Hillary won't explain her Mormon/Muslim double standard but Lawrence O'Donnell did

One could argue that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has directed more anger at the anti-Muhammad film that the administration has pointed to for rioting and murder in the Middle East, than toward the rioters and murderers of the Middle East. In fact, Clinton called the film "disgusting and reprehensible" but seemed to give the rioters a parental-like scolding.

So the standard is set, right? Criticizing religion is reprehensible and disgusting in the eyes of Hillary Clinton.

Uh, not so much.

The Wall Street Journal reported on her appearance last year at a Broadway musical that essentially shredded a different religion - Mormonism:

'Hasa Diga Eebowai" is the hit number in Broadway's hit musical "The Book of Mormon," which won nine Tony awards last year. What does the phrase mean? I can't tell you, because it's unprintable in a family newspaper.

On the other hand, if you can afford to shell out several hundred bucks for a seat, then you can watch a Mormon missionary get his holy book stuffed—well, I can't tell you about that, either. Let's just say it has New York City audiences roaring with laughter.

The "Book of Mormon"—a performance of which Hillary Clinton attended last year, without registering a complaint—comes to mind as the administration falls over itself denouncing "Innocence of Muslims." This is a film that may or may not exist; whose makers are likely not who they say they are; whose actors claim to have known neither the plot nor purpose of the film; and which has never been seen by any member of the public except as a video clip on the Internet.

Ok, so why the double standard? Don't hold your breath waiting for Hillary to tell you. She has an entire historical slew of things she can't explain - and doesn't attempt to.

However, perhaps MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell can tell us. Actually, he did just that during a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt in 2007. Here is a transcript of the relevant exchange via NewsBusters (audio follows):

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: I don’t think he [Mitt Romney] believes everything in the Book of Mormon. I think he’s lying about that. It’s an insane document produced by a madman who was a criminal and a rapist. [...]

HUGH HEWITT: Would you say the same things about Mohammed as you just said about Joseph Smith?

O’DONNELL: Oh, well, I’m afraid of what the…that’s where I’m really afraid. I would like to criticize Islam much more than I do publicly, but I’m afraid for my life if I do.

HEWITT: Well, that’s candid.

O’DONNELL: Mormons are the nicest people in the world. They’re not going to ever…

HEWITT: So you can be bigoted towards Mormons, because they’ll just send you a strudel.

O’DONNELL: They’ll never take a shot at me. Those other people, I’m not going to say a word about them.

HEWITT: They’ll send you a strudel. The Mormons will bake you a cake and be nice to you.

O’DONNELL: I agree.

HEWITT: Lawrence O’Donnell, I appreciate your candor.

CLICK HERE and fast forward to the 18:00 mark to hear the exchange.

By the way, O'Donnell's admission that he would like to criticize Islam but won't might be perceived by Muslims as 'hate thought'.

On a semi-related note, it would appear that we have another in a long line of opportunities for Mitt Romney to take the gloves off but... we also have a long line of squandered opportunities by Mitt to do so because, well, he's so concerned about those 5%-10% of independents who don't know what they want.

Obama on man behind anti-Muhammad film: 'Shadowy character'

First Amendment champions were taken aback when they saw the producer of that anti-Muhammad film - Nakoula Basseley Nakoula - being taken in for questioning by police. Most came to his defense. In recent days, however, questions have arisen about his conviction on charges related to bank fraud. It may be time to do a little digging on this guy.

He is likely not what he seems.

Besides, Barack Obama says he's 'shadowy'.

Via the AP:

President Barack Obama says the man behind an anti-Islam movie that ignited violence across the Middle East is a "shadowy character."

U.S. officials blame the film in part for the violence in Libya, where U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. The White House says the matter still is under investigation and that assessment could change.

If Nakoula is so 'shadowy', perhaps we should learn more about him.

h/t WZ

My problem with Romney's "47%" Video

Much is being made of Mitt Romney's speech at a private fundraiser during which he said that he will never convince the 47% of people who pay no federal income tax to vote for him because they are going to vote for Obama. You can argue all you want about whether that figure is accurate or whether there are segments of it that pay no income tax because they're living on social security.

Fine. That's not my problem with it. My problem is what Romney says at the end of this clip and what he necessarily implies without saying.

Here's the quote that gets my dander up:

"I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the five to ten percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not."

Implicit in that statement is that Romney believes the 43% - 48% of voters to the right of those independents don't have to be sold; they're already all-in; they've drunk the kool-aid. In my mind, it's this mentality on Romney's part that is preventing him from pulling away. By not fighting for that 43% - 48%, he's losing more than he thinks he's gaining by going after those fickle independents who might just jump on board if Romney exhibited some passion and showed a little fight. That kind of thing is contagious anyway.

Maybe if conservatives stopped drinking the Romney-aid, he'd actually have to fight for their votes by moving to the right. The independents can come along if they want to and they just might if they see a candidate with conviction instead of one beset on all sides by the political contrivances of campaign strategists.

Let's face it, Mitt Romney does not inspire people and he does not energize them. That is obviously the result of both his personality and his campaign strategy.

In any case, both are flaws at a time like this.



To illustrate my point, here is a Jerry Maguire metaphor. Cuba Gooding, Jr. represents the conservative base that Tom Cruise wants to just get off the phone because he thinks Gooding's character is a player he has in the bag and can get to later. All of those incoming calls represent the independents that ultimately didn't make Maguire successful.

Do you remember who did? Yes, the guy he had on the phone.



h/t Hot Air