December 03, 2003
I don't blame them.
From the American Spectator:
LEFTOVERS
While President George W. Bush was embraced warmly by the more than 600 troops he served dinner to in Baghdad on Thanksgiving, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't get the same treatment.
In fact so few U.S. military personnel volunteered to meet and sit with her, that military leaders in Baghdad had to designate enlisted personnel and junior officers to spend time with the New York senator.
"The meetings with [Iraqi administrator Paul] Bremer went fine, but we weren't finding a lot of takers on meeting with Clinton and [Rhode Island Democratic senator Jack] Reed," says an American staffer in Baghdad. "Maybe there weren't a lot of New Yorkers in the area."
If Clinton was aware of her seemingly unpopularity, she didn't seem to care. Almost immediately after landing in Iraq, she began bad-mouthing the Bush administration to the military personnel she met, telling them that while America supported the troops, there were questions about the Bush administration's approach.
"To these men and women over here, it is the same thing," says the U.S. official. "Her husband didn't get it and she obviously hasn't learned. These men and women over here are America. They are the policy. For her to say what she said was just misguided."
Via Polipundit.
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'In fact so few U.S. military personnel volunteered to meet and sit with her, that military leaders in Baghdad had to designate enlisted personnel and junior officers to spend time with the New York senator.'
hey now. i'm sure the folks on laundry and kitchen detail were quite inspired by her visit.
Posted by: scot at December 3, 2003 03:00 PMShe's running in '04. Bet on it. Fearless prediction: sometime after Iowa, and maybe after New Hampshire, reeeeaaaally nasty dirt on Dean surfaces. Hillary tries to step in as the "White Knight". Clark, who may or may not realize he's a means to an end, cuts a deal to be VP. Or so runs my paranoid fantasy.
For the life of me, I can't see any other reason for her to go to Iraq. She's tone deaf but not stupid. Maybe it's prep for '08. Maybe it's practice for '08. But it sure feels like a campaign move.
Posted by: mark at December 3, 2003 04:41 PMI think Wes Clark is the exception, but the military has never taken kindly to the Clintons. Hillary did not seem to be travelling to Asia to support the troops, as Bush did, but for her own means. You didn't hear Bush bad-mouthing Dean while in Iraq.....
Posted by: DTDT at December 4, 2003 01:36 PM
