Are we talking Frequent Flyer Miles, Hillary's record of "success" in such places as Benghazi, Syria and Yemen, or just what?
On today's With All Due Respect, Bloomberg's Melinda Henneberger claimed that when it comes to foreign policy, none of the Republican presidential hopefuls "can possibly come up to the level of the former Secretary of State." Host John Heilemann had teed up the question by citing Hillary's "huge resume" in the area. Heilemann also indulged in some classic Upper West Side snobbery, saying that when Scott Walker goes abroad, he's either "selling cheese or buying cheese."
Couldn't create a clip for viewers tonight, but you can view the video of the conversation at WADR's site, beginning at 2:30.
What will count with American voters: a "resume," or actual results?
JOHN HEILEMANN: President Obama recently said that before bashing him on foreign policy, Scott Walker needed to get a clue by boning up on foreign policy. So boning up is what Walker has been doing. According to reporting by our own John McCormack, Walker met privately this week with two Middle Eastern ambassadors to the United States, and in a few days he heads off on a trade mission to Germany, France and Spain. Melinda, this is a Republican field that is largely absent any meaningful national security experience. So will these kinds of moves by Walker or any other GOP 2016er be enough for them to clear the national security hurdle?MELINDA HENNEBERGER: Well of course Obama did the same thing when he was running: he went to Berlin, he was so disappointed he couldn't stand in front of the Brandenburg Gate. So it really depends on what these people learn when they go on these kind of trips, not whether they take the trips. I mean, do they come back and talk about Uzbeki-beki-stan-stan like Herman Cain did?
HEILEMANN; Uzbeki-beki-stan-stan-stan. Yeah, whatever that country is. It is the question. The last time Scott Walker went abroad, he refused to talk about anything in terms of foreign policy. He's now going to be--I don't know what, if you're on a trade mission in those place from Wisconsin, I don't know if you're selling cheese or buying cheese, one or the other. But the question is, what does the boning-up yield? And we have not yet heard Scott Walker's foreign policy vision. But it's going to be hard for any of these people I think, I don't know if you agree, to come up and be at the same threshold as Hillary Clinton, given her huge resume at least in this area, whatever you think about the policies.
HENNEBERGER: I don't think they can possibly come up to the level of the former Secretary of State.
