True enough, Hillary is flawed, but analysis imparts optimism that her missteps will forge of her a better leader (while chances of Trump admitting, much less learning from, his errors appears nil). Furthermore, as noted by many of her previous opponents, Hillary has numerous strengths, earning their support.
Unfavorable perceptions of her can be credited to the distorted lens created by the decades-long assiduous GOP attacks upon her character, and the manner of news cycles feeding upon themselves, as much as to actual misdeeds. Under similar attack, half of our previous presidents might easily have been dismissed.
The assertion that Clinton/Obama are to blame for the rise of ISIS reflects malicious ignorance. The Brits are far more liable, for having carved up the Middle East as they did, as are "W" and his mentors for deposing a major stabilizer with only fantastical notions as foundations for the postlude.
The assessment that Clinton is mortally flawed for having voted for war authorization is simplistic. Backing a president, giving weight to his threatened actions, has merit in principle. (In practice, backing particular impetuous presidents may not!)
Bush betrayed Congressional trust in him, and blew his chance to historically appear as a master of realpolitik, when he and underlings dismissed Saddam's pre-invasion offer of capitulation, and the press settled for Rumsfeldian non-sequitur as satisfactory accounting.
Bush's squandered opportunity came courtesy of Congressional unity, which should be contrasted with the cohort of GOP yahoos dancing in the background, chanting, "Don't believe him! - No, he won't! - we won't back him!", whenever Obama pledged a stand in that region. Small wonder Barack flexed so little U.S. muscle.
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The Iran nuclear deal may not have been the very best, but it was better and wiser than pursuing the course of pure antagonism, a strategy which only served to strengthen their political-religious fanatics and ours.
Before lambasting Hillary's failure to fix things, it would be wise to scrutinize the players and policies that broke them in the first place. Hillary's greatest fault may simply be her allowance of so many GOP character assaults to fly without response.
Fred Cogelow
Willmar
