Hillary on the Veto

Never saw this coming.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) stepped up her criticism of President Bush's threat to veto legislation that sets a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, saying that doing so would thwart the will of the American people.

I suppose she believe that the president should govern based on the latest polls in the manner that her husband did. No doubt is elected, she will be doing the same thing. The problem with that idea is that many times a president must do the right thing, not the popular thing. That includes understanding the repercussions of what happens if they just decide to do the popular thing. And seeing that the majority of the population can't be bothered to come to any greater understanding of an issue than watching the sound bites from the MSM, I can see why what Bush is doing is unpopular, but really must be done.

I also have issue with the whole congress taking vacation without resolving the Iraqi funding bill and sending it on to the president. Why the wait? If this is so important to push this message on Bush, why delay the activity?

As she traveled through Iowa, Clinton said she had launched a petition drive through her campaign Web site calling on Bush not to veto legislation now pending in Congress that, for the first time, would establish deadlines for the U.S. involvement in Iraq. "Mr. President," she said, "don't veto the will of the American people."

Clinton took a sharp line against the administration in the current standoff over Iraq policy, accusing the president and Vice President Cheney of questioning the patriotism of Americans who call for an end to the U.S. involvement there.

"It is time for us to get them [U.S. forces] out of the middle of this sectarian civil war, and it is time for the president and the vice president to quit impugning the patriotism of people who don't agree with them," she said during a breakfast reception on Tuesday at the home of former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack (D) and his wife, Christie.

Oh, there's that patriotism thing. I can't find any recent quote that could be interpreted as questioning their patriotism, just their judgment. I suppose I'll have to look harder, since the MSM is such a strong advocate for the Administration, they must be hiding those statements.

Hillary, simple mindedly points out Bush's problem:

During a question-and-answer session there, she accused the president of damaging the United States' image around the world as a result of his unwillingness to work with other nations to solve problems.

"We need a president again who understands life is not simple," she said. "You can't just point your finger or wave a magic wand and expect everybody to do what you want them to do. We've got to get back to that patient, persistent diplomacy, making friends and allies."

Huh. What do ya know, and all this time the complexities of the insurgency and the sectarian/tribal frictions have appeared to be what the Congress has been missing. That and the results of abandoning this complex theater on the world economy, the safety of the country from terrorist attacks and should I go on. For someone who would have you believe that Bush is simple, Hillary is showing her ignorance.

Frankly, I'm surprised she isn't on board with Reid and Feingold for completely defunding the war. That's a great political bat to be swinging, especially if you think it's the people's will. But then, doing that will ensure that you don't get the votes for president.