The Washington Post has a long-overdue
article out today noting how Hillary Clinton
and Barack Obama have greatly exaggerated their involvement in key
legislation.
It opens with this anecdote:
After weeks of arduous negotiations, on April 6,
2006, a bipartisan group of senators burst out of the "President's
Room," just off the Senate chamber, with a deal on new immigration
policy.
As the half-dozen senators -- including John McCain
(R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) -- headed to announce
their plan, they met Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who made a request
common when news conferences are in the offing: "Hey, guys, can I
come along?" And when Obama went before the microphones, he was
generous with his list of senators to congratulate -- a list that
included himself.
"I want to cite Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, Mel
Martinez, Ken Salazar, myself, Dick Durbin, Joe Lieberman . . .
who've actually had to wake up early to try to hammer this stuff
out," he said.
To Senate staff members, who had been arriving for 7
a.m. negotiating sessions for weeks, it was a galling moment. Those
morning sessions had attracted just three to four senators a side,
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recalled, each deeply involved in the
issue. Obama was not one of them. But in a presidential contest
involving three sitting senators, embellishment of legislative
records may be an inevitability, Specter said with a shrug.
The article also notes Clinton's embellishment of her role in the
Northern Ireland peace process as well as the passage of S-CHIP
when she was first lady.
Say what you want about John McCain, but he has long been a
leader in the Senate. Oftentimes, it's been in areas that have
enraged conservatives--immigration, "Gang of 14," campaign finance
reform--and other times, such as fighting pork barrel spending or
pushing the surge strategy, he has fought on the same side as
conservatives. But the overarching point is that McCain has long
been in the thick of things in the Senate, taking a leading role in
important legislation. None of the remaining presidential
candidates have any executive experience, and there for their
legislative records will become central to the general election
race. On this basis, McCain comes across as far more prepared to be
president than either of the two Democrats.
topics:
John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, NATO, Immigration
