January 16,2006
Profile in Timidity
Senator Hillary Clinton may be the frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, but last week she once again showed she lacks the superb political instincts that made her husband a master. She declined a golden opportunity to criticize liberal singer Harry Belafonte for his extremist political rhetoric, missing a chance to reprise her husband's famous "Sister Souljah" moment during the 1992 campaign when he attacked a foul-mouthed rap singer for her racist comments. That move solidified Mr. Clinton's image as a moderate and showed he could take on the politically correct elements of his party.
Senator Clinton's chance came last week at a lunch for the Children's Defense Fund at the Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room in New York. Mrs. Clinton, a founder and former chairman of the group, would certainly have known that the singer Mr. Belafonte, a fiery liberal activist, would be there as a presenter of the group's awards to five teenagers. Only a few days earlier Mr. Belafonte had visited Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and used the occasion to say, "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people... support your revolution." He also told Mr. Chavez: "We respect you, we admire you."
Mr. Belafonte uttered those remarks only days after Mr. Chavez used a televised Christmas Eve speech to attack Jews, whom he identified as "descendants of the same people that crucified Christ" who "have taken over all the wealth of the world." His comments were condemned by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and other human-rights groups.
Determined not to be photographed with Mr. Belafonte, Mrs. Clinton took evasive maneuvers to make sure she didn't encounter her old friend. The New York Daily News reports that she swept into the room in the middle of the meal and didn't even acknowledge Mr. Belafonte's presence. She mounted the stage to deliver 10 minutes of remarks, then left moments before Mr. Belafonte was due to be introduced, which would have necessitated her applauding him. During a later news conference, Mrs. Clinton refused to discuss Mr. Belafonte and scolded a reporter for raising the issue.
To be sure, Mrs. Clinton displayed a certain finesse in evading a political pitfall. But had she taken the opportunity to distance herself from Mr. Belafonte's remarks as well as the loathsome Mr. Chavez, she would have knocked one out of the 2008 presidential ballpark. A better opportunity for a "Sister Souljah" moment may not come again.
Her unwillingness to break with the more extreme elements of her party may make for relative peace between Senator Clinton and the Democratic base, but it points to her refusal to take risks. She voted for the Iraq war at a time when most Democrats went along, and now that the war is less popular, she is giving it lukewarm support. The left wing of her party is peeved with her, but has grudgingly muted its criticism. Look for this awkward dance to continue for nearly three more years, as Mrs. Clinton tries to convince mainstream voters she has moderated her views while at the same time winking at her liberal base that she has a "no enemies on the left" policy.
-- John Fund
opinionjournal.com
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