Opinion: Questioner calls Bush ‘the bastard,’ Hillary Clinton smiles

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Over the weekend there was an as yet little-noticed incident in Bridgeton, Mo., just outside St. Louis. Sen. Hillary Clinton addressed a town hall meeting there and was taking questions from the audience.

One elderly woman rose and was asking the Democratic candidate about a rumored economic union among the United States, Canada and Mexico that is widely discussed, feared and abhorred among conspiracy fanciers. The woman said the president planned to implement the secret agreement in 2010.

Then the woman called the president ‘Bush the bastard.’

The Democratic crowd immediately roared its approval.

Sen. Clinton nodded her head slightly and smiled.

Then, she proceeded to ...

answer the question, saying ‘there’s not a lot of truth to it.’ Our colleagues over at the Swamp have posted Glenn Thrush’s detailed account of the incident, which you can read here.

It’ll be interesting to see if Clinton’s silent assent to that crude comment arouses as much criticism and controversy as last year when a Republican woman in South Carolina asked Sen. John McCain about Clinton, calling her ‘the bitch.’

At the time, CNN showed a video clip of the incident and strongly criticized McCain for not admonishing the woman, although the candidate did say belatedly that he respected the New York senator.

-- Andrew Malcolm