Remember the Democratic primaries in 2008 when Hillary Clinton choked up and almost came to tears? Conservative pundits practically crucified her, accusing her of trying to pull a political sympathy stunt to win the New Hampshire elections and possibly the White House.
Mrs. Clinton went on to win in New Hampshire a few days later, but the White House eventually went to Barack Obama.
So what, I wondered, will the Conservative talking-heads say now that Newt Gingrich – a one time leader of the Republican presidential field, who now trails Mitt Romney and Ron Paul – has opened up the water works?
Speaking at an event in Iowa, Gingrich was asked a question about his deceased mother from Frank Luntz, a pollster and close friend of Gingrich. As if on cue, Gingrich faced reddened as he mentioned that talking about his mother made him “teary-eyed.” He blubbered on a bit more and then came the water works as he exclaimed how she loved to sing in the choir and embarrassingly admitted that she made him sing in the choir also. How cherubic he must have been in those days.
We all know that talking about one’s beloved deceased mother can stir up a lot of emotion, but coming from Newt Gingrich – a man known for trying anything and everything possible to win a political race, a man who’s demonstrated time and time again that honesty is not his forte… one can’t help but wonder how many practice sessions were needed to make this moment just right for television.
The Associated Press is reporting ongoing negotiations between the Obama Administration and Egypt’s Vice President on what is being said is the “immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the formation of a military-backed caretaker government.” The article referenced talks between Vice President Joe Biden and Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman, as well as conversations between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mr. Suleiman.
From AP Reporting:
With protests in Cairo and other Egyptian cities expected to grow in size and intensity Friday, the administration fears they may erupt into more widespread violence unless the government takes tangible steps to address the protesters’ main demand that Mubarak leave office quickly. Creation of an interim government is just one of several possibilities under discussion, the officials said late Thursday.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic talks, which are continuing.
The officials stressed that the United States isn’t seeking to impose a solution on Egypt but said the administration had made a judgment that Mubarak has to go soon if there is to be a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
“The president has said that now is the time to begin a peaceful, orderly and meaningful transition, with credible, inclusive negotiations,” a White House spokesman, Tommy Vietor, said Thursday night. “We have discussed with the Egyptians a variety of different ways to move that process forward, but all of those decisions must be made by the Egyptian people.”
White House and State Department officials would not discuss details of the discussions U.S. officials are having with the Egyptians. Vice President Joe Biden spoke with Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman on Thursday, a day after a similar conversation between Suleiman and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Officials said neither Biden nor Clinton made a specific call for Mubarak to resign immediately but pressed for measures that would ease tensions on the streets and set the stage for democratic elections.
In it’s strongest statements thus far, the Obama Administration is distancing itself from the embattled dictator in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on ABC’s Sunday morning news program and stated that real stability can only be achieved through a democratic process. She said;
Real stability only comes from the kind of democratic participation that gives people a chance to feel that they are being heard. And by that I mean real democracy, not a democracy for six months or a year and then evolving into essentially a military dictatorship or a so-called democracy that then leads to what we saw in Iran.
Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak has been a strong ally of the United States, and the relationship between the two nations is important in maintaining peace in the area. Israel, another strong United States ally is also watching the events as they unfold, as the wrong outcome in Egypt immediately puts them at risk, thus, putting the United States in a position to defend its stronger ally.
The Obama administration has therefore found itself between a rock and a hard place – they must be on the right side of history and support the people of Egypt fighting for freedom, but they must also look out for the protection of our strongest supporter in the Middle East.
