Hillary Says It Herself: I Know What It Means When That Phone Rings At 3 A.M.
By Greg Sargent - February 29, 2008, 5:00PM
Hillary hit the 3 A.M. phone call theme herself at an event in Texas a little while ago, defending herself against Obama's denunciation of her new ad as fear-mongering by saying: "I don't think people in Texas scare all that easily."
Take a look...
Clearly, the Hillary camp is trying to swing the late-breakers her way by sowing last-minute doubts about Obama's readiness to be commander-in-chief. It seems like a pretty big gamble -- we'll see if it works, or if it sparks a back-lash among voters turned off by tactics such as the use of kids in ads.
Transcript after the jump.
Transcript:
“I know the difficulties that our men and woman in uniform face everyday and I also understand completely what it means when that phone rings at 3 a.m. There isn’t any time to convene your advisors, to do a survey about what will or will not be popular – you have to make a decision. In the world that we face with both the challenges and opportunities, we need a president who picks up that phone ready to decide.
Senator Obama says that if we talk about national security in this campaign we are trying to scare people. Well, I don’t think people in Texas scare all that easily.
The American people aren’t afraid of the challenges and dangers we face in the world. They want a president with the strength and wisdom to take those challenges and dangers head on. There’s a big difference between giving speeches about national security and giving orders as commander in chief. There’s a big difference between delivering a speech at an anti-war rally as a state senator and picking up that phone in the White House at 3 a.m. in the morning to deal with an international crisis.
Senator Obama talks about these issues but when it came time to act, he was missing in action. He gave a speech in 2002 against the war in Iraq and I commend him for that speech. By 2004 he was saying he wasn’t sure how he would’ve voted because he never had to vote and that he basically agreed with the way President Bush was conducting the war. And by the time he got to the Senate, he voted exactly as I did. There’s a difference between making a speech when you have no responsibility and having to step up and take charge and take responsibility for your actions.
He was missing in action when he failed to show up for a vote dealing with Iran. He was missing in action when he failed to hold a single substantive hearing on a committee that he chaired that had responsibility for Europe and NATO and NATO’s policy in Afghanistan. Protecting and defending this country is the most solemn duty of our president. It is the pledge you take when you put your hand on that Bible and take the oath of office and you swear to protect and defend our Constitution and America.
I understand that. That’s why I have been endorsed by 25 generals and admirals who know that I will be there to answer that phone and that my experience equips me to give the right answer when I do. They know that national security is the most important duty of our president. We’ve never had a presidential campaign where national security wasn’t an issue and we’re not about to start now especially if the Republican candidate will be Senator McCain. We know the Republicans will run a campaign about national security. I feel absolutely comfortable standing on that stage with John McCain and going toe to toe about national security.”
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