Posted on 03/16/2008 9:53:39 AM PDT by doug from upland
Obama's camp: Hillary's Ireland claims are blarney WOOING IRISH | He says she exaggerates her role in peace process
March 16, 2008 BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com Marching in Scranton and Pittsburgh, Pa.'s, St. Patrick's Day parade Saturday seemed a perfect time for White House hopeful Hillary Clinton to release her Northern Ireland position paper. Irish Catholics will be a sizable part of the electorate in Pennsyvania's April 22 Democratic presidential primary.
As a regular part of her stump speech, Clinton cites what she says is her role in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland as evidence of the foreign policy experience she says she has and Barack Obama doesn't. In her position paper Saturday, she pledged to make nurturing Northern Ireland's peace process an important part of American foreign policy.
Obama's campaign reacted to Clinton's Northern Ireland position paper by sending out an e-mail accusing Clinton of exaggerating her role in her husband's efforts to encourage Northern Ireland's peace process.
"In President [Bill] Clinton's own book about his work in Northern Ireland, he did not talk about any particular contribution by Hillary Clinton," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Saturday.
Clinton no longer offers as part of her stump speech a story she gave in New Hampshire about bringing together women from opposite sides of Northern Ireland's Protestant-Catholic divide for a meeting at which they spoke to each other for the first time, after the Boston Globe raised questions about the story.
But she reminds voters that she has visited Northern Ireland seven times, accompanying her husband on all of his trips and going sometimes by herself. Her position paper offers quotes from some of the most highly regarded participants in the peace process, including moderate Catholic leader John Hume, who said: "She made countless calls and contacts, speaking to leaders and opinion makers on all sides, urging them to keep moving forward."
Bill Clinton's granting of a visa to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, over Britain's objection, helped him persuade IRA members to embrace the peace process, and Adams credits Hillary Clinton with playing "an important role" in the peace process.
Bill Clinton tells rallies around the country that Northern Ireland leaders visiting the United States ask to see his wife to thank her for her help.
The Obama campaign distributed a statement from former State Department official Greg Craig calling Hillary Clinton's claim of helping the peace process "a gross overstatement of the facts."
Clinton last week agreed to appear before the Irish American Presidential Forum. Plouffe said Saturday he would check to see if Obama would likewise accept the invitation.
Obama has the backing of Sen. Ted Kennedy, who has also been active in the peace process.
"If Sen. Obama is elected president, continuing the progress that had been made in that area of the world is going to be critical," Plouffe said.
O'Toole, O'Reilly etc .....
Bill is black, Hillary is Irish - these people will be whatever you want them to be!
Hillary must have ate at O’beano’s,she is blowing a lot of hot gas.
she’s a freakin’ liar. She is a legend in her own mind. She never did any of those things. She was the wife that was it of the president (if you could cal him that even). She THINKS this is the woman’s time for the job and was surprised as HELL when Obama came on the scene. She must have pitched a hissy. One can only imagine. Seems justice comes when we least expect it. Now the people she claims to have done so much for and cared so much about have a candidate for President and it must be KILLING HER. There is no way she can win this one. She’s done! Go Obama!!!
my husband is Irish and he knows Irish and he says: hilllere is NOT Irish.
Nam Vet
*New tagline because middle names mean nothing. (we are told)
ROTFLMAO !!!
Funny stuff !
Stay safe Ya’ll........~
Hillary will pander to whomever’s cause because of the votes these causes represent. She’ll talk with a funny accent or come up with a new heritage (besides Lenin and Marx). But look at the base cause of this, HRC is a communist scumbag trying to get into the White House and make us into the United Soviet States. The only way to get herself in is to be everything for every one and trick voters into thinking she’ll be the best candidate.
While I don't doubt the Hildebeast's ruminations on this to be somewhere between extreme exaggeration and sheer fantasy, the fact that Bill didn't give here credit doesn't mean anything.
It was Bill's book; all about Bill.
Hey, Hillary! If you could do the Irish jig in front of me, I’ll give you some credence. Otherwise, you’re a liar!
Obama’s camp: Hillary’s Ireland claims are blarney...so it b. HUSSEIN”S claim that he was not schooled in a madrasah!!!!
Well, whatever other foolishness she’s trying to claim, at least she’s not claiming to actually BE of Irish descent.
I wonder if Bill will now claim that he cut the bit about Hillary bringing peace to Ireland out of his 1008-page book for the sake of brevity.
After everything that has happened this weekend, Osama’s bringing out the big guns!! LOL!!
Hillary Clinton has has made false claims about her role in the Irish peace process and brought a St. Patrick curse upon her campaign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ejqshbcCvQ
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