The Blogometer: Clinton's tactic didn't work

Colobo

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Aug-22-07 12:09 PM
Original message

The Blogometer: Clinton's tactic didn't work

CLINTON: This Tactic Did Not Work
The netroots are not happy with Hillary Clinton's admission that changing "tactics" in Iraq is "working." Despite Team HRC claims that the word "surge" never appeared in her 8/21 Veterans of Foreign Wars remarks, most are interpreting her statement as an endorsement of the surge. Reactions include:

Open Left's Matt Stoller: "Hillary Clinton is upfront that she thinks Petraeus has made progress in Iraq with new military tactics, she's also upfront that she thinks that the surge can't work. She also wants to leave troops in Iraq to continue the military progress Petraeus is making. That's why I don't trust her on Iraq."
Open Left's Chris Bowers: "I think this statement from Clinton is a very big deal, and does show her to have a more hawkish "core" than Obama, Edwards or Richardson. ... My main concern here is not whether this specific troop escalation had or has not worked (it hasn't, and both Obama and Clinton are wrong on that front, as the numbers objectively show) ... Rather, it is whether a sizable, long-term military presence in Iraq that arrived via pre-emptive invasion could ever have "worked," no matter what strategies were employed from the start."
Daily Kos' Down with Conservatism: "While she does say the best thing we can do is bring the troops home, even by acknowledging some sort of success because of the surge just shows Hillary's lack of credibility on the war. If you believe we should not be in Iraq, it doesn't matter if the surge is working or not. ... Democrats who hate the war should think twice before supporting Hillary."
MyDD's Todd Beeton: "At the very least, it was an acknowledgment of nominal support for one aspect of the president's escalation policy ... My larger issue with Clinton is when she chooses to reinforce right-wing talking points ... Talk about Bush/Cheney light."
Mike Gravel at The Huffington Post: "In an attempt to please an audience of veterans yesterday, Hillary Clinton said the surge was "working" and gave a helping-hand to the Bush spin machine ... Endorsing the surge is another example of how Hillary is adopting Bill Clinton's triangulation strategy. After securing the Democratic base, the Clintons always sacrifice their allies to the Right.
The Huffington Post's Frank Dwyer: "What does Hillary mean by "working"? How is the surge working? Is it the same goal she had in mind when she voted to allow Bush to go to war in Iraq if he wanted to? Is her only regret now that our "tactics" were flawed, i. e., we did not send enough Americans to accomplish whatever the Bush/Clinton goal is right from start? ... I have been thinking I would feel compelled to vote for Hillary if the Democrats nominated ... I'm not sure now how meaningful that vote would really be. And I don't think I'm going to be able to do it."

http://blogometer.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/08/clinton_this_ta.html