Suitably Flip

Hillary's Jaw-Dropping Self-Aggrandizement

Yesterday, I poked fun at Bill Clinton's assertion that the middle few weeks of his wife's primary campaign constituted "an unprecedented challenge ... in the history of American politics."

Now, based on what we learned on "Meet the Press" this morning, I'm forced to eat those words.  It turns out that credit for the remarkable improvement seen in Iraq in recent months belongs not with the troop surge, but rather with... Hillary Clinton's primary campaign. (HT: NRO)

MR. RUSSERT: If General Petraeus says, "Senator, in September you called the surge the suspension of belief. It has worked, and you know it's worked"--let me finish--"you can see on the ground. I'm saying to you, Senator, or president-elect Clinton, don't destroy Iraq. It's working, the surge is working. Keep troops there just a few more months to get this reconciliation complete."

SEN. CLINTON: [...] The point of the surge was to quickly move the Iraqi government and Iraqi people. That is only now beginning to happen, and I believe in large measure because the Iraqi government, they watch us, they listen to us. I know very well that they follow everything that I say. And my commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009 is a big factor, as it is with Senator Obama, Senator Edwards, those of us on the Democratic side. It is a big factor in pushing the Iraqi government to finally do what they should have been doing all along.

In another Hillary-centric post yesterday, discussing her plans to cripple the American energy sector, I also offered that "she's either remarkably dim or she thinks you are."

In light of her suggestion that she's responsible for recent (and presumably future) successes in Iraq, I think I'll stand by that one.

Judith Klinghoffer expounds.

She takes credit for American success achieved despite her opposition and plans to wrangle defeat from the jaws of victory if elected president. Yes, Al Qaeda is watching and she has just informed them that she had learned nothing from Somalia where she insisted Bill withdraw precipitously to force Somalis and the UN to take responsibility.

Tim Russert would never question her about her role in Somalia. But in her book For Love of Politics Sally Bedell Smith reports that it was Hillary who overrided Bill's concerns that his decision to withdraw all American troops within 6 months would send the wrong message to US enemies. He did not know he emboldened Bin Laden but he had enough sense to assume he would embolden someone. He did. It is disconcerting to realize that Hillary has learned nothing from the experience and that neither have those who do not question her current "promise" to Bin Laden and company that if they behave until she (or another fellow democrat) is elected president, they can look forward to turning Iraq of another Somalia.

Update: Via Allah, Stop the ACLU points us to video of the aggrandizement in question.

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Hillary's Jaw-Dropping Self-Aggrandizement

Yesterday, I poked fun at Bill Clinton's assertion that the middle few weeks of his wife's primary campaign constituted "an unprecedented challenge ... in the history of American politics."

Now, based on what we learned on "Meet the Press" this morning, I'm forced to eat those words.  It turns out that credit for the remarkable improvement seen in Iraq in recent months belongs not with the troop surge, but rather with... Hillary Clinton's primary campaign. (HT: NRO)

MR. RUSSERT: If General Petraeus says, "Senator, in September you called the surge the suspension of belief. It has worked, and you know it's worked"--let me finish--"you can see on the ground. I'm saying to you, Senator, or president-elect Clinton, don't destroy Iraq. It's working, the surge is working. Keep troops there just a few more months to get this reconciliation complete."

SEN. CLINTON: [...] The point of the surge was to quickly move the Iraqi government and Iraqi people. That is only now beginning to happen, and I believe in large measure because the Iraqi government, they watch us, they listen to us. I know very well that they follow everything that I say. And my commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009 is a big factor, as it is with Senator Obama, Senator Edwards, those of us on the Democratic side. It is a big factor in pushing the Iraqi government to finally do what they should have been doing all along.

In another Hillary-centric post yesterday, discussing her plans to cripple the American energy sector, I also offered that "she's either remarkably dim or she thinks you are."

In light of her suggestion that she's responsible for recent (and presumably future) successes in Iraq, I think I'll stand by that one.

Judith Klinghoffer expounds.

She takes credit for American success achieved despite her opposition and plans to wrangle defeat from the jaws of victory if elected president. Yes, Al Qaeda is watching and she has just informed them that she had learned nothing from Somalia where she insisted Bill withdraw precipitously to force Somalis and the UN to take responsibility.

Tim Russert would never question her about her role in Somalia. But in her book For Love of Politics Sally Bedell Smith reports that it was Hillary who overrided Bill's concerns that his decision to withdraw all American troops within 6 months would send the wrong message to US enemies. He did not know he emboldened Bin Laden but he had enough sense to assume he would embolden someone. He did. It is disconcerting to realize that Hillary has learned nothing from the experience and that neither have those who do not question her current "promise" to Bin Laden and company that if they behave until she (or another fellow democrat) is elected president, they can look forward to turning Iraq of another Somalia.

Update: Via Allah, Stop the ACLU points us to video of the aggrandizement in question.