Clinton Parries Iraq Questions In N.H.
In First Campaign Visit, Senator Tries To Reconcile Current War Critique With Voting Record
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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. holds a town meeting in Berlin, N.H., Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
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In her first presidential campaign visit to the early voting state, Clinton focused on her plans to revive struggling small-town economies, provide universal health care and make college more affordable. But at a town hall meeting in rural Berlin and at a boisterous gathering of some 3,000 people in the state capital, Concord, Clinton was peppered with questions about Iraq.
Most of the questions were cordial, and Clinton was loudly cheered when she repeated her pledge to end the war if she is elected president next year. But several attendees challenged the New York senator to explain how she could reconcile her sharp criticism of the war with her vote to authorize the original invasion.
“Aren't you trying to have it both ways?” asked a man in Concord.
Clinton acknowledged “a great deal of frustration and anger and outrage” over the war, and said she was working hard in the Senate to pass legislation capping troop levels in Iraq. She also vowed to try to bring to a vote a resolution disapproving of President Bush's planned troop increase.
“I'm still in the arena,” she said — an apparent riposte to a Democratic rival, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Like Clinton, Edwards voted to authorize the invasion, but he has become a staunch war critic since leaving the Senate in 2004.
“It's very easy to go around and say, 'Let's end the war,'” Clinton added. “If we had a Democratic president we would end the war.”
Her toughest question came in Berlin, a struggling mill town in northern New Hampshire.
Roger Tilton, 46, a financial adviser from Nashua, N.H., told Clinton that unless she recanted her vote, he was not in the mood to listen to her other policy ideas.
“I want to know if right here, right now, once and for all and without nuance, you can say that war authorization was a mistake,” Tilton said. “I, and I think a lot of other primary voters — until we hear you say it, we're not going to hear all the other great things you are saying.”
In response, Clinton repeated her assertion that “knowing what we know now, I would never have voted for it,” and said voters would have to decide for themselves whether her position was acceptable.
“The mistakes were made by this president, who misled this country and this Congress,” Clinton said to loud applause.
Later, Tilton said he was not satisfied with her answer and was inclined to support either Edwards or Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who announced his candidacy Saturday.
“I love what she says about health care, I love what she says about capping troop levels, I love what she says about the war now,” Tilton said, adding he would remain undecided until she offered a clearer answer.
Clinton's refusal to recant her vote has been a sore point for many Democratic activists who tend to vote heavily in the party's primaries.
Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, has said his vote was wrong. Obama was not in the Senate in 2002 but has opposed the war from the outset.
For the most part, Clinton was received warmly at both New Hampshire gatherings. People cheered her loudly, with intermittent shouts of “We love you, Hillary!” and “You go, girl!”
In Berlin, retired firefighter Henry Boucher said Clinton had won his vote.
“I never thought I'd vote for a woman, but this one here I'm going to support,” Boucher, 65, said.
On Sunday, Clinton planned to attend house parties in Manchester and Nashua before a town hall meeting in Keene.
It was Clinton's first visit to New Hampshire since 1996, when as first lady she campaigned for the re-election of her husband.
New Hampshire was widely credited with reviving Bill Clinton's presidential prospects in 1992. He placed second in the state's primary amid a torrent of allegations about marital infidelity and questions about whether he had avoided military service in Vietnam.
He labeled himself “the comeback kid” after that primary, and went on to win the Democratic nomination and the general election.
Hillary Clinton reminisced about the warm welcome New Hampshire voters had given the Clintons in 1992, and said her husband envied her weekend visit to the state.
“The only thing I will try to do differently from my husband is not to make so many Dunkin' Donuts stops,” she said to laughter. “Bill gained about 20 pounds in the New Hampshire primary and I cannot afford that.”
She called her husband a “full-time political counselor” but nodded as Evelyn Owen, 69, of Salem, N.H., described waiting 12 hours for Bill Clinton to autograph a copy of his memoir.
“I've waited for him a lot myself,” the senator cracked.
©MMVI, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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See all 54 CommentsThey are both pathological liars and incapable of telling the truth.
Hillary is reported to have told Sir Edmund Hillary she was named after him.
The primary problem being Sir Hillary wasn't famous until long after her birth and few people even knew who he was. It is highly unlikely Hillary's mother would have known about Sir Hillary, or named her daughter after him. Perhaps her mother is a pathological liar, as well.
Electing Hillary is little different than electing Bozo Bush. They are both dictator wannabes and pathological liars who ignore "we, the people" while lining the pockets of themselves and their cronies with tax dollars or bribes.
This blood-thirsty, war-mongering coward should not feel comfortable anywhere she goes, outside of Tel Aviv.
She cast her lot as a faithful apologist for the war, in the runup to her last elecion. I don't believe anything that this AIPAC slave has to say.
We could have the "best" of "both" parties.
Yup, Lieberman/Falwell in 2008!!!
We can't lose!
What a complete cop-out. Everyone in Congress had the same intel as Pres Bush, and they voted based on that intel.
It's a cheap shot to say Bush lied about the war when she was looking at the same info he was looking at and voted for the war.
Can we call her "Slick Hilly"?
America needs to move ahead for a change.
Posted by george2221 at 10:00 PM : Feb 10, 2007
I'm actually an applied linguist, so I didn't have to look "parry" up. Thanks for the tip, though. I just think words that are less likely to be understood by the average reader, especially when they occur in the headline, make a story much less effective. I'm a believer in pithy, economical English, not in using unusual words to sound smart.
President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998.
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.
"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998.
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998
"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998.
"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999.
"There is no doubt that . Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, Dec, 5, 2001.
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
Sen. Carl Levin (d, MI), Sept. 19, 2002.
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seing and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.
"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002.
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force %u2014 if necessary %u2014 to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002.
Sen. Jay Rockerfeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002,
"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do."
Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002.
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003.
NOW THE DEMOCRATS SAY PRESIDENT BUSH LIED, THAT THERE NEVER WERE ANY WMD'S AND HE TOOK US TO WAR FOR HIS OIL BUDDIES??? Right!!!
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.
The responsibility of the United States in this conflict is to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, to minimize the danger to our troops and to diminish the suffering of the Iraqi people. The citizens of Iraq have suffered the most for Saddam Hussein's activities; sadly, those same citizens now stand to suffer more. I have supported efforts to ease the humanitarian situation in Iraq and my thoughts and prayers are with the innocent Iraqi civilians, as well as with the families of U.S. troops participating in the current action.
But the problem is the Liberals believe in Situational Ethics, and what they 'believed' and said back then is inconvenient for the present situation, so now they 'believe' and say something else.
So quoting what they said they believed 3 years ago has no affect on them or the Media because they have a different reality now.
It's all quite convenient for them. Totally dishonest and disingenious, but convenient.
Maybe we do need the "Fairness Doctrine" reinstated, and it needs to include TV News and force CBS, CNN, NBC, and ABC to give equal time to the opposite view as well. They sure don't do it now.
I have never understood how, sitting here in Chattanooga, TN, I and my friends knew that the case for war in Iraq was phony from the start, yet Congress had no access to the facts and were "misled." What, they don't have the Internet in the Beltway? Maybe we need a new educational program:"No Senator Left Behind."
In response, Clinton repeated her assertion that %u201Cknowing what we know now, I would never have voted for it,%u201D and said voters would have to decide for themselves whether her position was acceptable.
She voted for the war because she thought it would be a slam dunk victory. She took a political gamble because it would have been better to diss the anti war crowd at the time. Only 17-20% of Americans want the United States to loose the war in Iraq regardless of how we got there and she knows this. She will continue to play both sides of the fence to get your vote and you will give it to her.
Are the democrats retarded?
Is the tens of millions of dollars Billary got from Wal-Mart enough to buy your vote?
Apparently it is!
Posted by hillaryin08 at 05:27 AM : Feb 11, 2007
This is simply a LIE which you fascist are all to good at. The TRUTH is that she like all the rest of us were LIED to and MISLEAD by and INCOMPETENT LITTLE NAZI. To BLAME her in hindsight for what 80% of the rest of us did is totally NUTS! We've had enough of this Blame and Excuse Politics to last us a lifetime and the LAST people on planet earth anyone should be listening to is a simple minded fascist follower of Sir Lies-A-Lot. The main point and I do believe this, is simply that we would NOT be there is Clinton were PRESIDENT.
Posted by GunOwnerDan at 07:37 AM : Feb 11, 2007
No I think you fascist have finally succeed in giving a DICTATORSHIP if we are to believe the Will of the People as expressed in the last election. Sieg Heil!
Posted by HawkSprings at 12:38 AM : Feb 11, 2007
LOL Well when you make your bed you sleep in it Sparky. YOU fascist distroyed the "fairness doctrine" long ago and since the fascist Republican's aren't very newsworthy right now, you live with it! Sieg Heil!
Posted by BIGDADPATRIO at 11:52 PM : Feb 10, 2007
Now we have to live with you simple minded fascist but were do you come up with this propaganda? You sound like Bagdad Bob! The INTEL you pathetic loser was COOKED by Sir Lies-A-Lot. IT wasn't Faulty it was FIXED.. didn't you read anything or hear anything outside the Reich Propaganda Machines last week? ROFLMAO
Posted by chattagreen at 01:58 AM : Feb 11, 2007
+ report this comment
ROFLMAO Right!! A Redneck PRETENDING to know what all the rest of us didn't? Where have I heard this load of *** being sold? Yeah that's rigth during the LAST election when YOU losers gave us the WORST President in US HISTORY!! Maybe you should go get some schooling from the Swift Boat JERKS! ROFLMAO
Don't you realize the Bushes and the Clintons are family friends?
http://www.au.org
But you can't claim to support the constitution if you pick and choose which parts to ignore!
Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama will both ignore the parts of the Bill Of Rights they don't like.
The fact that Mrs. Clinton seemed to have fallen for this made up hype, and voted for it to keep from alienating the rednecks that are pro-war because they think Muslims are just brown-skinned monsters, gives me great pause. I shouldn't have to say to Hilary Clinton, "I could have told you this wasn't a good idea." She should have been smart enough to know it herself.
Posted by HawkSprings at 10:51 AM : Feb 11, 2007
LOL This from a Fascist GOOF BALL who supports Sir LIES-A-LOT. LOL Yeah folks this is the guy to be taking advice on our NEXT Prez! ROFLMAO
Posted by tucson23 at 10:15 AM : Feb 11, 2007
You may not agree with Hillary on some issues but the FACT is that she can and will be the Religious Reich and she WOULD NOT have sent those kids off to die in order to "Give" Democracy to someone else. It is CLEAR now that Sir Lies-A-Lot and that pathetic Nazi he has as his vice MADE up the Intel we were fed. For her to have NOT supported that attack, given the state she represents, would have been nothing short of what we now have, a LEADER who does NOT represent the will of those he represents. She is so far above everything else out there anyone supporting some "Third" Party Canidate is only giving their vote to the Fascist Wing of the Repigs and to the Religious Reich. We should already KNOW where they will lead this nation.
Don't you realize the Bushes and the Clintons are family friends?
Posted by GunOwnerDan at 09:34 AM : Feb 11, 2007
Why don't you take that message to all the families who do not have a father of son today you pathetic facist. You wacked out losers have been pulling this "Swift Boat" attack on EVER good canidate we've had for far to long and look where it has us. As far as I can see you do not have the mental ability to even know when we're living under a Dictatorship!! PATHETIC LOSER!!
No one needs to add a thing, they speak volumes.
If you had an ounce of intelligence.
You are really dumb.
Grow up!
ignorant people like you.
grumpas, your lack of respect for others is appalling, I find it offensive the way you spoke to another poster here.
Posted by GunOwnerDan at 09:34 AM
grumpas, your lack of respect for others is appalling, I find it offensive the way you spoke to another poster here.
Posted by thgdriver
A little selective with your indignation, aren't you?
Do you have a guess?
Dream on.
Calm down!
Your ranting and raving is starting to get ridiculous. Take it easy or you'll have a heart attack - like your buddy Cheney. :)
You too!
Posted by skyk
Sorry. I meant.....Same to you too!
Sez who, You?????
Posted by GunOwnerDan
Very true, Mr. GunOwnerDan. I agree completely. (by the way, you can call me GunOwnerLDS).
I've read a lot of your postings on many blogs and I find them backed up by fact and quotes from very reliable sources - something that seems to be lacking from your detractors. Keep up the good work.
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