Former Clinton administration lawyer Greg Craig raised eyebrows when he endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination over former First Lady and current New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Now, Craig has written a memo that absolutely devastates Clinton’s claim of having the kind of foreign policy experience that prepares her for the presidency from Day One.
Here’s the nub of Craig’s argument:
“There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton played an important domestic policy role when she was First Lady. It is well known, for example, that she led the failed effort to pass universal health insurance. There is no reason to believe, however, that she was a key player in foreign policy at any time during the Clinton Administration. She did not sit in on National Security Council meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the Situation Room. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy, nor did she have her own national security staff. She did not do any heavy-lifting with foreign governments, whether they were friendly or not. She never managed a foreign policy crisis, and there is no evidence to suggest that she participated in the decision-making that occurred in connection with any such crisis. As far as the record shows, Senator Clinton never answered the phone either to make a decision on any pressing national security issue – not at 3 AM or at any other time of day.
“When asked to describe her experience, Senator Clinton has cited a handful of international incidents where she says she played a central role. But any fair-minded and objective judge of these claims – i.e., by someone not affiliated with the Clinton campaign – would conclude that Senator Clinton’s claims of foreign policy experience are exaggerated.”
Craig then goes on to refute Clinton’s claims of having played key roles in Clinton administration foreign policy initiatives for Northern Ireland and Kosovo. Don’t be surprised if the Blogosphere picks up on Craig’s memo and advances it.
So far, the Mainstream Media isn’t giving the Craig memo much ink, but the Obama campaign will keep it front and center in coming weeks as they battle the Clinton machine’s continuing barrage of attacks on the man who could well become America’s first-ever chief executive.
And should Clinton somehow manage to defeat Obama, Sen. John McCain will certainly know what to do with the Craig memo.
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