Obama's foreign affairs claims leave Hillary Clinton 'speechless'

On a day when American foreign policy, primarily the Senate hearings on the Iraq war in which all three presidential candidates paraded their views for the cameras, is on the line, Sen. Hillary Clinton says she's "somewhat shocked'' and "speechless'' over Sen. Barack Obama's assertion that he has more expertise in the matter than she.

As reported here Monday, Obama met with supporters at a Sunday night fundraiser in San Francisco after his Saturday night appearance in Montana.

The freshman Illinois senator was asked about his thoughts on a potential running mate and provided a classically inarticulate quote that the Clinton camp and possibly John McCain's vice presidential pick will have some fun with later in the year.

Obama said: "I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on. I think a lot of people assume that might be some kind of military thing to make me look more commander in chief like. Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy -- is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Sen. Clinton or Sen. McCain."

The account of his closed-door fundraising talk, first reported by Huffington Post, made for some spirited public talk Tuesday morning on "FOX and Friends," when Democrat Clinton, who ventured into the Republican-friendly TV camp, was asked about Obama's statement.

"Well I’m somewhat shocked by that since I don’t see any evidence of it,'' Clinton said.

"This is kind of hard to square with his failure to ever have a single policy hearing on the only responsibility he was given, chairing the European and NATO subcommittee (of) the foreign relations committee."

"I don’t know. I’m speechless,'' she added. "Making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record.''

--Mark Silva

Mark Silva writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune Washington Bureau.

Comments

[Elaine from the Great White North]

Is there something in the drinking water, subliminal messages in commercials, cartoons, newspapers or the news that hypnotizes people into believing Obama is the next Messiah??????? Fascinating! He said something totally DUMB and should have or ought to have known that it would leak out ...(Hillary has every sentence, hand movement and/or eye blink picked apart word by word until a comment as simple as "hello, how are you?" turns into "Hillary Clinton told a reporter today that she is God...." and the only words from Obama people are how stupid Hillary is. How does that work???? Who will you blame if she isn't elected??? Hopefully then McCain gets in.
Hopefully a war won't break out on American soil. What vacation spot will you find Obama then????????????? lol
Kennedy boinked Marilyn Monroe...what's the difference??? Jackie stayed. SO WHAT? DROP IT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sickofObama]

Where is a redneck when you need one????? This would all be over with...lol Vote the redneck party!!!!

[Elaine from the Great White North]

Hey Julie:
We all wait with baited breath for your paragraph? sentence? name of a country? where Obama has experience. Okay, let's get typing Julie....

[MK]

The only empty suit is Sen. Clinton. I'm frankly speechless that she claims as her foreign policy experience a bogus sniper attack in Bosnia, a bogus claim of helping bring peace to N. Ireland when all she did was attend a tea party, a bogus claim that she opened the borders to Macedonia when the borders were opened before she went there, and the worst her complete utter misjudgment in authorizing Bush to go to war in Iraq in the first place!

[Setay]

He never said that he had more experience; he said that he understood the world better. He's obviously alluding to the fact that he never supported the war in Iraq and is implying that anyone who supported the war certainly doesn't understand the world. Come on, you're the LA Times and you can't see something THAT obvious? I know it's not as interesting, but truth usually isn't.

[tiddle]

Judging from the way that Obama would make claims (that he would have Gore "in his cabinet"), and now this, I'm sure he'll make a very good car salesman.

Take a look at what the right is already saying about Obama -- http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/04/obamas_weakness_is_weakness.html

This guy will get crucified. Ultimately, do we need a sensitive new age man as president or a real action hero? If I am to choose, I'll pick a strong woman instead.

[Jim Richmond]

Why is that Obama people keep saying he was right on Iraq. He made a dumb speech front of nobody. He then comes to real world of the US Senate and votes exactly like Hillary. Where is his anti-war stance. All he did was make a single speech when it didn't count. Nobody listened to him. I bet most of the Obama people don't even know his record as a senator. It is tragic that these dumb people are following him like a cult in Utah. Bottom line is that it will blow up one day just like Utah case.

[Tom J]

I agree with the previous posters on the "shocked and speechless" candidate. Hillary really doesn't get it, does she?

[Shamwow]

Obama is the one.

[John]

Obama just talks.

Why hasn't he held a single NATO hearing?

Say anything, do anything to win.

Obama, Clinton or McCain.

A politician by any other name is still a politician.

[Martha Washington]

Phoney baloney poney Obomb a

I go with the race horse..to win Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Isn't it just Great that Mrs. Edwards believes Clinton's Health Care Plan is the best
http://blog.hillaryclinton.com/blog/main/2008/04/07/145002

[jr]

Well, Obama doesn't have experience dodging sniper fire, or attending a ladies meeting to broker peace and get a teapot, or showing up the day after the borders opened and then claiming to have opened them, or have his spouse receive $800,000 from a foreign government to lobby for a trade deal he opposes.
I'm not suprised Hillary's speechless about her foreign policy experience at this point.

[OICUR2]

Hillary will be speechless, once again, when she learns that she has lost Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks!

[allison]

A lot of us have mortgage payments. and I have an old 82 father to care for. I can't really take chances. American made mistake when they voted for Bush TWICE. Voting for him is like writting trillions of dollar check to the white house. American might that mistake again! Voting for Obama is like writting a blank check to the white house. There is so much is unknowN about him. The 20 years of association with Rev. Wright and his blatant lie in denying it does not help.

Remember the early 90s when the job market was real tough, eventually it will catch up the young voters.

[hopeful08]

Another example of Obama's foreign policy judgement
You decide...

1. August 2007 debate: Obama makes vocal case for striking terrorists inside Pakistan
"Let me make this clear: There are terrorists holed up in those mountains, that murdered 3,000 Americans," said Obama during the counterterrorism address. "If we have actionable intelligence about high-valued terrorist targets and if President Musharraf will not act, we will."
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3458915

2. McCain, Hillary, Dodd, Biden all critisize him saying we should not be working against Musharraf our only advocate in the region

3. December 2007: Bhutto assassinated by terrorists

4. The Washington Post reported that in late January, a CIA aircraft fired on several buildings in the Pakistani town of Mir Ali, killing a senior al-Qaida commander and several others. The paper, quoting anonymous U.S. officials, said that the action was done without seeking approval from the Pakistani government.

5. Mid February '08, Musharraf voted out of power; US has spent $11B trying to prop. up Musharraf

6. Late February, Senator Dodd endorsed Obama

Obama's 2002 NO-HOLDS-BARRED Iraq speech took real courage. It risked his run-for-the-Senate WHILE the wise-men/women of Congress took comfort in voting as group to support the Iraq war resolution.
http://www.digg.com/politics/Full_text_of_Barack_Obama_s_2002_Speech_Against_the_Iraq_War
Hillary's shitfing war positions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMgGORbd72w

[LT]

Yeah, in addition to his trip to Pakistan, Obama also had that trip to Kenya that the press is advised not to talk about because he does not look good enough in that photograph in local dress, but it nevertheless show how real close he knows the people from around the world. Clinton should not have said speechless, she should've said pathetic!

[Gerald F.]

Whats so mind boggling is how much sexism has been used constantly through out all this. One put down after another against Senator Clinton. Is this the new style of politics Senator Obama is speaking of? Racism is a no-no.
But sexism to the juggler is acceptable? We mustn't upset the black candidate? But we can rip and shred the woman apart and put her down? I see....................NOT!

[Rejects Obamasheepspeak]

"Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy -- is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Sen. Clinton or Sen. McCain."

Obama implictly stated he KNEW more than Clinton or McCain. No, ifs, ands or buts. People can try to spin it all they want, but he clearly stated, he knew more.

To begin with, that's arrogant, just in and of itself. Because anyone who knows, knows that they do not know everything. And knowledge, or knowing without understanding, is totally useless.

And the same with suggesting that Hillary, if she had any experience, would have stated it.

How crass, to brag or going on about one's accomplishments.

The etiquette of avoiding crassness is why people with money, do not talk about how
money they have, and so on.

Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama Side by Side Comparison: Brief Credential Summary of the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate Nominees

http://www.diversityj.com/HillaryObamaComparison.html

[Kul]

Clinton is speechless because she know whenever she will mention regarding foreign affairs is lies ... and she is now out of any more lies she is cooking some more lies probably she will get one in the near future. Did Obama lied anything regarding foreign policy ? NO ... But HClinton mistakes are many ... one Bosnia issue ... two ....Iraq ... three NAFTA and more to come ...

[Emily]

For the truly ignorant, here is Senator Obama's foreign policy statement. Decide for yourself if he "understands foreign policy" better than the other candidates.

Barack Obama 2008

[Machinations]

We can only hope the less-educated part of the populace that is unable to quantify Obama's statements will in fact not, out of spite like a child with a broken toy, throw themselves into the McCain camp.

The fact is, the establishment candidates are McCain and Hilary - as long as one of them wins, corporations are happy, lobbyists are happy and the party apparchiks are happy. However, in that scenario, Americans lose.

Those with an ounce of sense can see Hillary will say or do anything in order to win - she has very little credibility remaining - sniper fire? That makes me 'speechless'.

Once Clinton is soundly defeated, expect a full-court press from the other establishment candidate, McCain, fully supported by all the dirty dealings of the politcal-corporate axis.

If McCain loses to Obama, expect an assassination -remember the last time a forward-thinker was elected? Magic bullet indeed.

[stan]

I know plenty of HRC supporters, and they are not as intellectually dishonest as these posters (or HRC's campaign). Therefore, I have to assume these posters who are deliberately mischaracterizing (again) what Obama has said are either part of HRC's campaign itself or, more likely, part of the Lush Rambo HRC contingent.

He didn't say he had more experience---he said he understood the world better. Can we prove he does? No. But I've lived in Turkey the last 8 years, and every single expat I know agrees with me that Obama knows a lot more about the world than the other candidates. Guess why! Because it was so absolutely completely indescribably obvious that the war in Iraq would be a disaster before it was ever launched, and that Saddam and Osama were not in 9-11 together. That is, if you understand anything about this part of the world.

To paraphrase Bill Clinton when describing the elder Bush's reaction to the war in Bosnia during the 1992 campaign, he said he was 'a little slow on the uptake'. Well, HRC deserves some credit for her belated opposition to the war in Iraq, but her vote for its original authorization shows she was 'slow on the uptake'.

I don't want a president who's slow on the uptake.

[geerees]

Bosnia sniper made me speachless !

[Ryan]

What's even more funny is the fact that Hillary does not and never has had a security clearance to even allow her to do most of the things she claims she has done. She traveled to a bunch of countries on vacations; that is the extent of her foreign policy experience.

She did not help open borders to help Kosovo refugees to flee to safety inside Macedonia. This was done a couple days before she arrived.

She did not have a role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. The actual people who had a role in this were outraged with Hillary for taking credit for it.

She did not run from sniper fire in Bosnia. Neither did anyone who was with her at the time - including Sinbad, Cheryl Crow, the little girl that greeted her with flowers and the 7th grade field trip that took pictures with her.

She did fight vigorously with walmart against worker's unions.

She did proudly and enthusiastically help pass NAFTA.

She did vote for the war.

Speechless? I'm sure she does wish she was speechless.

[Vote Hillary]

Rezko left me speechless,Wright left me speechless,nafta and senior economic adviser to Barack Obama and the canadians left me speechless,the audacity of Obama left me speecless,comments about Mcain WILL NOT LEAVE ME SPEECHLESS SHAME ON OBAMA SHAME! Heres Hope for you..I HOPE the American people wake up out of there daze and see this man for what he is,CHANGE your minds while you have a chance Vote Hillary!!