A negotiator cannot function with such a weakness. You need to be able to walk away. One example: President Reagan refused to surrender ballistic missile defense in negotiations with Gorbachev. It meant walking away with no deal from a summit. It meant disappointing the entire kumbaya world who had their hearts set on another "feel good" moment of capitulation.
Not sure the Gipper knew it at the time, but when he refused to cave Gorbachev realized the Soviet Union could never win the cold war. He figured out the race was bankrupting them and they had lost.
Could you ever in your wildest imagination picture Clinton standing firm in such a situation? He could never accept the notion that people would be mad at him even if he did what was right. He signed treaties that the Senate would never ratify (ICC, Kyoto), just to be loved - leaving Congress to be the bad cop.
Selecting him shows how spineless these candidates are. Either that or Hillary has REALLY good FBI files stuff on them.
At one point in their talks didn't Reagan put all the missiles on the table? But it was Gorby who blinked and said no? The treaty (missile reduction) that emerged went only as far as Gorby let it. Now, I'm not saying anything negative about Reagan because maybe it was a negotiating tactic to get the Russians to go farther than they wanted. I think clarity is always a good thing.