l.t. Dravis

I created and have written the nationally distributed marketing newsletter, BOTH SIDES NOW, since 2003. I authored two books, BOTH SIDES NOW, Sell Like Professional Athletes Win and DEATH OF A SALES MANAGER. In 2008, I introduced a daily column for national syndication to newspapers.

Photo Credit: MSNBC

By l.t. Dravis

WASHINGTON, D.C. Saturday, November 29, 2008 – SO . . . what’s the ‘monster’ story today?

Potential atomic war between India and Pakistan?

The death toll from terrorist attacks in Mumbai?

Continuing violence in Iraq?

The economic future of the world?

World poverty?

Famine?

The end of the Bush/Cheney reign of error?

No.

We’re talking about Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize winning author, graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, and Harvard professor; an accomplished American, bright, astute, who’s made a series of outstanding contributions to humanity.

Are we talking about Samantha Power because of her accomplishments?

Nope.

We talking about Samantha Power because the Washington Post wanted to remind us that last March she called Hillary Clinton (let’s be brave and drop the ‘Rodham’ . . . okay?) a ‘monster’.

Why on earth would Samantha Power say such a nasty thing about the Senator from New York, the wife of the 42^nd President of the United States of America, the woman with ’35 years of experience’ who broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first serious female presidential candidate in the history of the nation?

It is reasonable to presume that Samantha simply expressed her considered opinion about a public figure.

If so, why would this story matter now . . . nearly nine months after the fact?

Let me refresh your memory on Samantha’s ‘monster’ comment.

It was the spring of 2008; the Democratic primaries were smoking with vitriol (arguably more from Hillary’s side than Obama’s).

As February became March, the Clinton’s were losing – big time - and they didn’t like it!

So, instead of giving Americans good reasons to vote for Hillary, the campaign and the candidate decided to come up with anything and everything negative – real or imagined – to knock down Senator Barack Obama as a man and as a candidate.

Recall the insane insinuations Hillary Clinton made about Reverend Wright’s supposed influence over Barack Obama?

Do you remember the prime-time news spots featuring Hillary making fun of Barack’s campaign of ‘hope’?

Haven’t forgotten about Hillary’s allegations that Barack Obama simply was not qualified to lead on ‘day one’, have you?

Let’s put ourselves in Samantha Power’s shoes last Spring; she’s one of Obama’s foreign policy advisers and she’s sick and tired of listening to Clinton’s load of bull, so she refers to Hillary Clinton as a ‘monster’ in an off-the-record interview with a Scottish newspaper.

Samantha’s exact quote was, “She is a monster, too . . . that’s off the record . . . she is stooping to anything.”

Off the record or on, is it true that Hillary is, or was, a monster?

Who cares?

It was an opinion . . . not an edict, not an order, not a sentence.

So, when did people living in a democracy become obligated to hide their opinions about people who would dare to lead the nation?

The when in this case was March 7, 2008 . . . the day Samantha Power had to resign her position as an unpaid advisor to Barack Obama and apologize to Hillary Clinton.

I don’t like that Samantha Power had to resign, I don’t like that she had to apologize, but I understand that it’s over.

If the President-elect wants a bright, eminently qualified person like Samantha Power to advise him on ‘transition matters relating to the State Department’, why doesn’t the Washington Post get out of the guy’s way and let him do what he needs to do.

Maybe the Washington Post thinks the back story here is that Power and Clinton will run into each other at 2201 C Street NW and get into a cat fight.

If that happens, Washington Post, publish the story!

We’ll read it; more than once if you get pictures.

In the meantime, give us ‘monster’ stories that actually mean something.

Okay?

Copyright © 2008 by LTD Associates West, Ltd. All rights reserved.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, Email me at ltdassociates@msn.com (goes right to my desk) and since I personally answer every Email, I look forward to hearing from you soon.