Do you know that you can add up the amount of people who supported Barack Obama in the primaries and it would be more than all other parties combined? Hillary Clinton had more supporters than all other parties combined. Democrats know how to resolve issues with TALK. That’s exactly what we do when we come together, overcome our differences and unite against another party. That’s how we win. WE COME TOGETHER.
How can Hillary Clinton attack Obama on his obviously being unfit to be commander in chief of the military given his never having served when she hasn’t either in any way, shape or form? Her husband didn’t & managed to win but especially in times like this it really shows that she will say & do anything to win not that that suprises me. So how does she justify her attacks though when she has never served?
Hillary Clinton will make her first visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank as U.S. secretary of state next week, Israeli officials said on Monday.
Her visit will maintain efforts to revive peacemaking between Israel and the Palestinians despite political uncertainty on both sides.
Clinton was scheduled to hold meetings on March 3 and 4 with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, along with other leaders, after she attends a March 2 conference in Egypt on reconstruction in the Gaza Strip following last month’s war, the officials said.
U.S. officials had no immediate comment on the visit, which comes despite political uncertainty in Israel over the make-up and policies of the next government.
A separate visit to Israel and the West Bank by George Mitchell, U.S. President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy, will begin on Thursday. Mitchell will return there with Clinton after they attend the Gaza conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Israeli officials said.
Right-wing parties gained ground in Israel’s February 10 parliamentary election, denting U.S. hopes for an Israeli coalition that can move toward peace with the Palestinians and other Arab neighbors after the fighting in Gaza, which is ruled by the Hamas Islamist group.
In addition to Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Clinton was expected to meet right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Israeli President Shimon Peres has asked to form the next government.
Netanyahu, head of the Likud party, has asked Livni, the centrist Kadima leader who led unsuccessful peace talks with the Palestinians last year, to join him in a broad coalition government, but she has so far refused.
COALITION OUTLOOK
That may leave Netanyahu little choice but to form a narrow coalition with other right-wing parties which oppose the kind of concessions demanded by Palestinians in the peace talks. That could in turn raise tensions with the Obama administration.
Israeli and Western officials said the Obama administration wanted the next Israeli government to resume peace talks with Abbas and to clamp down on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and ease travel restrictions for Palestinians there.
But it is unclear to what extent Netanyahu will go along with this. He has ruled out a settlement freeze, and has said he wants to shift the focus of stalled peace talks with the Palestinians to shoring up their economy and away from tough territorial issues.
Senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians were looking to Clinton to keep the pressure on Israel to meet its international commitments.
“The most important thing for us is to see to that any Israeli government that is formed is committed to a two-state solution and to stopping settlement expansion,” Erekat said.
But Clinton also faces formidable political challenges on the Palestinian side, which is divided between Abbas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.
The United States backs Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad. It boycotts Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007 and refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence.
Though the full U.S. Senate approved six of President Barack Obama’s cabinet secretaries after his swearing in on Tuesday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s confirmation as secretary of state was postponed until Wednesday over the objection of a single Republican Senator.
According to Fox News Senator John Cornyn of Texas objected to including Mrs. Clinton’s name in the unanimous consent vote for Obama Cabinet nominees, citing ethical questions surrounding donors to former President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation, which has in the past accepted donations from foreign governments.
“This is not an effort to scuttle or block the nomination, but a legitimate policy difference. Senator Cornyn’s goal is to create transparency on all levels of government,” the Texas politician said through spokesman Kevin McLaughlin.
Bloomberg reports that Hillary Clinton rejected a request from the committee for broader limits on contributions, saying disclosure terms worked out with Obama’s transition team were adequate and went beyond legal requirements. Moreover, prior to Hillary Clinton accepting the nomination, the Clintons agreed to split off the Clinton Global Initiative from the Clinton Foundation upon Hillary Clinton’s confirmation and said it wouldn’t accept contributions from foreign governments while simultaneously agreeing on a list of steps with the Obama transition team such as publishing a list of past contributors.
Despite Tuesday’s setback Senate majority leader Harry Reid plans to hold a roll-call vote on Sen. Clinton’s nomination on Wednesday, which is expected to go off smoothly irrespective of Cronyn’s objection.
“It only takes one person to object to a vote,” said Reid spokesperson Jim Manley. “She’ll be confirmed tomorrow with an overwhelming bipartisan support,” he added.
Sen. Clinton, who bid an informal farewell to her constituents at a reception hosted by New York Governor David Paterson on Monday night, did not comment on the decision, however she will not formally resign her Senate seat until she is confirmed.