Hillary Clinton: Trump is 'temperamentally unfit' to be president

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

Hillary Clinton unleashed blistering criticism of Donald Trump Thursday in a fiery foreign policy address that cast the presumptive Republican nominee as an unstable lightweight "temperamentally unfit" to be president.

"Donald Trump's ideas aren't just different -- they are dangerously incoherent," Clinton said. "They're not even really ideas -- just a series of bizarre rants, personal feuds, and outright lies."

She continued, "He's not just unprepared -- he's temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility."

Before an audience of 250 invited guests, Clinton argued that Trump is a uniquely unprepared presidential candidate, whose foreign policy views are highly malleable and subject to the whims of his moods. The address offers a preview of the type of heated rhetoric and lines of attack that sure to be on display in the fall campaign.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-foreign-policy-speech/index.html

[redstateblues]

1. She nailed it. Very Presidential. Madame President

[JDPriestly]

37. An audience of 250 PAYING (an easy audience because they were willing to pay for

her) guests, she read a speech.

If that's nailing it, . . . .

Trump and Bernie both speak before thousands. Neither reads their speech word for word. While they may have a routine stump speech, they are present with the listeners in their audience. Hillary is half inside her speech transcript and half thinking about what her audience thinks of her.

Hillary is not good at this.

If the Democratic Party chooses Hillary as the candidate, I fear for America.

She reads her speeches and memorizes her remarks. It's awful!

[tinrobot]

45. Quite honestly, I would have paid to hear that...

Gotta admit, it was a good speech.

[JDPriestly]

50. Shoulda' been considering how many people probably "contributed" to its writing.

Bernie has advisors but writes his own notes and speaks extemporaneously.

Wait till the Republicans start in on Hillary about her canned speeches.

[tinrobot]

63. Yes, she has a team. That's how it works.

She hires speechwriters and gives them direction. They give her drafts of the speech. She edits the drafts as needed, and then, when she likes it, she presents it.

It's called managing people and delegating responsibility, both critical skills for being an effective president.

And, in case you haven't heard, every modern President has had speechwriters. This isn't the 1800's.

[JDPriestly]

77. She "presents" it.

That's the problem.

Why was GWB elected and Gore not?

Because people felt that GWB touched their hearts and that Gore did not.

Hillary does not touch people's hearts -- most people's hearts.

Her credibility and other such ratings prove that she is a lousy candidate.

Bernie's poll ratings on these human characteristics are high -- and that makes the difference. It's those ratings that decide who wins.

She is a lousy candidate.

[tinrobot]

84. No... she outlines it, speechwriters write, she edits, more revisions, she gives a speech...

But maybe that's process is too complex for some people to comprehend....

[JDPriestly]

125. She is reading word for word, and she sounds like she has practiced reading it.

That is not a good sign.

In the debates, you could tell that a lot of her arguments were rehearsed.

If you give speeches are talk in to audiences in your work, you recognize the difference between extemporaneous speech and rehearsed speech and read speech. It sounds different.

[NotHardly]

150. If its a skirt, no hater can stand it ... is that it?

Lots of folks on this string seem to have a problem and I suspect its gender generic ... no, I actually pretty much believe it.

[JDPriestly]

151. I'm a skirt. I have daughters. I am from a family of women.

She should speak from her heart, from notes, but not from a transcript of her speech. She can read a speech when she talks to groups of people on some occasions, but not when she is campaigning for public office.

People don't think she is authentic because when she reads her speeches, she is NOT authentic.

She was a lawyer. Surely she did not read to a jury or a judge.

She needs to show herself and not her prepared statements to voters if she is going to win over Trump.

It sounds especially phony when someone who is not a trained comedian reads jokes. It's just not going to win the general election.

Does Trump read his speeches?

No. He doesn't have to, and he doesn't.

People are not listening to political speeches JUST for the content. They are listening to get to know what the character and personality is of the speaker.

Hillary's biggest problem is that people don't like her. One of the things she could do to change that is to stop reading her speeches. She needs to get in front of a huge crowd of thousands of people and be herself. If she can't do that, she should not be running because she will have an uphill fight all the way. It will make her bitter and angry and people will like her even less.

I'm a woman. It has nothing to do with gender.

[redstateblues]

113. Bernie must be worse. The people rejected him.

[Raastan]

146. GWB was NOT elected, he was APPOINTED by the SCOTUS.

[nolabear]

75. Is that all you've got?

Frankly it's ridiculous.

[snooper2]

139. Bernie is just DREAMY! LOL

Can't wait to watch him stump for Hillary and just go out there speaking off the cuff!

[George II]

97. You mean this afternoon only 250 people were watching CNN and MSNBC?

It's not the size of the crowd that constitutes the impressiveness of a speech, it's the content.

But you're right, Trump and Bernie both speak before thousands but neither will be President.

Just a serious question - when has Sanders given such a comprehensive policy speech? Ever?

[AngryAmish]

106. At $15,000 dollars it is a bargain.

Where else can one hear such cool logic and experience?

No, she needs to charge more. Besides, if you do not charge a minimum all sorts of scum get in.

[JDPriestly]

126. "all sorts of scum"? You mean ordinary wage earners?

You are confirming the suspicions about Hillary supporters.

[1StrongBlackMan]

107. Did you read the speech? Do you think you will hear or read about it? How much did you pay ...

to hear the message that she "nailed"?

Come on ... that is REALLY weak.

[youceyec]

115. This

rant is filled with sexism and double standards. I could point out how if prodded enough.

[livetohike]

2. Expect Trump's poll numbers to go in free fall.

She nailed him.

[LibDemAlways]

13. Trump's supporters don't care what Hillary thinks.

Anything she says they automatically assume is a lie. Very naive to think anything she could say would make a difference to them.

[Wounded Bear]

44. Too true...

but I can only hope this doesn't expand his support. I can't understand how anybody who isn't die-hard base would support him.

[tinrobot]

47. But his true supporters are less than half the GOP

So, maybe 10-15% of the population, max.

[Justice]

51. Very naive to think speech was aimed at Trump supporters

Speech was aimed at everyone else - independents, Democrats and republicans who supported other candidates.

[emulatorloo]

76. Speech aimed at sane GE voters, not Trump crazies.

[LibDemAlways]

110. Considering how well he's doing in the polls no matter

what outrageous thing he says, it seems there are a lot of Trump crazies out there. I know people who are otherwise sane individuals who plan to vote for Trump because he's the Republican candidate. Party above all, and I fully expect the R's to circle the wagons and get the voters in line. They've had big turnouts this year, and I expect the prospect of retaking the White House will override all. They're nothing if not loyal.

[840high]

85. .+1

[George II]

98. But American voters care what their candidates think (or say)

[EdwardBernays]

3. So

She was complaining because she doesn't think his foreign policy ideas are great, and he's a liar, and because he flip flops?

Is she sure she's the person to be saying this stuff is disqualifing for President...?

[Kingofalldems]

9. Good try.

[emulatorloo]

10. It was a nice way to say Trump is fucking insane.

Which he is.

[840high]

86. Don't forget Trump has a fascination

with foreign dictators - like she doesn't?????

[EdwardBernays]

108. Personal friends

With Mubarak. Trump can only dream...

Mubarak:

Mubarak is most well-known among human rights advocates as a serious offender of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture [PDF], and Egypt's own constitution. The offenses are innumerable:

The Egyptian Organization of Human Rights reports that between 1993 and December 2008, 460 torture cases were reported, with 167 cases of death due to torture or ill-treatment.

The families of suspects are often tortured to extract information about suspects. One account from 2008 reports that after police officers burst into the home of an absent suspect, they attacked his pregnant sister instead—with a baseball bat. She fell over a flight of stairs and died.

Mubarak has a long and comfortable relationship with hosting and torturing detainees for the United States and the U.K., an arrangement often overseen by Mubarak's newly-appointed Vice President Omar Suleimen.

Hillary's relationship:

SECRETARY CLINTON: We look forward to President Mubarak coming as soon as his schedule would permit. I had a wonderful time with him this morning. I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family. So I hope to see him often here in Egypt and in the United States.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/01/secretary-clinton-in-2009-i-really-consider-president-and-mrs-mubarak-to-be-friends-of-my-family.html

As Egyptian democracy protesters massed in the streets of Cairo in 2011, provoking a bloody crackdown from the authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented herself as a champion of human rights. Clinton was “deeply concerned about the use of violence by Egyptian police and security forces against protesters,” she told reporters at the State Department. “Egyptian authorities,” she urged, should not impede “peaceful protests.”

But behind the scenes, Clinton pursued contrasting aims. She cautioned the White House about backing the ouster of President Mubarak, whom she had previously described as a family friend. Her State Department cleared Egypt to continue purchasing arms the U.S. government classified as "toxicological agents,” a broad designation that included chemical and biological weapons, as well as vaccines -- this, at the very moment Mubarak’s forces were unleashing one toxicological agent, tear gas, against protesters demanding his ouster.

The Clinton-run State Department’s approval of chemical and biological exports to the Egyptian government increased in volume just as dollars flowed from Mubarak-linked entities into the coffers of Clinton family concerns. A group closely associated with the Mubarak government paid Bill Clinton a $250,000 speaking fee in 2010, less than 4 months before the Egyptian revolution began. In 2012, a firm with an ownership stake in the company that manufactured the tear gas reportedly used by Egyptian security forces against the uprising paid $100,000 to $250,000 for another Bill Clinton speech.

The approval of American chemical weapons sales to Egypt as Mubarak’s associates were stocking Clinton family interests with cash is but one example of a dynamic that prevailed though Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. During the roughly two years of Arab Spring protests that confronted authoritarian governments with popular uprisings, Clinton’s State Department approved $66 million worth of so-called Category 14 exports -- defined as "toxicological agents, including chemical agents, biological agents and associated equipment" -- to nine Middle Eastern governments that either donated to the Clinton Foundation or whose affiliated groups paid Bill Clinton speaking fees.

That represented a 50 percent overall increase in such export approvals to the same countries over the two years prior to the Arab Spring, according to an International Business Times review of State Department documents. In the same time period, Arab countries that did not donate to the Clinton Foundation saw an overall decrease in their State Department approvals to purchase chemical and biological materials.

http://www.ibtimes.com/hillary-clintons-state-department-increased-chemical-arms-sales-middle-east-countries-1949653

Like I said, Trump dreams of being this connected to dictators.

[840high]

111. Jesus H!

Pure evil.

[Duval]

91. She may be sure, but I'm certainly not.

[pangaia]

4. 250 invited guests...

hummmm...... KACHING, perhaps?

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. Really....$$$$$$$

[pangaia]

15. Maybe I'll try that...

I'll invite people over for.. hummm.........AH, Got it !! I will actually DO SOMETHING for people, not just run my mouth...... I will cook a 7 course Szechuanese dinner.
(YES, I can do that) REAL Chinese, not, as my Chinese ex- used to say,' Chinese for white people.' (That's what she called P F Chang's.)



20 people, max at $850 a pop...

Special discounts for Bernie DUers. 90% off

Would you like to come?

[Ned_Devine]

30. Count me in!!!

[pangaia]

57. OKAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's one.

suan cai dou hua - silken dofu soup with pickled mustard greens
xiang cai my er - slippery wood ear salad with cilantro
mapo dofu -pock-marked old woman's dofu (lots of Szechuan peppers zzzzzz)
liang ban ji - cold chicken with szechuan chili sauce sauce(more zzzzz)
gong bao ji ding - chicken cubes with peanuts
hong shao rou - red-braised pork belly
dou ban yu - braised trout in chili bean sauce
xiang gu xiao bai cai - baby bok choy with shiitake. (this is really a Guangdong dish, but.. oohhh so delicious and simple)

I know, that's nine dishes, but I don't know where to stop... plus dessert.. puer tea from Yunnan and Tsingdao beer from. well... Qingdao.

[Doctor Who]

90. Sounds amazing.

I'm not familiar w/ ethnic Szechuanese cooking. But, that sounds like a feast. I'll be there in spirit.

[pangaia]

101. Great. That's two !!

If you ever have a chance to go to Chengdu, GO !! It is the home, the true heart, of Szechuan cuisine,. The 4-7 regional Chinese cuisines, depending on how they are counted, ( Szechuan, Guangdong, Shanghai and Shandong) and taken as a whole, are considered by those in the know to be among the most refined cuisines in the world, by some, to be the finest. (Many French chefs go to China to really refine their art -usually Guangzhou, Shanghai Chengdu, Beijing....) And Szechuan just may be at the top. it is for me.

And the people in Chengdu are just beautiful human beings.

I have quite a few friends there and hope, hope, hope I can go back in late June or July.....

[Duval]

92. Make that Three.

Just give me and Victor your address!!

[pangaia]

103. YEA !!!!!!!

My address?

You want my address? uh.....

How about delivery.





I am near Rochester, NY. Where are you?

[geardaddy]

147. 你 會 說 國 語 嗎？

我 有 住 在 北 京 一 年 和 在 台 灣 四 年 了。

[Gothmog]

5. Trump is not suited to be POTUS

[OwlinAZ]

6. Neither is Mrs Clinton

[ancianita]

7. "Neither" as in "both are equally as unsuited"?

[geek tragedy]

14. "Mrs Clinton"

15 days.

[emulatorloo]

18. ...

[lib87]

55. Ah, Hitler & Clinton on one Poster.

GOP folk are grasping at hateful straws when it comes to their fear/hate of Clinton.

[emulatorloo]

67. It is an editorial cartoon, pretty good one I think!

First posted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027866280

Lots of good anti-Trump editorial cartoons on that page!

[tavernier]

141. I know there have been ridiculous Hitler comparisons

but yesterday while they showed him responding to Clinton's remarks, his loud shouts and wild arm swings shocked me because they did remind me of films I've seen of Hitler yelling his propoganda. Spooky.

[Justice]

48. Secretary Clinton is well suite to be POTUS (and will be POTUS)

[Stuckinthebush]

68. Of course she is

Ignore the foolishness on this board. It is in the minority but seems to be reaching a crescendo.

[Surya Gayatri]

8. She did what 16 Repub. challengers could not--she dismembered him,

made him look ridiculous, and neutered him at the same time.

That was N° 45 up there behind that podium.

[Lady_Chat]

17. +

[Carolina]

20. only because he wasn't

standing next her shouting crooked Hillary or at least I didn't vote for Iraq.

The Trump supporters won't care what she says, no speech will change the repuke establishment falling in line to retain power, the GOP electorate in red states loathes the Clintons, the independents will counter (as I did above) that based on her record (Iraq, Honduras, Libya, Syria), she's judgmentally unfit... So this sound bite speech means nothing

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

74. She'll never change the GOP and Trump supporter voters' minds

Her target audience is independent and Bernie supporters, who need to fear Trump more than they distrust Hillary. The Republican GOTV effort is going to be massive, and they've got Hillary-hate, Obama-hate, voter I.D and gerrymandering working in their favor. It's going to be a hard, long fight to the election.

We've got to win. Not to be hyperbolic, the future of the world depends on this election.

[Cosmocat]

138. Right - 40% or so is baked in

Those complete R pods who would vote for (I was thinking of the most hyperbolic example, but none can out do Trump, so ...) Donald Trump for POTUS because he has an R behind his name.

She has 40% or or so of democrats who at worst are sentient enough to know the alternative to a Dem is, well, at best at this point George W Bush.

SO, this election is about the 15-20 percent who lie between stone cold stupid and those who are connected with sober reality.

THAT is who she was, and will continue to, speak to.

[HillareeeHillaraah]

135. And Bernie's plan for Libya? Syria? Honduras? Iraq?

Besides war=bad ( because if we stop engaging everyone else will too?)

She has substance.

He has rallies.

She has votes.

He has rallies.

She has experience.

He has rallies.

See where I'm going with this? Hell. He didn't even have an opinion on the drought in California.

[BlueMTexpat]

142. + a million! eom

[DesertRat]

11. k&r

[Carolina]

16. And based on

Iraq, Honduras, Libya and Syria... she's judgmentally unfit as well

[Surya Gayatri]

19. ...

[Lady_Chat]

22. LOL! So true!

[Carolina]

25. No, so untrue, newbie

HRC's militarism and especially that IWR vote are a big part of why she lost in 2008.

Since then, she has only given the electorate more reasons to question her judgment and her honesty with her regime change adventures and her arms deals with the Saudis that benefitted the Clinton Slush Fund (aka Foundation). You can suck on sour grapes, too, if that helps you delude yourself and willfully ignore her record.

[Surya Gayatri]

35. Way to put out the welcome mat. Newbie? Stay classy.

[Duval]

95. Carolina has been around for awhile.

Is newbie meant as an insult? Kinda looks like one.

[Surya Gayatri]

132. Carolina used the epithet against Lady-Chat. Read the exchange.

[Surya Gayatri]

26. Welcome to DU, Lady_Chat!

Pay no attention whatsoever to the bitter-end Bernie or Busters. They are not pleased. Humor them. Their rants will soon become irrelevant.

[Lady_Chat]

53. Thank you Surya!

[emulatorloo]

78. Hi and Welcome!

[Lady_Chat]

83. Thank you emulatorloo!

[SouthernDemLinda]

134. It cleared everything up though!

On Thursday Hillary Clinton reading from a teleprompter said, "Donald Trump's ideas aren't just different," Clinton said Thursday. "They are dangerously incoherent. They're not even really ideas. Just a series of bizarre rants, personal feuds and outright lies."

Basically Clinton simply said, "I'm not as stupid as Trump" who rarely uses teleprompters, he said.

Well, that clears everything up, now we all know where they both stand on the real important issues.

[Lady_Chat]

29. I still can't get over Trump's remarks about the "Mexican" judge

The one that was born in Indiana! How bigoted can Trump get? Apparently, very. He went on such a tirade yesterday, about the judge that will try the Trump University scam, how unfair everyone is to him, how he didn't care what he called the judge. The reporters looked absolutely startled, but they really didn't go after him. Wolf Blitzer is going after one of Trump's mouthpieces now and doing a great job!

[SunSeeker]

66. Welcome to DU Lady_Chat!

Check out the Hillary Group if you haven't already. It's a place just for Hillary supporters, where we can discuss things without being accosted with personal attacks and insults.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1107

[Lady_Chat]

82. Thank you SunSeeker!

I definitely will!

[Stuckinthebush]

69. Amen! So true!

Sour grapes indeed.

[Carolina]

23. Nice try, but it's the truth

and that IWR is a big part of why she lost in 2008.

Since then, she has only given the electorate more reasons to question her judgment and her honesty with her regime change adventures and her arms deals with the Saudis that benefitted the Clinton slush Fund (aka Foundation). You can suck on sour grapes if that helps you delude yourself and willfully ignore her record.

[Surya Gayatri]

38. Bitter ender, eh? Well, rant on as you like. Your biased

broadsides will soon become irrelevant.

[videohead5]

123. Trump Was For The Same Thing

They got him on tape when he was ask if he was for the Iraq war "Yeah I guess so"...he was all for going in to get Gaddafi. it's also on tape.I know what you would be saying if we had not gone into Libya.Hillary let Gaddafi massacre hundreds of thousands of his people.

[tavernier]

121. Brilliant!

[Cryptoad]

27. Get all that Hillary hate out our system,,,,,

wont be long before we will not have read all that crap here are DU

[Carolina]

31. Not hate, truth... which

clearly you can't abide and willfully ignore.

Funny how the Hill Brigade can never refute the truth, so you just scream hate and sexism

[Lady_Chat]

34. Go look up ""The Bay of Pigs" and JFK's

disastrous mistake. Loved the man, but perfect, he wasn't.

[Surya Gayatri]

42. Boom! Mic drop!

[Carolina]

80. Funny how neither you

or Lady Chat can refute the facts of my post, and clearly how neither of you read the details of my post refuting any comparison between HRC and JFK

Facts hurt

[Carolina]

58. I am all too familiar with the Bay of Pigs

Big difference.

But let's set the record straight. JFK was influenced by the CIA and Pentagon to launch that ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. It was a colossal failure and he took full responsibility, recall his famous speech about success having a million fathers and defeat being an orphan. He took responsibility and he learned. That is why he was thereafter skeptical of the Pentagon brass and refused the push for heavier involvement in Vietnam! That is also why he wanted to break up the CIA and why Allan Dulles hated him.

He was also a student of history and recognized the error of the French who had preceded the US in Indochina. He opposed colonialization and imperialism and was distraught, for example, when Patrice Lumumba -- the independence leader of the Congo -- was assassinated. Last, but certainly not least, he was a veteran and knew the horrors of war.

But let's talk about HRC's IWR vote in depth because there was, and remains, no excuse or justification for it:

Reason 1: Iraq did not attack the US; fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were Saudis while the other four were from the UAE, Egypt, Yemen. They learned to fly here in the States (Florida, Arizona). Bin Laden was also Saudi! (but HRC as SoS sold weapons to them)

Reason 2: Iraq had been under horrific UN sanctions since the first Bush war on Iraq in 1991; so how could it have morphed into an imminent threat to the US in 2002 when IWR was being peddled

Reason 3: W's administration introduced IWR and demanded a vote on it right before the 2002 midterm elections. Wise men and women questioned the timing and the rush, but not those who voted aye... they had their eyes on being POTUS and cast calculating votes that reeked of political and moral cowardice.

Reason 4: Anyone who was paying attention knew about PNAC and therefore knew how the Bush cabal and Carlyle group had their eyes on carving up Iraq's oil fields. Clinton sure knew because the signers of PNAC policy papers wrote Bill seeking pre-emptive action while he was POTUS.

Reason 5: the Bush cabal STOLE the White House in 2000 because they had their PNAC plans. Then, they ignored all the warnings/chatter leading up to 9/11 including the August 6th PDB. They allege they were blindsided and could not have foreseen such an attack. But that flies in the face of the fact that the airspace had to be closed around the G-8 summit in Genoa, Italy in July 2001 precisely because of terrorists' threats to fly planes into buildings! So therefore, why would any sentient 'leader' of the opposition party trust or "have good faith" in ANYTHING proposed by W

Reason 6: Anyone who knew history, knew that Reagan sold WMDs to Saddam/Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war (recall the photo of Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand). So when Cheney took to the airwaves in 2002 talking about WMDs and said he knew where they were and how they'd been used against the Kurds, he was telling the truth... about 1988. He was using his dirty past to foment a new war for oil

Reason 7: the Bush cabal withdrew the weapons inspectors because they were not finding anything. Scott Ritter (who was smeared) and his fellow inspectors' findings would not/did not conform to the desired Bush narrative, so Colin Bowel sold his soul and did his 'tube' presentation to the UN

Reason 8: Citing the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, Robert Byrd gave an eloquent and passionate speech about lies that lead to war, about the waste of war, about the unintended consequences of war... and he challenged the rush to war. Bob Graham (who actually read the documents available to Congress) and Ted Kennedy spoke as well. Why didn't HRC listen to them rather than Bush or Cheney? No, she gave Bush bipartisan cover with her aye vote, and so she has blood on her hands, too!

Clearly the rationale for IWR was all a LIE, and if millions of citizens could see all this THEN, why not Clinton?! She voted aye, ran for POTUS and lost in large measure because of that vote. Votes have consequences and there is no apology large enough to cover a cowardly, finger-in-the-wind vote that has caused so much death, debt, destruction and destabilization (ISIS)!

She did not learn from that 'mistake' however and went on to foster regime change in Honduras causing a hell hole that forced many to flee, some families so desperate that they sent children as young as 5 alone on a desperate journey. Then there's Libya which even the Pentagon brass was AGAINST! But HRC in her infinite wisdom talked Obama into listening to her and now, it too is a hell hole; and the President considers that venture HIS biggest mistake. Hillary NEVER takes responsibility. Her response to Libya was: we came, we saw, he died ha, ha, ha.

So don't even try comparing her to JFK until you do some homework.

[Lady_Chat]

79. Kennedy also followed Dwight Eisenhower's policy on Vietnam "the Domino Theory"

Bottomlessshould do your homework, in addition to the Bay of Pigs disaster there was Vietnam.

John Kennedy was a die hard believer in containing communism. Kennedy made it clear that he would continue the policy of the former President, Dwight Eisenhower, and support the government of Diem in South Vietnam. Kennedy also made it plain that he supported the ‘Domino Theory’ and he was convinced that if South Vietnam fell to communism, then other states in the region would as a consequence.

He was warned by Charles De Gaulle that Vietnam and warfare in Vietnam would trap America in a “bottomless military and political swamp" . Kennedy was certain that American forces would be far better equipped and prepared for conflict in Vietnam than the French had been. He believed that just a small increase in US support for Diem would ensure success in Vietnam.

In 1961, Kennedy agreed that America should finance an increase in the size of the South Vietnamese Army from 150,000 to 170,000. He also agreed that an extra 1000 US militaryadviserss should be sent to South Vietnam to help train the South Vietnamese Army. Both of these decisions were not made public as they broke the agreements made at the 1954 Geneva Agreement.

During Kennedy’s presidency that the ‘Strategic Hamlet’ program was introduced. This failed badly and almost certainly drove a number of South Vietnamese peasants into supporting the North Vietnamese communists. There was forcible moving of peasants into secure compounds was supported by Diem and did a great deal to further the opposition to him in the South. American television reporters relayed to the US public that ‘Strategic Hamlet’ destroyed decades, if not hundreds, of years of village life in the South and that the process might only take half-a-day. The forced removal of peasants by the South Vietnamese Army who were not asked if they wanted to move. To those who knew about US involvement in Vietnam and were opposed to it, ‘Strategic Hamlet’ provided them with an excellent propaganda opportunity.

Kennedy knew about the anger of the South Vietnamese peasants and was surprised to learn that membership of the NLF had increased, according to US Intelligence, by 300% in a two year time span – the years when ‘Strategic Hamlet’ was in operation. His response was to send more militaryadviserss to Vietnam so that by the end of 1962 there were 12,000 of theseadviserss in South Vietnam. Kennedy also sent 300 helicopters with US pilots. At first they were told to avoid military combat, but eventually that became impossible.

Kennedy’s decisions also saw the response to the Diem government by some Buddhist monks. On June 11th 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk, committed suicide on a busy Saigon road burned himself to death. Other Buddhist monks began to follow his example. Television reported these events throughout the world. Was a horrific sight to see, that was repeated over and over.

Let's face it, apology or no apology a mistake is a mistake. Kennedy made a few. That's something you have to deal with. Here's your biggest problem...Hillary Clinton wasn't the President.

Kennedy was, Obama is, and they make the final decisions. You act like Kennedy and Obama were "simpletons" who couldn't look at all the facts and make decisions for themselves. Please get real. The reality is, sometimes Presidents make mistakes. As far as Qaddafii is concerned, he was no saint either, Pam Am 103 proved that. He was a murderous thug, who hoarded billions from his own people. Sooner or later, he was going down. But were mistakes made? Sure, just like many other Presidents and their administrations.

But when I see a bigot like Trump ranting and raving, bullying, and not even able to know what a nuclear triad is, beloved by Putin, Kim Jong-un, the NRA, Mexican haters, Muslim haters, and other minorities, I'm going with the Democrat.

[Carolina]

81. Took you awhile

but you still miss a huge point: HRC never takes responsibility and never learns. She 'evolves' depending on the particular audience, and every foreign operation she's touched has ended in chaos and disaster. And you could offer no rebuttal to my points about Iraq because there is NONE.

[Lady_Chat]

109. Sorry but I do have a life

So I'm multitasking. I missed nothing. You skated right over what happened in Vietnam during the Kennedy years. People displaced forcibly, monks burning themselves to death....that to you wasn't a mistake, and it couldn't have possibly been Kennedy's responsibility. And what did Kennedy learn? To go from the Bay of Pigs to Vietnam? Oooooookay.....whatever.

And what's to refute on Iraq? Joe Biden VP voted for IWR, John Kerry, our 2004 Presidential candidate voted for IWR, his VP pick John Ewards did. And quite a few other Democrats did also. Oddly enough, Barbara Boxer didn't vote for it and her thanks was to be called a "c_ _ _" a few weeks ago by "appreciative" Democrats, in Nevada.

But really, what was your point? Was it a good idea to go into Iraq? NO. But was the whole entire war Hillary's fault, no one else? not even not bush's? Come on. It seems as we go from one president to another, it never matters, it's always just Hillary's fault. Bush is not responsible, Obama is not responsible, Kennedy was not responsible, but....Hillary is. She killed Bambi too, I guess.

Make no mistake, do I think Hillary is perfect? Nope, and neither are the men I mentioned either.

But here's my choice, I'm a realist, a 3rd party candidate, like that clown we had in 2000, who he, and his followers, could see "no difference" between Bush And Gore", isn't going to win this election. We quickly learned afterwards what the "difference" was. Because of my 2000 election year experience, I'm not throwing my vote away. There are Supreme Court nominations to consider. I'm also not a fan of bigots or bullies, I don't like seeing minorities treated like they "don't belong" here. That it's their fault, for everything bad that's happening. That all Muslims are to be feared. That a woman has to be menstruating if she asks questions a candidate doesn't like. Such bigoted and sexist and stupid and vicious remarks.

Hillary Clinton was my senator, for the most part I liked what she did. I especially liked what she did after 9/11. She did fight for money for our city after 9/11....especially after the Budget Director Mitch Daniels, questioned the need for it, if you can imagine, and called NY'ers "money grubbers". She also started the fight for our first responders, trying to get the James Zadroga act through. Before that, the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) granting insurance for 8 million children was an excellent plan.

Perfect, no, better than Trump? Definitely.

[Carolina]

118. Missed the point again... you have no valid response

to the EIGHT (8) reasons cited that undermine any BS excuse $Hillary offered then or may offer now for her IWR vote.

Her judgment sucks. Here's a little gem from Jon Stewart no less, a little something to enlighten you about your girl's stunning lack of morals and good judgment:

http://www.downvids.net/demopocalypse-jon-stewart-comes-out-of-retirement-813527.html

It's an excellent 18+ minutes, but just for war/regime change alone which starts ~ the 10 minute mark, it's a true and devastating expose of HRC's disastrous decisions. Hopefully you'll learn something

And, BTW, it was HRC's Senate successor Kirsten Gillibrand who worked hard to get action on the James Zadroga Act... that's in this video as well.

None so blind....

[Lady_Chat]

130. I don't think you would recognize a valid response

Hillary Clinton Hails Jon Stewart In Her Own 9/11 Push

Clinton helped write the first 9/11 health bills in the Senate when she represented New York.

"The issue is especially personal for Clinton, who was less than a year into her first term as the senator from New York when the planes hit the twin towers. Clinton sponsored the first bills in the Senate to aid 9/11 first responders."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-jon-stewart-911-bill_us_566b3ae4e4b011b83a6b4c49

Senator Gillibrand took up the fight when Hillary left the Senate, and I assume you must hate her too because she supports Hillary and not Bernie.

Poor judgment? Let's take a look: Blood Traces: Bernie’s Iraq War Hypocrisy

Sanders supported Bill Clinton’s war on Serbia, voted for the 2001 Authorization Unilateral Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF), which pretty much allowed Bush to wage war wherever he wanted, backed Obama’s Libyan debacle and supports an expanded US role in the Syrian Civil War.

More problematic for the Senator in Birkenstocks is the little-known fact that Bernie Sanders himself voted twice in support of regime change in Iraq. In 1998 Sanders voted in favor of the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, which said: “It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.”

Later that same year, Sanders also backed a resolution that stated: “Congress reaffirms that it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.” These measures gave congressional backing for the CIA’s covert plan to overthrow the Hussein regime in Baghdad, as well as the tightening of an economic sanctions regime that may have killed as many as 500,000 Iraqi children.

The resolution also gave the green light to Operation Desert Fox, a four-day long bombing campaign striking 100 targets throughout Iraq. The operation featured more than 300 bombing sorties and 350 ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, several targeting Saddam Hussein himself. http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/16/blood-traces-bernies-iraq-war-hypocrisy/

Today a Democratic Hillary Clinton kicked some Trump ass, but what do I see on this board? Not Democrats applauding someone finally going after this bum, while the media has given him a free pass, oh no. People like you, who don't even know what occurred in the Bay of Pigs or Vietnam, not the facts, but your opinion, and how "blameless" the guy you liked is. You can't even post the correct facts about the Zadroga act.

And you talk about none so blind? Do you even realize you are talking about yourself?

Suggest you do some reading. You really need to learn a lot.

[auntpurl]

140. BOOM!

Wow. Welcome to DU!

[Duval]

99. +1 nt

[Cryptoad]

36. call it what u will,,, its time here is short lived

[Stuckinthebush]

71. The irrational hate has been disgusting

Not long. Not long.

[Carolina]

89. Hills

never reasonably or rationally refute truth and facts; they just cry hate and sexism

[Stuckinthebush]

102. Right right.

Not long till this silliness is over and the hyperbole is quashed.

[AntiBank]

96. It will come back when she is POTUS and rams the TPP down our throats

[840high]

87. ...!100++++

[Duval]

93. She sure is. nt

[askeptic]

21. My worry is that "incoherent" is too big a word for the folks she needs to reach

makes her sound "highfalutin" like she's flaunting her edumakation. It was really funny how Rubio got to him on the size of his hands.

[Cryptoad]

24. Ouche~

u go sisty

[JDPriestly]

28. So is Hillary in my humble opinion.

[Lady_Chat]

32. Then welcome to a President Donald J Trump

Hope you're not a "Mexican", a woman, or a member of any minority group.

[basselope]

40. If Hillary is the nominee.. it is all but guaranteed.

This speech today showed how incredibly unprepared she is.

[Lady_Chat]

60. Republicans will back Trump 100% If Democrats do the same with our candidate

Trump will be history. She did a better job today than a roomful of reporters did the other day, remaining silent, listening to his bigoted rants.

[basselope]

65. She played right into his hands today.

It was embarrassing.

Independents decide the election and they are breaking for Trump.

Between that and the real liberals who will not vote for her, she has no path.

[tavernier]

124. Embarrassing?

It was thrilling! She exposed him for the narcissistic pig that he is and nailed every point, especially the fact that the world doesn't need a leader who throws a two year old's temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way.

She was awesome!

[basselope]

133. LOL.

Wow. You don't get it at all.

She didn't present a vision... she just attacked him on exactly where he is strongest. You see YOU THINK she nailed him when, in fact, she fed his supporters exactly what they want. They don't want a cautious, politician handling foreign policy. They want someone who is going to be Yosemite Sam. Yes, she "nailed him", but she didn't change a single mind (except to showcase herself as exactly what he is painting her as), because she didn't present an actual vision. She just got in the mud with him and THAT is a fight he is going to win every single time.

If you watched that speech and thought "WOW... WHAT A GREAT JOB".. you are 100% clueless as to what this election cycle is going to be about.

[Gene Debs]

144. And all those just assuming that all Democrats are going to fall in line behind Clinton are

deluding themselves. It's right up there with "This ship can't sink."

It's not going to happen. All the research out there indicates that there's a huge chunk that is never going to vote for Clinton. And if Clinton is the nominee, get ready for President Trump. The DNC is going to have to decide whether making Clinton the nominee is more important than winning the election, and what worries me is that DWS is so self-centered, shortsighted and stupid that that's exactly what will happen.

[Carolina]

33. Exactly, JD

Based on Iraq, Honduras, Libya and Syria... she's judgmentally unfit

[Lady_Chat]

41. Then so is Obama, Biden and Kerry

I don't share that view, but apparently you do. If you feel more comfortable with Trump as president, good luck with that.

[Carolina]

61. Oh puhleeze

You can't refute truth.

And the truth is part of what will sink HRC in the general. The Trump supporters won't care what she says, no speech (and alleged experience) will prevent the repuke establishment from falling in line to retain power, the GOP electorate in red states loathes the Clintons, the independents distrust her precisely because of her record of poor judgment (Iraq, Honduras, Libya, Syria), so she will LOSE!

Of course people like you will blame Sanders because you willfully ignore the TRUTH!

[Major Nikon]

39. Trump is 'temperamentally unfit' to hand out towels in the men's room

[azurnoir]

43. and another stunning example of Presidential temperament

the kicker is the poor young woman had nothing to do with Sanders campaign

[dubyadiprecession]

46. At one time, trump heard that mexico wasn't going to pay for the wall...

Trump's response was, "the wall just got 10 feet higher". He's made building the wall into a joke. If republicans think he is sincere in what he says he can do, than i have a university degree in real estate i can sell them.

[Lady_Chat]

56. Do you also remember when he said ""No one will be able to get over it" then added

as after thought..."unless they have a rope" And his "fans" still applauded him. Unbelievable.

[basselope]

49. Further evidence why she won't win.

This speech missed on every possible facet. The person in the race with the worst foreign policy record imaginable, attacks him on foreign policy.

She's trying to fight this like she is up against a traditional politician.

The people who are supporting Trump (currently looking to be a majority of voters in the latest polls) WANT completely outside the beltway thinking and don't care what an establishment candidate thinks of it, especially an establishment candidate with a string of foreign policy failures. (Iraq, Libya, Honduras, etc.)

She just played right into his hands.

[TheBlackAdder]

52. Humph! Lady use big words. Me no understand... need Alex Jones to splain to me! (bagger response)

.


OK, it is time to take discourse up to the next level.

The movie, Ben Hur, was written at an 8th grade level to match the common intellect of America.

Over the years, it seems that the RL level lowered to around the 6th grade.


It's time to reclaim the efforts of contemporary enlightenment!

Way to go, HRC! They'll spend 2 weeks decoding that message.


.

[tymorial]

54. I hope Clinton destroys Trump in November

that being said, I do find myself questioning her temperament at times.

[Stuckinthebush]

72. She will.

No doubt.

[Gene Debs]

145. Hoping isn't going to help. If Clinton is the nominee, say hello to President Trump. This is obvious

to anyone who hasn't blindered themselves to all the warning signs. The problem with so many Clinton supporters is that they seem to lack a sense of perception about the world around them, because they've retreated into this bubble of awesomeness that is Hillary Clinton. They don't see her flaws—no matter how numerous and glaring they are to everyone else—and anyone who finds any fault with her whatsoever is just a hater who hasn't bathed long enough in her sheer awesomeness. It's like listening to twelve-year-olds gushing about One Direction.

You'd be better off hoping there are some reasonable heads left in the DNC who aren't as self-centered, shortsighted and stupid as Debbie Wasserman Schultz and who see the writing on the wall.

[bucolic_frolic]

59. Trump is on the defensive

This is the time period to paint his portrait with a clear rendering of the issues

so it won't ever go away.

Have at it, Hillary!

I don't agree with everything you do but you are leading my party and ticket
now and I'm all in.

[avaistheone1]

62. People don't trust Hillary.

That makes Hillary unfit to be president too.

I like Bernie. He is solid and we don't need to worry where he stands. With Hillary we never know where she stands. When she does take a position it is usually in favor of banks or huge corporations versus favoring Main Street.

[Stuckinthebush]

73. I like the Pope

He has as much chance as Bernie at being president.

The reality is that we have Hillary and Trump. Most Dems/Progressives/Liberals/Moderates will vote for Hillary. Thank god.

[avaistheone1]

148. That isn't the reality at all. Bernie and Hillary are running neck to neck.

Most democrats once they have the opportunity to listen to Bernie, favor Bernie.

Democrats will vote for the candidate they trust and that is Bernie Sanders.

[Stuckinthebush]

154. Jesus Christ

They aren't. Hillary is 60+ away from the nomination. She has millions more votes than Bernie. She has a massive delegate lead. Bernie has no hope of getting the nomination. This is getting old. We have played this silly game long enough. No rational person would agree that Bernie can win the nomination.

We have two real choices on who can win the presidency. Trump or Clinton. That's it. Take your pick. If you don't want to pick then don't. However, one of these two people will be president for four years.

[Xipe Totec]

64. The Founding Father made us a Republic to protect us from people like these

from Trump followers.

[ffr]

70. And she's absolutely right.

Especially on foreign policy, she's the most qualified candidate to be PoTUS.

[840high]

88. hahaha!!!!

[Red Mountain]

100. A saying I like......

you fuck it up, you fix it up.

Yeah, she has some work to do.

[clg311]

152. The Queen of Chaos touting her foreign policy experience..

Is like the Buffalo Bills touting their Super Bowl experience.

[George II]

94. One of the more powerful speeches I've seen in years by either a President or a candidate....

...that was one kick-ass speech from beginning to end.

Highly Presidential, brava Madam President!

[MFM008]

104. exactly

[AngryAmish]

105. The election is over, and Hillary has won.

Look at the clumsy oafs who are Trump voters, so stupid and fat. They are proven wrong once again, and are left to cry themselves to sleep while Hillary's cool logic and on the spot direction make them shit their pants.

[LibDemAlways]

112. I'd like some of what you're smoking because

in the world I live in, we're having a primary next week and I intend to make my voice heard. In November there will be an election to determine who will be our next President. Not a single vote has been cast and no one has yet won or even been nominated.You are seriously putting the cart before the horse.

[Kall]

114. What's temperamentally fit, then, I wonder.

We came, we saw, he died?

[Lady_Chat]

116. "I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy" property and "make a

"make a lot of money." Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, in remarks on a "bubble burst," http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN0YF2GQ Then they could go to Trump University and lose some more, I guess.


"Donald Trump on Saturday reiterated his belief that Japan should arm itself to deter a threat from North Korea rather than have the U.S. military protect the longtime ally against the rogue nuclear nation" http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/02/politics/donald-trump-war-japan-north-korea/ 'Cause really, who needs our allies.

[Kall]

117. So, that has nothing to do with her cavalier temperament about overthrowing governments

where the countries are now riddled with terrorism and ethnic cleansing, but thanks for trying.

[Greywing]

119. So I see it all clearly now ...

Secretary of State Clinton started it all ... not GW Bush. What a ninnyhammer statement to make.

[Kall]

120. George W. Bush laughed about overthrowing Qaddafi?

News to me.

[Lady_Chat]

127. And Trump has no trouble with alienating our allies?

Guess telling Japan to go screw themselves, will bring about world peace. And of course, wishing his own country would go into economic collapse so he can profit, would make him a "great" president.

[Zorro]

122. Clinton kicked Trump's ass

and there's a lot of butthurt folks in this thread.

Curious.

[Lady_Chat]

128. +1

Very curious, isn't it?

[MrWendel]

129. Whos gonna break it to them...

that Plan B - Trump won't win?

[riversedge]

131. Spot on Hillary.

[Paladin]

137. Great speech from our president-to-be. (nt)

[ish of the hammer]

143. neither is Clinton, "we came, we saw, he died."

[SunSeeker]

149. Boom!

[clg311]

153. Well allow Bernie to retort..

"I agree with Secretary Clinton that Donald Trump's foreign policy ideas are incredibly reckless and irresponsible," he said in his statement. "But when it comes to foreign policy, we cannot forget that Secretary Clinton voted for the war in Iraq, the worst foreign policy blunder in modern American history, and that she has been a proponent of regime change, as in Libya, without thinking through the consequences."

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/03/sanders-clinton-yes-trumps-foreign-policy-ideas-are-scary-so-are-yours

[sarcasmo]

155. Kick