By Laura Ingraham
Hillary Clinton has been gone from her perch at the State Department for six months now, but with Mrs. Clinton it's never out of sight out of mind with die-hard Democrats. The new WMUR/New Hampshire poll of likely primary voters has the former first lady beating the rest of the potential 2016 presidential field by a mile. Poor Joe Biden.
When the president bid farewell to Mrs. Clinton in late January, it was quite the sendoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I think Hillary will go down as one of the finest Secretaries of State we've had. It has been a great collaboration over the last four years. I'm going to miss her. I wish she was sticking around. But she has logged in so many miles I can't begrudge her one to take it easy for a little bit. But I want the country to appreciate just what an extraordinary role she's played.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Now, that's all very sweet, but is it true? Forget party politics for a moment. Was Mrs. Clinton, objectively speaking, really a great Secretary of State? It's glaringly apparent that our relationship with Russia is in tatters which she began by botching the translation of the word "reset" on a button she handed Russian counterpart and that was back in 2009.
After giving Russia what it wanted on the eastern European missile defense shield, Russia repaid us by continuing to help the despotic Syrian regime and cruelly-banned American adoptions.
As for China, her last visit there was a disaster. She was met with unbridled hostility in Beijing and the President's recent meetings also produced zip while China meanwhile continues to amass more wealth, more geopolitical influence and more power.
What about the Middle East? Well despite all the promise of the Clinton magic, the Secretary of State came up empty. Initially offending the Israelis with our shabby treatment of Netanyahu and then not taking any lead role in getting the parties together.
What about Iran? Zero progress in halting Iran's nuclear programs.
How about Egypt? We turned our back on longtime ally, Hosni Mubarak, and gained a new volatile player Mohammed Morsi who lasted all of 12 months before being ousted in a coup that we won't call a coup.
What about the Arab spring? Well, Mrs. Clinton was quick to praise its promise without understanding how the coming volatility would adversely affect religious minorities in neighboring countries like our strong ally Jordan or Saudi Arabia.
And last, but not least, there was Benghazi. Four dead Americans on her watch yet the Secretary of State could not be bothered to be interviewed by the Accountability Review Board. And why was Ambassador Susan Rice sent out to tell that tall tale regarding the nonexistent protests of the video? Why did Mrs. Clinton herself make all those Sunday show appearances? What difference does it make?
All of this, well, should make a huge amount of difference to anyone interested in objectively assessing her tenure as Secretary of State.
And that's "The Memo."
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