No sooner had the Alito hearings ended than Hillary, perhaps sensing an entertainment vacuum, seized upon Martin Luther King Day to demagogue it-you can savor her comparison of the U.S. House of Representatives to a plantation and other amusing tidbits here.


Columnist Michael Gordon of the New York Daily News thinks “Hillary’s Slip Is Showing:” 


“As with all things Clinton, the conventional wisdom is that the moment was calculated. Appearing with the Rev. Al Sharpton and other far-out Dems, this theory goes, she was feeding the crowd red meat to get its applause and Sharpton’s approval. She obliged, and so did they.


“It’s a reasonable guess at her motive, but it’s at least partly wrong. I don’t think Clinton planned to use the word plantation because she didn’t say it in her prepared remarks, according to my colleague David Saltonstall.


“Instead, I think she panicked after a tough questioner said Democrats had been spineless and cited her record as an example. She was looking for an escape hatch and the race card was handy. She played it not because she remotely believes House rules are akin to slavery, but because she knew the word plantation would manipulate the black crowd and let her avoid explaining her support for the Iraq war.


“Think of it as a cheap trick.”


 Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin wonders:


“What racial demagogic stunt will Hillary sink to next? Cornrows and a cameo on Bush-bashing rapper Kanye West’s next album? Go on, girl. Go ahead. Get down.”


And here’s a selection of comments in the New York Post’s Letters section:


“Her hostile and vitriolic plantation-politics speech was all about her, not him[King].”


“Once again, Democrats take any opportunity to bash Republicans and try to score points. This used to be a proud and respected party, but now all that you hear from them is hatred and lies.”


“I think Clinton’s use of the word ‘plantation’ just confirms her mindset and what native New Yorkers have long known: She’s just a carpetbagger, using our state as what she hopes will be a stepping-stone to the White House.”