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."
The sheer hypocrisy of her statement, as well as the audacity of which she speaks it, is astounding.
bookmark
You are more than welcome. Here is a great site for DEM quotes: http://www.freedomagenda.com/iraq/wmd_quotes.html
I have been able to stump many of my liberal friends with these quotes. And there are many from 1998 when Bush was not President. I also ask them why did Clinton in 1999 bomb Iraq for 100 days killing innocent Iraqis? What was he after or trying to stop? That leaves them blank too.
Check out Pelosi's quote on that site from 1998 when she was a member of the House Intelligence Committee. She sounds like a war monger to me!
Hey Hillary, how about giving me a "lewinsky"?
Oh yeah... let me know how they replied to your post on that other site. I am curious to hear what kind of lame response they gave you.
Bush is still cleaning up after Carter and the Dems.
Two thoughts: 1.) Get the hell out of the way, Mrs. Clinton.
And 2.) You've nothing to be concerned about, the next CIC won't be you.
She should really thank John Kerry. Without him, she'd be the biggest horse's ass the dems have.
Memo to THESMARTESTWOMANINTHEWORLD:
War is not, never has been and never will be something that can be scheduled according to a political event.President Bush has said the War On Terror will go on beyond his term in office. Instead of acting scared, "I really resent it," why not say, "President Bush is apparently not smart enough to figure out how to conclude this war before his term ends. Therefore, I will gladly take up where he leaves off and rapidly spread democracy, Rule of Law and justice throughout the Middle East."
You are missing a golden opportunity here.
Pardon me, but I do not get her joke here. Seriously, I don't understand it. Can I prevail on somebody to explain it to me? Thanks!
Will do, if I get any responses. See my post at #94 on this thread, though, for a representative sampling of what the moonbats's have to say. This example was actually the best by far in terms of grammar and spelling; mostly it's a bunch of foul-mouthed, hateful, illiterate haters who think themselves WAAAAAY smarter than President Bush and think it's "no big deal" that President Clinton was impeached, and they are actually saying Clinton "owned" Wallace!?!!! It's a testament to public schools and drive-by media, but the good news is that there are several FReeper-spirited posters countering (with correct spelling & punctuation!) with truth. I'll check back tomorrow.
she wants Bush to finish it because she knows she doesn't have the guts or the know-how to do it herself
America to Clinton: "Shut the f$$k up...$itch!"
The posts indicate where the real problem will lie in 2008. The moonbats believe they are voting for Bill. They have no clue who she is or what she is about or that most of the people in his administration were HER people, not his.
Yeah, it'd be a friggin' disaster, especially if by some miracle she was the next "Commander in Chief." (shudder) But it would be even more irresponsible and unconscionable to pull out and leave Iraq in an even bigger mess.
"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."
Because for all your posturing and anti-Bush rhetoric, you haven't got the first clue as to what to do yourself. Anyone with any real military and leadership background knows you don't just come with criticism and spouting off about what is wrong. You had better show up with at least one or two alternatives to make the situation right. So do us a favor Mrs. Clinton - show us a real plan to make things better. One with some detail, justification, analysis of options, etc. Until then keep your generalized whining and bitching to yourself.
This is not the time for a Cammander in Chief who will not fight.
Bill Clinton said there were unaccounted for stocks of bio and chem weapons in Iraq. He said it was indisputable! Maybe it was Bill who mislead her.
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