Bernie Sanders campaigning in Franklin, NH
Bernie Sanders is having a tough week. Instead of trying to capitalize on his Wisconsin primary win on Tuesday, Sanders has had to contend with the fallout from a New York Daily News editorial board interview last Friday that has been described as “pretty close to a disaster,” in which Sanders appeared not to know the substance or process of numerous issues, including his own pet issue, free college. Then, yesterday, Sanders added to his image as a candidate who may have lost his bearings when he said of Hillary Clinton, “I don’t believe that she is qualified” to be president of the United States. Sanders latest remarks were actually three mistakes in one:
First, Sanders wrongly claimed that Clinton “has been saying lately that she thinks that I am quote unquote not qualified to be president.” In fact, Clinton had said no such thing. In an MSNBC interview with Joe Scarborough on Wednesday morning, in response to direct questions, Clinton criticized Sanders for his Daily News interview flubs, saying “he hadn’t done his homework,” and that voters need “to ask themselves can he deliver what he’s talking about.” However, asked three times by Scarborough if Sanders is therefore unqualified to be president, Clinton refused to take the bait. Apparently, Sanders and his team read an inaccurate Washington Post headline, but didn’t bother to find the video or transcript showing Clinton’s actual words.
Second, Hillary Clinton is objectively, as the New York Times endorsement of her states, “one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history.” Clinton’s qualifications include serving as U.S. Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, U.S. Senator from New York, chair of President Bill Clinton‘s task force on universal healthcare, member of the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation under President Jimmy Carter, attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund, and much more. Because of her accomplishments, she has been named the Most Admired Woman in the World a record 20 times. New Yorkers, who hold their Democratic Party primary just 12 days from now, may find it especially galling to hear that their Senator, who helped them before, during and after the September 11, 2001 attacks, is not “qualified” to be president.
Third, even if Clinton had said that Sanders was not qualified to be president, which she didn’t, it’s completely juvenile for Sanders to respond, “she said it first, so I’m going to say it back.” Indeed, Sanders doubled down on this tit-for-tat response on Thursday, saying: “They’re going to question my qualifications, well I’m going to question theirs.” But as CNN‘s Anderson Cooper recently told Donald Trump after a similar response, “that’s the argument of a five-year-old.”
In response to Sanders’ statements, Hillary Clinton’s supporters started the #HillarySoQualified Twitter hashtag, which has become massively poplar. But perhaps an even more telling sign that Bernie Sanders has made a major unforced error is Hillary Clinton’s reaction to it. Asked this morning about Sanders’ statements while she was campaigning in New York, Clinton said: “I don’t know why he’s saying that, but I would take Bernie Sanders over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any time.” Clinton seemed to be practicing the political adage that goes: “Never interrupt your opponent when he’s destroying himself.”
Photo by Marc Nozell, used under Creative Commons license. http://is.gd/rYCLaL
