Clintons HUGE Pakistan Gaffe!!!

[mckeown1128]

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was praised in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for demonstrating her command of the players and the issues at stake in Pakistan...But in two confident television appearances, on CNN and ABC, Clinton made an elementary error about Pakistani politics: She described President Pervez Musharraf as a "candidate" who would be "on the ballot."

In fact, Musharraf was reelected to the presidency in October. The upcoming elections are for parliament, and while Musharraf's party will be facing off against opposition parties, the president himself is not a candidate.

"He will NOT be on the ballot," said a Pakistan scholar at Columbia University, Philip Oldenburg, in an e-mail. "These are parliamentary elections, where the contests are for a seat in the national assembly.
The prime ministerial candidate typically fights for victory in a local constituency, as well as lead the party in a national campaign."

"If President Musharraf wishes to stand for election, then he should abide by the same rules that every other candidate will have to follow," she told CNN's Wolf Blitzer (.pdf) Dec. 28. "He could be the only person on the ballot. I don't think that's a real election," she told ABC's George Stephanopolous December 30.


Wow.. (just to channel Hillbots) what a rookie mistake.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0108/Clinton_errs_on_Pakistan_.html

[pocoloco]

1. Not ready for prime time??

[LeftCoast]

2. I see you like the "Throw shit and see what sticks" method of political campaigning?

Good rookie effort. With any luck you can apply for an internship at FOX in a couple of years and then, there's not telling where you can go. :thumbsup:

[jenmito]

7. She said what she said. She was incorrect. In trying to look like Mrs. Experience, she now looks

like the rookie! Poor woman needs her advisers to keep her up to date.

[Cha]

96. You know she won't apologize

for her ignorant remarks..she wouldn't look tough enough.

[mckeown1128]

8. Go ahead attack me instead of what I posted...nt

[Cha]

94. Typical hillary surrogate

response..doing what you are accusing others of.. instead of admitting the really infallible hillary can do some wrong.

[mtnsnake]

3. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Colobo]

6. She sounds so inexperienced!

[LordJFT]

44. and naive!

[Cha]

95. She sounds like she

doesn't know shit except how to vote yea on bush resolutions, bills, and laws.

[sniffa]

4. more of her lack of foreign policy credentials showing

[Cha]

98. You've touched on the

sacred cow..stand down. ;)

[indimuse]

5. ok koo koo

:spank:

[BootinUp]

57. ...ka choo nt

[Cha]

97. Yeah, it's obvious there

will be no intelligent comebacks from hillary's surrogates..kinda like hillary's remarks. Musharraf on the ballot..duh.

It's a good thing we don't get our information from hillary.

[Cameron27]

That's HUGE

she'd better pack it up and go home. :eyes:

[sniffa]

11. agreed

:thumbsup:

[Cameron27]

14. Oh sniffa, you're so funny sometimes,

but you're so annoying too. You remind me of my kid brother lol ---> :smack:

[sniffa]

20. i feel sorry for your brother

[Cameron27]

21. He wouldn't agree,

and now it seems you're really nothing like him after all. Bye

[sniffa]

22. poor thing

:cry:

[Jim Sagle]

55. That's right. I was her biggest fan until a few seconds ago when I clicked on this thread.

Now I've switched to Edwards.

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

9. Another "politico is the source" post. At least the poster didn't try to pass this off in LBN.

F***ing RW online rag. MKJ

[Stephanie]

52. Ben Smith is formerly the blogger for the NY Daily News.

He's not a RW nut. He's been following Clinton's career for a long time.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

53. Might be nice if he wrote for a reputable online mag, then.

politico is the equivalent of FAUX.

MKJ

[Canuckistanian]

63. Smith credits it to a "conservative American commentator"

By the name of Thomas Houlahan, whoever he is.

[mtnsnake]

10. Actually, she didn't make a mistake. Read it again and think about it

[mckeown1128]

12. Ok... I read it again....and ....

she still referes to Mushy as a candidate. sorry

[mtnsnake]

15. If you still can't see how she didn't make a mistake, then you didn't think about what she said

and what she was referring to.

[jefferson_dem]

Yet another glaring example of her naivete and inexperience.

Not. Ready. For. Prime. Time. We just can't take the chance on HILLARY! :thumbsdown:

[ProSense]

13. Here :

send this to Clinton.

[zulchzulu]

16. Suggestion for Hillary44 web site

Here's my suggestion:

"When pre-President Hillary Clinton referred to General Musharraf, a man she personally met 1,256 times while doing foreign policy policy as First Half-President Lady, as being "on the ballot" and "as a candidate", it was a reference to when she had met Benazir Bhutto 2,347 times while doing foreign policy policy as First Half-President Lady.

In Pakistan, people are always referred to as being "on the ballot" and "as a candidate" all the time. It is a matter of greeting a person in the morning while going to market to get sheep claws for brunch. Having been in Pakistan more than any American ever, Hillary Clinton knows the fine details due to her experience and likeability tours."

[NoFederales]

81. Schweeeeeeeeeeet! nt

NoFederales

[stray cat]

17. wasn't he the only candidate on the ballet when he was re-elected president?

[Debi]

50. Pakastani ballet? n/t

[aquart]

18. She didn't say "would be," she said "If he wishes to ...."

Now me, I don't find those statements to be synonyms. You do?

[mckeown1128]

19. You aren't even making sense...nt

[cui bono]

68. He looks damn fine in a tutu, doncha know? n/t

[suston96]

23. So where is the "huge error"?

Musharraf's party will certainly be on the ballot. I am sure perceptive readers of Clinton's statement have no problem with that.

But pick away by all means. It seems to be helping your candidate as he runs away with all those polls.

[robinlynne]

24. I didn't know that either.

[2hip]

65. Yeah, but you're not running for office! nt

[Onlooker]

25. Wow, so many of you are taking Musharaff's side!

From the point of view of the Opposition, Musharraf was not elected in October. I would assume that means that from the point of view of the opposition, his name will appear on the ballot if he wants to run for President.

This is from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervez_Musharraf#Resignation_from_the_Army

In an interview in March 2007, Musharraf said that he intends to stay in the office for another five years.<63>

A nine-member panel of Supreme Court judges deliberated on six petitions ... for disqualification of Musharraf as presidential candidate. Bhutto stated that her party may join other opposition groups, including Sharif's. Attorney-general Malik Mohammed Qayyum stated that, pendente lite, the Election Commission was "reluctant" to announce the schedule for the presidential vote. Bhutto's party Farhatullah Babar stated that the Constitution could bar Musharraf from being elected again because he holds the army chief's post. "As Gen. Musharraf is disqualified from contesting for President, he has prevailed upon the Election Commission to arbitrarily and illegally tamper with the Constitution of Pakistan."

...

On October 2, 2007, 85 Pakistani opposition lawmakers resigned from the country's parliament to derail Musharraf's reelection bid. National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain stated that the resignations would not affect the presidential election. Under Pakistani law, the national parliament and provincial assemblies choose the president. The current parliament is expected to elect a president before October 15, with the new five-year term starting on November 15.

On October 6, 2007, Musharraf won a vote to be re-elected Pakistan's president. However, the Supreme Court ruled that no winner would be proclaimed until it decides on the legality issue.

On November 3, 2007 Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan. He suspended the Constitution, imposed State of Emergency, and fired the chief justice of the Supreme Court.<68> While addressing the nation on State Television, Musharraf declared that the state of emergency was imposed in the country to safeguard the national interests and counter growing terrorism and the downward trend of economy. In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court building, arrested the judges and kept them under detention in their homes. Troops have been deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels have gone off air. Land and mobile telephone lines are down in Islamabad. The court was to decide whether Musharraf was eligible to run for election last month while remaining army chief.

[creeksneakers2]

31. That's a lot of details. I can see why she might use shorthand

All the media referred to Bhutto as running for president. Whatever Bhutto was doing was the same as what Musharraf was doing. Hillary could not go into lengthy detail without taking on the entire media and looking like a lecturer and a hair splitter. Why go through all that?

[sniffa]

26. didn't also claim Bhutto's father was assasinated?

as opposed to executed by the state?

[Karmadillo]

27. The President of Canada laughed and laughed when he read your post.

nt

[Cameron27]

28. !

:spray:

[indimuse]

29. Antonyms 1. small, tiny, diminutive.

huge /hyudʒ or, often, yudʒ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective, hug·er, hug·est. 1. extraordinarily large in bulk, quantity, or extent: a huge ship; a huge portion of ice cream.
2. of unbounded extent, scope, or character; limitless: the huge genius of Mozart.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



—Related forms
hugely, adverb
hugeness, noun


—Synonyms 1. mammoth, gigantic, colossal; vast; stupendous; bulky. Huge, enormous, immense, tremendous imply great magnitude. Huge implies massiveness, bulkiness, or even shapelessness: a huge mass of rock; a huge collection of antiques. Enormous, literally out of the norm, applies to what exceeds in extent, magnitude, or degree, a norm or standard: an enormous iceberg. Tremendous, in informal use, applies to anything so huge as to be astonishing or to inspire awe: a tremendous amount of equipment. Immense, literally not measurable, is particularly applicable to what is exceedingly great, without reference to a standard: immense buildings. All are used figuratively: a huge success; enormous curiosity; tremendous effort; immense joy.
—Antonyms 1. small, tiny, diminutive.



What ever......

[rodeodance]

30. people know what she meant.

[xultar]

32. Where is the gaffe?

[mckeown1128]

33. yeah she meant to pretend to know about ...

politics in Pakistan. Unfortunately we know the truth. That she doesn't know anything about Pakistan.

[mtnsnake]

35. There was no gaffe. That's why the only wimper you're hearing about it is from the Politico blog

If there was a big gaffe, the MSM would've been all over it. They don't miss any opportunity to jump.

[ProSense]

36. Yes there was:

STEPHANOPOULOS: You called President Pervez Musharraf of
Pakistan an unreliable ally. Should he step down?

CLINTON: I’m not calling for him to step down. I’m calling for
him, number one, to agree with an independent investigation of Benazir
Bhutto’s death. I am calling on him to hold free and fair elections
with independent monitors. I believe that it will take a little time
to get that ready, because Benazir’s party will have to choose a
successor leader…

STEPHANOPOULOS: So we don’t need the elections on the 8th?

CLINTON: Well, I think it will be very difficult to have a real
election. You know, Nawaz Sharif has said he’s not going to compete.
The PPP is in disarray with Benazir’s assassination. He could be the
only person on the ballot. I don’t think that’s a real election.

more

Why hasn't the MSM been all over it? Well it wasn't as important as the botched joke!


Pakistan elections postponed:

The two leading opposition parties have demanded that the government press ahead with early elections.

Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he was confident the Pakistan People's Party -- which he has taken control of since Bhutto's death -- would be victorious in the poll.

Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, told reporters earlier that he believed Musharraf intended to delay the vote because his party would not garner enough seats in parliament to rule.

The United States has kept its distance from the issue, saying it was up to the Pakistanis to decide on the timing of the elections.

A U.S. Embassy official based in Pakistan, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the United States "wants to see the election held," but if there is a postponement, "we would not object to it."

[mtnsnake]

37. Then why didn't Stephanopoulos, or anyone but Politico, for that matter, call it a gaffe?

It's because Politico is the only one foolish enough to think it was a gaffe, when it wasn't.

[ProSense]

38. Are you asking me why Stephanopoulos didn't do his job?

No clue, unless he's equally as clueless about the situation as Clinton's comments suggest she is.

[mtnsnake]

40. Nope. I'm just saying he didn't jump on any gaffe where there wasn't one

It's the same reason MSM didn't jump on it...because there wasn't any. Whoever wrote the Politico article obviously isn't too intelligent.

[ProSense]

46. Right, Hillary doesn't make gaffes

at least none that can't be excused by denial.

[Cha]

99. Like we know what she meant

when she voted for bush resolutions, bills, and laws for years? We read her fucking mind?

[Onlooker]

34. Who is spreading these ignorant lies about Hillary?

Musharaff and Bush are the only ones who recognizes the legitimacy of the last election. Not even the Pakistani Supreme Court has upheld the results of the election. The opposition to Musharaff said the election was illegal. Therefore, the opposition, who I presume most of us are sympathetic to, does not recognize the election. If Musharaff wants to be President, he has to run for office in a democratic way.

In other words, the OP's website is touting a right-wing line. If you support Musharaff and oppose Bhutto, then you agree that Musharaff was legitimately elected in October and does not need to be a candidate in the upcoming elections.

[Eurobabe]

39. Biden just pointed this gaffe out in his town hall meeting

She should know better.

Hillary: Not ready for prime time.

[mtnsnake]

41. As much as I like him, Biden's the last person who should be pointing out someone's gaffes

unless they're his own.

[Eurobabe]

43. Why not, everybody else always point out his gaffes

and he admits they are gaffes. Would Hillary admit her gaffe?

[medicswife]

58. really good point, 48percenter. n/t

[Think82]

59. Biden's never made a gaffe with regards to actual foreign policy questions. Big difference.

[Inuca]

62. We replied

the same thing at the same time ;-)

[Jennifer C]

64. Excellent point. nt

[Inuca]

60. Can you point to

a Biden verbal "gaffe" when discussing serious policy issues?

[karynnj]

91. This is extremely different than the Biden gaffes - caused by unfiltered Biden verbiage

There are two very different HRC gaffes.
1) Where it is clear that she was speaking beyond her knowledge of the political situation in Pakistan and made some bad assumptions on the purpose of the upcoming election.

This is a bad gaffe as she has been pushing that she has far more foreign policy experience than the others -in fact Biden and Dodd could likely run circles around her.

2) She made a very emotional speech about how well she knew Bhutto and how there was an event where the Bhutto children and Chelsea were there. I took it at face value. It was quite reasonable that there would have been enough in common between the western educated Bhutto who was a prime minister and HRC. That she then referred to her TWO children, when she has THREE - makes it seem that she exaggerated the relationship and the friendship. This hurts as it makes her seem phony.

[Zynx]

42. Everybody makes a goof. At least it wasn't like Obama calling for the

invasion of Pakistan if they don't cooperate.

[ripple]

51. He didn't call for an invasion of Pakistan

He was talking about targeted Special Operations to take out bin laden and his surrogates- and only if Musharaff refuses to act. Show me a candidate that'll say they won't do that if they have actionable intelligence and I'll show you a sure loser.

[alteredstate]

45. Yep --- Biden didn't mention any names

but it was obvious he was referring to Hillary Clinton's gaffe.

[Onlooker]

47. So Biden agrees with Musharaff and not Bhutto?

Biden believes that the staged election Musharaff held was legitimate, even before the Pakistani SC has made a final decision and even though the opposition refused to recognize that election? Wow, Biden really is quite conservative!

[jillan]

49. hello???? That is not what Biden said. Stop putting words in his mouth or go get a job at FOX.

[mckeown1128]

66. Wow you are terribly confused...

NO ONE IS SAYING that Musharaff's election was legitimate....this post is about Clinton thinking that Musharaff is coming up for reelection on the 8th. This of course is wrong...the election on the 8th is not for Musharaff's position. You are blabbing on and on about god knows what. RE-read the article.

[IronLionZion]

72. You better find a link with that full quote in context. nt

[ProSense]

48. Kick! n/t

[calteacherguy]

54. She pretends to know, but she does not know a damn thing, really. nt

[gorekerrydreamticket]

56. Hey! Come on! She never said she was an expert on Pakistan...

Stop the piling on!

[Think82]

61. I thought she was a "dear friend" of Ms. Bhutto?

And don't you want a president who knows what's going on?

[usregimechange]

67. Reminds me of Bush calling Africa a country and SSA not a fed program

[dugggy]

69. I thought she has the most "experience"?

I am astounded that she did not know Mush is already elected as President.
The upcoming election is for congress. Even dummy Dugggy knows that.

[Miss Chybil]

70. This will make a lot of people who intend on voting for her

change their minds. Not.

[JohnLocke]

71. Kick

[Enrique]

73. I don't get it

he is a candidate for prime minister, isn't he?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

74. One of those thread titles that one knows instantly won't match the post.

The correct word is "negligable", not "huge".

[knitter4democracy]

75. And when Bush was running, he didn't know where Pakistan was.

I'm just sayin' . . . awfully small mistake considering Huckabee not knowing anything about Pakistan at all and Bush's constant foreign policy mistakes.

[Renew Deal]

77. So Hillary is an "awfully small" improvement over Bush?

I couldn't have put it better myself.

[knitter4democracy]

82. Not really. I'm just saying I find it interesting we're holding her to a much higher standard.

I'm a Kucinich person myself, but even I can't get all that upset about this supposed "massive gaffe." It's easy to misspeak, and it's ridiculous to parse absolutely everything a candidate says off the cuff so darn carefully when we're not doing it to everyone equally.

[Renew Deal]

76. Would Laura Bush have made the same error?

I mean, they have almost the same amount of foreign policy experience.

[MethuenProgressive]

78. No gaffe - "If President Musharraf wishes to stand for election,"

More RW Hate Points posted on DU.

[Karmadillo]

79. The President of Canada laughed and laughed when he saw 39 recommendations for this thread.

nt

[yardwork]

80. Laugh it up. Musharaf is building a dictatorship, and Clinton knows it.

Are you naive enough to think that Musharaf is playing by rules? Do you seriously think that Hillary Clinton is stupid? This post and the blog you've linked betray incredible naivete.

[Seabiscuit]

83. Really? Musharaf is building a dictatorship? Who'da thunk it? Duh.

[yardwork]

84. My point exactly. Parsing Hillary's comments in this situation is stupid.

[Tarc]

85. I think the "John Edwards just farted" discussion

has more legs than this non-event.

[Tarc]

86. delete

Internet hiccup

[Tarc]

87. delete 2

Internet hiccup 2

[WillTheGoober]

88. This post is a gaffe ...

You know -- when people start grasping for straws, it is very telling.

This is a ridiculous post and as a Democrat, I just think it is a shame. As someone who likes Barrack Obama, it is terrible that his supporters are sinking to this kind of low. It doesn't mirror the attitude of Barrack and that's unfortunate.

If we want our candidate to win, we need to do whatever we can do to get out their message -- to get out their views. We need to boost our candidate, not attempt to sink another.

But --
Hillary clearly has made this election about her. People have become with Pro-Hillary or Anti-Hillary, as opposed to Pro-Their-Candidate. Elections are about energy and nobody in the Dem or Repub side commands more energy than Mrs. Clinton.

Proudly,
W.

[KaptBunnyPants]

89. If it were Obama or Edwards, it might be an issue.

She's already proven her gravitas to the beltway insider crowd.

[suston96]

90. There was no gaffe - Musharraf's party is on the ballot.

...and everyone knows that Musharraf IS his party.

Hillary displayed an excellent grasp of Pakistan politics and elections.

[Outlier]

92. HRC "Gaffe"

Now the number 2 headline in upper left hand corner on Drudge. Looks like MSM will be picking it up.

[harun]

93. I saw nearly everyone making this mistake, also heard many

reporters claiming a "major world leader" was assassinated. Bhutto wasn't leader of anything but a political party in Pakistan.

I am not a Hillary fan but I do give her credit for doing better than most of the reporters. Not bad considering how busy she is with campaigning.