My must read of the day is "The Hillary Clinton Interview: 21 Revealing Quotes," on ABC News:
1. Why She Lost in 2008
"I think because I really didn't have a good strategy for my campaign. I didn't plan it the right way. ... As a candidate who was already so well known ... I don't think I ever said, 'Yes, you may have known me for eight years, but I don't take anything for granted. I have to earn your support." […]
15. Nuclear Talks With Iran
"... tough sanctions on Iran that got them to the negotiating table. Now, whether we get an agreement or not ... I think it's going to be very difficult, but it's a lot better than what we inherited where there was no international consensus and Iran was just, you know, pursuing its nuclear ambitions including building underground facilities."
16. Will Vladimir Putin Give Crimea Back to Ukraine?
"Putin really has a winner-take-all, zero-sum-game approach to international relations. ... I think that depends on whether he's made to pay a price for [Crimea] ... I don't think we are in a position to advocate making him [return Crimea to Ukraine] with military actions. But I am a strong supporter of tough sanctions that create an economic cost for Russia and for him personally, and his cronies."
I spent an hour last night watching Hillary Clinton’s interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC. Full disclosure, I am a Diane Sawyer fan—still, I spent much of the hour bored.
Sawyer asked the appropriate questions, and like a good politician, Clinton gave cautious and practiced answers that were far from detailed.
She is unsure if she will run for president. She is not making that decision this year. She maintains that while there are "continuing threats" abroad under this administration and her tenure at the State Department the world is in a better place than what they inherited, Republicans have politicized Benghazi—a tragic event she takes responsibility for, while providing a caveat: "I was not making security decisions." The most interesting statement was one that was teased before the interviewed aired. Clinton griped about her family's debt leaving the White House by noting that they struggled to pay for their "houses."
Hillary Clinton is a solid politician. We already know that. We knew that in 2008, and she lost the Democratic Party’s nomination. In many ways I understand and agree with the premise that what’s best for Clinton right now is to make as little news as possible, but I fail to see how remaining stagnant and regurgitating predictable answers is a positive thing.
Clinton’s supporters see her as a strong female candidate who stands up for women’s right and was a successful secretary of state—but even the New Republic has pointed out that her record in that capacity is at best uneventful. People have high expectations for Clinton and that’s difficult to live up to.
Clinton’s high approval is largely based on an ideal—her answers in last night’s interview didn’t vitalize that ideal—they seemed to exist outside of it. People can love an idea, but if the reality doesn’t match the image they’ve created, then it will eventually crumble.
If this is the pattern for her book tour, what many regard as a campaign test run, more people will join me in feeling tepid and unimpressed.