There's Nothing Wrong With Hillary Making Pro-NAFTA Speeches as FIRST LADY, IMO

[Danzo]

Why exactly is she getting the third degree for speaking ON HER HUSBAND'S BEHALF about NAFTA while she was first lady? Isn't it generally ACCEPTABLE for a first lady to help the president out? And do you honestly think that if HILLARY didn't make the pro-NAFTA speeches, Bill wouldn't have either done them himself or found someone ELSE to make them?

A lot of Obama zealots are making the claim that Hillary is GENUINELY in favor of NAFTA and free trade agreements in general. Hard evidence CONTRADICTS this claim, though. As I mentioned David Gergen, white house advisor under the Bill Clinton administation has stated that Hillary was "very unenthusiastic" about NAFTA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQJxtzLQ51Q

I've watched David Gergen on Meet The Press and he does NOT seem to be a Clinton lapdog. David Gergen's testimony is ALSO corroborated by several others who worked under the Clinton administration: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/14/did-hillary-clinton-reall_n_86674.html Her voting record is ALSO evidence that CONTRADICTS the claim that Hillary is a champion of free trade. Do you think that a champion of free trade would have voted against CAFTA TWICE?!

As I mentioned earlier, Hillary could have remained SILENT rather than talking on her husband's behalf, but I think realistically, if she didn't promote NAFTA, then Bill Clinton would have found someone else to. The other alternative would be for Hillary to rise up AGAINST Bill promoting NAFTA, and that alternative hardly seems viable. It's probably safe to say that rarely, if EVER, in American history has a first lady actively and/or publicly tried to usurp the president's actions.

In short, the hysteria that I'm hearing about the "(scandal)" of Hillary acting ON HER HUSBAND'S BEHALF AS MOST FIRST LADIES HAVE DONE, seems to be much ado about nothing.

[redqueen]

1. Doesn't Gergen work for the Clintons?

[dchill]

2. Yes - and he worked for Reagan, too.

He's a conservative turned mediawhore.

[RazBerryBeret]

4. we have

WAY too many of those Mediawhores nowadays!

[dchill]

6. They must have a union!

:)

[RazBerryBeret]

7. ha ha!

I wonder if it pays well? or has benefits? Nah, too high-maintenance for me...

[RazBerryBeret]

3. so you're saying...

she can't be trusted?

she "goes along" to "get along"
she will stand up for something she doesn't believe in?

hmmm... is that a good thing in a President?

[Obamanaut]

18. This is pretty much what the dems in the Fla legislature

did when nearly all of them voted to change the date of the primary - and look how that's working out for all of us. Even had a poster tell me that to have done otherwise would have been 'the death knell' of their political careers.

[Danzo]

26. Not Necessarily

As first spouse, it's not your job to assert you opinions in the White House. That's the job of the people in the White House who actually have politcal POWER, such as the President.

In any case, the fact that Hillary loyalaly stood by her husband the President is NOT an indication that she will "go along to get along" if SHE is President.

[RazBerryBeret]

29. but here's my bone of contention...

"That's the job of the people in the White House who actually have politcal POWER"



I get that first ladies do not have political power....
understood.

BUT she's claiming this as her political experience.
Why is she including this in her 35 years of experience if she was powerless?

clarification, please...

[Danzo]

34. I Can't Read Hillary's Mind...

...so I can't speak for Hillary as to why SHE chose to cite it as experience. However, it IS scienficially proven that learning can occur from watching and listening to others, so it's not much of a stretch to say that it's PROBABLE that Hillary has, at the very least, gained some insight from being beside her husband for the eight years that he was president.

In fact, some argue that she actually had a pretty ACTIVE role in the President's day to day business affairs. http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=43

[Armstead]

5. So the "little woman" had to stand by her man even if she disagreed?

You may have half a point that it might be inappropriate for a First Lady to come out swinging against a policy being pushed by her husband.

But that doesn't mean she had to publicly support those policies.

It seems kind of sexist to imply that she is not entitled to at least sit it out on pllicies she disagrees with.

[redqueen]

9. Didn't even Laura Bush come out and publicly disagree with her husband

on some issue or another?

[Armstead]

25. Abortion rights maybe?

[Danzo]

27. Maybe I Should Have Used The Term...

"first spouse" instead. My point has nothing to do with Hillary's gender and everything to do with the fact that first spouses have no political power, as far as I know.

[JNelson6563]

8. So let me see if I understand this

Hillary campaigned for NAFTA but was against it?

Julie

[Danzo]

28. Yes.

She campaigned for NAFTA in order to help out her husband. But she was PERSONALLY was against it.

[femmedem]

10. I'm an Obama supporter, but I mostly agree with you on this.

Have you ever sat on a board of directors? The directors may disagree in private all they want, but once a vote is taken and a group decision is made, all the directors have to publicly support the decision or resign.

So even if she did oppose NAFTA from the beginning, I grant her some respect for this. However, I think she went further than she needed to. She didn't need to write about it in her book, for example.

[redqueen]

11. Am I remembering wrong, or didn't Laura Bush disagree publicly

with some policy of Bush's?

[femmedem]

13. Not sure. I don't remember anything, but I'm *cough* fallible. nt

[redqueen]

14. I thought it might have been about abortion, but I did find this...

She disagrees with him about the pledge in Spanish, and even *gasp*... said so.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200605/ai_n16377184

[femmedem]

16. I have to admit, my first reaction was "Good for Laura!"

And that is not a thought I have very often. So I guess I would prefer that Hillary had at least not gone on record supporting NAFTA back when. And she certainly can't run from that and say she was always opposed to it.

But she's done a lot of things that I think are indefensible. Supporting NAFTA when Bill was POTUS isn't one of them.

[redqueen]

17. Oh definitely it's not indefensible... but it's certainly not a feather in her cap.

And it shows her willingness to deceive voters, so IMO it's worthy of addressing.

[Danzo]

30. Maybe My Opinion Is A Little Biased...

...but I think that NAFTA was a much bigger issue to Bill Clinton than the Pledge Of Allegiance in Spanish was to Dubya.

[misanthrope]

31. No they don't. The directors can decline comment.**nm

**

[tabasco]

12. She was for it before she was against it!

No problem!

(unless you think she speaks out of both sides of her mouth)

[Danzo]

32. Actually, I Don't Really See A Contradiction

She spoke in favor of NAFTA to help out her husband, but since she's been a politican HERSELF, I see no evidence that she's been a strong proponent of free trade. In fact, as I demonstrated her voting record has shown that she has OPPOSED free trade agreements on many occasions.

[thoughtcrime1984]

15. Was that part of the 35 years of experience, along with the Wal-Mart gig?

[casus belli]

19. Are you freaking kidding me?

NAFTA was a disaster. Not just politically, it has destroyed lives and dreams and entire cities. She's running a campaign that claims she's the one best suited to make the hard decisions as president, and it is completely fair game for Obama to point out that this has, historically, not been the case on a number of issues.

[redqueen]

20. That's true, of course... and Hillary's lies about her support for it

are being ignored, in favor of the story about the Conservative Canadian PM and whatever version of events he and his staff are running with during this news cycle.

[Danzo]

33. Cry Me A River

I didn't hear any of you Obama lovers complaining about unfair media coverage back when HILLARY was the victim of it (and still is, to a large extent. Especially in the progressive media).

[JBoy]

21. Just so I'm clear - when precisely did Hillary stop saying things she didn't believe?

Was there a specific date, or was it more of a gradual thing?

[redqueen]

22. Good question. (nt)

[Danzo]

35. Politicians Never COMPLETELY Stop Saying....

..things they don't believe. All politicians are insincere from time to time. Neither Hillary nor Barack is an exception to this rule.

[AtomicKitten]

23. It's her lying about it that is the problem.

[redqueen]

24. You would think...

but apparently it's not a problem at all.

[Danzo]

36. Prove It

Where did Hillary say that she NEVER PUBLICLY supported NAFTA?