Fire, Brimstone and Cash.
Appearing at a Florida fundraiser with retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham, Hillary made a fiery speech denouncing the Bush Administration. She charged that "What this administration was attempting to do was to turn back the progress of the entire 20th Century. They were not just after Bill Clinton. They were after Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, Harry Truman, Franklin Roosevelt-they were on their way to Teddy Roosevelt."
She also whined that "we are about to see the first generation of American leadership to leave our nation less better off than it was before," and that President Bush "for the first time in American history has taken us to war and cut taxes at the same time. It has never happened before." The Bush-bashing continued as she told her enraptured audience that she "cannot even imagine four years of a second term of this administration with no accountability, no election at the end???We'll be on a road with no stop signs. We cannot afford to let that happen."
Hillary also criticized those who have suggested that the Democratic field of candidates for President is weak and lacks name recognition. She said critics had said the same things during the 1992 presidential race, which delivered "Billary" to the White House. Said Hill: "The pundits and the commentators were wrong then and they're wrong now, if we do our job." Accounts of her speech told how she shouted throughout the event and left the audience cheering on its feet, with some chanting: "We want Clinton!" The event was to raise $1 million for the Democrats.
HRC at CFR.
In what was billed as "her first major foreign policy address as a U.S. senator," Hillary gave an hour-long speech in New York at the Council on Foreign Relations. At times she sounded like a hawk, calling for a "tough-minded and muscular foreign and defense policy" and an increase in the number of troops in our Army.
Sen. Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also defended her vote authorizing President Bush to go to war in Iraq, and even complimented the President for the capture of Saddam Hussein.
Amazingly, she actually said that American firms should be given preference when competing for contracts in reconstructing Iraq, an issue over which President Bush has been receiving a lot of flack. But Hillary also sounded like a leftist at times, praising the old Soviet Union for trying to provide opportunities for women after it invaded Afghanistan, and warning that America's use of its international influence was bound to backfire.
"The more we throw our weight around, the more we encourage other nations to join with each other as a counterweight," she said. It was ironic that Hillary's "first major foreign policy address" happened at the same exact time that most of the Democratic presidential candidates were debating foreign policy, and only a few days after front-runner Howard Dean delivered his maiden speech on the issue. Cynics might say that she was doing so to distract attention away from these candidates, but in fairness to Mrs. Clinton, the CFR event was scheduled well in advance.
Another Whopper?
When Hillary recently hosted the Iowa Democratic fundraiser featuring six of the Democratic candidates, she told the crowd that "I first went to Iowa when I was just a girl," and that her father "took my brother and me on a business trip and we drove to Des Moines. I can still remember staying at the Tall Corn Motel."
This unverifiable tale is reminiscent of when candidate Hillary told New Yorkers that she had "been to" Elmira, when, in fact, her visit consisted of the Rodham family driving through the town on the way to Scranton over 40 years ago. Of course, there's no way now to verify her Iowa story, as Mr. Rodham has passed on and it's doubtful that the Tall Corn Hotel has any records from when young Hillary came to visit. But even if it's proven false, joining her other petty boastings (Elmira, Yankee fan, Jewish relatives, etc.), it is unlikely that her supporters would ever hold it against her.
