Sarah Palin: Hillary Clinton ill-suited for president
Washington (CNN) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she would be "disappointed" in the American electorate if Hillary Clinton becomes a serious candidate for president in 2016.
The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee argued Clinton would not be right for the role as commander in chief after four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, died last year in a terrorist attack against a U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
[twitter-follow screen_name='politicalticker'] [twitter-follow screen_name='KilloughCNN']
"If (Benghazi) doesn't have an impact on the 2016 presidential election, if she is a candidate, then America, I am very disappointed in our electorate," Palin said Sunday on Fox News, where she's a contributor.
She said "anyone who would just throw away 200 years of military ethos and leave our men behind to be murdered" should "never be considered as a commander in chief."
The lack of security at the consulate and the September 11, 2012 attack are poised to be a major point of contention by Republicans if Clinton decides to run for president. Clinton ultimately took responsibility for diplomats' safety, and was grilled before two congressional committees in January.
At one point she lost her temper while responding to questions from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin. He was asking her about the erroneous, initial talking points that claimed the attack stemmed from a spontaneous protest against an anti-Islam video, though the administration later defined it as a terrorist attack and said a protest never happened.
"What difference at this point does it make?" Clinton responded. "It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator."
The attack on Benghazi is still a matter of congressional investigation by House Republicans.
"That's why I'm so grateful for Congress to be pursuing what happened in Benghazi," Palin said. "Because at this point, it still makes a difference what happens in Benghazi."
"Anyone who doesn't understand that and dismisses it as being indifferent, they should not be our commander in chief," she continued.
For her part, Clinton said in a recent interview with New York Magazine that she is in no hurry to decide about a potential 2016 bid for the White House, saying it is a decision "not to be made lightly."
Asked how she plans to combat any conflicts she may face related to her political legacy, she said the best course is to "find common ground."
"I have a lot of reason to believe, as we saw in the 2012 election, most Americans don't agree with the extremists on any side of an issue," Clinton said in the interview. "But there needs to continue to be an effort to find common ground, or even take it to higher ground on behalf of the future."
Palin's comments mark a stark contrast to high praise Clinton received Sunday from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who said if Clinton decides to run, "she will win."
"And when she becomes president, she'll be one of the best-equipped, best-prepared people to enter the White House in a very long time," Pelosi said on CNN's "State of the Union."
Noting Clinton's experience as secretary of state, as a U.S. senator from New York and as a first lady, Pelosi said Clinton would be "more prepared than President Obama; certainly more prepared than President Bush; certainly more prepared than President Clinton I might admit."
From CNN Politics
- With Trump facing legal peril, DeSantis steps out and sharpens attacks
- 10 Cards Charging 0% Interest Until 2024
- White House to disband Covid-19 response team in May
- Iowa's governor signs law banning gender-affirming care for minors
- Your Trump questions answered. Yes, he can still run for president if indicted
- 'This is ridiculous': Congress and White House careen toward default deadline as standoff grows
Nobody left anybody behind. They were there and killed, Plain and simple.
vinster76: "the world would never have heard of Hillary if her husband had not entered politics in Arkansas."
And the world would never have heard of Bill Clinton had it not been for Hillary. They have always been a team and anyone who knows anything at all about the 1992 campaign knows that Hillary was indispensable. Hillary was being written about in Time Magazine way back in the '60s, and was a well-known participant in the Watergate hearings. This was long before she knew Bill Clinton, and long before anyone knew of him.
"Sarah Palin: Hillary Clinton ill-suited for president"
We felt the same way about you Sarah. And that has not changed.
Just thank our lucky stars she never became veep.....she has some nerve critizing anyone.....to sum it up for Ms.Palin,
she is a quitter & a liar! Glad she's not in our government!
@Hector Slagg
Humm,
It appears Hillary is the only thing the Democrat's have in 2016. Of course there is Joe Biden. With the poles running about 55-45 against Obama, Obama Care, etc there will be a Republician elected next election. People need jobs, not more big failed liberal ideas. Actually Mammy Yokum and Sargent Snorkel will be your next prez, Vp.. You know them as Sarah Palin and Governor Chris Christie. Aren't you glad you asked?
---------
It almost got lost in your blabbing...."People need jobs". Where have I heard that line before? Oh right, in 2010 when Boehner was screaming in chorus with the GOP: "Jobs, jobs, jobs!. Well so much for that empty promise, what a bunch of hypocrites.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?
If this isn't a case of the pot calling the kettle black I don't know what is.
Palin is unfit to be dogcatcher.
But, as an Alaskan, I can tell you that this is just another of her attention-getting stunts. We always see this stuff whenever she's feeling a little out of the limelight.
Of course, she doesn't say this stuff to the Alaska press anymore because everyone in Alaska just laughs at her and wishes she'd just disappear.
Better listen...who is more qualified to speak on this than Sarah. She has a wealth of experience under her belt. She knows what the people want. It would be a disservice if we did not listent to a half term governor who ducked out when the heat was turned up. That says alot about her character for sure! Sarah in 2016!
HA HA HA .....The queen of unfit trying to accuse someone else. That has to be the best laugh I have had in a long long time.
With that reasoning, shouldn't Bush have been removed after his first term?
CNN, why do you even bother giving Palin a voice? At this point, she has proven to be irrelevant to American public and political opinion and is no more than a vedette who stirs up sensationalism. You mkght as well give the same voice to some random person you may chose to interview on the street? Why even bother listening or printing her opinion at all? She is a nobody.
Must we keep hearing about this nincompoop? Nothing she says is of any interest to anyone with a brain. She must
like to be a laughingstock.
Thanks Sarah – you just got Hilary elected. Anything you say is disregarded so you and your idiocy just made the case for Ms. Clinton.
I had to chuckle when I read this. In a way, I feel sorry for the ultra-conservative Tea Partiers – people who eat up what folks like Sarah Palin have to say. They truly believe the majority of the country agrees with their "values". Sadly, they've overtaken the moderate voice of the Republican Party, the voice that might be able to win future national elections by swaying moderate voters.
Bwahahahaha,
Half-term, Half-wit palin telling anyone whether they are qualiifed to be president.
Mrs. Palin knows unfit for the White House when she sees (or is) it.
@Jacky – really? if that were true, the same party would win every 4 years. In the last 15 years, vote outcomes in Congress have fallen pretty much along party lines – if that's what you mean by arranged ahead of time.
Conservatives were convinced in 200, that John McCain was going to run against Hillary – that never happened.
Even if it were true, it's not against the law to run for President if you're not a Christian. Maybe that's true where you come from, so you wouldn't even know Freedom if it bit you in the butt. Speaking of Toilets, when is your country going to get them?
What a wonderful Master Card moment this woman continues to provide our country! Thank you John McCain she is the gift that keeps on giving.
Palin, the queen huckster, will say or do anything to keep that money flowing in. Come on media give us all a break and quit reporting every time this nitwit nobody goes to the bathroom.
Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi! When will they just listen to the hearings? The extra security was offered to Ambassador Stevens, he turned it down TWICE!! He understood the risks, he lived in Lybia and all this Benghazi conspiracy is just making a mountain out of a molehill. Stevens died, but it was not the State Dept's fault. If anything, it was the fault of Congress that refused to incease the State Dept's budget for increased security around the world, the GOP dominated House.
Who died and made Sarah Palin a presidential contender? Palin couldn't even complete one term as governor of Alaska, but she thinks people will take her advice on who to vote for as president? Spare me the sad irony.
Yet Palin and other Republicans deify Ronald Reagan, despite the loss of 241 US Servicemen in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. What a bunch of hypocrites!
Alas, poor Sarah. We knew her, Horatio. I wish she would go away and stay away, but it is good sport to make fun of her rants from time to time.
She can see Benghazi from her house!
The GOP sees Obama on his way out of office, quietly dealing with crises and problems as they arise. They have no grounds to impeach him, and as former Birthers they have no moral high ground to retreat to, and Obama's going to turn over his office to the next president, take a few years off, and run for senator again as a respected former president. None of their dire, vile predictions about black militants imposing socialist welfare on America have come true, and even the low-info vote farms of the Flyover are beginning to wonder if they've been misled by those city folks on the tee vee. Just another president, except that he was black. That's what makes their heads pound.
Personally, I think Bill Clinton's gonna die or be too ill for his wife to run, and she won't be the candidate. I guarantee it won't be Carlos Danger, the Gaucho of Love.
You may want to kill the messenger, but the message is right on. Benghazi is a disgrace. Dems can't listen to parents of dead Americans–they actually got up and walked out of last weeks hearings–who were lied to even as their coffins were being taken off the transport plane. This group including Clinton have no respect for this country; it's all about power and money.