Clinton raises more national security questions
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff
DALLAS -- Facing a close and critical battle in Texas for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton stepped up her criticism of rival Barack Obama today, saying the Illinois senator does not have the national security credentials to take on likely GOP nominee John McCain in the general election.
"My opponent gets a little unhappy when I talk about national security. He says that talkin' about the realities of the job of being commander in chief, like these 3 a.m. phone calls that come out of the blue, is somehow fear-mongering,'' Clinton said, often dropping her g's as she addressed boisterous rallies in Fort Worth and Dallas. "I gotta tell you, I don't think people in Texas scare all that easily.''
The New York senator -- who Friday began airing an ad in Texas showing peacefully sleeping children, and asking voters whom they would like answering the White House phone during a late-night crisis -- accused Obama of refusing to engage with her on national security issues.
"If Senator McCain, as it appears likely, is the Republican nominee this is going to be a campaign about national security,'' Clinton said. "If Senator Obama doesn't want to debate me about national security, how is he going to debate Senator McCain?''
Obama responded to Clinton's ad with one of his own today, using Clinton's own language against her. "When that call gets answered, shouldn't the president be the one -- the only one -- who had judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start?'' the Obama ad asks.
Earlier today, Clinton was even more pointed in her criticism of her opponent, who has made his early opposition to the Iraq war a defining difference between the two Democratic contenders.
"I think you'll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say. He’s never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002,'' Clinton told reporters on her plane en route to Fort Worth from San Antonio.
With polls showing Clinton and Obama virtually tied in the Lone Star State, Clinton has been underscoring her experience and domestic policy plans, dismissing Obama as a candidate who can make speeches but not deliver.
"I'm not asking you to take a leap of faith,'' Clinton implored before a state fairgrounds audience in Dallas. "I'm asking you to look at what I've already done.''
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Clinton's vote to authorize the Iraq war showed a lack of judgment. "Senator Clinton is right when she says she's been tested on national security, but it's a test she has resoundingly failed," Burton said.
"dropping her g's"? Isn't this another example of gratuitous slamming of Hillary Clinton by the media? It's irrelevant to the substance of the story and demeaning to the reader.
I just don't understand what is going on with the Democratic party. Some may think Hillary Clinton has been uncivil to Mr. Obama in her media remarks. I think that she has been extraordinarily civil. It is my observation that Mr. Obama has been on a steep learning curve since this campaign began. Mrs. Clinton has been his mentor.
In every debate, Mrs. Clinton is asked a difficult question first. Then, Mr. Obama is asked to respond. He parrots her response, then throws in a small adjustment to highlight a minor divergence from her seasoned and responsible intended initiatives.
I do not want a rock star as president. We have already had a movie star. Please, please vote for this woman, who is strong, compassionate, highly intelligent, and extraordinarily capable and connected nationally and internationally, to help bring together a divided country and an international community which, frankly, hates us for the bullies we have become under the Bush regime.
Yes it is relevant. It shows how disingenuous Senator Clinton really is. She is a complete phony. She deserves to be slammed, and she wouldn't be in this race at all had it not been for her philandering husband and the corporate media. Please, give the country what it really wants in the dynamic leadership and hopeful message of Barack Obama.
I love how Obama's "solution" to what ails American foreign policy is to "sit down with the leaders of nations without conditions [paraphrased]." Ah! We've all be waiting for you, sir! Nobody else has thought of that - and you - you Mr. Obama - will be so eloquent, so moving, that you will make everything all right. All while pulling our troops out of Iraq and providing a wealth of health care. All with magic money. Wow! It's easy to be president!
What will you do, Mr. Obama, if you become president, and an enemy destroys the Hoover damn? Will you simply sit down with him, scold him with your golden tongue, and align him forever with American virtues?
"dropping her 'g's'?" How many g's has Obama dropped without comment? How many "folks" has he invoked? How many systems has he "gamed." Unfortunately, he's gaming this one and its taking us further and further down the path of a fantasy that he is anything more than an overly ambition politician with an out-sized ego. Gett off it, get real and do your job.
"Obama responded to Clinton's ad with one of his own today, using Clinton's own language against her. "When that call gets answered, shouldn't the president be the one -- the only one -- who had judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start?'' the Obama ad asks."
Why not point out how downright bogus his argument about superior judgement is? This is the mother of all non sequitors. Should he get to the White House and should the telephone ring at 3AM, there will be nothing less impactful than a speech given in a parking lot at a political rally when his opinion and "judgement" had no bearing on the real decisions being made about protecting the country.
National Security is something that the media should have explored more fully with Mr. Obama. Therefore it is worthwhile that Clinton raise the questions now before we go into the general election. Obama has gotten a free ride because many reporters and the press were gah! gah! over his oratory skills. Obama keeps talking "judgment" which he is lacking as can be seen from over 100 votes that he couldn't make a judgment so he decision was Present. Fair speeches aren't goint so make that heavy decision especially when millions of American lives are at stake. Its to bring out the "REAL OBAMA" Oh! there he is hiding behind"Just Words".
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