It's one of those stories that make you say, "I think it's remarkable that you think it's remarkable."
All of Washington, if not all of America, has been talking the last several days about the new book from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, which provides an eyewitness account of the fact that the Obama Administration politicizes pretty much everything. And one of the specifics that is raising eyebrows is Gates's report that Hillary Clinton admitted her opposition to the 2007 Iraq surge was purely political.
This is like a close friend of John Candy reporting that the late comic had privately admitted that he was overweight. You don't say.
Neither the fact itself nor the admission really calls for the raising of eyebrows. It is par for the course with a woman who uniquely - even among the politicians in Washington, which is really saying something - calculates her every move with only one thought in mind: Does this help position me to become president?
It does not matter if she believes in what she says or does. It does not matter if it is right. It does not matter if it produces a positive result. It does not matter if she said or did exactly the opposite at some point in the past, or might do so at some point in the future. It does not matter if she is lying. It doesn't even matter if most of the political press knows she's being completely insincere, as long as those who are inclined to call her out are not able to do so to any great effect.
Hillary opposed the surge not because she knew or understood anything about its wisdom or its likelihood of success. She doesn't even think about such things. To do so would be a waste of her time. She opposed the surge because she looked at the political dynamics of the moment and concluded it would be in her best interests to do so. Granted, it would go against her carefully contrived image as a national security hawk, but that had to give way for the moment to the fact that the public had turned against the war at this point and she couldn't allow Obama to flank her on the left - not in the midst of a difficult Democratic primary battle.
It's not that big a deal that she openly said so in casual conversation in the White House, either. The complete and utter fraud that is Hillary Clinton's public persona is not exactly a huge secret. If anything, she receives plaudits for the shrewdness with which she perpetuates her image. That's a product of Washington's press corps having devolved from coverage of substance to coverage of politics. They respect Hillary because she is shrewd in seeking her own advantage. It doesn't trouble them that it's all a load of crap because to their way of thinking that's par for the course with all politicians, and thus they respect the one who does it more shrewdly than most.
That's why no one thought it remarkable that she carpetbagged her way to New York to run for the Senate after her husband left office. She needed something - a safe blue state that could serve as a platform for her Senate career, and that would allow her to raise lots of money from rich liberal donors - and New York provided it. It was shrewd. She wasn't serving New York. New York was serving her. And everyone knew it.
When she lost the nomination to Obama, she took the job of Secretary of State because it was in her own best interests to take it. It helpfully added a line to her resume that enhanced the illusion she is qualified for the presidency. That's the same reason she did virtually nothing of consequence in the job. To do so would have been to risk criticism or controversy, and it does not serve the interests of Hillary Clinton to take such risks.
After all these years of shameless self-serving behavior, why not go ahead and say that's what you're doing? It's not like you're fooling anyone or ever have been. Quite to the contrary, people seem to give you credit for doing it so well.
So yeah. Of course her opposition to the surge was political. Everything about the woman is. Her sole purpose in life is to become president - so she can "make history" as the first female president and so her philandering husband will have nothing on her. If, God forbid, she makes it, she will govern the nation in the same way she's conducted herself up to this point. She will serve herself and she will expect the rest of us to serve her as well.
That is who she is. You think Obama's bad. Just wait.
