# Is Hillary's scandalous image purely due to misinformation and insinuation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 29, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577 "2016-02-29T23:27:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/21 "2016-03-01T04:48:04Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > GIGO, quoting Media Matters in defending the Clintons isn’t going to convince anyone who isn’t already a believer. Presumably you could find at least a slightly more objective source somewhere. Shooting the messenger is not being objective. Many times, like in the last cite, the cites used by Media Matters are coming from FOX, the mainstream media and the reports cited (links to video of the sources and reports in the dates at the end of the cites they use). ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/22 "2016-03-01T04:56:42Z")
I have to add that the reason why I go for Media Matters is that they do cite what they report, and like Nate Silver I do check how good a source is constantly. So far the MM experts that they consult in controversial matters do get it right regarding what will take place on the courts and with other issues. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/23 "2016-03-01T04:56:48Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised if there were actual scandals in Clinton’s past, but they were drowned out by her political enemies constantly making stuff up to try to get something to stick. I personally can’t tell which is which anymore, so I generally ignore them all. I’m probably not the only one. QFT ^ If every out-and-out Facebook Lie posted or forwarded about her over the past 25 years was a nickle, she’d never need a fund raiser ever. (Just on the ones that I’ve seen that made me sick so I closed the window, at a nickle per, she’d be just over the poverty line.) Some of them are such cheap shots that I’d want her to win just to stick something back up the ass of those photo-shop crews. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/24 "2016-03-01T05:38:18Z")
I guess it’s a good strategy to throw a bunch of shit against the wall to see what sticks, and even if nothing does, the wall still smells like shit. My otherwise intelligent coworker who referred me to the first linked page in the OP stated that even if only one of those allegations are true, then she is unfit to be president. That she has too much bad around her. For some reason there is a scene from A&E’s Intervention that has stuck with me… There was an older gentleman who was “addicted” to falling for these online/e-mail Nigerian-prince type scams. In this scene his son was questioning him about it, and the guy said “well, they all can’t be scams!”. That sort of mentality when we really want to believe something is true, makes us susceptible to the machine-gun fire of insinuation and can change our perspective of someone, even though each case could be proven false. It’s the constant accusations that paint the picture of her, not the actual truth behind the accusations. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/25 "2016-03-01T05:58:49Z")
> [@nate](#): > > . My otherwise intelligent coworker who referred me to the first linked page in the OP stated that even if only one of those allegations are true, then she is unfit to be president. That’s a lazy argument though. A lot of that stuff is true, but none of it seems disqualifying to me. Just a lot of crap to take into account when making your choice. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/26 "2016-03-01T15:25:11Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > 1. Looting the White House- small potatoes, but yes, it did actually happen. The Clinton administration’s last day and the immediate aftermath were widely panned by Republicans and Democrats alike as pretty shameful stuff. [Not really.](http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/oct/01/viral-image/viral-image-wrongly-accuses-clinton-stealing/) Unlike Republican reality, real reality has shades of grey. The “looting” was a matter of basic misunderstanding of which items were personal gifts to the Clintons and which were gifts to the White House itself. It wasn’t a matter of Bill and Hill hiring 2 Men and a Truck to back up to the White House on Jan 20, 2001 and loading up in secret. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/27 "2016-03-01T15:28:34Z")
Good cite. IT looks like rather than the Clintons just making off with stuff, it was their usual unwillingness to accurately account for their actions. You’d think people with their legal education and experience would be more meticulous, but that’s why they are often accused of believing the rules don’t apply to them. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/28 "2016-03-01T15:35:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Good cite. IT looks like rather than the Clintons just making off with stuff, it was their usual unwillingness to accurately account for their actions. You’d think people with their legal education and experience would be more meticulous, but that’s why they are often accused of believing the rules don’t apply to them. I think the White House staff had some issues with maintaining the inventory of items and noting which were personal gifts and which were not. For those cases where the Clintons took items belonging to the White House, they either returned the items or paid for them. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/29 "2016-03-01T15:44:49Z")
Then why was this more of an issue for them than past administrations or the GWB administration? Is this likely to be an issue when Obama leaves office? I think not. i’m sure there might be an item or two that raises eyebrows, I too remembered the Nancy Reagan gifts. But it does appear that other administrations were more careful. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/30 "2016-03-01T15:46:18Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s a lazy argument though. A lot of that stuff is true, but none of it seems disqualifying to me. Just a lot of crap to take into account when making your choice. And that’s the goal isn’t it? To have a president who’s done nothing to be disqualified from the job, not to have been convicted of anything. Once a candidate has met that high standard we should just give them the job and not waste time on the messy election process. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/31 "2016-03-01T15:48:26Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Then why was this more of an issue for them than past administrations or the GWB administration? Is this likely to be an issue when Obama leaves office? I think not. i’m sure there might be an item or two that raises eyebrows, I too remembered the Nancy Reagan gifts. But it does appear that other administrations were more careful. The Clintons were pikers compared to the Reagans. From the previous cite: > [@](#): > > For instance, the IRS investigated President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1989. At issue were gowns worth as much as $25,000 and diamond jewelry that had been loaned to Nancy Reagan. A year before, the White House Ethics Office found that the president could accept a $2.5 million home in Bel Air, Calif., purchased on his behalf by undisclosed friends. However, the Reagans ultimately repaid the donors. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/32 "2016-03-01T15:49:44Z")
The Reagans repaid their donors, and the clintons are now richer than the Kennedys or Roosevelts, almost entirely do to income earned from corporations and governments who want to influence the US government. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/33 "2016-03-01T16:01:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > 1. Looting the White House- small potatoes, but yes, it did actually happen. The Clinton administration’s last day and the immediate aftermath were widely panned by Republicans and Democrats alike as pretty shameful stuff. What I remember from that was Maureen Reagan laughing at the whole “scandal” and saying “You should see what WE hauled out of there!” > [@](#): > > 1. Pardongate- another last day scandal that even Democrats harshly criticized. After Papa Bush pardoned Cap Weinberger and the rest of the Iran-Contra stooges – guys who actually subverted the entire foreign policy process and the Constitution, as opposed to cheating on taxes and then deciding not to return to the United States when the plea agreement worked out is subsequently reneged on by a Republican-appointed judge – on the way out the door, the Democrats still get a pass on this for another twenty years at least. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/34 "2016-03-01T17:41:46Z")
The GOP has been running against Hilary ever since G W Bush won the 2000 election. It’s been 16 years now. It no longer matters what she does or doesn’t do. If she does or doesn’t do anything, the GOP will criticise it. Hey, Rush and Faux news have a lot of airtime to fill, you know? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/35 "2016-03-01T17:51:05Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > The GOP has been running against Hilary ever since G W Bush won the 2000 election. No, ever since she became FLOTUS in 1993. The [cottage industry of anti-Hillary books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_by_or_about_Hillary_Rodham_Clinton#Anti...) started when Bill was POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/36 "2016-03-01T17:59:02Z")
Time for a re-release of _[The Clinton Chronicles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clinton_Chronicles)_, is it? No doubt the Arkansas Project is entering a renaissance. Ken Starr is still available, too. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/37 "2016-03-01T18:52:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No, ever since she became FLOTUS in 1993. The [cottage industry of anti-Hillary books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_by_or_about_Hillary_Rodham_Clinton#Anti...) started when Bill was POTUS. I was looking at the list trying to find something from the '90s that was clearly directed at Hillary alone, and clicked on the author of _Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton_, only to learn that [she was a 9/11 victim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Olson). :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/38 "2016-03-01T18:57:08Z")
Hillary’s biggest problem is her own attitude. The way she’s responsed to, well, each and every one of these scandals, it’s clear she thinks she should be above reproach. What difference does Benghazi make? It makes a difference because terrorists killed our ambassador, and you reacted by telling a bald-faced lie that tried to shift the blame to an entirely-unrelated person. (And yes, the investigations made it clear that the State Department suspected an organized attack from the very beginning. They were lying when they blamed the movie.) Why should we care about the e-mails? Because you were keeping sensitive government secrets on an unsecure server in your home, with less protection than most guys have on their porn stashes. A lesser person would be sitting in a federal prison by now. And, BTW, Robert Gates has said her server was almost certainly hacked, perhaps multiple times by multiple parties. (Russia, China, and Iran have been accused, but in reality even allies spy on each other, so the list could easily include the UK, Germany, France, and Israel.) She’s been caught in so many lies, she would seem to be one of those people who tell lies as a default response. You probably know people like this. And you hate them. Plus, there have been numerous money-related scandals, from Travelgate up to the Clinton Foundation and her speaking fees today. It’s clear that she’ll do anything to make a buck. She’s taken money from everyone from Wall Street to Saudi Arabia. How do we know who she owes favors to? Basically, by now we’ve seen enough of Hillary to make an informed judgement on her character. And that judgement is that she’s dishonest & greedy. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/39 "2016-03-01T18:59:04Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Basically, by now we’ve seen enough of Hillary to make an informed judgement on her character. And that judgement is that she’s dishonest & greedy. See post #11. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577/40 "2016-03-01T19:03:40Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > What difference does Benghazi make? It makes a difference because terrorists killed our ambassador, and you reacted by telling a bald-faced lie that tried to shift the blame to an entirely-unrelated person. (And yes, the investigations made it clear that the State Department suspected an organized attack from the very beginning. They were lying when they blamed the movie.) See post #17. > [@](#): > > Plus, there have been numerous money-related scandals, from \*\*Travelgate \*\* See post #17. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hillarys-scandalous-image-purely-due-to-misinformation-and-insinuation/747577.md?page=3)