I cannot imagine Karl Rove doing this. I cannot see Lee Atwater going down this road. Heck, even Roy Cohn wouldn't go there. And yet there today was the top political adviser to Barack Obama pointing a finger for the tragic and truly horrific murder of Pakistani opposition leader, the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto at...steady yourself, Democrats...
Senator Hillary Clinton.
Look, I thought it was an Onion post. But I was sadly wrong. Mark Halperin at Time has all the grimy details, and they're true. Just hours after Bhutto's death shocked the world and created a massive crisis in a grim, nuclear-powered powder-keg, there was David Axelrod tracing the bullets and suicide bomb of an assassin back to his client's political foe, days before the Iowa caucuses.
“She was a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, which we would submit, was one of the reasons why we were diverted from Afghanistan, Pakistan and al-Qaeda, who may have been players in this event today, so that’s a judgment she’ll have to defend,” Axelrod said. “I know Woody Allen said that 80% of life is just showing up but there’s actually more to being proficient in foreign policy than just having been around for a long time. You also have to have good judgment. Obama was willing to split with the conventional wisdom on Iraq and many of these other issues and I think events have borne out his judgment.”
Always great to use a Woody Allen line, I'll agree - but not in the hours after a brutal murder changes the fragile world of south Asia. And how nice that Axelrod laid blame for the murder of Bhutto on another political leader who considered the former Pakistani leader her personal friend - a symbol of modernism in a region where terrorists fight against rights for women, free speech, and democracy in all its forms. I understand that Bhutto's killing may be a dangerous political development for the thinly-experienced Obama, but that's a very poor excuse for the judgment Axelrod showed today.
There are still moments in this world, when other countries look to the United States for leadership. Today is one of those days. It's a day for seriousness of purpose, for careful statements, for quiet anger. In their strange and tortured attempt to link Hillary Clinton with the murder of her friend Benazir Bhutto, the Obama organization proves itself unworthy of leadership on the international stage.
In 1995, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton were Bhutto's guests in Islamabad and as Ben Smith points out today, she may have had the most personal connection with Bhutto of the presidential candidates. Along with being grouped together as female leaders, they had a warm meeting in Pakistan in 1995. As the Times reported:
After praising the uphill efforts of Ms. Bhutto (Radcliffe '73) to improve the lot of women and encourage family planning in a country where the average woman bears six children and is restricted to the role of wife and mother, Mrs. Clinton (Wellesley '69) added "a particular word of thanks for your emphasis on children."
Joe Biden was also close to Bhutto and is one of the most experienced foreign policy hands in the race. I like Biden and though I don't agree with him on everything (same with Clinton), I've always felt he was unfairly labeled "second tier" from the outset of the race. In any case, Biden showed how it's done - call it taking the junior Senator from Illinois to school:
"Like her father before her, Benazir Bhutto worked her whole life - and gave her life - to help Pakistan become a democratic, secular and modern Muslim country. She was a woman of extraordinary courage who returned to Pakistan in the face of death threats and even after an assassination attempt the day of her return, she did not flinch. It was a privilege to know her these many years and to call her a friend.
"I am convinced Ms. Bhutto would have won free and fair elections next week. The fact that she was by far Pakistan's most popular leader underscores the fact that there is a vast, moderate majority in Pakistan that must have a clear voice in the system....
"The way to honor Benazir Bhutto is to uphold the values for which she gave her life: democracy, moderation and social justice. I join with the Pakistani people in mourning the loss of a dear friend."
UPDATE: The Clinton campaign came out with a statement from spokesman Phil Singer: "This is a time to be focused on the tragedy of the situation, its implications for the U.S. and the world, and to be concerned for the people of Pakistan and the country’s stability. No one should be politicizing this situation with baseless allegations." Also, (generally horrified) reaction from TalkLeft, Taylor Marsh, Mark Ambinder, No Quarter
UPDATE II: Axelrod tries to back away but gets himself in deeper (via CNN). Meanwhile, Clinton gets personal in her memories of Bhutto.
UPDATE III: Here's a somber Clinton on Bhutto and what it means, and the risks involved in leadership.