# Why isn't Hillary taking on Palin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 14, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509 "2008-09-14T00:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/1 "2008-09-14T00:40:12Z")
Of all people, Hillary is in the best position to discredit Palin, and point out the differences in their policies. So why haven’t we heard anything from her so far? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/2 "2008-09-14T01:11:21Z")
[Cynic ON] Because if Obama wins, Hillary is not the Democratic nominee next time. But if Obama loses, it’s great for her! :eek: [/cynic OFF] ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/3 "2008-09-14T01:17:17Z")
Because Hillary Clinton is not running for Vice President. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/4 "2008-09-14T02:13:49Z")
> [@glee](#): > > [Cynic ON] Because if Obama wins, Hillary is not the Democratic nominee next time. But if Obama loses, it’s great for her! :eek: [/cynic OFF] True, but as she’d likely be running against Palin in 2012 it behooves her to at least appear as if she’s doing everthing in her power to stop McCain/Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/5 "2008-09-14T02:31:40Z")
Oh, now it’s Hillary’s fault if she doesn’t save us all from Palin. That’s pretty funny. Wait, I remember the answer to this one: “Because she has too much baggage, and people want change.” ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/6 "2008-09-14T02:35:11Z")
What \*\*friedo \*\*said. They may be political allies but she’s not the one campaigning. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/7 "2008-09-14T02:50:27Z")
Anyone see the latest [protest](http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-13-anti-Palin-rally_N.htm)against Palin in Alaska? They are not the only ones. Clinton doesnt need to do much outside of what she is doing. Obama is hitting McCain on issues and staying away from Palin. She was just a blithering joke of a pick…Clinton doesn’t have to do anything. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/8 "2008-09-14T02:58:05Z")
Because it’s not her fucking job. Biden should be raking her over the coals (well within his talents), and Obama should be hammering McCain. But they aren’t. Like John Kerry, they’re just gonna stand there and be Swiftboated. Of course, the press won’t be doing its job either. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/9 "2008-09-14T03:00:16Z")
HRC is absolutely mortified (after all the Hillary has been through) that this dimwit from Alaska (who hardly has the credentials to be a delegate at a convention) could actually steal her legacy of becoming the first female U.S. President. That’s gotta hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/10 "2008-09-14T03:04:34Z")
I think Obama’s stratgy right now is to ignore Palin and concentrate on McCain. He IS the guy running for President, after all. How many successful Presidential campaigns have ever been run by focusing excessively on the opponent’s running mate? Attacks on Palin only give her more publicity and play into the victim card. You could show a video tape of Palin cutting up a baby with a chainsaw, and her defenders would be outraged at the “smear.” The best thing for the camoaign to do isgnore her, concentrate on McCain, let Biden dismantle her in their debate and let the internet do the dirty work. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/11 "2008-09-14T03:13:30Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/12 "2008-09-14T03:37:27Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Attacks on Palin only give her more publicity and play into the victim card. You could show a video tape of Palin cutting up a baby with a chainsaw, and her defenders would be outraged at the “smear.” I’m trying to figure out just when the faux outrage about the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin SNL skit that just aired will start. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/13 "2008-09-14T03:51:01Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Attacks on Palin only give her more publicity and play into the victim card. You could show a video tape of Palin cutting up a baby with a chainsaw, and her defenders would be outraged at the “smear.” I think that’s one of the reasons why she was picked, 1. Puma bait 2. New kid in town media celebrity to pull the spotlight off Obama 3. **Human shield to offset Joe Biden** But I think the OP brings up an interesting point ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/14 "2008-09-14T03:53:33Z")
Palin doesn’t have anything to discredit. She appeals to people for reasons entirely unrelated to her credibility. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/15 "2008-09-14T08:26:14Z")
> [@Malienation](#): > > Because it’s not her fucking job. Biden should be raking her over the coals (well within his talents), and Obama should be hammering McCain. But they aren’t. Like John Kerry, they’re just gonna stand there and be Swiftboated. Of course, the press won’t be doing its job either. Sad. They are hammering McCain. Have you seen his ad “It’s Over”? And the New YorK Times has a huge front page story on Sunday about Sarah Palin’s chicanery in Alaska. Ed ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/16 "2008-09-14T09:03:50Z")
Hillary has no reason to go after Palin. For one thing, Hillary probably benefits from a McCain/Palin presidency. For another, going up against Palin after Palin’s taken far more cheap shots in the media than Hillary did undercuts Hillary’s quasi-victim status. Also, Palin as been very smart in praising Hillary at every chance she gets, even when the audience doesn’t like it. This helps innoculate her from a Hillary attack, because for Hillary to go at her after Palin was very charitable to her will make her look mean-spirited. Also, Hillary is still pissed at how the Democratic establishment turned against her, and deep down she might just love to see Barack Obama lose to McCain. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/17 "2008-09-14T16:29:54Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Palin’s taken far more cheap shots in the media than Hillary did You’ve got to be joking. When’s the last time anybody accused Sarah Palin of being a serial murderer or of being a lesbian? Who’s ever held up a pitcure of one of her children and called her a dog? John McCain himself has accused Hillary of being a lesbian and called her daughter “ugly.” Hillary has been one of the most heavily demonized people in politics for 16 years. Princess Snowflake has gotten nothing. NOTHING. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/18 "2008-09-14T19:37:44Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > They are hammering McCain. Have you seen his ad “It’s Over”? The problem with Democrats is that they never seem to get a grasp that fighting back doesn’t mean one hard-hitting ad, then letting up (which I believe will happen). My guess is that they are laboring under the impression that one hard blow will convince the Pubbies to play nice. Not gonna happen. They have to hit and hit and keep hitting. When the Pub falls, kick. Ever hear the expression “never hit a man while he’s down?” In politics, that’s bullshit. In fact, it’s the best time to hit someone. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/19 "2008-09-14T19:43:29Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Hillary has been one of the most heavily demonized people in politics for 16 years. As you yourself well know, right? Why should she do the very kind of thing she was being demonized _for_, just a few months ago? How does that work? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509/20 "2008-09-14T20:07:05Z")
Why doesn’t Hillary take on Palin? Perhaps she’s on a well deserved vacation. She had been working 24/7 up untill her loss to Obama.Then she had to put in a couple weeks to appear to be losing graciously and show her support for the Dems. And then she finally had some time to withdraw from the spotlights. If I were her, I’d be taking some me and family time to catch my breath now the whirl wind is over. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hillary-taking-on-palin/463509.md?page=2)