Press Release

"In anticipation of her trip to San Francisco, it seems that Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has modified her original reasoning for voting to support the War in Iraq.  Once doubting the ability to disarm Saddam Hussein without regime change, Senator Clinton has changed course.

"In what many reporters have called 'the most calculating person in modern politics,' Senator Clinton seems most concerned with backtracking and recasting her record for political expediency, than with taking responsibility for her original vote and statements."

Hector M. Barajas, Communications Director, California Republican Party

In 2002, Hillary Was Singing A Different Tune:
Sen. Clinton: "I can support the President, I can support an action against Saddam Hussein because I think it's in the long-term interests of our national security ..." (NBC's "Meet The Press,' 9/15/02)
 

• NBC's Tim Russert: "Do you believe we could have disarmament without regime change?" Sen. Clinton: "I doubt it." (NBC's "Meet The Press,' 9/15/02)
  

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Tells New Hampshire Her Use Of Force Vote Was "Cleary Intended" As Support "For Going To The United Nations" And "To Put Inspectors In Iraq":
Sen. Clinton: "I have taken responsibility for that vote. It was based on the best assessment that I could make at the time, and it was clearly intended to demonstrate support for going to the United Nations to put inspectors into Iraq." (John DiStaso, "Hillary: I Didn't Vote For 'Pre-Emptive War,'" The [Manchester] Union Leader, 2/10/07)

Sound Familiar? In Late 2003, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) Said Use Of Force Vote Was Vote "To Go The United Nations" And Noted Importance Of Getting Inspectors Back In Iraq:
Sen. Kerry: "I voted to do the responsible thing for America, which was to have a threat of force to hold Saddam Hussein accountable and to go to the United Nations. We would not have had Hans Blix and the inspectors in Iraq were it not for the pressure that we brought to bear." (CBS's "The Early Show," 9/2/03)

Hillary Campaign Has Used Kerry's Songbook Before; Said Use Of Force Vote Was Vote For Negotiations:
Last Month Clinton Advisor Terry McAuliffe Said Clinton's Vote For Use Of Force Was Vote For Negotiations. Clinton Advisor Terry McAuliffe: "[S]he voted to give the President the authority to negotiate and to have a stick to go over there and negotiate with Saddam Hussein."  (NBC's "Today Show," 1/22/07)

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Claimed Kerry Believed Use Of Force Vote Was A Use Of Negotiations Vote.  "Levin said Kerry believed the resolution would help President Bush negotiate with Iraq but didn't think Bush would use it to go to war."  (Dee-Ann Durbin, "Levin, Stabenow Endorsing Kerry," The Associated Press, 2/5/04)

Media, Pundits, And Even Hillary Associates Acknowledged Sen. Clinton's Calculating Nature:
American Prospect's Robert Kuttner: "But These Days, Everything She Does Seems Calculating, Poll-Tested, And Money-Driven." (Robert Kuttner, Op-Ed, "Dangerous Liaison," The Boston Globe, 5/14/06)

Time's Ana Marie Cox: "She's The Most Calculating Person In Modern Politics..." ("Noted," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8/27/06)

National Review's Kate O'Beirne: "[Voters] Are Likely To See Her For What She Is: An Aggressive, Calculating, Insincere, Opportunistic, And Exceptionally Liberal Woman." (Kate O'Beirne, Op-Ed, "Hillary Prepares - With Her Eye On The Oval, The Senator Pretends She's Out Of Center Field," National Review, 9/23/05)

US News & World Report's Gloria Borger: "Since We Seem To Have Spent More Than A Decade Observing Her, Maybe She Just Becomes Someone With Too Many Identities For Us To Sort Out-Or To Decide Which Is Real." (Gloria Borger,Op-Ed, "The Mommy Factor," US News & World Report, 2/12/07)

Liberal Activist And Former Democrat Congressional Aide David Sirota: "If You Ask, 'What Does Hillary Clinton Really Represent?' It Would Be Hard To Tell."(Steven Thomma, "Some Democrats Criticize Clinton's Cautious Approach To Politics," Knight Ridder,5/30/06)