Tigermike 4,084 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Neither can I. Can you? Hillary Can't Name Top Accomplishment As Secretary of State Last night, Diane Sawyer asked Hillary Clinton a question that should’ve come as no surprise: What significant things did she accomplish during her four years as Secretary of State? What’s surprising is that Hillary didn’t even attempt to answer the question. She just changed the subject. The Washington Post reported: When Sawyer asked Clinton to detail a marquee accomplishment or signature doctrine as secretary, she gave no answer — an exchange her Republican critics immediately highlighted. ABC is only posting snippets of the interview, but the Republican National Committee made sure to capture the relevant 20 seconds. Clinton Flubbed The Same Question Two Months Ago The New York Times reported back in April: It was a simple question to someone accustomed to much tougher ones: What was her proudest achievement as secretary of state? But for a moment, Hillary Rodham Clinton, appearing recently before a friendly audience at a women’s forum in Manhattan, seemed flustered. Republicans have been harping on this point for quite a while, so it’s sort of baffling that Hillary hasn’t even attempted to spin it. Admittedly, she’s not working with good material. On her watch, there was not just Benghazi, but the unraveling of Iraq, a failed “reset” with Russia, constant clashes with Hamid Karzai, and China’s persistent bullying of its neighbors and its own people. Kristof Tries To Answer The Question Hillary Can’t Forty-eight hours before the Diane Sawyer interview, Times columnist Nick Kristof did his best to defend Hillary’s record. He deserves an ‘A’ for effort. Kristof argues: Clinton achieved a great deal and left a hefty legacy — just not the traditional kind…For starters, Clinton recognized that our future will be more about Asia than Europe. So Clinton deserves credit for repeating a fifteen-year old cliche — one which isn’t even terribly insightful, given that Europe has now risen sharply on our agenda and the current Secretary has focused on the Middle East? More fundamentally, Clinton vastly expanded the diplomatic agenda. Diplomats historically focused on “hard” issues, like trade or blowing up stuff, and so it may seem weird and “soft” to fret about women’s rights or economic development. But what did Hillary actually do to advance those causes? George W. Bush created the Millennium Challenge Corporation, heralded for its innovative work even by numerous Democrats. Bush’s interest is also a pretty good indication that caring about poverty isn’t weird. Not that Bush was the first president to put the issue on the map. In 1961, JFK created the US Agency for International Development (USAID). I’m pretty confident that Kristof knows all of these facts. He actually does first-rate reporting on these issues. It just seems that a compulsion to defend Hillary has bent him out of shape. He continues: Clinton understood that impact and leverage in 21st-century diplomacy often come by addressing poverty, the environment, education and family planning. *Yawn* Those have all been on the agenda for decades. When it comes to helping families, is there anything Clinton (or Obama) has done that compares in the slightest to the Bush administration’s global campaign against AIDS, known as PEPFAR? Check out the PEPFAR homepage — it’s now has a scrolling display with two pictures of John Kerry and one of Obama. Apparently, they’re glad to associate themselves with the program. What Will Hilllary’s Obituary Say? That’s a morbid question I wouldn’t normally touch, but Kristof is the one who raises it. He concedes: So, sure, critics are right that Hillary Rodham Clinton never achieved the kind of landmark peace agreement that would make the first sentence of her obituary. But give her credit: She expanded the diplomatic agenda and adopted new tools to promote it — a truly important legacy. What new tools? Believe it or not, Kristof thinks it’s a big deal that Hillary helped push the State Department to be more active on Twitter and Facebook. I can just imagine a presidential debate two years from now when Hillary gets the same question for a third time and says her biggest accomplishment was to emphasize Facebook and Twitter. Even avoiding the question would be wiser than giving that answer. link Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/138945-i-agree-with-hillary/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
japantiger 4,264 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Amazing that she did all this while flat-broke... Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/138945-i-agree-with-hillary/#findComment-2059817 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Tiger 4,261 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Let her run her mouth for two years and she will do herself in just like last time. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/138945-i-agree-with-hillary/#findComment-2059821 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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