The Explanation Hillary Clinton Owes

Washington Post ^ | Tuesday, February 13, 2007 | Richard Cohen

[DBCJR]

Yet another man has betrayed Hillary Clinton. This time it's George W. Bush, who not only deceived her about WMDs but, when granted congressional authorization to go to war in Iraq, actually did so. This came as a surprise to her,... I don't want to know how President Bush failed Hillary Clinton [but] how she failed her country.

"From almost the first day they got into office," Clinton said ... the Bush administration was "trying to figure out how to get rid of Saddam Hussein." If that was the case ...then how come she now says she did not think Bush, armed with a congressional resolution, would hurry to war? ... I fault [Hillary, Dodd, Biden and Edwards], though, for passing the blame to Bush as the guy who misled them. They all had sufficient knowledge ... Can it only be coincidence that all the other Democratic senators [beside Obama]now running for president voted for the war? Can it also be a coincidence that they voted as a majority of the American people at the time wanted? Not a single one of them bucked the zeitgeist, yet other Democratic senators -- 21 of them -- voted against the resolution. They were the ones not running for president.

The zeitgeist has reversed course. A clear majority of Americans and a preponderance of Democrats now oppose the war and have no confidence in Bush's handling of it...

Too often when a candidate throws his hat into the ring, he tosses principle out the window. Yet this is precisely what we want in a president -- principles and the courage to stick to them. Instead of Clinton saying she had been misled by Bush... I'd like to hear an explanation of how she thinks she went wrong and ...how she failed her country.

[avacado]

I wrote him yesterday after work with that exact email that I posted. No response so far and I don't really expect one. I have emailed that same thing to my liberal friends when in discussions about this subject and they too find it convenient to stop writing back at that point.

[Nachoman]

Gee Mr. Cohen, the answer seems quite obvious. Clinton sees she won't get any political mileage from a pro-war stance, which she assumed when she voted to support it. Fortunately, in Liberalville, everything is Bush's fault and she won't be held to account.

[wouldntbprudent]

Well, three cheers for doing the right thing and for persistance!

[lepton]

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