Opinion: Boston Globe lambastes Hillary Clinton over Iran

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Another day, another editorial in a major newspaper that sternly takes Hillary Clinton to task.

Last Wednesday, while she reveled in her impressive Pennsylvania primary win, the New York Times (her hometown paper) put the blame mainly on her for what it deemed the unduly harsh and hollow tenor of debate in the Democratic presidential race (read that piece here).

The Boston Globe, in an editorial headlined ‘Hillary Strangelove,’ this morning calls her out for her recent comment that, as president, she would ‘totally obliterate’ Iran if that country attacked Israel.

The paper noted that what it termed ‘this foolish and dangerous threat,’ uttered on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ the day of the Pennsylvania vote, received little attention in the U.S. But, the Globe added, ‘it reverberated in headlines around the world.’

Those upset by Clinton’s comment included the Arab News, which made a comparison that nowadays represents the cruelest critique many in other nations direct at a U.S. politician. Clinton’s warning to Iran, the Saudi-based paper wrote, ‘demonstrates the same doltish ignorance that has distinguished (President Bush’s) foreign relations.’

The Globe sums up thusly: ‘A presidential candidate who lightly commits to obliterating Iran -- and, presumably, all the children, parents, and grandparents in Iran -- should not be answering the White House phone at any time of day or night.’

Which, looking ahead, makes us wonder: If Clinton ends up the Democratic nominee, will the leading journalistic voice in one of the nation’s most liberal states endorse Republican John McCain?

-- Don Frederick