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Hillary Clinton has claimed that she brought peace to Northern Ireland, that she was instrumental in bringing about the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), that she was sent on dangerous missions as first lady that were far too dangerous for the President himself, that she will release her 2006 taxes, and that she is working on getting her records released from her time as first lady.
These are just a few of the claims that she has made. Let's start with the two easiest to debunk, the two which, if she had followed through, she'd have something to show for. So far, we have not seen her 2006 taxes released because, in her own words, she's just too busy right now. Right, as if she doesn't have people who do that for her which have nothing to do with her campaign. We're supposed to believe she's too busy to have someone make a phone call to her accountant? Her records have not been released from her time as first lady, but she and Bill have been "working" on that for years now. Are we expected to believe that it actually takes that long? What is she hiding? America has a right to know.
Hillary has claimed that when Bill Clinton was in office that, "We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady." As evidence of this she points to a trip she made to Bosnia. What she fails to point out is that the trip in question was actually an entertainment trip, and she was accompanied by Sheryl Crow and Sinbad. The latter has since spoken out about Senator Clinton's claims of the danger involved on that trip.
Says Sinbad, "I never felt that I was in a dangerous position. I never felt being in a sense of peril, or 'Oh, God, I hope I'm going to be OK when I get out of this helicopter or when I get out of his tank.'" On her claims that Mrs. Clinton was sent to locations too dangerous for the President, he expressed the opinion, "What kind of president would say, 'Hey, man, I can't go 'cause I might get shot so I'm going to send my wife…oh, and take a guitar player and a comedian with you.'" He said the scariest part of the trip was wondering where they would eat next, "I think the only 'red-phone' moment was: 'Do we eat here or at the next place,'" the comedian said.
Now, you may argue that a comedian is not qualified to comment on politics. I used Sinbad's quotes here because he was on this trip, and these are his personal experiences. This trip is one of the things she's claiming as "foreign policy experience." This is one of the aspects of her vast experience that she is running on, providing entertainment in Bosnia.
Senator Clinton has also claimed that she was instrumental in negotiating peace in Northern Ireland. According to Senator George Mitchell, the Clinton Administration's leading Northern Ireland peace negotiator, Hillary Clinton was not directly involved in the negotiations. Brian Feeney, author and former Belfast politician said that, "The road to peace was carefully documented, and she wasn't on it."
Basically, her role consisted of encouraging women to get into the political process. Chris Thornton, political reporter for the Belfast Telegraph said that her contributions amounted to "mood music". "Would we have reached a settlement without that kind of stuff? Yes. Would we have got one without the intervention of Bill Clinton and George Mitchell? No," he said.
Hillary has also continually taken credit for getting SCHIP passed. She says it is an initiative that she "helped to start." In reality, the Clinton Administration fought the SCHIP effort which was being advocated by Senators Edward Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, because of fears that it would derail a bigger budget bill. Several lawmakers and staff have stated that Hillary Clinton had no role in helping to write the SCHIP legislation, which was modeled on a similar program in Massachusetts. According to Hatch, "The White House wasn't for it. We really roughed them up." Hatch said of Clinton, "I do like her, we all care about children. But does she deserve credit for SCHIP? No - Teddy does, but she doesn't."
So, if these are the things she's talking about most, we can't really assume that there is a vast store of things she actually did do that she isn't talking about, can we? She was no more than a cheerleader for the Northern Ireland peace talks. We don't need a Cheerleader-In-Chief. We've had one of those for eight years already. What we need is a President, a Commander-In-Chief. What we need is someone who can actually get things done instead of taking credit for things that other people have done. What we don't need is Hillary Clinton.
