Hillary and Johnny, Sittin’ in a Tree…
EmailCNN reports that former President Bill Clinton said today that his wife and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., are BFF.*
"She and John McCain are very close," Clinton said in Spartanburg, SC. "They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other."
The remarks were the second unwelcome endorsement for the senator in the last day, coming as they did a day after an endorsement from the liberal editorial board of the New York Times.
A skeptic might note that the Clintons have everything to gain in embracing McCain. She can try to come across as moderate while McCain gets tarred as liberal – and since polls currently indicate he would beat her in a hypothetical match-up, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing for her.
Campaigning in New Hampshire, a McCain stronghold, Clinton made sure to mention McCain frequently.
“He and I have done some traveling together,” she joked. “What happens on the road stays on the road.”
But despite this obvious dynamic, there seems to be truth in the story of their friendship. And McCain is well aware of the potential liability of being friends with Clinton, and his distancing from her has on occasion reached comic levels.
In 2004, McCain returned from a congressional delegation trip to Estonia raving about how nice he found Clinton.
“One of the guys," he said, regaling friends with tales about a vodka drinking contest they and their companions — including Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John Sununu, Jr., R-NH — engaged in.
The story ended up on the front page of the New York Times.
McCain denied the story to Jay Leno.
"Didn’t happen," he said.
"Not true," he told Fox News, in what might be described as not quite straight talk.
"I did not have drinks with that woman!" mocked Maureen Dowd.
Joshua Green of the Atlantic found the Senator more fond in his recollections.
"It’s been 50 years since I’d been in a drinking game," he told Green, adding "admiringly, ‘She can really hold her liquor.’ ”
– jpt
* Best Friends Forever
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Just another reason NOT to vote for John McCain!
Posted by: ugh! | January 25, 2008, 9:12 pm 9:12 pm
Or Hillary!
Posted by: Deborah | January 25, 2008, 9:43 pm 9:43 pm
I do not feel that there is any problem with them being friends. I feel that people may take this out of proportion because they both are in the elections. if Bill Clinton does not have a problem hanging out or being “BFF” with McCain, why should it be everybody else’s problem. Why would they refer to them as “sitting in the tree”. That seems very juvinile and immature that people would insinuate that something more is going on. I’m not trying to take Hilary’s or John’s defense, but i feel that American seems to take stories and run with them just to make something out of nothing.
Posted by: J.Sewell | January 25, 2008, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm
A civilized campaign if nominated? Whoah! A feeble attempt by Bill to erase our memories of the smears, lies and dirty tricks of the past two months against Obama that robbed Obama from a deserved huge win over New Hampshire and Nevada, but he’ll continue to twist the knife with more lying rhetoric, just watch and see.
Posted by: wooha3 | January 25, 2008, 10:49 pm 10:49 pm
Romney changes his posision whenever he needs to. When running for Massachusetts office, he became a liberal in liberal Massachusetts. Now he’s ultra conserbative and in general election (if nominated) he’ll be a moderate. A total fake jerk.
Posted by: ash | January 26, 2008, 10:01 am 10:01 am
What else did you expect from McCain? He is a Navy pilot! His call sign, (appears to appropriately be) is Playboy for gosh sake need I say more?
Posted by: Cindy | January 26, 2008, 4:56 pm 4:56 pm
They deserve each other
Posted by: Don | January 27, 2008, 4:13 pm 4:13 pm
BFF, indeed! Instead of creating a warm and fuzzy image for both candidates, this bit of news makes me slightly nauseated! If both candidates win their parties’ respective nominations, watch the BFF become mortal enemies, engaged in a do-or-die political bsttle!
Posted by: chuck | January 28, 2008, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm