Bernstein: Hillary Clinton: Truth or Consequences
Hillary Clinton has many admirable qualities, but candor and openness and transparency and a commitment to well-established fact have not been notable among them. The indisputable elements of her Bosnian adventure affirm (again) the reluctant conclusion I reached in the final chapter of A Woman In Charge, my biography of her published last June:
“Since her Arkansas years [I wrote], Hillary Rodham Clinton has always had a difficult relationship with the truth... [J]udged against the facts, she has often chosen to obfuscate, omit, and avoid. It is an understatement by now that she has been known to apprehend truths about herself and the events of her life that others do not exactly share. " [italics added]
As I noted:
“Almost always, something holds her back from telling the whole story, as if she doesn’t trust the reader, listener, friend, interviewer, constituent—or perhaps herself—to understand the true significance of events…”
The Bosnian episode is a watershed event, because it indelibly brings to mind so many examples of this tendency– from the White House years and, worse, from Hillary Clinton’s take-no-prisoners presidential campaign. Her record as a public person is replete with “misstatements” and elisions and retracted and redacted and revoked assertions...
When the facts surrounding such characteristic episodes finally get sorted out - usually long after they have been challenged - the mysteries and contradictions are often dealt with by Hillary Clinton and her apparat in a blizzard of footnotes, addenda, revision, and disingenuous re-explanation: as occurred in regard to the draconian secrecy she imposed on her health-care task force (and its failed efforts in 1993-94); explanations of what could have been dutifully acknowledged, and deserved to be dismissed as a minor conflict of interest - once and for all - in Whitewater; or her recent Michigan-Florida migration from acceptance of the DNC’s refusal to recognize those states’ convention delegations (when it looked like she had the nomination sewn up) to her re-evaluation of the matter as a grave denial of basic human rights, after she fell impossibly behind in the delegate count.The latest episode - the sniper fire she so vividly remembered and described in chilling detail to buttress her claims of foreign policy “experience” - like the peace she didn’t bring to Northern Ireland, recalls another famous instance of faulty recollection during a crucial period in her odyssey.On January 15, 1995, she had just published her book, It Takes a Village, intended to herald a redemptive “come back” after the ravages of health care; Whitewater; the Travel Office firings she had ordered (but denied ordering); the disastrous staffing of the White House by the First Lady, not the President - all among the egregious errors that had led to the election of the Newt Gingrich Congress in 1994.On her book tour, she was asked on National Public Radio about the re-emergence of dormant Whitewater questions that week, when the so-called “missing billing records” had been found. Hillary stated with unequivocal certainty that she had consistently made public all the relevant documents related to Whitewater, including “every document we had,” to the editors of the New York Times before the newspaper’s original Whitewater story ran during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
Even her closest aides - as in the case of the Bosnian episode18 years later - could not imagine what possessed her to say such a thing. It was simply not true, as her lawyers and the editors of the Times (like CBS in the latest instance) recognized, leading to huge stories about her latest twisting of the facts. “Oh my God, we didn’t,” said Susan Thomasas, Hillary’s great friend, who was left to explain to the White House lawyers exactly how Hillary’s aides had carefully cherry-picked documents accessed for the Times in the presidential campaign. The White House was forced - once again - to acknowledge the first lady had been ‘mistaken;” her book tour was overwhelmed by the matter, and Times’ columnist Bill Safire that month coined the memorable characterization of Hillary Clinton as “a congenital liar.”
“Hillary values context; she does see the big picture. Hers, in fact, is not the mind of a conventional politician,” I wrote in A Woman In Charge. “But when it comes to herself, she sees with something less than candor and lucidity. She sees, like so many others, what she wants to see.”
The book concludes with this paragraph:
“As Hillary has continued to speak from the protective shell of her own making, and packaged herself for the widest possible consumption, she has misrepresented not just facts but often her essential self. Great politicians have always been marked by the consistency of their core beliefs, their strength of character in advocacy, and the self-knowledge that informs bold leadership. Almost always, Hillary has stood for good things. Yet there is a disconnect between her convictions and her words and actions. This is where Hillary disappoints. But the jury remains out. She still has time to prove her case, to effectuate those things that make her special, not fear them or camouflage them. We would all be the better for it, because what lies within may have the potential to change the world, if only a little.”
The jury - armed with definitive evidence like the CBS tape of Hillary Clinton’s Bosnian adventure - seems on the verge of returning a negative verdict on her candidacy.
– Carl Bernstein, 360° Contributor Editor's note: Read other blogs from the 360° team of contributors at cnn.com/360
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Thank you for this much needed article. Not only did it refresh our minds about some important matters, it also kept away -probably only temporarily – more stories about "who is related to whom". I just can't wait for the greatest story of all: "Barack once dated Hillary". Great stuff from the self appointed "best news panel"
Another embarassment from the Clintons. Hillary out of respect for the position of former First Lady should remove herself now from seeking the Democratic Party Nomination. She is behind in votes, delegates and number of states as many have noted. In the name of the Democratic Party she should get out now so we can concentrate on November. There are those that say we must give the last ten states their vote–mathmatically she will not win so why spend all this money on the primaries? Hillary and Bill along with John McCain are old fashioned politics. We need new ideas to move forward and we can't because the Clintons continue to drag us down into the gutter and embarras the United States around the world as former President and First Lady. They should step out of the limelight immediately and return to New York with whatever dignity they may still have.
Exactly why she wouldn't have been elected a Senator if it were only up to the people in upstate NY. The majority of us new what she was like but the city out voted us.
Why do you think Bill's office is in Harlem, NYC? He rarely goes there but it helped her get elected.
She clearly will say or do anything she has to to get her way. Stand up America and so "NO, we don't want another bull headed my way or the highway president"
Send her back to Arkansas
Hilarious to watch Bernstein try desperately to argue that Hillary is anything other than a sniveling, lying, ambition-crazed politician that will do anything to get elected. Sorry, Carl, that your hero is such.
Hilary Clinton is a liar. Period.
If anyone doubts the importance of Carl Bernstein's revelation of Hillary's 'congenital' deceptiveness, please remember that this is the same Carl Bernstein who outed Richard Nixon in Watergate, which led to his resignation rather than face impeachment. I hope his outing of HRC will have a similar effect – that is, to convince the superdelegates to get her to quit, and to convince the American public that she is nowhere near having presidential qualities.
Everyone should have recognized the story as a lie from the start. Does anyone believe that the Secret Service would have let Hillary and Chelsea leave the plane, or even have let Air Force 1Foxtrot land, if there were any chance that they would have been shot?
Excellent commentary on perception versus reality. I'm starting to believe that lawyers are not the best representatives of either. Hillary's years of parsing words, using technical legalities that are not relevant or understandable to the general public and now wanting to present herself as something or someone believable and genuine is proving next to impossible.
Barack Obama is a lawyer too, but he hasn't spent 35 years "in the business" and being remade because of the hazards of that approach. I perceive him to be more genuine, more believable, and more of what America is and should stsrive to be. During his campaign he has shown to be consistent, steady, unwavering and able to step up to face unprecedented scrutiny of his very core identity and successfully straddle a very delicate balance. Whether he succeeds in being the nominee or the next president, he has been and will be a critical figure in helping this country mature.
Presidents come and go but their impact lives on.
Everyone has some mistaken memories; I know I've "remembered" saying things that I later realized I meant to say but actually never did. But there's a difference when you "remember" being under sniper fire but weren't; the situation would be unusual enough to stand out among routine memories, and thus one shouldn't have a "phantom" memory of it if it didn't happen. I think it's a far cry from being "misspoken". I love her apology as well, saying she says "millions" of words a day. I did the math, and if she doesn't eat, sleep, or listen to anyone else (hmm), she'd have to talk a 12 words a second to reach a million in one day. Perhaps she "misspoke" again?
I have observed her for a long time. She is a contradictory person within herself. Probably that is why that she is conflicting when time needed for making a good judgment.
I understand she is kind person and want to do good things. But I think, not for a president.
Much ado about what Hillary said 10-12 years ago and not much ado at all about the lies that Obama has told and is still telling. He has a knack for lieing then lieing again to cover up his first lie. Can`t understand why or how the media lets him get away with that.
Well you Obama followers may be concerned about what the Clintons did years ago but I`m more concerned about what is happening now.
The lies that Obama tells now can be far more damaging than anything that the Clintons may have done 10-12 years ago...
Lets call Hillary Clinton what she is: a liar. Obviously politics is partly an exercise in bending and crafting the truth and facts, but Hillary goes above and beyond the pale in her consistent false statements and exaggerations. Just a few weeks ago she told bold-face lies to the voters of Ohio of her consistent opposition of NAFTA. As it turns out, she was a cheerleader and champion of the legislation during her time as the First Lady. Not to mention she is committed to tearing down her opponent and the entire democratic party in her obsessive quest to win the nomination.
As much as you may want to stick to the issues, trustworthiness and honesty are as important as any virtues a president should have. Need we remind ourselves what our current administration has become. You people need to wake up and smell the coffee.
If you don battle dress because you may be shot at ... there is no way to mistake that event unless you're delusional, taking LSD, peyote, suffering from Alzheimers or some other such cause. Any of which should kick ya'll off the ol Commander in Chief list
why is it hillary supporters continually deny the relevance and importance to voters... the aspect of Hillary, and by association with her husband Bill Clinton... a potential president, who makes a wanton habit of lying when it fits her needs in the moment... but serves no greater purpose. Who lies, and avoids questions. Who tells half truths when she says anything, and has this thick cloud of dishonesty hanging around her. That's why people harp on the "sniper" issue. It's another example... of something so insignificant, that she chose to lie about, to score points... just to bolster a case that really didn't need the lie to bolster. But suited her immediate political needs. And therefor was done without hesitation. And then was followed up with half truth lame explanations to the fact on whether she lied in the first place when clearly she did.
To Cindy in Covington,
I think it's pathetic that you are trying to convince others that Sen. Clinton's bold faced lie is not important. GWB's lie about WMDs is what has us up to our eyeballs in a war that we cannot win.
But then again, I guess the issues you want addressed would include Sen. Obama's pastors words. I guess Obama is responsible for that just like all Catholics are responsible for the priests that like little boys???
Clearly, the person who wrote needs to get its head checked. Maybe this person does not know how to read and simply types whats its sees on the posters from her campain. It looks like somebody who is probably in a sect or something because you need to have been brainwashed to write something like that under the current topic.
It is not politically correct of me to say that so it might no get printed out but I think somebody has to say it. I am really getting tired to see comments like that from people who obviously do not even have half a brain. If americans elect Hillary Clinton then It will only show that your country has lost its way and I will have pity for all of you to be stuck with her.
If this were Obama the Clintons would have a feast b/c it's their only way to get ahead. This is the difference between the two campaigns. One is about progress with substance. The other is about sketchy experience that's starting to crumble. Stay tuned for more Obama attacks!!!
OBAMA 08
Why is it that every time people with the facts behind question Hillary's character, a bunch of her supporters claim she is being picked on? She is clearly a pathological liar, if that is what you want in your next president, don't vote, because she CANNOT win the nomination. It seems to me, that any objective person could look at the lies she has rolled out, and the fact that she will do anything in hopes that Obama as our nominee will lose in Novemeber with her "kitchen sink" startegy would lose some faith in her. I have, I was sure I would vote for her, but now, I would vote for Obama, and then McCain in that order. She is ruining our party for a power grab, your ears are not tricking you, she lies constantly. NAFTA in Ohio, she was never happy about it right? All the Clinton Staff from the 90s claim she was an enthusiastic supporter of NAFTA until the Ohio primary in 2008, haven't you had enough of this type of leader people?
If the roles were reversed everyone would tell Obama to get out of the race, face the facts. Despite the fact that she has zero chance of winning the media continues to say, "You can't say it's over with the Clintons". These are absurd efforts to keep their ratings up, and also because they know Billary will say anything to get elected.
I am not going to defend Mrs Clinton's relationship with the truth. I wish she had not said anything about Bosnia
I hate finger pointing. however the hateful rhetoric that Rev Wright spoke, would have permanently ruined a white politician if a white pastor had spoken like that.
Trying to change that subject by making the Bosnia story into a bigger deal then it is just sounds childish, and doesn't really make a point.
I don't think of myself as prejudice person, but until hate is not a part of any speech, racial problems will still exist. Excusing it in a man who worked with a presidential candidate's campaign; The candidate who is suppose to represent both races to the US, and the world is apologia.
I graduated from a jesuit college. I was spoon fed the Catholic churchs justification for it's stand during WW2. This feels the same to me.
Mrs Clinton has had nearly every aspect of her public life filmed for years. Either she genuinely mispoke, or she is stupid. No one thinks she is stupid.
When is this systematic demonizing of Hillary Clinton going to stop? She is strong because she continues to rally and gain support in spite of media tactics to bring her down. She does not have to answer questions about her marital relationship. Neither does Chelsea, and neither does her father for that matter. Just because people are public officials does not mean they have to reveal every intimate detail of their family life. And they do not have to answer extremely rude questions. It's a perfectly reasonable response to say you're not going to answer a question that you deem much too personal and none of the questioner's business. My hat's off to Chelsea. The media are desperate for something–anything–to report. They have to fill airtime and news holes. Most of the fill is pure junk. I'll end this by saying: May the best woman win in the battle for the White House in 2008.
It looks like once again the Democrats will snatch victory from the jaws of defeat ! The party bigwigs better put a stop to this infighting and soon if they want a chance to put a Democratic President into office. Hillary is going down and will drag the whole party along with her along with the senate and congress majorities.
After some homework it has become clear to me that Paator Wright's short clips have been taken out of context. If one sees or listens to the entire sermon it is quite different. In the 911 clip he is actually quoting
Ambassador Peck. Not even Wright's words. The press did not do their due diligence before running with these excerpted clips. Very unfair to Wright and to Obama.
I believe that the Clinton's do not want to reveal their tax returns because they have been renting the caretakers house on their Chappaqua property to the Secret Service for $10,000 a month, same as their mortgage payment on their mansion. Sweet deal, eh?
Thanks to Carl Bernstein. We need intellectuals to place this in the right context. I was shocked by Hillary Clinton's lies about her Bosnia experience. Her statements cannot be explained away by a simple mistake.
Hillary lied...she has lied before and will again.
The DNC needs to step in and finish this before the Hillary and Obama destroy the party. The race isn't close – she has a very slim chance of winning.
Who owes who favors that will be collected in smoke filled back rooms?
Personally, I feel James Carville is shooting himself in the foot. He will be damaged goods after the election. He comes across as 'nuts'. All for the good of Hillary, though.
Go James...Go James...the nuttier you sound, the nuttier your candidate comes across.
Sandy
If I was a U. S. Military Vet who served and sacrificed in Bosnia, I would be livid!!
280 million U. S citizens, and this is our election pool. Are there not 3 decent people out there who can run for this job instead of these actors?
anyone can "missspoke" anytime, but to do it over three times is a plain lie. A trip to a foreigh country does not add up to having national Security experience. She's hiding her records b/c she know that once they come out people will see her for who she really is. If the media was doing its job; we would've known this months ago and the race would've been over by now. Any candidate who makes a claim should be investigate to see if it adds up to facts.
Response To : What does it matter that she embellished her trip to Bosnia? It isn’t hurting anything! All of them embellish on a lot of things! Why are you all picking on her!? I bet if you searched through Obama’s trash you’d find stuff he lied about!
Give it a rest and get back to the real issues PLEASE!!
We do not care about this!! All of your picking through and analyzing this crap to death every night on 360 is taking away from the time that we could be hearing about the real issues that matter! Get over it!!
Cindy I will tell you what her embellishing hurts. It hurts the patriots through out this country's history who have really faced a sniper's fire. It hurts the real heros like John McCain who has a real war story and who has really risked his life for this country. It hurts myself as a veteren who has put his life on the line for this country. Above all it hurts our kids because if we let this go we are teaching our them that little white lies are ok as long as you have something to gain from it.
It is never ok to to lie about the risks that you have made for this country. Too many men and women better than Hillary Clinton have put their necks on the line for all of us, and she has no right to try and make people think that she has done the same.
How could she still be married to Bill and not think it ok to lie? Anyway, embellishment, evasive denial of true events, and raw fabrication of untruthful events are three different things. She does all, but this was raw fabrication. Sorry Clintonites, this story reveals true character and is hard for the rest of us to swallow.
A real leader does indeed have strong core beliefs, sticks by them, and leads largely through example.
And, a lie is a lie is a lie.
A leader does not need to lie because of the sure knowledge that truth is the best road to take.
Hillary is not a leader.
So Clinton displayed a more vivid imagination than most people would give her credit for. I can live with that.
Obama is telling me on national TV, that, NO, he was never present when his spirtual mentor attacked America, NO, he never heard any such statements, either in public or in private conversation.
In his grand speech on race, he admits that, YES, he was present, YES he knew about the Preacher's mind. I can't live with that.
When it comes to a Presidential race everything is so critical. The way you speak, what you say, what you did while you were a teenager, etc..I find it comical. So what if Hillary remembered a trip to Bosnia incorrectly. Her life compared to many of ours has been hectic over the years. I would imagine some of her hundreds of trips out of the country would get mixed up. Come on. We are human & destined to make mistakes. This recent mistake on her's has been blown out of proportion. Analyzed to the max...Go figure...it seems like many Americans are not ready to have a women lead this country & will do whatever it takes to take her down.
Cindy – All of this does matter. Hillary is not truthful. Trust is not given, trust is earned. Trust is gained via accurate and concise communication. Hillary is simply a power hungry woman who will do/say anything to achieve her goals. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to call Hillary a megalomaniac.
Mr. Bernstein, Thanks for reminding the American people about the Clinton's past. I havent forgotten what a shambles it was and to suggest any other scenario is truly looking through rose colored glasses.
Hillary claimed that the sniper story was a missstaement and that she was tired. Why, then, was the same story given in December and February? She intented to deceive the American public about her experience.
I DO CARE about this story, it IS relevant, as it shows that she is a liar. I am tired of the liar in office, I don't wish to replace him with another liar. So to the media, please continue covering any and all issues that relate to a candidates honesty!
What is everybody so upset by? The Clinton's use memory as a multipurpose tool, when they need to their memory is embellished, when they need to their memory is poor, when they need to their memory is made up, when they need to their memory changes. How do you think they got so far? Memory for the Clinton’s is a matter of getting what they want and changes to accomplish just that!
For a woman who could not remember anything during Whitewater, isn’t it wonderful how she so vividly remembers her Bosnian trip, "ducking sniper fire", oh wait! You have tape of that? Oh, I guess she must have misspoke!”
“I did not have sex with that women!”
“It depends on what is, is!”
Wake up folks, this isn’t new, this is the way they operate!
What tips me off to her lying is when she mentions ducking and running, and she laughs. I don't think anyone would recall a time when they had bullets buzzing over their heads as they ran for their lives with humor. If I were in Iraq as a soldier and saw this clip, I'd be very angry. If I were the loved one of a slain soldier, I'd be furious. What Hillary did was disgusting and she should apologize not only for lying but for trivializing something that serious when young Americans are dealing with that very scenario daily over in Iraq. And some actually get hit. Four thousand to date. Where is the humor in that?
I've really had a hard time with the way Hillary has ran her campaign. She continues to skew the truth about herself and Obama, to the point of giving the media more stories that will hurt either of their chances againts McCain. Let's face it, McCain can grab the liberal vote just as easy as the Democrats can grab the conservative vote. I don't think Hillary should have dropped out from the race, just stop with the win at all cost attitude. She isn't being sincere, she is just doing whatever it takes just as Bush did. One thing when you look at Obama is that you never really end up questioning his responses as they are directly answered even if it's not the best for his campaign. Hillary will do or say anything to be president, then when the polls close will just make a new excuse that side steps what she says. Is it no wonder that she polls well on the under-educated working class. These are the people that need the most help and they just aren't getting the truth from Hillary.
All three candidates have their short comings, since no one is perfect. I am very disappointed with the attacks that are made on all fronts. It is one thing to point out lies and inconsistencies, but to beat a head horse about the preacher is getting old. I agree that Dr. Wright is being viewed in the narrowest form, through a few sound bites. I found his preaching enlightening, because I didn’t take it personal. I am not black and don’t know how it feels to have security watch me when I shop. I don’t know how it feels to have people be afraid of me because of the color of my skin. To judge and compare any discrimination that I may had experience being a woman or whatever to what blacks face every day is arrogant and insulting. What has become the social norm within whites is NOT talking about repression. I completely agreed with Obama on his views during his speech in PA. I found it eloquent and truthful. Many people say that they wouldn’t sit in his church listening to Wright preach and how could Obama for 20 years. I ask the people that say that, “would sit in ANY African American church and listen to the sermons for 20 years?” Better yet, have you ever been to a sermon at any African American church?
It all comes down to being a good person and doing whats best for AMERICA, not HILLARY, which is what she has been doing all along. She needs to relize that just being president is not a legacy, being a good compasionate president that cares about the nation is a legacy
Hillary has once again blatantly reminded us all of her ability to not only twist but totally distort the truth to her own advantage. She did not misspeak on Bosnia. She was not simply sleep deprived. It was not the first time in 12 years that she has 'misspoken.' She lied, plain and simple. The reality is simply that.
As said in the piece I refer to, the one basic fact that we must require in those who want to be President is the TRUTH. Look at what we have suffered in George Bush's years because of an unwillingness to be truthful with the American people. Hillary Clinton is the one Presidential candidate who has still refused to apologize for her Disastrous vote for the Iraq War. She seems unable to really understand the need for transparency and accountability. In this era when video often can be found to validate or discount someone's account of an event, what was she thinking when she deliberately created a 'story' of what happened in Bosnia.
It is embarrassing. Please, MSM, do not let this go underground. More than anything else that has surfaced in this long and intense campaign this deserves to be remembered. The American people need to remember that someone who will LIE to their own advantage is someone who we cannot trust to be our President.
Clinton supporters never cease to amaze me. Cindy, this matters because Hillary has made her foreign policy "experience" a major issue in this campaign. It is clear she has exaggerated any role she had in the Clinton White House. She wants us to believe she was working out peace accords when all she was doing was attending ceremonial dinners. The sniper comment may seem like a minor "error" on her part, but it is part of a consistent pattern of altering the truth. I don't want to hear about how the media loves Obama – they should be hammering her on this issue and she is getting a free pass.
By the way, I have never a read a more perfect description of Hillary than "congenital liar".
Yeah I think it is really sad that anyone is even talking about this. It is a NON ISSUE! JESUS.
Why is the media allowing her to get away with saying she misspoke when she clearly lied. No one is using that word. Her apology was arrogant, flippant and dismissive. Do we really want another administration that lies to us and responds by being arrogant, flippant and dismissive? She has clearly learned from Cheney/Rove.
Everything Bernstein says is true.
And sadly, Clinton is still much more qualified and prepared to be president than Obambi.
Hillary is a liar, she will say anything to serve her purpose. In her world she is the only thing that is important. Give it up Hillary, we are all on to your mode of operation.
CNN and Obama have nothing else on Hillary, so they are using these useless, pointless issues now...
Sonal
Why is it that even those who do not defend the latest "mis-speak" are still willing to accept that it was something short of a deliberate misrepresentation calculated to portray her more favorably to the electorate (e.g. she said it so often, maybe she really believed it–or it's a personality disorder born from her life with Bill–or "she sees what she wants to see")?? Are we so accustomed to politicians' disrespect for the truth that we no longer recognize a lie when we hear one?
She lied and she's a LIAR! And she lied again to cover up the first lie. She was not sent into a war zone. The fighting had already end. She didn't misspeak, she lied about this in the different speeches over the past 2 months.
It reminds so many votes of the Clinton years and it's why a large percentage of votes do not trust her.
Also, it shows how tone deaf and desperate her campaign is. This story has bee floating around for weeks. She had plenty of time to revise her speech.
Her attempt to shift the narrative may work with her supporters, but she's giving the story even more has legs because she continues not to come clean and tell the truth. She lied about not supporting NAFTA.
– The truth can be inconvenient, but it is still the truth!
Hillary just like Bill are both liars. The will do anything to deceive the public to get what they want. The lying show what type of people they are. If you would lie about a small thing what would you not lie about.
Hillary's chickens are coming to roost.
As I read the posts above, I iterally can not believe the rancor. Someone said that we should stop letting the media run our elections, I totally agree but it's not just the media, it's our own desire to follow them over the edge. Read the comments above, if you have trouble believing me.