Today, Hillary Clinton was confronted by George Stephanopoulos about a comment she made on April 22nd, asserting that if Iran were to launch a nuclear attack on US ally Israel, she would “obliterate them.” To make sure we had it in proper context, we dug up the full transcript:
“Well, the question was, if Iran were to launch a nuclear attack on Israel, what would our response be? And I want the Iranians to know that if I am president, we will attack Iran. And I want them to understand that. Because it does mean that they have to look very carefully at their society. Because whatever stage of development they might be in their nuclear weapons program, in the next 10 years during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them. That’s a terrible thing to say, but those people who run Iran need to understand that. Because that, perhaps, will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish, and tragic.”
Today, in light of backlash, she defended the statement by saying, “I think we have to be very clear about what we would do… I don’t think it is time to equivocate about what we would do… I sure want to make it abundantly clear to them that they would face a tremendous cost if they did such a thing.” Watch the video here.
Barack Obama criticized the statements, calling her attitude “reflective of George Bush,” using the term “cowboy diplomacy” to describe such smack-talk. He did however concede that Israel is our “most important ally in the region” and that we’d act forcefully in response any attack, nuclear or otherwise. So… What I’m getting from all of it is that Obama wants America to make up for 8 years of George Bush by walking on eggshells and showing the world that we’re really not the bullies they think we are. It kinda comes back to the million dollar question: Is it better to be dicks, pussies, or assholes?
Speaking more generally about the election in Newsweek, James Carville delivered what I consider to be the political quote of the day. He said that Hillary is the tougher of the two nominees, “the candidate you want on your side in a knife fight.” He then said “if she gave him one of her cojones, they’d both have two.”
About Skwerl
Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill was taught his first computer programming language by his Mother's marijuana dealer at age ten. His first job involved hustling TicketMaster lines on behalf of a New Jersey concert ticket broker at age fourteen, followed by a job in graphic design shortly after graduating high school and trade school simultaneously in 1998. He built his first website in 1996 or so, and continues to do things the way they should be done, rather than the way everyone else does. He's a bit of an asshole, but he's fiercely loyal to his friends, and to fellow fans of good music.Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Skwerl now resides in Los Angeles, California, under the supervision of the United States Federal Pretrial Services Department. His attorney, David J.P. Kaloyanides, shall be shit-talking on his behalf this month.
He's no fan of Obama's, nor McCain's, but he's got $200 riding on the latter.
