Hillary Rodham Clinton ridiculed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Tuesday for his contention that living abroad as a child helped give him a better understanding of the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.And Obama strikes back:
"Voters will have to judge if living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face," Clinton said. "I think we need a president with more experience than that, someone the rest of the world knows, looks up to and has confidence in."
Obama's retort: "I was wondering which world leader told her that we needed to invade Iraq."Obama expands on that point:
"Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld have spent time in the White House and traveled to many countries as well, but along with Hillary Clinton they led us into the worst foreign policy disaster in a generation and are now giving George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran. The real choice in this election is between conventional Washington thinking that prizes posture and positioning, or real change that puts judgment and honesty first."They're both right. I don't disagree with Obama's contention that living abroad as a child gives him more of a window on to the world. It does. My mom is an immigrant, and it not only made her more international, so to speak, but she gave me the bug as well (dad helped too). But, it was a comment that was just begging for the retort Clinton gave it.
As for Obama's contention about Clinton, well, he has a point. The Iran resolution was creepy, and all too familiar. It wasn't to help Bush pressure Iran diplomatically or otherwise. It was meant to do two things. First, to put Democrats into yet another bind, pitting their knowledge of how Bush has abused these resolutions in the past against their desire not to look weak on Iran (or anything else military). And second, it was meant to give Bush the authorization to go to war (that was certainly Lieberman's intent). We all know it. And suggesting that the resolution didn't do that, well, that just doesn't fly. It's yet another example of Democrats being unable and unwilling to stop this kind of nonsense in its tracks.
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