“I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia,” she said last
week. “There was a saying around the White House that if a place was
too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn’t go, so
send the First Lady.“I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some
kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our
heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”
I’ve had a problem with the whole “experience” argument from the
start. As with Obama, then you have to prove it, which hasn’t been especially
impressive on his behalf. Just remember Obama and his Exelon whopper, which
he told to Iowa voters; or his fibbing on Wright to Keith Olbermann, which was revealed in his big speech.
But Hillary Clinton trying to prove her importance during her husband’s presidency
overreached massively and got caught in a whopper on Bosnia that includes tape.
Now to be fair, the trip wasn’t completely safe from danger, but no one cares
now. We remember her well received foreign policy speech from last week, which
included the words shown above, with the video tape evidence circulating today
that blows what she said in a major foreign policy speech to smithereens. It’s
a self-inflicted wound that is by no means fatal, but definitely foolish.
As I’ve said before, Clinton should have from the start simply said she was
her husband’s most valued adviser. That she was there and learned through their
back and forth, as well as from her many trips that span 80 countries, without
claiming a war story. It was unnecessary, especially when the blowback certainly won’t be worth it. Besides, no one expects a first
lady to have the experience of a president. It’s Clinton’s lifetime of learning
that she’ll bring to the job that has real value. Hillary’s life proves different opportunities from a man that needs no apologies and padding. Confidence in a life well lived has its own reward, especially when you’ve seen as much as Clinton has over decades of public policy involvement.
Both Democrats are padding the presidential resumes and coming out looking small.
It leaves John McCain to chuckle on the sidelines, because it lends a storyline that his biography needs no embellishment, when his judgment is something that does deserve scrutiny.
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