nevadamedic
05-26-2007, 04:41 PM
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton spoke exclusively with CNN congressional producer Ted Barrett and Congressional Quarterly just minutes after the New York senator voted "no" on the supplemental Iraq spending bill. Here is the complete exchange:
Q: "Why did you vote against the bill?"
A: "Obviously I thought very long and hard about it because I care deeply about making sure we do everything we can to protect our troops and there are some very positive elements within the supplemental that will certainly add to what will be coming down the road in the next three months. Also, I think the president has resisted every effort by -- not just the political process -- but by independent experts like the Iraq Study Group and you know, enough is enough. At some point you just have to draw a line. You know I didn't have the luxury of voting on two separate votes like the House did. But I think that it was important to make clear that I think we can do so much better in the war against terrorism and trying to force the Iraqis to come to a political resolution than what it is in this bill or what the president apparently is willing to do.
Q: "How concerned are you this vote will hurt you in a general election?"
A: "I don't see that at all. The American people have been living now with this war for five years. I want to de-authorize it. That's what Sen. Byrd and I have proposed. We are trying to end the authority for this war which is..."
Q: "Republicans will say, 'She voted to leave our troops in the field.'"
A: "Nobody believes that, nobody believes that. There's money to fund vehicles that are desperately needed -- they're not going to be ready in three months. That's just propaganda."
Q: Why did other anti-war Democrats vote for the bill?
A: "You'll have to ask each one because they certainly deserve to speak for themselves. I'm just speaking for myself. When I look at where we are, you know I've been in favor of redeploying our troops out of Iraq for more than two years. I've been trying to get the administration to change course and engage in what I believe would be more effective actions in Iraq and they haven't done it. You know at some point you don't want to keep going on with it."
Q: "Every vote you've cast on the war is the same as Obama's since he came to the Senate..."
A: "It's the other way around don't you think?" (laughter)
Q: "It did seem like a game of chess though. Did you know which way he had voted before you came on the floor?"
A: "No, I...I...You know, I...I was only thinking about my own vote frankly."
http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/
Q: "Why did you vote against the bill?"
A: "Obviously I thought very long and hard about it because I care deeply about making sure we do everything we can to protect our troops and there are some very positive elements within the supplemental that will certainly add to what will be coming down the road in the next three months. Also, I think the president has resisted every effort by -- not just the political process -- but by independent experts like the Iraq Study Group and you know, enough is enough. At some point you just have to draw a line. You know I didn't have the luxury of voting on two separate votes like the House did. But I think that it was important to make clear that I think we can do so much better in the war against terrorism and trying to force the Iraqis to come to a political resolution than what it is in this bill or what the president apparently is willing to do.
Q: "How concerned are you this vote will hurt you in a general election?"
A: "I don't see that at all. The American people have been living now with this war for five years. I want to de-authorize it. That's what Sen. Byrd and I have proposed. We are trying to end the authority for this war which is..."
Q: "Republicans will say, 'She voted to leave our troops in the field.'"
A: "Nobody believes that, nobody believes that. There's money to fund vehicles that are desperately needed -- they're not going to be ready in three months. That's just propaganda."
Q: Why did other anti-war Democrats vote for the bill?
A: "You'll have to ask each one because they certainly deserve to speak for themselves. I'm just speaking for myself. When I look at where we are, you know I've been in favor of redeploying our troops out of Iraq for more than two years. I've been trying to get the administration to change course and engage in what I believe would be more effective actions in Iraq and they haven't done it. You know at some point you don't want to keep going on with it."
Q: "Every vote you've cast on the war is the same as Obama's since he came to the Senate..."
A: "It's the other way around don't you think?" (laughter)
Q: "It did seem like a game of chess though. Did you know which way he had voted before you came on the floor?"
A: "No, I...I...You know, I...I was only thinking about my own vote frankly."
http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/