Axelrod: "[I] Also Believed That Barack Offered The Country Something Hillary Could Not: A Fresh Start." "I could never forget Hillary's willingness to be there when Susan launched her charitable crusade against epilepsy, and I knew that the Clintons would see my role in this Obama insurrection as an unforgivable betrayal. However, I also believed that Barack offered the country something Hillary could not: a fresh start." [David Axelrod, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, 2/10/15] Axelrod: In 2008, "The 'Change' Hillary Was Offering Was Not Much Change At All- Certainly Not A Move Away From The Raw, Divisive Politics That Had Come To Define Washington." "She had pressed her advantage on Washington experience and gamely parried our call for change by embracing the word. Yet the 'change' Hillary was offering was not much change at all- certainly not a move away from the raw, divisive politics that had come to define Washington." [David Axelrod, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, 2/10/15] Axelrod: Clinton "Was Too Much A Part Of The System In Washington Ever To Change It- And Without Changing The Politics Of Washington, Real Solutions To Big Problems Would Never Come." "With one ad-libbed comment, Hillary had identified the main fault line of her campaign. Her message was clear: she understood the limitations posed by a bitterly divided and corrupted Washington, where political survival and self-interest were paramount. You can't change that game, she implied; to get things done, you had to know how to play it. As soon as she said it, I recognized the opportunity that Hillary had handed us. She was too much a part of the system in Washington ever to change it- and without changing the politics of Washington, real solutions to big problems would never come." [David Axelrod, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, 2/10/15] Axelrod: "At The Very Moment When We Were Arguing That She Was Nothing More Than A Status Quo Washington Politician, Her Awkward Evasions And The Critical Commentaries That Ensued Buttressed Our Case." "Hours later, during the NBC debate at Drexel University, it was Hillary on the defensive, the real tripwire for her coming when Tim Russert asked about Governor Eliot Spitzer's abortive plan to provide driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants in New York. Hillary danced around the issue, palavering at length about Bush's failure to enact immigration reform, without giving a direct answer to Russert's question. She soon found herself besieged by nearly everyone onstage, all eager to take the front-runner down a peg. It was the first time in a dozen debates that Hillary tripped up. At the very moment when we were arguing that she was nothing more than a status quo Washington politician, her awkward evasions and the critical commentaries that ensued buttressed our case." [David Axelrod, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, 2/10/15] Axelrod: "The Only Real Change [Clinton] Was Offering Was In Political Parties, And That Simply Wasn't Enough." "The change she was offering was not away from Washington's habit of parsing words and passing on tough issues. (She habitually sought safe harbor.) The change she was offering was not away from a system dominated by PACs and corporate lobbyists. (She had taken their money and vocally defended their work.) The only real change she was offering was in political parties, and that simply wasn't enough." [David Axelrod, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, 2/10/15] ETHICS 2008: LIBERAL BLOG DAILY KOS CRITICIZED HILLARY CLINTON FOR ATTACKING “THE CREDIBILITY OF A 12-YEAR-OLD RAPE VICTIM” Daily Kos: Then-Attorney Hillary Rodham Attacked The Credibility Of A 12-Year-Old Rape Victim. “In a breathtaking story published today in Newsday, details of Hillary Clinton's involvement in a decades-old rape case in Arkansas comes under close scrutiny. It is really worth reading the whole well-sourced article, but here is the upshot: Two years into her career of making change and having Day One-readying experience, 27 year old Hillary Rodham was appointed a public defender in a rape case, and played out deep in the gray areas of morality by attacking the 12-year old victim's credibility. Though nobody involved in the case can recall a shred of evidence that the victim had any sort of history of making false Commented [BJ2]: RNC bullet, no access to original source Commented [BJ3]: RNC bullet, no access to original source Commented [BJ4]: RNC bullet, no access to original source Commented [BJ5]: RNC bullet, no access to original source Commented [BJ6]: RNC bullet, no access to original source