What they’re saying about Hillary Clinton – 4/04/10

Every week I’m taking a look at some of the more interesting and sometimes off-beat comments the world media has to say about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Here are a few choice excerpts for this week’s report –

Clinton criticism ‘tempest in a teapot,’ Cannon says

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was expressing her personal opinion when she criticized Canada’s maternal health initiative, not the policy of the Obama administration, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Sunday.

“Mrs. Clinton expressed not her government’s position; she expressed her personal point of view … her personal opinion,” Cannon told CTV’s Question Period.

But in the wake of Clinton’s criticism of the Canadian initiative, a key foreign policy program for the Conservative government going into this summer’s G8 summit, Cannon acknowledged that the Canadian plan may have to be amended.

CTV 04/04/2010

Hillary Clinton’s Meddling

by Peter Wehner

The ideological extremism of the Obama administration keeps popping up on an almost daily basis, like a game of whack-a-mole. The latest example comes to us courtesy of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in Canada, where she was lecturing Canadians on how they should be more pro-abortion.

Secretary Clinton’s comments were made in the context of the Canadian government’s G8 maternal and child health initiative. According to Clinton: “You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortion.”

So here’s a question: can you imagine Henry Kissinger or Dean Acheson ever saying such a thing? Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State; she’s not the president of Planned Parenthood. And for an administration that insists it shouldn’t meddle in the internal affairs of other nations — unless it means making life considerably more difficult for our allies like Honduras and Israel — this is quite remarkable.

Commentary Magazine 04/01/2010

AIPAC’s Embrace of Hillary Clinton: Civility or Stupidity

Clinton’s performance should have surprised no one. As Secretary of State with marching orders from her President, she was merely articulating Mr. Obama’s anti-Israel agenda despite her fuzzy claims of support. Obama’s true feelings regarding Israel were apparent from the early days of his campaign based on his personal, political and philosophical allegiances to the likes of Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Rashid Khalidi, Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski. Despite these troubling relationships, Obama kept a reasonably low profile on controversial Mideast issues during the campaign, and he was aided by liberal Jews who shamelessly vouched for his mythical pro-Israel and philo-semitic bona fides.

Israpundit 04/04/2010

Karzai calls Clinton to ‘clarify’

Afghan President Karzai called Secretary Clinton today to clarify his statements from yesterday, and they had a constructive conversation,” Assistant Secretary Philip J. Crowley said in a statement. “President Karzai reaffirmed his commitment to the partnership between our two countries and expressed his appreciation for the contributions and sacrifices of the international community. They pledged to continue working together in a spirit of partnership.”

It was a “constructive conversation in a cordial environment,” said Karzai spokesman Waheed Omer. “President Karzai said the Afghan people and the Afghan government were grateful for the support and sacrifice of the international community for peace in Afghanistan and in the world.

Politico 04/03/2010

Hillary Clinton Spends $5.4 Million on Crystal Stemware for State Department

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department is spending $5.4 million to buy fine crystal stemware for American embassies — but it won’t give the US economy much of a boost.

The contract was given to a tiny Washington, DC, interior designer, which in turn subcontracted the crystal work to a Swedish firm — snubbing such US companies as the famous manufacturer in Clinton’s own back yard, Steuben Crystal of upstate Corning.

The firm didn’t even get a chance to bid on the contract, which will outfit embassies and ambassadors’ residences with fancy crystal for ritzy functions.

The Dana Show 03/17/2010