HRC To Obama: Don't Be A Wimp

That's my interpretation of Sen. Hillary Clinton's remarks this morning on a Pennsylvania television program. It's the high political equivalent of a schoolyard taunt. If Obama thinks debate questions are tough, wait until he gets elected. It's a little rich: Sen. Clinton, after all, complained mightily about debate unfairness and Bill Clinton has made a cottage industry out of media criticism these days. But Obama's campaign didn't take the next step and try to get voters to start talking about how Clinton was complaining instead of campaigning.

HRC: We were both asked some pretty tough questions and that’s part of what happens in a debate and in a campaign. And I know he spent all day yesterday complaining about the hard questions he was asked. Being asked tough questions in a debate is nothing like the pressures you face inside the White House. In fact, when the going gets tough, you just can’t walk away because we’re going to have some very tough decisions that we have to make. I think we need a president who can take whatever comes your way. You have to stand strong; you have to fight for the American people – because it will not be easy to stand up against the special interests.

Q: So you were fine with the debate, did you see any problem with it?

HRC: Well, can I say that I’ve been through, what 23 of these debates? And as I recall, I was asked some pretty tough questions in nearly every one of them. That goes with the territory, having been inside the White House, I know the pressures inside the White House, I know how hard it is every single day. When the going gets tough you can’t run away. And it’s going to be tough going to deal with these hard problems; getting out of Iraq in the right way, turning the economy around, getting universal health care, ending our dependence on foreign oil. The special interests are going to be a lot tougher than 90 minutes of questions from two journalists and we need a president who is going to be up there fighting everyday for the American people and not complain about how much pressure there is, and how hard the questions are.