The Republican National Committee's independent expenditure unit goads Clinton supporters with a new ad airing in Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Brad Todd, the RNC's IE supervisor, sends along a link to the ad.
SCRIPT FOR "Was She Right?"
ANNCR: Who has the experience to govern our nation?
Sen. Clinton: "Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign. I will bring a lifetime of experience. And Senator Obama will bring a speech he gave in 2002." (Source: CNN 3/8/08)
ANNCR: Barack Obama. He gives a great speech. But Americans must ask ourselves: should we elect the most inexperienced presidential candidate of our times? Or was she right? The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising."
Because thirty seconds isn't enough time to recap all the Democrats'
brutally honest assessments of Senator Obama's inexperience, we've listed a few
more here:
AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Remarks At The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 2/25/08)
Sen. Clinton: "The American people don't have to guess whether I understand the issues or whether I would need a foreign policy instruction manual to guide me through a crisis, or whether I'd have to rely on advisers to introduce me to global affairs."
LITTLE
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE (Jay Newton-Small,
"Will Clinton's Obama Attacks Backfire?" Time,
12/4/07)
Sen. Clinton: "So you decide which makes more sense: Entrust our country to someone who is ready on day one ... or to put America in the hands of someone with little national or international experience, who started running for president the day he arrived in the U.S. Senate."
ROLLING THE DICE (PBS's, "Charlie Rose Show," 12/15/07)
Bill Clinton: "And we're prepared to roll the dice. We're prepared to..."
PBS's Charlie Rose: "You want to say to the voters, if they have prepared to choose someone with less experience, but perhaps other qualities, as you've said, gifted in politics, gifted in intellect, then they're rolling the dice, is what you're saying."
Clinton: "Well..."
Rose: "Rolling the dice about America if they don't choose the person who's had the kind of experience you're talking about."
Clinton: It's less predictable, isn't it? I mean when is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the Senate before he started running? He would have been a senator longer by the time he's inaugurated, but essentially once you start running for president full-time you don't have time to do much else."
A
TV COMMENTATOR PLUS ONE YEAR (PBS's, "Charlie
Rose Show," 12/15/07)
Bill Clinton: "In theory, we could find someone who is a gifted
television commentators and let them run. They'd have only one year less
experience in national politics."
A DANGEROUS PHENOMENON (Christian Broadcasting Network's, "The 700 Club," 2/26/08)
Sen. Clinton:
"I think that there is a certain phenomenon associated with his candidacy, and I
am really struck by that because it is very much about him and his personality
and his presentation. And that's perfectly legitimate in politics, or any other
walk of life, but I think it dangerously oversimplifies the complexity of the
problems we face, the challenge of navigating our country through
some
difficult, uncharted waters. We are a nation at war. That seems to be
forgotten."
HOW
IS HE GOING TO ENGAGE SENATOR MCCAIN? (Keith Herbert and Glenn Thrush, "Clinton Attacks Obama's National Security Record,"
[New York]
Newsday, 3/2/08)
Sen. Clinton: "I know that Mr. Obama has been complaining that talking
about national security is fear-mongering, but
I could not disagree more ...
I think it's a defining issue. ... If Senator Obama is unwilling to engage me
over national security, how is he going to engage Senator McCain?"
CAN
HE PICK UP THE PHONE AT 3 AM? (Ben Smith and Beth
Frerking, "'Red Phone' Response Could Decide Texas," The Politico, 3/1/08)
Sen. Clinton: "'Now, Sen. Obama says that if we talk about
national
security in this campaign, we're trying to scare people. I don't think people in
Texas scare
all that easily,' she said, to 'whoas!' from the audience. 'There's a big
difference between delivering a speech at an anti-war rally as a state senator,
and picking up that phone at the White House at 3 a.m. in the morning to deal
with an
international crisis.'"
THE
'COMMANDER IN CHIEF THRESHOLD'? (CNN's, "Newsroom,"
3/8/08)
Sen. Clinton: "In this election we need a nominee who can pass the commander-in-chief test. Someone ready on day it defend our country and keep our families safe. We need a president who passes that test. The first and most solemn duty of the president of the United States is on protect and defend our nation. And when there is a crisis and when the phone rings whether it's 3:00 p.m. or 3:00 a.m. In the White House,there is no time for speeches and on the job training. Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign. I will bring a lifetime of experience and Senator Obama will bring a speech he gave in 2002. I think that is a significant difference."
WE NEED A PRESIDENT WITH MORE EXPERIENCE THAN THAT (MSNBC's, "Hardball," 11/21/07)
Sen. Clinton: "Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign
country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international
challenges the next president will face. I think we need a president with
more
experience than that."
OTHER
DEMOCRATS WEIGH IN
Senator Joe
Biden:
ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "You were asked is he ready. You said 'I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.'"
Sen. Biden: "I think that I stand by the statement." (ABC's, "This Week," 8/19/07)
Retired Gen. Joe Ballard: "When I look across the aisle at Senator Obama, other than a great speech, I do not see the same body of experience to deal with the issues."
(Mark Halperin, "Clinton Campaign Hits Power-Iraq Flap," Time's
"The Page" Blog, thepage.time.com, 3/10/08)
Former
State Dept.
Official James Rubin On Obama Campaign: "It's amateur hour on making
foreign policy."
(Mark Halperin, "Clinton Campaign Hits Power-Iraq Flap," Time's
"The Page" Blog, thepage.time.com, 3/7/08)
Leon Panetta: "I mean, if there is a military
requirement of some sort and you've got 10 generals in front of you with all of
their medals, you're going to have to question them. You're going to have to be
tough enough to say, 'Is this the right step?' And we've seen in the past
presidents who have made mistakes early in their administration by not having
that willingness and that experience to raise those questions. So can Barack
Obama learn what it takes to make those decisions? Of course he can. But is
there a margin of error that is involved with somebody who has never been there
to make those decisions?
You bet there is." (PBS's, "The Newshour With Jim Lehrer,"
3/5/08)
Democrat Strategist Phil Singer: "With the
critical foreign policy challenges America faces in the world today,
voters will decide whether Senator Obama, who served in the Illinois State
Senate just three years ago and would have less experience than any President
since World War II, has the strength and experience to be the next president."
(Hillary Clinton For President, "Response From Clinton Campaign On Senator
Obama's Foreign Policy Forum Today," Press Release,
11/27/07)
PA Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll:
"So, we're up against a new young kid, who's a nice young kid. I'm only saying:
think it over, tell your friends and your neighbors and your family. There's
nothing like experience."
(Sarah Amos, "Clinton Surrogate Calls Obama A
'Kid,'"
ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, blogs.abcnews.com
3/19/08)
Former Ambassador Joe
Wilson: "Obama's
gyrations on Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran are not the actions of one imbued with
superior intuitive judgment, but rather the machinations of a political
opportunist looking to avoid having his
fingerprints on any issue that might
be controversial, and require real judgment, while preserving his freedom to
bludgeon his adversary for actually taking positions as elected office demands.
It is hard to discern whether Senator Obama is a man of principle, but it is
clear that he is not a man of substance. And that judgment, based on his hollow
record, is inescapable."
(Joe Wilson,
"Obama's Hollow 'Judgment'and Empty Record," The Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com, 3/2/08)
| 
