December 28, 2007
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Hillary and Obama
Since Bhutto was assassinated, I have read a few people in posts and received at least one message that suggested this is what would happen if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama became president.
In fact, I read a news article the other day where a woman said she would not vote for Obama for fear he may be killed if elected.
I have a hard time believing that either one of these people have an increased chance of being assassinated after being elected. I think Obama could potentially be a target if there is less security by the Secret Service before being elected. I think Hillary is probably still covered because her husband is a former president.
I guess my thinking is that people hated Bill Clinton but he didn’t get assassinated. I know people hate President Bush and he hasn’t been assassinated.
Do you think Hillary or Obama have an increased chance of being assassinated if elected president?
Comments (79)
Not more than any other president
Wow…first two times this week. I never celebrate this, but hey…what are the odds?
No. I guess I don’t understand the logic. Can someone enlighten me?
No Bush has more people claiming they want him dead. I doubt Hillery of Obama has any more to to worry about than Bush does
I think its a threat for any president. Bhutto is a totally different situation and it was almost expected. Still a sad thing.
I don’t think so.
But then again, if I was a terrorist, I wouldn’t assassinate Bush because he’s such a flippin’ dummy that it’s in my favor to let him keep up his stupidity rather than knocking him out and potentially putting someone intelligent in power.
I think they do, just because they’re something different, something new, and a lot of people won’t want that if Obama or Clinton is successful in their election.
I can’t imagine they’d piss anyone off more than than Bush has. Is the claim that they are more likely to be in the line of fire b/c neither of them are are white stingy old men?
i agree with post number 1, not any more than any other president.
Sorry to say but any president has the chance of being assassinated..let alone any public person/official.
As long as they use secret service, I don’t see any increased risk. I think, if they think they don’t need security, they would be at risk. I think, it’s silly to not vote for someone because they think they will be killed. The future is not certain for anyone.
Why, because they are black and female? Is that what the terrorists don’t want in power??
No more than any other President –
I don’t know. In some ways, I don’t think it is likely. In another way, if a wacko or an ultra - conservative group decided that a women or a black should not be president, then maybe there would be an attempt made on their lives. I haven’t heard of any threats to either one of them, so I don’t know that that is likely either. God bless.
No more than anyone else. No matter who wins, there always will be some nut case who wants to kill them.
Ron Paul has a much great chance of being assassinated. His views are a lot more revolutionary, a lot more offensive (like to drug companies), but a lot better.
I really dont think so. I agree that perhaps before the election but even then i dont think it would be terribly likely. President bush IS still alive after all,….
No. Just like all the “intelligence” for the supposed terrorist attacks that never happened, just like the Y2K bug didn’t destroy the earth, just like global warming is such a concern until the snow falls, all this talk is just hype for the media. I’m guessing to get the people that aren’t interested in politics to read the stories.
No.
I don’t think they have a greater chance of being assassinated. I can say with certainty thier chances of my mourning them would be even less than normal.
I think it all depends on thier Vice President. Let’s face it, Gore was excellent insurance for Bill Clinton.
president > failed presidential candidate
positions of power are always more appealing to snuff out
Didn’t someone already try to assassinate Hillary, brought a bomb into her campaign office or summat?
Irregardless, neither Hillary nor Obama have the same sort of risk that Ms. Bhutto had. I’m with you, Dan–if Bush didn’t get assassinated than Obama won’t, because I’m sure a lot more people hate Bush than hate Obama.
If anyone should be worried about assassination in American politics it’s Ron Paul–the threat he represents to Big Business and Big Government is far greater than the threat any of the others represents.
Anyone elected President has an elevated risk of being assassinated… it’s just something they have to take into account when deciding to run.
I think what you are really asking is whether or not people in this country are still that racist or still cling to the idea that women should be “barefoot and pregnant”. I think we have come past that point. Sure there are some people that still think like that but I think they are a vast minority any more.
I’d like to think the answer would be no, but in reality, it’s probably true. Unfortunately, there are still alot of bigots and people who think a woman’s place is in the kitchen, in our country.
I would like to say that the chances won’t change. I kind of highly doubt that Hillary would be, not because she’s married to a former president but because of her race. There are a lot of racist people in America, Obama probably has a higher chance of being assassinated.
And if that happens, America would sigh their relief and pretend to mourn for him.
This is a sad nation indeed. =(
No… any president is a target… She was not assasinated because she was a woman… or the color of her skin… she was assasinated because of her political position…
I don’t hink Hillary or Obama… have THAT type of political clought.
I’m posting this comment on everyone’s site that reads mine….after Lucas is born, i’m shutting down this xanga and writing under the name LucasJacob. So if you want to keep up with us, go ahead and subscribe to that site!
Kayla.
No I don’t.
I read this article yesterday that relates to the discussion that brought forth this question: http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/column/wineke//index.php?ntid=264279&ntpid=2
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/column/wineke//index.php?ntid=264279&ntpid=2
The whole link didn’t copy in the last post…sorry.
Any President has that potential of being assasinated no matter who they are. I REALLY thought after the 2000 election being so crazy that whoever won weither it was Gore or Bush, one of them would be assasinated. There was and still is so much rage over that. As much as Bush is hated…and I mean HATED by the left, I’m happy they didn’t try something like assasination on him. Sad that there are people out there that think KILLING someone is the only solution to fix something. But they ARE out there!
Dang it, for some reason it doesn’t want to past the whole link: http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/column/winke//index.php?ntid=264279&ntpid=2
Let’s see if this works. Otherwise go to http://www.madison.com and look under columns. The title is: Wineke: In the U.S. assassinations usually haven’t been as political.
If it’s risen at all, it’s insignificant.
Today the nut cases find each other and organize. Politicians and other citizens alike should take every measure to protect themselves against an increasing organized, hostile world.
I think it’s pretty stupid that no one wants to admit that the reason there would be a problem for Obama is because he is black, and Clinton because she is a woman. Pretending racism and sexism no longer exist does not eliminate the problem. That bothers me more than someone not voting for a candidate because she fears for his life.
Although people irrationally hate Hillary, I don’t think she actually is hated so much as to endanger her more than other presidents (I hope not at any rate!). As for Obama, people are still more racist than they admit and he would be in danger from the most violent racists, that other presidents would not be in danger from. Even if it’s a relatively small group, it’s still an increased danger. The majority of people in this country, while not violently racist (thank God), are still racist to levels where they might not vote him into office, or perhaps hold him to a higher standard than any other president before him.
The risk factor is there for any one who is elected to that office. Just a fact. The increased risk of who you might tick off does not necessarily rise because of skin color or gender, but in world happenings and people’s take on the issues.
No. The fundamentalist Christians in this country, in spite of being wrong-headed about so much, are actually quite nonviolent. Even anti-abortion violence has stopped, because fundamentalist Christian leaders condemned it. In spite of what some misguided liberals have told us, there is a very big difference between fundamentalist Christianity and fundamentalist Islam.
No, because not all of us are revolted by a black man or woman being president. Only some of us are.
Doubtful.
Like some have probably said- no more than Bush.
‘Cause I know a lot of people who wouldn’t mind having Bush’s head.. but they don’t.
Conspiracy theories abound – no.
I think they are both socialists to a greater degree than Bill Clinton and I believe that many people still hate socialism in the US and thus they might have a greater chance of being assassinated.
i think its safe to say that our nation has matured to the point that we dont need to worry about people getting assassinated because they deviated from the norm. but if they do get whacked, im obviously wrong haha
Possibly. I have Pakistan in my footprints.
I don’t think so. I think people are desperate for a change. They may not like who gets elected, but lots of people have disliked presidents in the past (and obviously, present) and it hasn’t happened. I am personally voting for Obama. I think he’s got some great ideas and people need to be more open minded and give someone new a chance.
Hey, those are some good thoughts of yours. Everywhere I look it seems that people hate Hilary though – so regardless of theory, I still think by my gut that Hilary just might be assassinated.
-David
I only wish…
No more than any other President
“I only wish…”
What does this comment mean? That you wish Hillary or Barack if elected would get assassinated? I hope not! But if so, what the hell is wrong with you?
Some really racist comments here. Some people just want to think this is a different and much more evil nation that it is. We have woman and blacks serving as senators, judges and governor’s and have for decades. None of them are being assassinated.
Pull your heads out of the dark smelly place, and see what America really looks like. It is a good nation full of mostly good people
I suspect assination attempts may not occur, but that is a good illustration of the difference between totalitarian regimes and sort of democracy. We are blessed.
Heather
Assassination is my specialty, and so is ass-assassination!
Isn’t there a statistic that suggest that every President has had a assasination attempt? I think the Secret Service keeps these attemps on the quiet.
’nuff said…
I don’t see Hillary or Obama being a threat to anyone so I don’t see their lives in danger at all.
Neither. Ron Paul is scary to big business.
What everyone else said. That’s true for anybody who becomes president. Or just famous even.
I think people say there is an increased chance because one is a female and the other isn’t white. :shrug: But honestly, someone somewhere hates every president we’ve had and will have. It could happen to any president.
There are too many crazies in the world. Maybe all presidents have had attempts; some presidents have better service agents is all.
No…I wouldnt waste my ammo on either one of them.
Yes.
There are still PLENTY of sickos out there who would never accept a black or female president.
Shall I point out the ones on Xanga? Or is that just fish in a barrel?
Lot of crazsies out there. You never know. Maybe so.
But God BLess them for wanting to do it! I hope they both lose BTW, but GOd BLess them for the guts to try, and for helping create debate of ideas.
Don’t we all?
No, and it is silly that a voter would restrain from voting for a person because of such a risk. Of course, the risk exists. If the person seeking our votes is willing to face it, then we should have the good sense (if we support them) to face that risk as well. What do we really think we are protecting by withholding our vote on the basis of the possibility of assassination? Silliness. Just Silliness.
And the risk exists regardless of sex or race…
wait, who hated clinton? haha unless you’re in idiot and can ignore the fact he put this country IN THE BLACK, i find it hard to believe you could not like clinton.
Since I think both of them have close to zero chances of being elected, chances of them being assassinated are negligible…
Pointing out the truth is not in itself racist. That there is still a good deal of racism in this country, even if less virulent than the form that might have existed years ago, is the truth. Those who insist otherwise need to pull their heads out of their own dark smelly place.
I don’t see why. If anything, Bush is so incredibly despised by so many people you’d think it would be him who got offed (PLEASE NO ONE DO IT, YOU’LL TURN HIM INTO A MARTYR!!!). If Obama or Hillary got assasinated, it’d likely be by someone who’s plain ole crazy, which could happen to any president or public persona regardless of who they are or what they stand for.
Nope, but I hope more people don’t vote for them to help them not get shot.
probably. but it wouldn’t be because people thought they were a bad president, it would be because of people who are stuck in the 1950′s who would be offended that a woman or a black man had more power than them. so really the bush and clinton examples don’t work.
still, as long as the secret service does their job, it shouldn’t happen.
Nah.
statistically being president is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
there have only been forty (three?) presidents… so really, if one dies the statistics rise dramatically.
> No more so than any other candidate/electee….
Peace
You can pretty much expect an attempt by some wacko on either one of them. It’s crazy though, people would actually assassinate Clinton for being a woman, Obama for being black, but not Bush for doing… everything he’s done in the past eight years. Even the psychos are just as messed up as everyone else when it comes to politics.
There is always a risk when your pres but…no!
Hopefully.
Fortunately, they WON’T win, due to too many skeletons in their closets! 
That is a job I would never want.
I think ANY ONE who goes into the job because of ego and personal ambition is in danger. The list is and has been long. I can only think of a few in my life time that don’t meet that status.
People are just getting sick of the same old stuff.
Wouldn’t it be refreshing to really see change for the better for the people instead of for the politicians ?