Obama Evokes Ronald Reagan Values in Response to Clinton Foreign Policy Gaffe
" ... he won the Cold War - not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends."
----- Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in her June 11, 2004 eulogy for President Ronald Reagan
Hillary Clinton made a strategic political error during the July 23, 2007 CNN-YouTube debate... a serious error that will haunt her campaign to capture the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
Not only was Clinton's hawkish, harsh response ("I will NOT promise... ) on U.S. foreign policy a political gaffe, it was woefully out-of-step with the American public's strong desire to break from the arrogant ethnocentrism of Bush-Cheney foreign policy.
Per a Rasmussen poll on July 25-26, "Democrats, by a 55% to 22% margin, agree with Obama."
While Clinton's sharp-tongued response drew effusive praise from Bush-supporting conservatives and even Republican '08 candidate Mitt Romney, it served to shine Democratic focus on Obama's central campaign message that "It's time to turn the page."
(See Obama's Speech Announcing 2008 Run for the White House.)
And Sen. Clinton's angry blunder allowed Sen. Barack Obama to orate to thunderous acclaim at a rally on July 28:
"We need a president who'll have the strength and courage to go toe to toe with the leaders of rogue nations, because that's what it takes to protect our security."That's what I'll do as your next commander in chief
"I was called irresponsible and naive because I believe that there is nobody we can't talk to. We've got nothing to fear as long as know who we are and what we stand for and our values."
(Does Obama's mention of hope and values sound vaguely familiar?)
In "Defining Moment?," Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne wrote about the Obama-Clinton foreign policy smackdown:
"This dynamic, over a stray comment in a single debate, could be remembered as the moment that defined the Democratic presidential contest. Clinton faces trouble if she allows Obama a monopoly on the future."
I fully agree.
And I repeat what I wrote 5 months ago as a precaution about Sen. Clinton: The U.S. can't afford to elect another of George Bush's ilk to the White House.
THAT is the major fear of millions of Democrats and Independents about a President Hillary Clinton. A fear she greatly exacerbated with her hardened, neocon-like attitude at the CNN-YouTube debate.
Republican-darling Ronald Reagan would have been appalled by Sen. Clinton's comment...
(Photo of CNN-YouTube Debate: Stephen Morton/Getty Images)
Related Reading
Is Hillary Clinton Too Much Like George Bush?
CNN-YouTube Debate: Obama Won, Hillary Lost, Edwards Rising
Washington Post, July 27, 2007: Defining Moment?
AP, July 28, 2007: Obama calls for shift in diplomacy
Politico.com, July 24, 2007: Obama models campaign on Reagan revolt
Comments
What harm can Bush do before his term is up?
He can bomb Iran.
He can appoint another Supreme Court Justice.
He can continue with impunity the crime of torture.
If George Bush is NOT impeached before he leaves office then everything he has done will be codified, legitimized and made permanant.
It does not go away
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