Posted on 09/01/2011 6:08:28 AM PDT by Kaslin
Forbes Magazine is a most respected resource for business leaders. The magazine recently came out with a list of the world's Most Powerful Women. Not surprisingly, they chose German Chancellor Angela Merkel as No. 1. This is doubtless because the conservative Merkel has been trying to get the European Union to shape up. Putting out economic fires in Greece , Spain , Ireland , and Portugal , Germany 's financial strength has been put to the test. Just how much longer can the EU rely on Germany 's productivity to subsidize European sloth? Merkel is like the old E.F. Hutton ads on TV: When Angela talks, Europeans listen.
Michelle Obama ranks only eighth on the list. This is somewhat surprising, since it's hard to gauge just how much influence she has with the world's Most Powerful Man. She recently interrupted a family vacation on Martha's Vineyard , flying back with the president aboard Air Force One. She apparently had read some of the criticisms of her separate flights-and the extra expenses chalked up by the Secret Service in accommodating the First Lady and her schedule. Still, Michelle Obama has to be considered a potential presidential candidate herself if her husband holds onto his office next year.
Mrs. Obama would have precedent on her side if she contends for the Democratic nomination in 2016. That's because of the trailblazing efforts of none other than Forbes' No. 2 Most Powerful Woman: Hillary Clinton.
This may be the most left-handed compliment ever for the left-leaning Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton was subjected early to criticisms-from left-wing blogs-that she had allowed herself to be placed in a "foreign policy burka" by President Obama, the man who bested her for the 2008 Democratic nomination. Some liberals even went so far as to claim the president had made Mrs. Clinton over as a "Saudi wife." Those were stinging criticisms.
It's a bitter irony that Mrs. Clinton left a safe U.S. Senate seat in New York to become Mr. Obama's compliant assistant at the State Department. Can she really approve of this administration's anti-Israel policies?
Was she even consulted when the president delivered a highly controversial speech on Israel last May while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was en route to Washington? The president stated that the Israelis needed to consider returning to their pre-1967 borders. Those borders were indefensible and had led to Israel being invaded three times prior to the Six Day War in 1967.
Mrs. Clinton was nowhere to be seen when Netanyahu gave the president an on-camera rebuttal as they sat together at the White House. There was no fire in the elegant fireplace, but sparks nonetheless flew between the two leaders. Where was the World's Second Most Powerful Woman then?
In just days, President Obama went before a Washington gathering of AIPAC, the American-Israel Public Affairs Council. His purpose before this group was to climb down from the rash statements he had made just two days earlier. He should have led with the line about "1967 borders with appropriate swaps of territory," Mr. Obama confessed, trying to smooth ruffled feathers.
When she was a candidate for U.S. Senate and for president, Hillary Clinton never had to smooth any ruffled feathers of U.S. friends of Israel. How it must have galled the World's Second Most Powerful Woman to watch as the World's Most Powerful Man made a real mess of things.
She had to smile a forced smile and pretend there was nothing amiss. That's not a role that comes naturally to a miss like Hillary. Correction: A Ms.
Even with the president's approval rating going South, Hillary Clinton is trapped. She can't go West-to Iowa. Or North-to New Hampshire. She's already given notice that she'll be out as Secretary of State in 2013, and she will not run for vice president or president. Why would she do that? That's a guaranteed way not to gain power in Washington.
It's hard to imagine the ever-quotable, always notable Hillary Clinton winding up in such a state. But that's the revolting state she's in every day at State. Speaking of revolting states, it will be most interesting to see what role she's assigned when the UN General Assembly moves to grant Statehood to the Palestinians. Will Secretary of State Clinton be sidelined for that momentous event, too?
Hillary's place in the Obama administration is like that of Thomas Riley Marshall in the Wilson administration. Vice President Marshall compared his role to a man in a cataleptic state: He cannot speak; he cannot move; he suffers no pain; and yet he is perfectly conscious of everything going on about him.
It's certainly a most curious fate for someone who's supposed to be the World's Second Most Powerful Woman.
I'm sure you are being sarcastic there, null and void.
Ken Blackwell has this all wrong. HRC and Obama are not incompatible on an anti-Israel foreign policy, contrary to Blackwell's line of thinking.
As we all know, HRC kissed Mrs. Arafat on her trip to the Middle East in 2000, immediately after the latter had given a vicious anti-Israel, pro-Pali speech.
Even during her husband's tenure as governor of Arkansas, HRC had been overheard on several occasions making antisemitic remarks, and had served on a foundation board making grants to Palestinian causes.
*ouch*
Yup. That one needed no </sarc> tag.
Hillary is thick as thieves with Obama; etc regarding Israel.
Hillary is as kooky left wing as Obama plus add in some kooky feminism. She sucks up to and submits to Islam all the time. She is out of it due to a thyroid condition. She just sleepwalks through her assignment as Secretary of State and does an absolutely pathetic job.
Only for the next 2 years. She's wedded herself to bailing out the rest of the eurozone and voters have responded by punishing her party in every state election since, her home state was the latest. Barring a turnaround the Socialists will be back in power in Germany. Big disappointment, Merkel.
It’s too bad Germany doesn’t have a conservative (as we know it) party
For sure, Australia’s leader is not going to make it too much longer either
Their “liberal” party the FDP (Merkel’s junior partners who’s support in polls has been eviscerated to mid-low single digits) is the best...on some things. But of course they are socially liberal and used to be led by a gay man.
I hope the Australian government falls before the next regularly scheduled election, Labor is poised to be crushed.
I thought during the German midterm elections or whatever, Merkel's party finally got an outright majority so they no longer have to govern by coalition? Of course they were never going to get anything conservative accomplished as long as they had a power sharing agreement with the left. Hopefully now she accomplish some good things. Merkel sounds decent, at least she seems more conservative than Cameron in the U.K. (he was all too eager to form a coalition with the british far left!), and the worthless Sarkozy in France (despite the fact a bunch of freepers seem to think France is our buddy now because that horny liberal douchebag vacations here and is upset with his "pal" Obama for not doing enough to combat global warming)
In any case, you have to go to eastern europe to find a politician that is conservative by American standards.
>> I hope the Australian government falls before the next regularly scheduled election, Labor is poised to be crushed. <<
That would be nice. It seems the Labor Party doesn't have a clue and is playing musical chairs with their prime ministers. Rudd is Prime Minister, then randomly replaced with Julia Gillard one day, now only a year later, it seems Labor is unhappy with Gillard and is talking about putting Rudd back in? These guys aren't in a position to lead. Bring back the Liberal Party! (which is ironically the conservative party in Australia)
The worst one is the Japanese Prime Ministers. They select a new one every year now it seems. I lost track after they got rid of Abe, although the one time they had a Catholic prime minister it was kinda cool, seeing as the country is only 1% Catholic. (odd how that gets no coverage from the MSN but a black guy elected in a white-majority country is the most epic news ever)
But I'm just rambling on now...
Barney Frank is third.
Most powerful odor.
Most famous cankles.
Before I clicked I thought that Huma would be Numero Una!
ROFLMAO!!!!!
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