David Gregory Asks Hillary Clinton: Will Foreign Policy 'Be a Disadvantage for This Group' of GOP Presidential Candidates?
There are softballs and then there are softballs.
On Sunday's Meet the Press, host David Gregory teed one up for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that was specifically designed to mock the Republican presidential candidates while allowing her to brag uninterrupted about the foreign policy successes of Barack Obama (video follows with transcript and commentary):
DAVID GREGORY, HOST: When you ran for president, you posed a fundamental question to--against your opponent at the time, now President Obama, which is, "Who's going to answer that 3 AM phone call when there's an international crisis?" And as you hear these Republican presidential debates and all the talk about foreign policy, do you think that there's a threshold that they're going to have to pass to, to show a certain amount of competence? And do you think that foreign policy from what you've heard will be a disadvantage for this group of Republican candidates for president?
Sheesh. He even asked that with a smile on his face as if he knew he was throwing one of the the biggest, slowest softballs ever lobbed to a politician on national television.
Gregory was likely pleased with his guest's answer:
SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: Well, let me begin by saying that President Obama has passed with flying colors every leadership challenge. I mean, look at what he has done. I mean, just to name a few things, I mean, you know, we were looking for bin Laden for, you know, 10 years. It was under President Obama's leadership that he was finally eliminated. Libya, with the kind of smart leadership that the president showed demonstrating that American leadership was essential, but it was important to try to bring others also into a coalition of efforts, and the objective was achieved. Keeping the promise to withdraw from Iraq, but not leave Iraq, by having a robust security and training mission accompanied by a very large diplomatic presence. I could go on and on. I think this president has demonstrated that in a still very dangerous world it's important to have someone at the helm of our country who understands how to manage what is an incredibly complex world now. Yes, we have a lot of threats, but we also have opportunities. And I think President Obama has grasped that and has performed extraordinarily well. So I don't know what the other side will do. I'm out of politics, as you know, David, I don't comment on it. But I think Americans are going to want to know that they have a steady, experienced, smart hand on the tiller of the ship of state, and there's no doubt that that's Barack Obama.
MR. GREGORY: Secretary Clinton, thank you very much.
SEC. CLINTON: Thank you.
Thank you indeed!
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Comments
Allow me
Submitted by GregE on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 10:21pm.
"...And as you hear these Republican presidential debates and all the talk about foreign policy, do you think that there's a threshold that they're going to have to pass to, to show a certain amount of competence? And do you think that foreign policy from what you've heard will be a disadvantage for this group of Republican candidates for president?..."
#
And as you hear President Obama campaign and all the talk proving he's clueless about fiscal matters and capitalism, do you think there's a threshold he's going to have to pass to, to show a certain amount of competence? And do you think that fiscal policy and lack of understanding of the American economic system, from what you've seen, will be a disadvantage for him for a second run as candidate for president?
Delusional
Submitted by IrateNate on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 10:31pm.
I happened to catch this interview, and was left with a sense of amused bewilderment.
First of all, what is up with that doo? Is she having a prom night flashback, or what?
But, most amazing of all, was the ridiculous idea that Obama's foot-dragging reluctance to intervene in the "rebel's" coup is now seen by Democrats as a master stroke of foreign policy by The One.
I wonder what sort of praise Obama will receive when Libya adopts sharia law and is governed by Islamic fundamentalists?
It's already happened, Nate.
Submitted by UpNorth on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 10:44pm.
The leader said so, today.
So, I guess Shrill and Barry will be so proud tomorrow. And, you know that the left will be all agog over this, why, it's the natural order of things. Hopefully, the Islamists will be able to find a few Coptic Christians to kill, just to make the transition palatable to everyone. /sarc.
Republican contenders
Submitted by kata on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 10:34pm.
will never be allowed the leeway, media cheerleading (and a**-covering) that Obama has gotten. This is not a measure of his competance. Our military has always - always - had the capability.
Obama's awesome foreign policy
Submitted by ant on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 11:02pm.
Amounts to successfully borrowing money from foreign Nations and successfully giving our money (and jobs) to foreign Nations and illegal foreign trespassers. Great Job!!!
I guess it depends on your view
Submitted by bkeyser on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 11:06pm.
of what should constitute US foreign policy. If you're an anti-Semite, then you want the next administration to continue the policies of the current State Department. If you're a proponent of Sharia Law as a legitimate form of government, then you want the next administration to continue the policies of the current State Department. If you are anti-female, then you want the next administration to continue the policies of the current State Department. If your goal is to provide the radical Islamic world with the funds and impetus to carry through with the destruction of Israel, then you want the next administration to continue the policies of the current State Department. If you want to help create a region that has both the tools and the desire to wage perpetual war on the United States, then you want the next administration to continue the policies of the current State Department.
However, if you stand for traditional American values; the right of Israel to exist peacefully; the right for women to drive, to vote, to show their faces; a non-nuclear Iran; and a world not constantly under threat of erratic, skyrocketing oil prices or suicide bombings, then you want a different administration with a new foreign policy and the removal of every political appointee from the current State Department.
This is why we have presidential elections every four years.
yeah...
Submitted by kata on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 11:29pm.
The point of view from the American MSM looks something like this.
Sharia gov't
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 12:07am.
I want to see some poll somewhere to see how much a percentage would like to live under Sharia. In order for it to be informed, the pollster would have to specifically include women and tell them how women are treated under Sharia.
I would love to see the results on that. No sane thinking person would want to be under it.
-Jon
success measured by the notches on his gun
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 11:13pm.
Why is everything in this world turned inside out?
The so-called successes of obama have been the use of war and the killing of enemies. Isn't that what Hillary and obama called 'cowboy' foreign policy? Didn't they promise a foreign policy of negotiation and reconciliation? Weren't they going to deal with our enemies with a sense of respect?
The measure of success is the number of dead bodies that have been created?
obama ran as a peace maker but now uses a peacemaker instead.
The answer may be simpler than we think
Submitted by ant on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 11:34pm.
Marxists (the left) are liars and hypocrites.
What did you expect?
Submitted by ConservaSerb on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 1:47am.
The SOB could try to bake a cake .. . turn it into a pile of crap . . . and the ShitStreamMedia would gladly wolf it down and call it chocolate.
A wise & frugal government, which shall leave men free 2 regulate their own pursuits of industry & improvement, & shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government. T. Jefferson
what would
Submitted by coin of the realm on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 12:07am.
You have asked her about foreign policy and the republican candidates?
Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes her laws. Mayer Amschel Rothschild
Wouldn't have asked her. Period.
Submitted by ant on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 12:32am.
Would have asked her about 'Fast and Furious', or her recent comments on 'too much money' being involved in keeping MJ illegal, or Karzai's recent comments regarding standing with Pakistan against the US, or Obama's trouncing by Iraq concerning American bases or influence, or on Republicans stance on de-funding the UN. Yaknow, real questions, like a real journalist is supposed to ask.
Condi Rice vs Hillary.
Submitted by big.league.slider on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 12:21am.
The Libyans, Syrians, Egyptians, Iranians, etc. are burning effigies of SoS Hillary Clinton.
Khadafi, on the other hand, built shrines to SoS Condoleezza Rice.
Not for GOP
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 12:37am.
It should be disadvantageous for the Dems because Zero's been an abject failure of it. He has not had one success yet, despite the MSM is STILL trying to tell the US which is the clean end of a turd.
They try to compare "getting bin Laden" and "getting Khadafy" as some sort of success, but in reality, it's nothing more than a mafia boss taking out other mafia bosses. Just that one happened to be a leader of a GROUP, not a country, and since it was a terrorist group, it was well within the US right to go after the leader. But going after a head of state, nevermind that he was a dictator, and was considered by the UN as a head of state(until they burned him which I think might violate some of their own rules that they tried to disguise this as a humanitarian gesture), that's a whole different animal.
And before someone says "but the US went after Saddam," let me remind you or point you to other posters who pointed it out, it was approved by Congress, and it was also approved by the UN, the US caught him, and he was deposed and put on trial, found guilty, and was hanged by his own people.
The US got thrown into the Libya chaos for no good reason and does not gain a DAMN thing from Khadafy's death or the rise of Sharia, which makes them an enemy to any US Citizen who knows what's what when it comes to Islam. US, France, and the UK's actions ARE a violation of international law, but what do you expect from the UN, a group run by dictators and scumbags? And let me remind you, money means little to these Islamists, look at how many suicide bombers and suicide pilots(such as the 19 from 9/11) came from very wealthy backgrounds and could have just have had it made for the rest of their lives. So the fact that Libya is an oil rich country doesn't mean a damn thing.
And like Libya, the US will not gain a damn thing from any other country that was "liberated" and then taking on Sharia as their government like Tunisia, Egypt, and so on. The Muslim in Chief in the WH certainly is happy about it, and he has made it known before that he would like to see it here as well. He's not hiding that part anymore.
That's the foreign policy that Americans need to be educated and made aware of. And if the GOP candidates were smart(notice I said IF), they would be speaking out against it as well.
What a screwed up mess this is.
-Jon
Excellent post. Thanks.
Submitted by ant on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 1:03am.
I'm almost ashamed that you just educated me on some of these points. I think many of us have a tendency now to ride with it and not stop and stand far enough back to see just how illegally and immorally this administration is going about things. Almost like the acceptance of such is contagious, or maybe there is just too much BS going around to stay on top of. I know, for myself, my anger at what seems a 'death by a thousand cuts' keeps me from being clear-eyed on issues. But, apparently, jon, your wits and your vigilance have not been impacted.
"...while allowing her to
Submitted by iamsaved on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 8:52am.
"...while allowing her to brag uninterrupted about the foreign policy successes of Barack Obama."
Wouldn't that be like a wide receiver on a losing team bragging about what a good game he and his quarterback played while the whole stadium watched the bad play-calling, the poor ball handling and the dropped passes?
These two incompetents (Obama and Clinton) who slammed Bush for making other nations dislike this country have lowered the bar even further. Now they not only hate us, they disrespect us too.
"...while allowing her to
Submitted by iamsaved on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 8:54am.
"...while allowing her to brag uninterrupted about the foreign policy successes of Barack Obama."
Wouldn't that be like a wide receiver on a losing team bragging about what a good game he and his quarterback played while the whole stadium watched the bad play-calling, the poor ball handling and the dropped passes?
These two incompetents (Obama and Clinton) who slammed Bush for making other nations dislike this country have lowered the bar even further. Now they not only hate us, they disrespect us too.
A look back
Submitted by Tomorama on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 9:25am.
Remember every success Booooooosh had the question first out of their mouths was always - "isn't this going to make more people hate us and take up the cause against us"?
Rinse, lather repeat.
They can't be any worse than
Submitted by jessieH on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 10:49am.
They can't be any worse than Hillary, Biden & Obama.
Boundless, renewable "green"
Submitted by Immortal Fish on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 12:18pm.
Boundless, renewable "green" energy. Wrap a copper wire around Tim Russert's grave.
It is to laugh
Submitted by Model850 on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 4:15pm.
I'm out of politics, as you know, David, I don't comment on it....
...she says after just spending over 60 seconds commenting on it.
With the exception of Romney and Huntsman, I don't see any...
Submitted by Dave. on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 7:21pm.
...of the other GOPers helping to make the Middle East safe for rabid Israel-hating Arab leaders like Obama has been doing.
And that right deliberately.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November