On policies, Clinton plays it safe: "Unclear," "on different sides of same issue," avoids specifics

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: On policies, Clinton plays it safe
She has built an image as a skilled leader but has made statements or cast votes that put her on different sides of an issue. Or she avoids specifics, leaving her options open.
By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 4, 2007

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke here last month, people liked what she said about ending the Iraq war. But it is not clear that they understood what she meant.

Ann Rivers, 41, came away from Clinton's speech at a banquet held by the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People thinking that she and the New York Democrat had identical positions on Iraq: "Pack up all the stuff -- whatever we've got over there -- pack it up and leave," Rivers said in summarizing what she thought was Clinton's stance.

But Clinton's comments were more nuanced. "We must begin to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home as quickly and responsibly as we can," the New York senator said. Her call to "begin to end the war" left Clinton substantial maneuvering room -- and since then she has refused even to commit to withdrawing all U.S. troops by 2013, the end of the next president's first term.

After 10 months of campaigning, Clinton has built an image among Democratic voters as a skilled and experienced leader, propelling her to the top of the opinion polls. But her policy positions are sometimes unclear. In some cases, Clinton has made statements on the campaign trail or cast votes as a senator that put her on different sides of the same issue. At times she has avoided specifics, leaving her options open....

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Some people watching Clinton believe she owes the voters more answers....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-clinton4oct04,0,2997856,full.story?coll=la-home-center

[truebrit71]

1. It's called "LYING"...

..something Mrs Triangulation is EXPERT at...

[againes654]

2. She is a skilled and experienced......

spin artist.

[againes654]

3. She is a skilled and experienced......

spin artist.

[Frances]

4. I have absolutely no problem with people

criticizing Hillary for her positions on issues.

I do have a problem with people criticizing her for subjective things like her laugh or for the one time her blouse showed some cleavage. That kind of criticism reminds me of people criticizing Gore and Kerry for being "wooden" and too smart.

[redqueen]

5. How do people do that? Only hear what they want to hear?

:shrug:

[AlGore-08.com]

6. If a "yes or no" question is answered with "it depends", a lot of people read into the answer...

...especially when the answer has been focus grouped to sound as if it actually means something specific. Or if the reply includes "code words" that resonate with the listener. One of Smirk's real political skills has been to weave phrases that are meaningful to the Religious Right into his speeches, so that they walk away from his speeches thinking "he really is one of us".

[jmp]

7. It depends on what the definition of the word ...

"lie" is. :eyes: