Clinton 'speechless' at Obama's claim that he understands the world better

[sabra]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/clinton_speechless_at_obamas_c.html

<snip>

Obama had told supporters at a fundraiser in San Francisco over the weekend, when asked about his ruminations over a potential running mate: "I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on. I think a lot of people assume that might be some kind of military thing to make me look more commander-in-chief-like. Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy -- is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Sen. Clinton or Senator McCain."

The account of the closed-door fundraising talk, first reported by the Huffington Post on Monday and relayed in these pages as well, made for some spirited public talk this morning on FOX and Friends, where Clinton was asked about Obama's statement.

"Well I’m somewhat shocked by that since I don’t see any evidence of it,'' Clinton said. "This is kind of hard to square with his failure to ever have a single policy hearing on the only responsibility he was given, chairing the European and NATO subcommittee (of) the foreign relations committee.

"I don’t know. I’m speechless,'' she said. "Making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record.''

[Levgreee]

1. quite a strange thing to get speechless about

[Vinca]

2. Well, as long as she's speechless she's not making up stories. nt

[Cha]

42. Cat got her

tongue? Good.

[MethuenProgressive]

3. It's OK if Obama says it.

What ever He says is wonderful.

[not_too_L8]

25. see #20

[dchill]

37. For once, you're making sense!

:shrug:

[americanstranger]

4. Fox & Friends, eh?

The Official Home Of The 2008 HRC Campaign.

I'm kinda speechless at that, honestly.

- as

[Bullet1987]

5. I don't know why she's speechless...at least Obama doesn't make up

wild oversea fantasies/adventures to inflate his foreign political image.

[Levgreee]

6. If she is 'speechless' over this, imagine if he said she wasn't ready to be commander in chief

SHAME ON YOU BARACK OBAMA!

[JBoy]

7. She's speechless because Penn didn't give her something to say.

[BenDavid]

8. You wanna know the truth about this campaign and what network

is at least trying to be non partisan. If you are, then I would and it does pain me to say it, but Fox News at least tries to be 50 50 in their reporting about HRC. Compared to other networks like cnn which is in the tank for obama and the major 3 are in the tank for obama. Hell, maybe they all should come out and say we support obama.

[still_one]

14. I doubt it pains you that much Ben. Funny those who "know the world" voted for the IWR

not much wisdom there, and there were over 20 Democrats and 1 republican who realized it wasn't a good idea to overturn the War Powers Act

Funny, that when Diane Feinstein introduced the bill NOT to use cluster bombs in civillian areas, both Hillary and mccain saw no problem in using cluster bombs in civillian areas

I can understand it though, because Hillary is used to be under sniper fire, so she assumes the civillians can get out of the way

By the way Ben, and caustic as I am toward Hillary, I will still vote for her if she is the Democratic nominee

[mrreowwr_kittty]

40. Are you responding to

BenRacist...uh...I mean BenDavid there?

[SoonerPride]

46. All I see is ignore. I suspect you do too.

Nothing good comes from that.

[truebrit71]

47. Been on ignore for a while now...

...

[still_one]

57. yup, but he never answers, and usually hits and runs

I am impressed with the overtype font

[Forkboy]

60. Usually?

:)

[Recursion]

28. "50 50" is rarely objective

An objective journalist covering the primaries would probably note how badly Cliton's campaign has been doing.

[Beregond2]

9. Speechless

might be her best option, considering what has been coming out of her mouth lately.

[SoonerPride]

23. Bam!

Touché

[Yael]

26. SNAP!!

[bunnies]

10. FOX and Fucking Friends?!

Wait... didnt she boycott a debate on FOX? What was that Hillary? Just words?

[uponit7771]

11. Hmmm, after Clintons screw ups that's not a far fetched statement IMHO

[rodeodance]

12. so BO fans have sunk to mocking common expressions. Can she breath right for you?

[uponit7771]

13. After Mark Penn, walking and chewing gum for her is a FAIR question and I'm serious.

[damntexdem]

17. No, but I don't ask that. She can breathe all she wants, unlike ...

over 4000 dead Americans and hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis who no longer can breathe, all because of the Bushista invasion for which HRC was an enabler.

[Yael]

27. And there you have it

:(

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. We're mocking her phony indignation.

It's a shame she has to waste her beautiful mind about such things.

[Cant trust em]

34. It has come from both sides. It's nuts in here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5416801

[Bake]

36. At least they're not talking about how she laughs anymore.

I thought that was an improvement, but apparently nothing pleases them.

Bake

[JaneQPublic]

15. She says she's speechless, yet she keeps on talking. (nt)

[damntexdem]

16. I'm glad she's speechless -- it keeps her from lying.

Obama opposed the Invasion of Iraq -- McCain and McHillary supported it. Case closed!

[flor de jasmim]

18. He has a degree in political science - international relations

from the U. of Columbia. He's no slouch!

[not_too_L8]

20. About That Subcommittee

http://www.vertical-politics.com/2008/03/about-that-subc.html

snip /

The idea that is being floated around by the Clinton camp that Barack Obama has dropped the ball on Afghanistan by not holding a hearing in Congress is refuted. Turns out that:

...the Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on European Affairs doesn’t have primary jurisdiction over the campaign in Afghanistan. The Armed Services Committee (on which Senator Clinton serves) does.

The Subcommittee on European Affairs doesn’t have secondary jurisdiction over the campaign in Afghanistan. The full Foreign Relations Committee (which has held hearings on Afghanistan) does.

The Subcommittee on European Affairs doesn’t even have tertiary jurisdiction over the campaign in Afghanistan. The Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs does.

Both Clintons, obviously, fully understand how the Senate operates; and recognize that any freshman senator who hopes to have any influence in the upper chamber isn’t going to hold hearings on a matter almost wholly tangential to his subcommittee’s jurisdiction.

[democrattotheend]

21. Thank you for pointing that out!

I have been saying for a long time that this is a phony debate. The Obama campaign should have put Kerry out there to dispel it right away, since his committee has tertiary jurisdiction over it and I believe he has held hearings.

[redqueen]

dupe!

[redqueen]

35. Oh I'm so shocked to find out she's "distorting the truth" AGAIN.

:sarcasm:

[ellisonz]

51. Thank you!

But I'm sure the Clintonistas will just keep on rolling.

[DefenseLawyer]

22. I don't know why any self respecting Democrat

would ever appear on Fox and Friends. I would be afraid that some of the stupid would wear off on me.

[Yael]

24. She's resorted to making her case on Fox & Friends?

:rofl:

[TwilightGardener]

29. She goes on Fox to bash the likely Dem nominee. I'm...speechless.

[Political Heretic]

30. If she's speechless maybe she can avoid a negative news cycle about making shit up.

:)

[BeyondGeography]

31. It's called "life experience," Hillary

This may come as news to you and your canned political worldview, but it exists. Anyone who has spent a substantial amount of time away from the U.S. and around people in another culture understands the world better than our politicians. The average taxi driver in New York would give the average Congressman a run for his money on "understanding the world better." How does Iraq happen if not for a government composed of too many people who don't know the first damned thing about the world?

[GoldieAZ49]

32. Obama has hope

What more do you need for foreign policy?
He is a community organizer, the world is just a bigger community than the south side of Chicago.

:rofl:

[burythehatchet]

33. Speechless? Good. That means she didn't lie.

[Beacool]

38. I sometimes wonder if some of you are really this naive or are just

disingenuous. How can your jaw not drop when Obama has the audacity (not of hope) to state that he has more foreign policy experience than either Hillary or McCain?????

My diplomat father would have laughed his head off!!!! I lived in various countries for far longer than Obama and have more family in several countries right now than he has, does that make me more knowledgeable in the field than either McCain or Hillary? Hell, no!!!

:wow:

[mrreowwr_kittty]

39. You're probably more knowledgeable than McCain, actually.

Besides, if foreign policy experience is soooooooo important, why is this a race between Biden and Richardson right now?

[elleng]

56. Because msm decided

who they wanted to yammer about, the 'exciting' ones.

[Milo_Bloom]

44. You might want to read the quote right...

Exactly where did he say he has "more foreign policy experience"??

"I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on. I think a lot of people assume that might be some kind of military thing to make me look more commander-in-chief-like. Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy -- is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Sen. Clinton or Senator McCain."


He didn't say anything about having more "experience" he talked about having knowledge and understanding.

Since Clinton and McCain voted for the war, it would seem he has a lock on this.

[PoliticalAmazon]

53. I can read a quote. Can you? n/t

[Cha]

41. Wonder how "shocked" shocked I tell ya that

Senator Obama was when hilary tells her lies and one of them to a military audience?

Why Hillary’s Lies are Important

By - March 24, 2008, 9:53PM
Hillary Clinton has been caught in a series of lies and misrepresentations during the primary campaign. To some of her supporters, these lies may seem trivial and insignificant and even politics-as-usual. However, please consider the serious impact of these lies by placing them in the context of the past seven years of the Bush Administration and the legacy of expanded executive power that he leaves behind. In particular, consider the dangerous message that the Clinton campaign sends by employing similar tactics to achieve her political goals.

1. The Florida and Michigan Primaries / The Delegate Count
Hillary agreed to honor the DNC’s decision to strip Florida and Michigan of its delegates after their primaries were moved up into January in express violation of the DNC rules. She did not change her position on the validity of these primaries until she found herself unexpectedly behind in the delegate count and desperately needed to claim the delegates that she had won in these unsanctioned contests. As her chances of winning the nomination became increasingly slim in recent weeks, we have been presented with threatening and desperate lines of reasoning for why these primary results should count as is. At the same time, Clinton and her surrogates continue to propose different metrics for determining who should win the nomination even though there is and has been a clearly defined process in place for several decades.

Please think about the implications of changing election rules after the fact. We have suffered through at least one stolen presidential election and the manipulation of untold numbers of Congressional and state elections through various vote tampering and voter intimidation schemes used by the Republicans and their allies. The American people (and especially Democratic voters) have lost faith in the integrity of the election process. The Clinton strategy to continually change the rules for determining the Democratic Party nominee sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to increasingly un-Democratic elections in the future if it is allowed to succeed. If anything, we need more transparency and methods of accountability in our elections in order to repair the damage done in recent years and to restore our confidence in the Government.

2. The Bosnia Fabrication / Exaggerated Experience Claims
Hillary fabricated a story about a dangerous, life-risking visit to Bosnia in order to gain stature as an experienced negotiator in international conflicts and war. While this type of embellishment can seem almost comical, it represents a willingness to distort reality in order to influence the public perception. This is the same type of distortion that the Bush administration used to justify the war in Iraq, although the magnitude of the lie is certainly on a different scale. The Bush administration falsified reports, cherry-picked intelligence, used unreliable sources, and employed fear-mongering tactics to convince the American public that our safety was at risk and as such, you were either with us or with the terrorists. The lies used by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are impeachable offenses and should be condemned by all Americans. Sadly, the Clinton campaign seems to have shown a shocking willingness to employ the same tactics to create a more favorable reality and to rely on divide-and-conquer rhetoric to weaken opposition. Her attempts to frighten the American people by conjuring up 3 AM phone calls are bad enough, but her vote of confidence in John McCain over Barack Obama should be seen as treason against the Democratic Party.

3. NAFTA
Hillary lied about her position on NAFTA and used her lies in a calculated way to influence the Ohio primary. Recently released White House documents confirm that Hillary had been an active proponent of NAFTA prior to its passage, and she has continued to support it publicly in her speeches and memoir. However, while campaigning in Ohio, she claimed to have been privately against NAFTA during the Clinton presidency and believes that it should be rewritten to protect American jobs and workers. This type of maneuvering is reminiscent of the behind-closed-doors policy-making that the Bush administration has used during the past seven years. Specifically, Bush and Cheney have made policy decisions without providing transparency to Congress or the public, and President Bush has repeatedly ignored the rule of law by issuing signing statements and disregarding the parts of the laws that he doesn’t agree with. If we cannot trust Hillary to be truthful about her positions on critical legislative issues now, how can we trust that she will be truthful as president?

These are just three examples that illustrate the concerns we should have with a candidate who demonstrates a sense of entitlement to the nomination and is willing to lie, misrepresent, threaten, and divide in order to obtain the nomination. President Bush and the neoconservative movement have greatly harmed this country by the creation of an imperial-like presidency. This election is not just about whether a Democrat or Republican wins but if the checks and balances are restored to the three branches of government. The framers of the Constitution were in such fear of an imperial president that mechanisms for impeachment are prominently and explicitly included in the Constitution. If Hillary Clinton is willing to use lies and deceit to win the Democratic nomination, what assurances do we have that she will not continue to use them once she is president?
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/why-h ...

<snip>

"Her response to being caught lying to a military audience, when she invented a story about being under sniper fire in Bosnia, was to say it wasn't surprising she got some things wrong, seeing how she spoke millions of words every day. What a magnificent idea, that if you say lots of words some of them are bound to be fantastic lies. So if you listen carefully to horse-racing commentators they say things like "And it's Teddy's Boy still leading three furlongs out as they come up to the fourth last fence with Nip and Tuck two lengths behind by the way I fought a tiger once, punched it clean out and they're all safely over."

<lots more>
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article3 ...

[Milo_Bloom]

43. She voted for the war, so how could she say anything?

[Mooney]

45. Finally!

I was wondering what it would take to get her to shut the fuck up.

[DrFunkenstein]

48. Oops!

n/t

[truebrit71]

49. Bashing another Dem on Fux and Friend....

Stay Classy Hill, stay classy...

:eyes:

I cannot wait until this woman is removed from the race...what a bitter, cold and nasty piece of work she is...

[AZBlue]

50. If that's all it took, I wish he'd said it a lot earlier!!!

On a serious note, is this part of her "being ready from day one" plan? Not being able to respond to a simple and benign situation without a script?

[BigDDem]

52. Barry knows foreign policy

Just ask the "president of Canada"

:rofl:

[paulk]

54. kind of a dumb thing for Obama to say, really

He lived in Indonesia between the ages of six and ten. He's been to Pakistan. Two years in the Senate, a large part of that spent campaigning. I have a hard time buying the idea that that somehow qualifies him to "understand the world" or be an expert on foreign policy.

Foreign policy is his weakest area - I hope that if he is the nominee he comes up with something better than this. Arrogance really isn't such a good sales pitch.

[Kaylee]

55. And I ask again....why the HELL is she on FOX and Friends?

[rniel]

58. the only reason he said that

Is cause he hates women. :P

[killbotfactory]

59. Their positions on the Iraq war prove this is true.

The people who supported this war should be selling used cars, not running our government.