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
On Twitter
To all commentators above who think this doesn't matter:
This matters. How can you mistake sniper fire?! She said she mis-spoke. That is not something you would incorrectly speak about. Now if she said it was a dangerous situation and they were worried about sniper fire, that's different. I know we all embellish sometimes, but what if she embellishes on a situation with Iran, or North Korea? Isn't it by "embellishing" we got into the war in Iraq? Think about it.
Also, when in this country is it not possible to disagree with someone? Just because Obama's pastor said something does not mean he agrees with it! If I disagree with a friend on something I can't be their friend anymore, and I can't be associated with them because they are not JUST LIKE ME. That is absolutely ridiculous.
Hillary Clinton thinks she has automatic title to the White House, but we should skip her and consider Chelsa maybe twenty years from now. She lied at the gate about her trip to Bosnia and called it a mistake, well that 3AM Red Phone call don't allow space for error. Bill Clinton works were no more than what any president should, you superdelegates don't owe the Clintons anything, get over it and do what is right for today's situation. America has become big mess, and we are still policing the world. A billion dollars for the presidency, with sky high gas prices, stagnated wages, and a mortage meltdown.
We all ready have a president who lies to the citizens of this country, we don't need another.
In a USA Today/Gallup survey when people were asked whether the canditates were "honest and trustworthy", Senator John McCain came in first with 67percent, Senator Barrack Obama second with 63 percent and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton came in last with 44 percent.
Some of her "mispoken stories" include...
1. Daughter Chelsea was jogging around the Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. (In reality, she was sleeping in bed.)
2. She was named after Sir Edmund Hillary. (He climbed Mount Everest FIVE YEARS AFTER HER BIRTH!.)
3. She came running off a plane in Bosnia because she was under sniper fire. (That's not the way the CBS camera recorded it. In reality, a girl presented her with flowers at the foot of the ramp.)
4. She was able to make a big killing in the futures market of what she learned in The Wall Street Journal. (TWSJ didn't cover the market back then.)
Hillary simply cannot tell the truth. Here’s her scorecard:
Admitted Lies
• Chelsea was jogging around the Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. (She was in bed watching it on TV.)
• Hillary was named after Sir Edmund Hillary. (She admitted she was wrong. He climbed Mt. Everest five years after her birth.)
• She was under sniper fire in Bosnia. (A girl presented her with flowers at the foot of the ramp.)
• She learned in The Wall Street Journal how to make a killing in the futures market. (It didn’t cover the market back then.)
Whoppers She Won’t Confess To
• She didn’t know about the FALN pardons.
• She didn’t know that her brothers were being paid to get pardons that Clinton granted.
• Taking the White House gifts was a clerical error.
• She didn’t know that her staff would fire the travel office staff after she told them to do so.
• She didn’t know that the Peter Paul fundraiser in Hollywood in 2000 cost $700,000 more than she reported it had.
• She opposed NAFTA at the time.
• She was instrumental in the Irish peace process.
• She urged Bill to intervene in Rwanda.
• She played a role in the ’90s economic recovery.
• The billing records showed up on their own.
• She thought Bill was innocent when the Monica scandal broke.
• She was always a Yankees fan.
• She had nothing to do with the New Square Hasidic pardons (after they voted for her 1,400-12 and she attended a meeting at the White House about the pardons).
• She negotiated for the release of refugees in Macedonia (who were released the day before she got there).
With a record like that, is it any wonder that we suspect her of being less than honest and straightforward?
I can't think of any person who isn't usually under sniper fire (such as a soldier) who would mis-remember being under or near sniper fire. The vast majority of us would recall it down to the exact hour and exact place.
Even if we take her at her word, she's either seriously out of touch with reality or who knows what.....
The more likely conclusion is that she lied about it on purpose and for political effect. And that's pretty serious, too.
Can we please have her exit the race now?
Unfortunately, Hillary lied. The last thing we need in a nominee, especially because of President Clinton's history, that so obviously lies. On the other hand, Obama answered his associaton with his minister intelligently and honestly.
Hillary is and has always been untrustworth as far as what she believes and says. It Is just as simple as I do not trust her or her husband. I have supported them both for as long as I could, that time for me as for the majority of the voters in our primaries has passed.
It's not so much that she "embellished" or exaggerated a little, its that she either 1) lied or 2) has severely faulty memory problems or 3) has a horribly skewed perception of reality. Although, apparently, these qualities won't prevent you from being elected president (see George Bush's record), none of these qualities that will make her effective as a so-called candidate of "change" and, further such gaffes will significantly hurt her in a general election against McCain who at least maintains the appearance of being genuine (regardless of what you think of his politics). "Forgetting" where you placed your car keys, or that you once agreed with the DNC on Michigan and Florida or with Nevada elections officials regarding the caucuses being held on the strip, is one thing. But there is NO WAY you can "forget" that you were NOT actually under sniper fire (unless you are mentally impaired in which case you should not be elected president). That would be akin to Bill "forgetting" he had "relations" with miss Lewinsky. Totally disingenuous on the part of Hillary Clinton. But then I've come to expected that from her now. I wish she would just fess-up, be honest and quit exaggerating. She was doing just fine before all of this mess. Not that I ever loved her as a candidate, but now I am starting to like her much less. Obama clearly has the edge on transparency.
TO: Cindy in Covington, GA
Of course it matters that she lied regarding Bosnia. Why? Because she is using that lie to tout her vast foreign policy experience. She also lied about bringing peace to ireland and helping to open the borders in another country. These things simply did not happen. If she is willing to lie, repeatedly, about such issues, why do you trust her to be your president? She also attacked Obama over the Pastor Wright issue because she wanted to divert attention from her lies. She had repeatedly chosen not to respond to that issue, but jumped at the question yesterday to deflect more scrutiny from her own lies. She said she is "in it to win it" and she will do so at any cost.
I want to vote for Hillary Clinton for my own reasons, not the least of which are that she is a womam, and I have a very cloudy, romantic, fond recollections of the Clinton years. Please, media, stop reporting when Hillary lies! Please stop telling me things I don't want to hear. I will vote for her in any case, but when the media calls her out on her lies, it makes me have to do even more rationalizing. Plus, I'm afraid others might change their mind about voting for Hillary based on the facts that are being reported.
Carl Bernstein, 360° Contributor
You must have a psychology degree. I mean, that would be the only reason as to why you feel you have the right to comment on her personalaity and mental capacity.
Sorry, using your own book does not give this article credability. It is only promoting your book.
CNN seems to be promoting Hate mongering, because that is all these articles seem to be generating as of late. I am very disappointed.
"I would never vote for Obama because of his conduct"- what on earth has the man done wrong?
DRAFT AL GORE!
If it's Hillary, am keeping my vote in my pocket.
I was an ardent supporter of Hillary Clinton, even going so far as to volunteer 4 days assisting the Clinton campaign with fundraising. But this latest “misstatement” bothers me quite a bit and has caused me to reconsider my position and here is why: The past 8 years of the Bush presidency has been marred with exaggerations and misstatements/lies that has unnecesarily cost the lives of thousands of dedicated, dutiful, young soldiers as well as 100+ thousand(depending on which statistic you reference) of Iraq civilian lives. This is not simply a situation where she “misspoke,” this is a situation in which she lied. It is one thing to say that you were in Bosnia and you felt threatened – it is another to state emphatically on multiple occasions that you were under gun fire. This was nothing shy of a self serving purposeless lie that causes me to question two things: 1) Has she “misspoken” in the past on her contribution during Bill Clinton’s tenure in office, and 2) Kitchen Sink/Knee Cap effect – How far will you she go to become President – her deflection to Obama’s minister when questioned about her comments was unacceptable.
Misstated/mispoke denotes something that happens by accident...once.
Lie is domething you do deliberately to fool people...repeatedly.
Saying "Obama did too" does not excuse that she deliberately lied in the hopes she could convince us rubes (voters) that she has real diplomatic experience.
I'm not sure about Obama yet, he truly seems to have not known about some of reverend Wright's statements. Hillary's lie smacks of another famous lie told to us by another Clinton. Wagging his finger "I did not have sex with that woman." He lied, she lied, I wonder how big of a liar Chelsea will be considering the example her parents set?
I am very forgiving of mistakes, but this is a deliberate lie, and I've believed one too many of those from the Clintons already.
allxdreamer speaks for MANY MANY Democrats! Keep it up libs. Your delusion is going to get you McCain in the WH. I can hear your crying now, "We've been robbed! Its a conspiracy! Obama DID WIN. Hold me."
Misspoke. That's pretty funny. I always thought those were small things like, "I said the appointment is at 8:00, but it's really at 10:00". This was a flat out lie, and a lie told to boost her credibility on foreign policy during a foreign policy themed speech. This was they type of carefully calculated lie that was a legacy of the Clinton White House.
This is a perfect example how she will say anything to get elected..
Anybody but Clinton in 08.
Regarding Senator Clinton's faulty memory on her visit to Bosnia, it seems to me that someone who had been shot at would remember it clearly in its entirety (the "Where were you when JFK was shot?" effect), been unable to remember it (post traumatic stress disorder), or would have had very strong emotional reactions to it. It is a cataclysmic event. People have developed serious post traumatic stress disorders from it. Many of our men and women in service have developed these stress reactions from real sniper fire in combat. It makes no sense to me whatsoever that she dismisses the misremembered "sniper " experience in Bosnia with the cavalier statement, "I am only human", and "I make mistakes too". It is no wonder some people in our Armed Forces are upset with her. Carl Bernstein's implicit thesis that Senator Clinton habitually misrepresents herself for political gain rings true to me.
Once again it becomes clear that Hillary is bound and determined to sway voters using mis-statements (lies) and re-inventing history and facts to suit her own view of the world.
The video of her trip to Bosnia is absolute, irrefutable proof that she is not the choice for our next president.
Lynn's addition to this blog – of Hillary's own pastor commenting on Rev. Wright and his outspoken views and mis-use of soundbite is also telling of the truthfulness and sincerity of Mr. Obama. Who of us would not be subject to ridicule or passionate reproval if our words were taken in bites and presented out of context?
And with Bill Richardson's astounding conviction to separate from the Clinton camp and support the people's choice rather than pander to the hopes of Hillary and Bill to regain power after a history of failures large and small – public and personal – Mr. Obama now has himself in the position to finally put honesty, sound foreign policy and the people's needs above the expectations of power held by the Clintons.
Go OBAMA/RICHARDSON!
Please, dear God, don't let her play the victim and get away with this one, or sweep it under the carpet. She had control of her own actions, her campaign workers could have cut her mic, nudged her ribs...
Wright is NOT Obama, and you ~cannot~ say, clearly, Obama made said polarizing remarks, or forced the reverend to do so.. Clinton had full control of herself on every 'mis-spoken' moment. That's the huge difference.
It's obvious that everyone is very passionate on who they are/are not supporting and why. That is great for our country in this election year. However, it would be nice to read these comments pages (on CNN and elsewhere) without all the negative comments towards other posters. We're all on the same page here, folks. We all care about who is elected and why.
I have not liked Hillary since before Bill was elected, and I have seen nothing in recent months to make me change my mind. Do I have doubts about Obama? Sure, but nothing that would not make me vote for him. So his pastor said some things that most of us find repulsive – Obama did not say them. So, he didn't walk out on the sermons. Maybe he wanted to hear other points of view, rather than make a judgement on one or two comments. In my mind that is the mark of a good leader – to be able to listen to everyone's point of view (whether you agree with it or not) and to be able to decide accordingly. That's one of the founding principles of our country – to be able to speak and think what we like, whether or not it's "right" in everyone's eyes.
Hillary LIED about her time in Bosnia and had NO reason to, other than to pad her resume. If she is as experienced as she claims, she would not need to do this, right?
What the heck is going on here? Every single American has embellished sometime. Why so hard on Hillary. So, if you don't like her that's your right, but to call her a liar is not only unfair but un-American. Obama the pure my unfortunate foot. He is a liar about saying he never heard his Pastor say anything that would denigrate white people. As passionate as Wright was when he smeared Whites, the USA, and Jews in twenty years, Obama can't say his virgin ears never heard any of it. TWENTY YEARS people..........20............It's amazing the press wouldn't run with it when Ron Kessler broke the story more than a month ago. Opray can't make a Prez but the press can................
My first read of a Carl Bernstein piece, and was very impressed. The details about Mrs. Clinton's failures are troubling. The damage to the Democratic party that she is inflicting in her scorch-earth campaign against the other junior senator in the race is also troubling.
As I read through these comments, the bias for the interpretation of these facts are evident. In many cases, whichever candidate you support directs your interpretation of the facts.
Barack and Hillary have both said and done questionable things before and during their campaigns. The media reports these cases (fairly equally), and for the most part allow the public to decide. There are occassional opinions and bias attached to the reports, but if you read, or watch, them critically you are able to differentiate between the author's opinion and the facts, but the fact that opinions are inserted should not dilute the importance of the issue itself.
The cadidates, not the media, have decided through their words and actions what will be fodder for the media. The media presents the story and it is your job to discern its importance.
Don't allow yourself to be fooled into thinking either candidate is or has been treated unfairly by the media. Both Hillary and Barack have both had their share of problems, and it is the problems themselves which should be carefully analyzed and interrpreted by each reader, and the candidate's acknowledgement and response which can potentially "save" them from their human errs.
While it may be true that the biases and fallibility of human nature leads to our own recollection of the "truth" as we see it, it's sadder still that this country's politicians don't appear to have any accountability for their own actions and core beliefs.
I've embellished many things in my life, and even recalled things completely wrong, but this doesn't appear to coincide with a "mistake" as Senator Clinton so vehemently denies in her statement. Imperfect or not, if your core values don't align with your rhetoric, then why bother talking publicly at all? Why bother becoming a politician? The fact is, that many of us say one thing, and do another. That's the beauty of being human, of being imperfect. I would imagine it's very difficult being in the public eye so frequently. Yet when your statements don't appear to add up, especially when checked against your so-called "core values", then you begin to have a credibility problem. Even more so when it's been a recurring theme over 18+ years of being involved in legislation, policymaking, and being scrutinized in the public eye.
Her behavior isn't the media's fault, Obama, McCain, or even the Republicans' fault. The truth is, it's her own fault for lacking the integrity to tell the truth in the first place. None of these other people I mentioned are exempt. Their lack of candor in many things leaves the door open to complete scrutiny, whether by the media or anyone else. In short, it's their own stinking fault for not aligning their personal and public "values" with their core beliefs.
She is much like her husband in one respect....if successful the world will be subjuected to "Clintonisms", which are what the rest of the free world refers to as "lies". This is all about "win at all costs" for her....and for him. Why lie, and more importantly in her mind seems to be why not lie. If you don't lie, you don't have to worry about remembering what happened, it will come naturally. She is a known liar.
I am from another country but pay close attention to US politics. I like McCain and I really like Obama. I truly think that if Clinto is elected the US will be begging for Dubya to come back:) 🙂
Hillary Clinton is a congenital liar.
Does anyone else find it amazing that she was for NAFTA, for war in IRAQ and now she's running for POTUS and has changed her tune people believe her?
American idiots!
Day by day it is becoming clear that Hillary will do anything, including lying about easily verifiable facts, to achieve her life-long goal of amassing power. God help the United States.
I think great leaders are, at their core, honest, open, compassionate and able to see themselves as others see them. I also believe they are loyal to those who have helped them. I do not see HRC as a great leader. In fact, I think she's quite delusional. For those of you who insist that Obama "lied" about his ties to his long-time minister, you have clearly not heard the speech he gave. At least read the transcript. He was not present at the sound-bites you've seen, and he puts those into context in his speech. I think he's a fine man, a fine senator and will make a great president. I believe in him and actually admire that he is not willing to denounce a man who has helped him spiritually. No, not "everyone" lies at some point. Just another excuse to keep the Clinton bulldozer operational. With Hillary saying, "Let the voters decide," why can she not let the super-delegates decide as well. When those who have decided to back Obama let her know their decision ahead of announcing it, they have reported (nicely) that it was an "uncomfortable" conversation. Not surprising. This woman would do anything to win, including making threats and retaliating against supporters of her opposition. Do you really think she could lead a country and spread peace and prosperity? Good grief.
What is wrong with Hillary supports? It's clear that Obama supporters are the more educated. We are more open-minded and able to discern fact from Hillary lies. We intelligently listen to Obama and make informed decisions about his statements. We are able to differentiate his statement and beliefs from his pastors. But Obama helps, for he is honest and forthright with the American people. We may not agree with everything he says, but we get a gut instinct that he is sincere in what he says, unlike what we get in Hillary
I just don't get these Hillary supports. They support her no matter what lies she tells. Ok, not fair. Some who supported Hillary earlier have crossed over to Obama after seeing Hillary's dirty tricks. But the ones who stick with her even after they see what low and dirty tricks she is capable of, and after seeing her willingness and ability to tear the Democratic party apart, all for the sake of power.
Wake up Hillary supporters!
Every candidate has inconsistancies. To paraphrase what Hillary said we're all human. We make mistakes. I can buy that. That's an honest enough answer. But the real problem isn't the mistakes, The problem is how consistant the 'mistakes' are. Memories are a strange thing and Hillary needs to either a) straiten up and be honest or b) check her facts before she mis-speaks. She's the only one that knows which of these two things she needs to do.
Hillary has a pretty shady past that has been largely overlooked by the general populous. She should be very thankful that Obama has not decided to go for the throat. It would not benefit the race or the Democratic party any. So he has kept his stance combative, but at least within reletively decent taste. McCain will not be so cordial.
For those of you who depend on one source for your information to make all decisions. Go find the real stories and make your decisions based on full stories (which no one site seems to have it all). CNN's stories are fairly one sided, which makes it that much more important to find the full story. How many people have actually checked out the candidates' home pages and actually know what their platforms are? Check it out. You might be surprised.
Obama is not racist unless he's the best actor I have ever met (which is a substantial list). Nobody gets a national government position by being inexperienced. Even if one is inexperienced in various areas, this is where advisors/the cabinet come in. Any worthwhile leader knows that. So stop with the hate for either candidate. There's not a person in this election that is worth the time and effort to actually bring out comments that strong and it hurts the image of both candidates when you do.
Hillary supporters,
Your candidate doesn't just tell little lies, she tells big ones and then repeats them over and over figuring they'll actually stick. And when she's finally caught she doesn't apologize, she just says she "misspoke." This will doom her candidacy as it should as she can't win anyway.
Obama isn't perfect either but I just don't see him pulling stuff this egregious. HRC cannot unite us when she lies on an almost daily basis.
it is clear and obvious to anyone who is truthful, that Hillary Clinton will say anything, do anything to get what she wants. It is obvious that the "reporter" in the crowd was planted by Hillary's staff to ask the tired Wright question as a diversion. It is a zero sum game with the Clintons and they are like the Little Prince/Machiavelli. Always have been. She will make a terrible president. People like allxdreamer are "protesting too much" and in deep, deep denial. Lukily, there are less of them in the country. Pennsylvania will surprise America with a resounding victory for Obama.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH STOP STUPIDITY
OTHERWISE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND FOX NEWS.
THIS COUNTRY AND WORLD IS FACING EXTREME CHALLENGES SO SUPPORT THE "ONCE A LIFE TIME LEADER BARACK OBAMA"
I AM WHITE AND HAVE MUCH MORE JUDGEMENT AND EXPERIENCE ABOUT THE WORLD THAN ANY OF YOU EMPLOYEE OR ANALYST HAVE.
SO FOR GOD SAKE STOP STUPIDITY AND DO NOT DOWNGRADE YOUR SERVICE.
”The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of times,” Snyder wrote. “He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear. Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize.”
The sad thing about all this is we allow the intolerant republicans to use the ignorant excuse when using these awful tactics but Hillary knows better. I can't beleive that I once said she would be our next president. She better turn around soon if she wants to save any grace she ever had. I don't deny both the Clintons have done well for the country but the power and greed that is so present in the Bush Administration seems to have taken over the morals and ethics of the Clinton brigade as well.
Hillary is a great and she said that she misspoke. She is honest and care about America. I love her because i know like her Husband she will make America to rise up again economically and bring our troops home responsibly...Go Hillary Go Hillary
If this is an indication of what kind of president she'd be, I'm worried. What she did was to panic when she started falling behind and to correct that, chose to use dirty tactics. When the going got tough, she didn't look at the big picture of the election as a whole, of the Democratic Party's needs, and of the needs of the country. She didn't have a game plan for "what if Obama starts winning." She tried to front-load the primaries but the DNC said "no" to Florida and Michigan.
If I misspoke on my resume like Hillary did about Bosnia, I would be fired.
How can someone who so blatantly lies ("I remember running for cover" is NOT misspeaking) to improve their image be trusted when it come time for them to promote a piece of legislation? How can someone so demonstrably dishonest be accepted as a good fit for the most important job in the world?
Yes, all people lie. But some do so far more often than others. Especially now, we need a president who can be trusted. Hillary has proven once again that she doesn't deserve our trust.
It's interesting to me that Reverend Wright hasn't appeared on any of the news networks to defend and/or explain himself. Why? There's more to this story that hasn't come out yet. Barack is NOT the candidate he claims to be.
She is a politician. ALL of them lie, including Obama and McCain. ALL of them. Instead of harping on her lie which did no damage to anyone but herself why don't you report on the almost deadly lies that Bush and company tell daily.
Truth, she don't know how to tell it
Honesty, she have mislead people so many time and time again
Ethnic, she sold her soul to the devil as long as she gets what she wants
Faith, Wow I guess the Black Minister was okay to hangout with as long as they allow her to talk to their members to vote for her or Bill
Value, the Clintons don't value nothing but what's in it for them just as Monica Lewinski, Peter Paul, or Dubia Port World for the $ 20 million and kickbacks. Jst follow the money and make sure she give you the undoctor tax return.
I would like to think that if a person is under "sniper fire" and had to rush out of a plane to take cover, then this memory, especially a president's wife, would be accurate. Personally, I find it hard to believe that the "powers that be" would even allow a president's wife and daughter to even land in an area that would be "active."
These types of statements by Hillary are a problem. They seem to show a pattern. If she is making these types of misstatements now, what makes you think it will change if she is elected as the democratic nominee, and if fortunate, the president of the United States? We already have a liar and an "embellisher" as the president now. Do we really want more of this?
As a registered Democrat, I'm glad the veracity of Senator Clinton's claims, especially on her foreign policy experience, are being examined and debated now.
Carl Bernstein makes a very strong point regarding the relevance of these comments to primary voters when he writes, "Her record as a public person is replete with 'misstatements' and elisions and retracted and redacted and revoked assertions." Also, as Bernstein mentions, voters need to consider her disastrous handling of healthcare reform, the impact of which we are still feeling to this day.
All this makes me wonder if Clinton can't even be honest about what actually did happen, how can she possibly learn from her mistakes, of which there have been (and continue to be) many?
If by some sleight of hand Clinton manages to end up with the Democratic nomination, the Republicans will not be gentle in their use of that record and I'm afraid we'll be in for 4 more years of Republican rule. Primary voters need to put an end to this ASAP, starting with Pennsylvania and continuing through Puerto Rico.
." I’m certain there are plenty of inaccuracies in Obama’s life, but then again where was he and who was he 10 years ago? And now that Hillary is questioning Obama’s relationship with his pastor, they say “how can she stoop so low”? At least its current and relavent to his morals and the CURRENT issues at hand."
I see, so hillary cant remember not being under sniper fire and its ok for her to lie cause it was a long time ago, but you insist Mr. Obama is a liar because you are convinced that he he has to remember if he was in church on a day 5 years ago? Not only that, but he has to be called into account for someone else's words and opinions?? Why the double standard? HMMMMM. I thought i'd seen it all, now because there is nothing else to lynch him with, Obama has to swing because you want to believe he was in CHURCH on a particular sunday 5 years ago?????
I think a lot of people are missing the point here. Hillary Clinton is applying for a job. The job of a lifetime! The debates and speeches are her job interviews for this position. She has, in my opinion, failed in her interview for the job by LYING. When you are interviewing for a job, and the employer has irrefutable proof and information in front of them that is contradictory to the verbal assertions of the job applicant, the interview is OVER for the applicant! The employer does not call this embellishment! And neither do I. By the way, for all the Hillary-supporters who are trying to diffuse and confuse the situation... when applying for a job, it has never been important to ask , "Who was your pastor."
Poor Obama. Do we want a crybaby in the White House. Wait to the Republicans get ahold of him. Carl Bernstein has never said anything nice about the Clintons. After 12 years all of us usually don't get the facts right. So give me a break. People don't you remember the 90's. Great years. I believe we can have those years again. I don't hold President Clinton cheating against him. How many people do you know who has cheated. Quite a few and I'm sure a lot more that we don't know but have. We have more to worry about than these stupid things, but i think a person who would attend church for 20 years and listen to the hate America has a problem. I don't want him to be my President.
Why is it "NOBODY"S" business when it comes to Hillary's credibility and that hidden agenda she had for remaining in a marriage with Bill, but it's "EVERYBODY'S" business when it comes to Barack and why he remained with his pastor? If Chelsea is going to campaign as an adult, she needs to be treated as an adult. Why is the media, including the women on the view, being so nice to her and her "ARROGANT" response to that college student? We all know Hillary stayed with Bill to keep "HIS" supporters, so she would have his base when she was ready to run for president. CALL IT THE WAY IT TRULY IS PEOPLE. I was a Hillary supporter. Chelsea killed that with her rudeness. It's everybody's business; it happened in the White House!!
I am personally glad that Mrs Clinton answered the question, I am glad that someone feels the same as me about someone who would preach such hatred towards his fellow Americans. I can forgive and forget mistakes that people make we are all human, but to not be able to make a decision about what we would want our children to learn does not make any since to me.