Hillary’s op-ed says that we’ve had eight years of failed leadership. Candidates say that type of thing each election cycle but this time, I thought her claims were a bit hilarious. Here’s the opening paragraph:

After eight years of failed leadership under President Bush, the next president will face extraordinary challenges: a war to end; an economy to revive; an energy crisis to solve; 47 million Americans to insure; a homeland to secure; alliances to repair; and a world in need of American leadership.

Let’s examine her priorities. Hillary says that we have “a war to end” yet she refused to say at a recent debate that she couldn’t guarantee that she’d have the troops out by the end of her first term in office. This is typical Hillary, typical Clinton. She’s attempting to curry favor with the Nutroots by suggesting that she’d end the war ASAP without committing to ending it ASAP.

That isn’t any different than saying that Gov. Spitzer’s plan of issuing drivers licenses “makes alot of sense” right before she refused to say that she endorsed his plan which was right before she said she wouldn’t give drivers licenses which was right after Gov. Spitzer officially dropped his plan.

Does that sound like leadership to you?

Next Hillary says that there’s an economy to revive. She’s actually right in saying that. The US economy is slowing down. Unfortunately, her perscription is all wrong. She wants to pass a $1 trillion tax increase when our economy is weakening. That’ll sink us into a recession that’s longer and deeper than our recessions traditionally have been.

I’ll admit that that sounds like leadership…right before we go off the cliff.

Next she says that there’s an energy crisis to solve. In the past, she’s voted for a bill that taxed oil companies. How does that solve our energy crisis? It’s a well-known fact that she’s against drilling off the coasts or in ANWR. In other words, she doesn’t have a short-term solution.

I’ll politely refuse that type of ‘leadership’.

Then she says that “we have a homeland to secure.” To be fair, she voted for the scanning equipment for screening cargo. On the negative side, she said that she’s opposed to the NSA intercept program. How do you secure the homeland if you’re opposed to learning what the jihadists are saying?

Then we come to my favorite line. She says that we have “alliances to repair”, which is wrong-headed thinking and typical liberal thinking. During President Bush’s first term, an irresponsible showboat named Jacques Chirac and his lapdog Gerhard Shroeder made a big fuss. These were weak-kneed politicians grandstanding on the world stage. They’ve now been replaced by an unabashedly pro-American Nicolas Sarkozy and helpful Angela Merkel. Meanwhile, Gordon Brown says that the most important British bilateral relationship is with the United States.

The question I have for Mrs. Clinton is simple: Which alliance is in need of repair? Implicit in her statement is her belief that the United States was the villain, not Jacques Chirac or Gerhard Schroeder. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live with a worldview that automatically thinks that America’s foreign policy is wrong when a Republican is in office.

Here’s the funniest line in the entire op-ed:

You know where I stand. And you know that when I stand with you, I never give up, I never back down and I never stop fighting - no matter how tough it gets.

We don’t know where she stands because she’s refused to get pinned down to anything. As I pointed out earlier, she said that Gov. Spitzer’s plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants “made alot of sense” right before she told Tim Russert that she wasn’t endorsing Gov. Spitzer’s plan.

That isn’t that different than her starting off as the most hawkish of Democratic senators on Iraq to now sounding like she’s the nuttiest of the nutroots who’s said that “If George Bush doesn’t end this war, I will.” That’s right before she said that she couldn’t guarantee that she’d have all the troops out before the end of her first term.

Here in Minnesota, the cliche is that “If you don’t like our weather, wait an hour. It’ll be different.” We can adapt that to fit Hillary by simply changing a couple words “If you don’t like Hillary’s positions, just wait until the next poll comes out. Her position will change.”

That isn’t leadership. It’s Hillary’s promise of an eight year panderfest. People have a right to know how she’ll “never stop fighting - no matter how tough it gets” if she’s willing to abandon her positions at the drop of a hat.

Technorati Tags: Hillary, Economy, Tax Increases, Foreign Policy, Iraq, Diplomacy, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schroeder, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, Homland Security, Nutroots, Leadership

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
   Nov. 19, 2007 – 1:22 p.m.
   Some House Backers of Thompson Are Starting to Lose the Faith
   Several House Republicans who endorsed Fred Thompson for president now say that they are frustrated with what they view as an apathetic campaign, and at least one regrets having committed to the former Tennessee senator.

   “I think he’s kind of done a belly flop,” said an estranged Thompson backer who indicated he will not pull his public support before the “Super Tuesday” primaries. “We’ll just wait till after Feb. 5 because I think he’s going to get beat.”

   The disaffected members of team Thompson say he has failed to put to rest whispers that he is unwilling to campaign hard enough to win the presidency.

   “He seems to be perpetuating it instead of defeating it,” another dissatisfied Thompson backer said. “I can’t see me bailing on him, but there’s some frustration.”

   Political endorsements mean little in and of themselves. But actively engaged elected officials can use their own networks to help boost a presidential candidate’s chances in their district or state, according to political experts.

   “It often times gives entrée to that person’s own fundraising network and to be able to tap into that person’s knowledge of how to win that particular geography,” said Susan A. MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

   Some of Thompson’s endorsers say they aren’t lifting a finger.

   “I’ve kind of pulled back. I’m not not supporting him, but I’m not doing anything,” said a third lawmaker.

   What could be even more troubling for Thompson is what that lawmaker said GOP activists outside the capital Beltway are saying: “Now they’re calling me and saying ‘What’s he doing?’ It’s almost like he doesn’t want it.”

   Comment by Benn — November 20, 2007 @ 11:35 am

2. It’s funny how you can’t let go of the drivers’ license for illegals thing, no matter how many times you’ve been proven wrong. But no matter; there is a majority in this country (somewhere between half and two-thirds) say Bush is a failed leader, combined with the ever-increasing number of former Bushies jumping ship (like rats, some say), and the increasing problems elsewhere in the world make a Clinton presidency look better and better every day. As Hillary said, “It takes a Clinton to clean up a Bush mess!”

   Comment by Rocky — November 20, 2007 @ 6:14 pm

3. The fact that they dont have a short term solution for energy may be causitive or corelative to Spaeker Nancy’s make nice with Syria, policy.

   Comment by T. A. Gray — November 20, 2007 @ 7:26 pm

4. So, Benn, instead of trying to trash a Republican candidate because the donkeys are all self-destructing, did it ever occur to you that maybe you could have stayed on-topic and point out what Freddy’s policies are, or at least what he says they are compared to the way he voted as a senator?

   Seems to me that would have made a little more sense.

   BTW, Gary, good analysis.

   Comment by Carlos — November 22, 2007 @ 9:39 am