After seeing this video of Hillary chewing off the head of a student who asked a question…
I was originally taken aback. But then, aha!, then I realized that this was no mere momentary piercing of the veil revealing Hillary’s deep-seated jealousy and pettiness. No, this is obviously the first clear sign of Obama’s new clever diplomatic approach, modeled on none other than Teddy Roosevelt.
August 11, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Way to build foreign relations, there, SOS Clinton.
You could have politely explained to a speaker who obviously had trouble with English the difference between her role and her husband's role. Instead, you get really ticked and respond like an insulting jerk.
Obviously this kid was from a country we're allies with. He would have gotten a much nicer response if he was from, say, Iran.
August 11, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I am not in the habit of defending Hillary Clinton, but I have to admit that I understand her frustration. Some 25 years ago I was an Air Force doctor in charge of the base emergency room. My husband was a fighter pilot. When the hospital commander toured a visiting general around, the most impressive thing he thought to tell the general about the emergency room was that I was married to a fighter pilot. He completely ignored all the great medical service we were providing. To this day I feel a tinge of anger over the incident. Still, the more gracious response of Secretary Clinton would have been to provide her own opinion and ignore the request for her husband's thoughts.
August 11, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Denise,
I think we can all understand her frustration. It is how she dealt with it that is the story. Remember, we are talking about the chief diplomat of the US.
August 11, 2009 at 4:31 pm
It's just a fact of life that being married to a fighter pilot is way cooler than anything that can be accomplished medically, except maybe giving a wounded fighter pilot a robotic hand like Luke Skywalker or something. Don't take it personally.
August 11, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Denise, Patrick is right. I can understand her frustration and it looks like she is very tired and a little dishevelled, so the two things combined would tend to make you a little less patient. However, if this is the person that is supposed to be representing our nation and building up foreign relations, it is essential that she not respond in this way toward anyone, especially someone of, for lack of a better word, such little significance in the grand scheme of things.
By the way, Patrick, I heard on this morning's news that after the incident, the student reported that he had made a mistake in his question and he wanted to know Mr. Obama's opinion, not Mr. Clinton's.
August 11, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Well, aside from not being much of a diplomat, did she ever answer the question? Has anyone accused her of being racist yet?
August 11, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I agree with Brian. A robotic hand would definitely be cool, as opposed to not having a hand at all.
August 11, 2009 at 5:05 pm
We should never, ever accuse Mrs. Clinton of having any class nor that of her boss at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Such accusations should never be thrown at them. Thinking of their classy predecessors should make us weep for that dark November 4th day last year in this country when 52% of the electorate went temporarily insane.
August 11, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Wait a second. Are we talking about a normal robotic hand that has human strength or are we talking like bionic?
August 11, 2009 at 6:12 pm
This is hilarious, that she gets so wound up by this! But I'm not an American so it's easier for me to laugh – I can imagine if my SoS responded that way, I'd be pretty annoyed. I feel sorry for the poor questioner though, who I understand was mistranslated by the interpreter.
August 11, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Will bionic/Terminator-like hands be covered under Obamacare?
August 11, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Only if you need one as part of a sex-change operation.
August 11, 2009 at 9:40 pm
It must be frustrating when you try to make a serious comment and all us men can talk about is your intergalactic fighter pilot husband and the superhuman strength of his bio-robotic hand.
I'm starting to see why Hillary might have flown off the handle like she did.
August 12, 2009 at 4:25 am
Ah, I'm with Hillary on this one. Only because Obama has proven himself to be more touchy and prideful than her.
Sure, she answered the question poorly, but Obama is freakin' tearing the country apart with his rhetoric.
August 12, 2009 at 4:26 am
By the by, that's hilarious, Brian.
August 12, 2009 at 1:48 pm
This country's representatives have become kindergartners.
Why couldn't she double check if she had heard right? "Excuse me, did you mean Mr. Clinton or Mr. Obama?"
How pathetic and embarrassing.
Mercy!
Mum26
August 13, 2009 at 1:15 am
Oooops me thinks she doth protest too much.
August 13, 2009 at 1:19 am
Mum,
She was supposed to read the translator's mind and know that he screwed up? Maybe it would have been nice if she's politely asked for clarification, and then said, "Well, my husband is a private citizen, and I don't feel right publicizing his opinions; however, I can give you mine of you're interested."
However, given what she's apparently heard in the past few days about women in that particular country being raped when they leave refugee camps to gather firewood and the attitude towards the crimes in question ranging from blase to 'our daughter is dead to us; she brought this shame on herself,' I'd say she responded to something that, erroneously or not, came across as a blatant insult, by shooting it down as it deserved. "Kiss my @ss, turd," was the answer I would've been tempted to give; the answer she gave was just fine with me. I don't want to be represented by a doormat.
Now, if Bill Clinton actually were a fighter pilot who had destroyed a planet-killing space-station, and had a bionic hand and a lightsaber, I might have a little more sympathy.
S. Murphy
August 13, 2009 at 1:19 am
Mum,
She was supposed to read the translator's mind and know that he screwed up? Maybe it would have been nice if she's politely asked for clarification, and then said, "Well, my husband is a private citizen, and I don't feel right publicizing his opinions; however, I can give you mine of you're interested."
However, given what she's apparently heard in the past few days about women in that particular country being raped when they leave refugee camps to gather firewood and the attitude towards the crimes in question ranging from blase to 'our daughter is dead to us; she brought this shame on herself,' I'd say she responded to something that, erroneously or not, came across as a blatant insult, by shooting it down as it deserved. "Kiss my @ss, turd," was the answer I would've been tempted to give; the answer she gave was just fine with me. I don't want to be represented by a doormat.
Now, if Bill Clinton actually were a fighter pilot who had destroyed a planet-killing space-station, and had a bionic hand and a lightsaber, I might have a little more sympathy.
S. Murphy