Hillary Clinton Discusses Cheering

Pundits seem to be declaring that Barack Obama's statement that John McCain would be an improvement over President Bush is a "slip up," but why exactly is that the case?

I suppose it is unrealistic to expect that a candidate should be able to offer any genuine analysis without being subjected to some bizarre game of "gotcha." By any reasonable standard, Sen. Obama's remarks are not so much praise of the Republican candidate as they are a criticism of the Republican President.

Of course, as Sen. Obama's opponent, Hillary Clinton is almost required to play along with this silly game. As usual, she uses the subtlety of a hatchet by accusing Sen. Obama of "cheering on" Sen. McCain.

Cheering on? These are the sorts of things said by people who really should not be taken very seriously.

Update. In a somewhat related note, James Poniewozik looks at some clips of John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama from The Colbert Report and suggests that a candidate doesn't have the luxury of being really funny until he/she has lost (Hat Tip: World Magazine Blog.)

We have an interesting election process. If you are running, you can't be honest and you can't be funny, but we say we are looking for someone who can connect with voters as a real person.