Posted on 01/29/2007 2:11:52 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
(CBS News) DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that President Bush has made a mess of Iraq and it is his responsibility to "extricate" the United States from the situation before he leaves office.
It would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next commander in chief, she said.
"This was his decision to go to war with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy," the Democratic senator from New York said in her initial campaign swing through the early-bird caucus state of Iowa.
"We expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office" in January 2009, the former first lady said.
The White House condemned Clinton's comments as a partisan attack that undermines U.S. soldiers.
About 130,000 American troops are in Iraq and Mr. Bush has announced he was sending 21,500 more as part of his new war strategy.
Clinton held a town hall-style forum attended by about 300 activists, giving a brief speech before taking questions for nearly an hour. Pressed to defend her vote to authorize force in Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, Clinton responded by stepping up her criticism of President Bush.
"I am going to level with you, the president has said this is going to be left to his successor," Clinton said. "I think it is the height of irresponsibility and I really resent it."
Mr. Bush describes Iraq as the central front in the global fight against terrorism that began after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "The war on terror will be a problem for the next president. Presidents after me will be confronting ... an enemy that would like to strike the United States again," he recently told USA Today.
One questioner asked Clinton if her track record showed she could stand up to "evil men" around the world.
"The question is, we face a lot of dangers in the world and, in the gentleman's words, we face a lot of evil men and what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men," Clinton said. She paused to gaze while the audience interrupted with about 30 seconds of laughter and applause.
Meeting later with reporters, she was pressed repeatedly to explain what she meant. She insisted it was a simple joke.
"I thought I was funny," Clinton said. "You guys keep telling me to lighten up, be funny. I get a little funny and now I'm being psychoanalyzed."
She told reporters that evil men included al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who remains at large. "Isn't it about time we get serious about that?" she said.
The Politico.com's Ben Smith said Clinton was well received on her first trip to Iowa.
"People were surprised. She has this great advantage, people expect her to be a diva," said Smith. "But she's very good at these settings. She's very human. She talks a lot about being a woman and at the same time is hard on the Bush administration."
CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports Clinton is polling well behind John Edwards in Iowa in a field that now includes nine Democrats. It is even more crowded on the other side. In a surprise announcement, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Sunday became the tenth Republican to join the race.
Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani, one of the early GOP favorites, took a "pre-announcement" fund-raising trip to the other small state with a big say – New Hampshire.
He told supporters this race is about bridging the political divide.
"It is not just about ideologies or political parties, it's about who can do it better for our city, our state and our country," Giuliani told GOP activists in Manchester.
The Politico's Jonathan Martin said Giuliani received "a very positive response. Mayor Giuliani still retains the positive glow from 9/11. He was a celebrity candidate and people flock to him. He still has that sort of star power that brings a lot of folks out to see him at events."
She has nerve...the hypcritical c*** that she is...
grrrrrr
World to Hillary....
Don't give speeches in the middle of a hot flash
ya think she wants some water to wash down that foot?
HOw ironic for a clinton to tell anyone to clean up their mess.
If Bill had clean his mess, there might not have been any evidence for an impeachment....
I have the perfect solution for Evita: Don't Run!
See, no problemo.
Hillary "I don't have the guts to fight this war".
"CLINTON: Good evening.
Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.
The hard fact is that so long as Saddam remains in power, he threatens the well-being of his people, the peace of his region, the security of the world.
The best way to end that threat once and for all is with a new Iraqi government -- a government ready to live in peace with its neighbors, a government that respects the rights of its people."
President Clinton
Oval Office Address to the American People
December 16, 1998
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/16/transcripts/clinton.html
Well this is very strange. Back before the war started, Clinton spoke with Code Pink and told them that based on her research, knowledge of Iraq and talking with people whose opinions she trusts, she realized that Iraq was a threat and no one else but the US could or would remove the threat.
She said that her husband tried to work with the UN to get approval to go into Serbia/Bosnia and couldn't so he went alone and sometimes that needs to be done.
According to Rush, Hillary's discussion with Code Pink is on YouTube.
It's almost like she acts as if there's no internet.
She's an expert, she's been cleaning up her husbands "messes" for years, except for the "messes" he cleans with a hot towel.
Trying to play prostitute to the moonbat crowd. Wonder if they are willing to vote for the whore in the primary.
I guess the standard response when sky scrapers fall down is to do nothing.
She can't understand normal thinking.
.
Evil and bad men?
Is she referring to Bill Clinton or Webster Hubbell or Craig Livingstone or (fill in the blank)....?
I think she's going to do a lot worse than she thinks. I believe the wackos will go with Kucinich and the black vote will go to Obama.
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