave us not forget that in addition to being a "serial exaggerator" Gore was also "stiff" and "wooden" and not at all a regular guy or the sort of person you would want to have a beer with. Clinton, of course "cackles" and is "divisive" and comes with a lot of "baggage." Obama, if you look at the early oppo on the RNC site, will be "aloof" and "arrogant" (and of course, an ultra-liberal and a flip-flopper).

Posted by Cal D | April 11, 2008 5:50 PM

The latest Pennsylvania general election numbers suggest Democrats might be getting a boost out of the increased exposure of the primary; also, two new primary surveys show the race tightening. Full roundup here.

Posted by Daniel | April 11, 2008 6:13 PM

Mispeaking is when you, say, confuse Iran and Iraq accidentally, but everyone knows what you really meant.

Lying is when you repeatedly tell a story about something that supposedly happened to you that didn't actually happen to you.

But we all have known Hillary is a liar for years. This is the woman who defended Bill over Gennifer Flowers and Monica, calling Monica a "stalker" and the whole thing part of a "vast right wing conspiracy." When in fact it was just the truth.

The Clintons have always had a problem with the truth. It's naive of use to expect anything else.

And Gore was NOT a liar. He was wrongfully maligned by the press.

Hillary got caught in a lie. A lie that she felt she needed to tell to create an "experience gap" with her opponent. So it wasn't even a little white lie. It was a big lie.

She has lied about Bosnia, about Northern Ireland, about SCHIP, and about myriad other things.

I mean, facts are facts, folks.

But to see Bill continue the lie is just puzzling.

Has Bill lost all the political talent he used to have or what?

Posted by Hank Gathers | April 11, 2008 6:22 PM

At the risk of sounding redundant, I believe this speaks volumes about both Clintons: In a recent Pennsylvania political ad, 3 year-old Hillary Rodham, arms extended, toddles toward the home-movie camera. Hillary's present day voice-over explains the Rodham family cottage, down by the lake, lacked indoor plumbing. It was hardship borne from the start. Yet, more telling events seem to fall by the wayside. Take Hillary's first real job. The upshot: Jerry Zeifman fired Hillary for unethical practices during the Watergate Investigation. Why was twenty-seven year old Hillary fired? “Because she was a liar,” Zeifman said in a recent interview. “She was an unethical, dishonest lawyer. She conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality.”

Not only does Mr. Zeifman’s story go to character, it goes to a lifelong pattern of lying and obfuscation. And, it took Zeifman twelve years to get it aired. After Watergate, Zeifman could not recommend Hillary for any subsequent position of public or private trust, nor furnish her with a letter of recommendation. After that, Hillary Clinton's employment record is one of strict nepotism, cronyism, and amnesia. Although few suspected the lengths to which Hillary would go, a leopard never changes her spots. Again, Hillary Clinton is a bold-faced liar, who will stop at nothing. Should anyone doubt Mr. Zeifman's veracity regarding the Clintons: http://theseedsof9-11.com

According to Mr. Zeifman, it’s not just Hillary’s dishonesty; no one disputes that fact. As important: the time span she has behaved in a fraudulent manner. "The Clintons corrupted the soul of the Democratic Party." -Henry Ruth, lead Watergate courtroom prosecutor.

Posted by Peggy McGilligan | April 11, 2008 9:54 PM

Democrat Bill Bradley called Democratic Vice President Al Gore a liar in 2000.

Obama supporter Bill Bradley called Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton a liar in 2008.

Democrats like Bill Bradley are a great asset to the Democratic Party, huh?

Posted by Jan | April 12, 2008 6:34 AM