Hillary & Chelsea's Excellent Adventure (to Tuzla, Bosnia)

[Cleverboy]

So, this story is now starting to get loud after a week...

March 17, 2008 - Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/17/clinton_recalls_bosnia_trip_as_dangerous/
WASHINGTON—As first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Bosnia in March 1996 with her daughter and several celebrities to boost troop morale and thank soldiers stationed there.

Clinton cites the goodwill trip as a part of her foreign policy experience, describing a dangerous landing where she was ordered to the armored front of the plane because of possible ground fire. She also now reports landing under sniper fire and contradicts her previous written account of a shortened welcoming ceremony at the airport.

But according to accounts at the time, she was placed under no extraordinary risks on that trip. And one of her companions on it said he has no recollection either of the threat or reality of gunfire.
THE FACTS

An AP story at the time reported: "Security was tight -- fighter jets accompanied her C-17 cargo plane to Tuzla -- but officials said the first lady took no extraordinary risks on the trip." There was no mention of sniper fire.

The visit came three months after the war ended with the signing of the Dayton peace accord in December 1995.

AP reported that on the plane into Bosnia from Germany: "Mrs. Clinton chatted with journalists and crewmen during the 90-minute flight, wandering around the spacious plane in a black pantsuit -- a contrast to the blue jeans and other road-ready clothes worn by most everybody else on the plane.

"The first lady spent quite a bit of time in the cockpit, with pilot Cheryl Beineke, one of just four female C-17 pilots in the U.S. Air Force."

The comedian Sinbad, who accompanied her along with singer Sheryl Crow and who is a supporter of Clinton rival Barack Obama, said he felt no sense of peril.

News Report on original trip / Press conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOsGo_HWP-c

Fake Movie Trailer (Coming to a Super-Delegate near you):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It6JN7ALF7Y

My head is hurting again. Having trouble r-retaining... any r-respect for Hillary Clinton... in the f-face of obvious, clear distortions of the truth. I'm hoping she just answers this and says that she was mistaken and did not remember the welcoming party (greeting ceremony), and that while her ride was armored, there was NO sniper-fire considering that she landed at a major base in the area. Apparently, in her book "Living History" she says that the ceremony DID happen, but was cut short. In the press conference, she paints the picture in a radically different light, ratcheting up the sense of danger and omitting any tarmac activity save "running".

Oy. Looks bad. :(

~ CB

[mactastic]

Hey, if you can confuse Sunni with Shia and get a pass, perhaps Clinton is banking on being able to get a pass for confusing sniper fire with no sniper fire.

[zioxide]

you should change the title of this thread to get more attention.. something like "Hillary flat out LIES about Bosnia"

now today she's saying she "misspoke" lol, what a tool

misspeaking is when you say "ran" instead of "run", not when you completely ****ing lie about something that didn't take place.

[NAG]

When the phone rings at 3 am, do you want someone who can distinguish sniper fire from no sniper fire?

[it5five]

now today she's saying she "misspoke" lol, what a tool



I thought that was absurd and hilarious at the same time. What could she have possibly meant instead of, "I was under sniper fire."

Apparently to Hillary, misspoke = flat out lied.

[skunk]

When the phone rings at 3 am, do you want someone who can distinguish sniper fire from no sniper fire?That's very good. :)

[Full of Win]

Let me throw some gas on this fire.... :D

She also stated that she was named after Sir Edmond Hillary...but the only problem with that was she was born BEFORE he climbed Everest.

[Cleverboy]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=4519064&page=1
Her daughter was asked about Tuzla in Indiana and backed up Clinton's recollection.

"I support what she said," Chelsea Clinton said. "Yes, I was there as well and so honored I was there and had the opportunity to travel with her."

Clinton was asked about it too -- by the editorial boards of the two Philadelphia newspapers Tuesday.

Clinton revised her Bosnia story, admitting there was a "misstatement" in her account describing running with her head down to get into the vehicles. Today, she said that she "had to meet this 8-year-old girl," so, "I took her stuff and left." Nice. So, she "took her stuff" and ran for the hills I 'spose.
Clinton said, "No, I went to 80 countries, you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book. You know, I think that, a minor blip, you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so, if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement." Mm. Right. I don't know if I'd even want to "date" someone who spoke "millions of words a day".

~ CB

[Pittsax]

Here's an interesting discussion (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23785397#23785397) from Countdown on Hillary's penchant to, shall we say, exaggerate things.

I totally agree with the point that, if she's the nominee, the Republicans will have a field day with all of this.

[solvs]

Not as big a deal as had been made out to be, but she was obviously exaggerating (to say the least). Another thing to prove the stereotypes about her. She's done now though, so no one cares. Even the conservative press is barely mentioning it other than to point out that the Clintons are liars with their pants on fire, but we already knew that. Being contradicted by Sinbad though? Classic.

Also wondering why McCain's numerous incorrect statements, and Bush and Cheney's (as well as Rove and Kristol, among others) outright lies during the same time period, were ignored.

[Pittsax]

Also wondering why McCain's numerous incorrect statements, and Bush and Cheney's (as well as Rove and Kristol, among others) outright lies during the same time period, were ignored.
Probably because no one in the media is focusing on the Republican side of the election right now. If you tune in to CNN during the day, it's almost all election coverage, which is going to be 99% Democratic Party-centric. If Clinton (or Obama if the positions were reversed) weren't around, I bet McCain's Al Qaeda-Iran comments would get a lot more notice. Same goes for his cadre of spiritual advisors, who have said many things equally offensive as Rev. Wright, but get no air time.

Gotta love that liberal bias in the media, eh?

[NAG]

Basically the way things running right now is that the primaries are the real election. That it is a forgone conclusion McCain has lost.

[IJ Reilly]

Basically the way things running right now is that the primaries are the real election. That it is a forgone conclusion McCain has lost.

Unless Clinton manages to pull off the nomination, in which case I believe McCain could win. Hell, I'd be tempted to vote for McCain, or not at all, with those choices.

[NAG]

I'm not about to shoot myself in the foot. I don't want Bush Lite as president.

[IJ Reilly]

I'm not about to shoot myself in the foot. I don't want Bush Lite as president.

I don't want Bush Lite or Evita Clinton. Not that my vote here in California counts for anything in any event.

[PlaceofDis]

Basically the way things running right now is that the primaries are the real election. That it is a forgone conclusion McCain has lost.

cept that it'll probably be another close election.

[atszyman]

cept that it'll probably be another close election.

If the Dems manage to lose it will be the worst Electoral College thwarting of the popular vote in history. I see the GOP states being fairly close while the typical blue states go by wide margins, and swing states being close if red, blowouts if blue. I see the popular vote going Dem, no matter who the candidate is, but the EC throws the fun wrench in the works as usual.

We might even see faithless electors pulling it back for the popular vote if the margin is large enough...

[Desertrat]

Didn't she serve in Cambodia with Algore, helping him invent the Internet? Sorry, couldn't help it...

I've never worried about being honest; I'm lazy: If you lie, you have to remember what you said. If you tell the truth, it's no problem.

Now, fatigue is the enemy of memory, right? Hard to remember what you said before, when you're really, really tired from those long, long hours on the campaign trail.

So what we have here is a simple case of Liar's Fatigue.

Compared to the Clintons, Teflon Ron Reagan was covered with sandpaper. Looks to me like the Clintons would make KY look sticky. The present media flap is an interesting reversal of custom, and quite entertaining to watch.

[obeygiant]

Hey, if you can confuse Sunni with Shia and get a pass, perhaps Clinton is banking on being able to get a pass for confusing sniper fire with no sniper fire.


Hey don't worry. Clinton wasn't lying. It looks (http://digg.com/lbv.php?id=5856198&ord=2) like Hillary actually was under attack while she exited that plane.

[faintember]

Hey don't worry. Clinton wasn't lying. It looks (http://digg.com/lbv.php?id=5856198&ord=2) like Hillary actually was under attack while she exited that plane.Thanks for posting that. Made me giggle like a school girl!

[EricNau]

While most would prefer to attribute this rather embarrassing inconsistency to Hillary Clinton's political character, they should also realize that it could just as easily be attributed to the very nature of the human brain. It's been proven time and time again that for any given memory there will inevitably be incorrect details, and in some cases, the mind can fabricate or drastically alter memories based upon slight suggestions and other post-event information.

So consider, is it possible that Hillary at the time was briefed about the possibility of gunfire, and that anticipation and suspense ultimately altered her memories of the entire event?

Could she be lying? Of course, but also appreciate that she might have thought she was telling the truth.

[obeygiant]

While most would prefer to attribute this rather embarrassing inconsistency to Hillary Clinton's political character, they should also realize that it could just as easily be attributed to the very nature of the human brain. It's been proven time and time again that for any given memory there will inevitably be incorrect details, and in some cases, the mind can fabricate or drastically alter memories based upon slight suggestions and other post-event information.

So consider, is it possible that Hillary at the time was briefed about the possibility of gunfire, and that anticipation and suspense ultimately altered her memories of the entire event?

Could she be lying? Of course, but also appreciate that she might have thought she was telling the truth.


Sure there is something to thinking your favorite blanket was red when it was actually green when you're a kid. This is no "Sir Edmund Hillary" statement. But actually being under fire is not something you would forget if it happened to you.

She says she "misspoke" due to lack of sleep. Just think of how much sleep she's going to lose if she gets in office. To me she's told this embellished story so many times she actually started to believe it.

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=68124

[atszyman]

Sure there is something to thinking your favorite blanket was red when it was actually green when you're a kid. This is no "Sir Edmund Hillary" statement. But actually being under fire is not something you would forget if it happened to you.

She says she "misspoke" due to lack of sleep. Just think of how much sleep she's going to lose if she gets in office. To me she's told this embellished story so many times she actually started to believe it.

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=68124

If she's prone to misspeaking from lack of sleep, doesn't that completely shoot her 3 a.m. ad in the foot?

"I didn't mean to call the Russian president's wife a wildebeest...I misspoke due to the early hour."

"What!? I gave the launch order? I must have misspoke."

I'd be more comfortable with a blatant lie that the excuse of misspeaking from lack of sleep.

[faintember]

I'd be more comfortable with a blatant lie that the excuse of misspeaking from lack of sleep.We definitely need a president who can perform under fire.

Puns aside, running from sniper fire is probably a seldom-done activity for most of us, including Hillary Clinton, and to me it seems like the human mind would clearly remember such a strange, scary and traumatic event.

[Cleverboy]

We definitely need a president who can perform under fire.

Puns aside, running from sniper fire is probably a seldom-done activity for most of us, including Hillary Clinton, and to me it seems like the human mind would clearly remember such a strange, scary and traumatic event.

Damning article, that's puts it all together.

http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2008/03/25/lies-damn-lies-and-mispeakings/

~ CB