Posted on 01/28/2007 2:56:50 PM PST by NormsRevenge
DAVENPORT, Iowa - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that President Bush should withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq before he leaves office, asserting it would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next commander in chief.
"This was his decision to go to war with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy," the Democratic senator from New York said her in initial presidential campaign swing through Iowa.
"We expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office" in January 2009, the former first lady said.
The White House condemned Clinton's comments as a partisan attack that undermines U.S. soldiers.
About 130,000 American troops are in Iraq and Bush has announced he was sending 21,500 more as part of his new war strategy.
Clinton held a town hall-style forum attended by about 300 activists, giving a brief speech before taking questions for nearly an hour. Pressed to defend her vote to authorize force in Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, Clinton responded by stepping up her criticism of Bush.
"I am going to level with you, the president has said this is going to be left to his successor," Clinton said. "I think it is the height of irresponsibility and I really resent it."
Bush describes Iraq as the central front in the global fight against terrorism that began after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "The war on terror will be a problem for the next president. Presidents after me will be confronting ... an enemy that would like to strike the United States again," he recently told USA Today.
One questioner asked Clinton if her track record showed she could stand up to "evil men" around the world.
"The question is, we face a lot of dangers in the world and, in the gentleman's words, we face a lot of evil men and what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men," Clinton said. She paused to gaze while the audience interrupted with about 30 seconds of laughter and applause.
Meeting later with reporters, she was pressed repeatedly to explain what she meant. She insisted it was a simple joke.
"I thought I was funny," Clinton said. "You guys keep telling me to lighten up, be funny. I get a little funny and now I'm being psychoanalyzed."
She told reporters that evil men included al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who remains at large. "Isn't it about time we get serious about that?" she said.
During the town hall meeting, she tried to make clear that she thinks she would be a chief executive with enough fortitude to confront any danger facing the country.
"I believe that a lot in my background and a lot in my public life shows the character and toughness that is required to be president," Clinton said. "It also shows that I want to get back to bringing the world around to support us again."
The meeting was scheduled for a downtown restaurant but was switched to a pavilion at a nearby park when it became clear that hundreds of people planned to attend.
At virtually all her stops in this early nominating state, she ran into questions about her Iraq vote. She says Bush misled Congress and she now wants a cap on the number of troops, as well as beginning a "phased redeployment" of troops from Iraq.
The White House said it was disappointing that Clinton was responding to Bush's new war strategy "with a partisan attack that sends the wrong message to our troops, our enemies and the Iraqi people who are working to make this plan succeed."
"The height of irresponsibility," spokesman Rob Saliterman said, "would be to cap our troop numbers at an arbitrary figure and to cut off their funding."
Clinton does not support cutting funding for American troops, but does favor that step for Iraqi forces if the Baghdad government fails to meet certain conditions.
Clinton defended the role that Congress has played, saying newly empowered Democrats are beginning to build pressure on Bush to act, but the public needs to be patient.
"We are at the beginning of a process," Clinton said. "It's a frustrating process, our system is sometimes frustrating."
In making the case for her candidacy, Clinton cites her years as first lady, when Bill Clinton was president for two terms, and two winning campaigns for the Senate.
"I believe that my qualification and my life experience equip me to hit the ground running in January of 2009," Clinton said. "I have a unique perspective having been in the White House for eight years and understanding the challenge that comes from trying to govern our great country."
Clinton said he will run hard in Iowa's leadoff caucuses, an early contest her husband skipped when he sought the nomination in 1992. That year, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record) was in the race and Democratic rivals opted not to challenge him in his home state.
"My participation in the Iowa caucuses is the only thing in politics that I will do that Bill has not done," she said.
Eight-year-old Logan Crawford, left, takes a photo of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., as she speaks during a town hall meeting, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007, at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa. Clinton has formed an exploratory committee in advance of formally announcing her candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Just like LBJ, eh? Oh, I forgot, he's a Democrat, so he never did anything wrong. (</sarc>)
The moonbats demand them out NOW! They will be severly dissapointed... hehe.
BTW that kid with the camera is hilarious.
Potential voters watch as U.S. presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) campaigns at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, January 28, 2007. Clinton is campaigning in Iowa for the first time since announcing her intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination earlier in the week. REUTERS/John Gress (UNITED STATES)
Too bad he didn't have a fake camera with Holy Water in it, he could have squirted her.. then we all could have watched her melt.
Shut Up, B*tch. Man, I loathe that creature!
It would be the height of irresponsiblity to leave before the job is finished. The security of our country and the WOT is at stake. If you want to be President, you should be ready to face all the problems that come with the job, including the ones left over from the previous adminstration. Of course, Hillary will never be ready to be President.
Her fat rapist, lying, cheating, perjuring, impeached husband left us in this mess. Maybe if she was able to take care of him at home, he wouldn't have gone out and fondled the interns and rape his underlings. Or maybe he wouldn't have needed to recieve oral pleasure from a fat pig while he discussed troop placement in the Balkans where, by the way, we're still stuck because of him.
She's such a despicable pig.
that kid could be a stand in for a young Rosie o donnle
It would be the height of irresponsibility to abandon Iraq by a convenient date set by this idiot. When is a republican leader going to lambaste these fools for these statements that patently are not in the interests of the American people? This statement by Hilary qualifies her as an absolute kook.
What the Hell does that date have to do with prudent American foreign and military policy decisions? She demonstrates she doesn't know and doesn't care anything about our national interests, and she doesn't have a clue how the world works.
I guess her statement has to be interpreted as meaning that after she voted for the war, she will pull our troops out asap no matter what the situation or what the consequences. It's as air headed and irresponsible as you could get.
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Hey Hillary you and your husband passed this war on to us. The only difference is, now we are fighting back.
Meeting later with reporters, she was pressed repeatedly to explain what she meant. She insisted it was a simple joke.
Ah, the old "botched joke" defense. My prediction is that she, like Kerry, will make a lot of botched jokes before this is all over. Neither of them has one iota of a sense of humor.
That is a very poor criterion for making an important decision. Wouldn't victory or success or fullfillment of goal be better?
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