You name the Obama administration scandal/screw-up and Hillary Clinton is distancing herself from it as she prepares to run in 2016 on a clean slate of 'well, I would have done it better/different'. As Reuters reports, recent interviews on Fox and CNN show her claiming she tried but failed to persuade Obama to arm the rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; that NSA spying was "absolutely uncalled for"; and that "changes need to be made at the IRS" seemingly disagreeing with Obama's claims that it was a "phony scandal." With friends (party colleagues) like this, who needs enemies.
Potential Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pointed out her differences with President Barack Obama on Tuesday…
Syria/Iraq
The former secretary of state said she, along with the then heads of the Pentagon and CIA tried but failed to persuade Obama to arm the rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but that the White House resisted.
"It's very difficult, in retrospect, to say that would have prevented this," she said. She said it is too soon to tell whether American policy in Syria was a failure.
Iran and Russia
The former secretary of state, senator and first lady has been offering views that differ from Obama's on foreign policy in recent months, including on issues such as Iran's nuclear program and dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
NSA
Clinton also said German Chancellor Angela Merkel had every right to be upset with disclosures that the National Security Agency had listened in on her cellphone as part of its large-scale surveillance of electronic communications in Germany.
"It was absolutely uncalled for," Clinton said, adding "That has nothing has to do with Angela Merkel's cellphone, and that should be off limits."
IRS
Fox News also asked Clinton about accusations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted the tax status of organizations with names linked to the conservative Tea Party movement and if she agreed with Obama's characterization that it was a "phony scandal."
"I think that any time the IRS is involved for many people it's a real scandal," she said. "And I think, though, that there are some changes that rightly need to be made to what is being said and I assume that the inquiry will continue.
With party colleagues and friends like this, who needs enemies…
Of course, other political allies are riding to Obama's defense… (via The Hill)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans are wrong for blaming President Obama for the civil war in Iraq.
“This is an Iraqi civil war, and it’s time for the Iraqis to solve it themselves,” Reid said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning. “Those who say President Obama pulled troops from Iraqi too quickly are wrong and out of step with the rest of America. … It’s not worth the blood of the U.S. soldiers and the money of U.S. taxpayers.”
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1vUwGKo Tyler Durden