Hillary Clinton was America’s top diplomat from 2009 to 2013, but no one seems to be able to come up with any achievements that occurred while she was US Secretary of State.
Yesterday, an AP reporter asked State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki about the agency’s 2010 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) that occurred under Clinton’s leadership.
“Can you, off the top of your head, identify one tangible achievement that resulted from the last QDDR?,” the reporter inquired. See embed below.
Responded Psaki,
I am certain that those who were here at the time, who worked hard on that effort, could point out one… I’m sure there are a range of things that were put into place that I’m not even aware of.”
According to the Washington Post , “That’s not exactly the kind of answer the former secretary would appreciate, given the fact that she is preparing to launch a major publicity blitz around the June publication of her memoir about her years at the State Department. And that, if she runs for president, her time as the nation’s top diplomat will be prominently featured… Given the fact that Hillary Clinton’s book is titled Hard Choices , she had better be ready to explain what some of them were.”
Psaki probably shouldn’t feel bad about not having an answer her fingertips. Hillary Clinton herself struggled to articulate any signature accomplishments as Secretary of State during a recent public appearance in New York CIty. She gave a vague, rambling answer that including references to passing the baton, unfinished work, the US economy, restoring American leadership in the world (an interesting assertion given recent events such as the massively failed “reset” with Russia), and tossed in a plug for her upcoming book.
Clinton has yet to fully discuss her role in the Benghazi controversy when terrorists murdered four Americans at the American embassy compound in Libya and no rescue team was deployed. Former President Jimmy Carter in a recent interview chided Mrs. Clinton for doing little to bring about peace in the Middle East while in office at State.
According to Politico , “… even many of her most ardent defenders recognize Hillary Clinton had no signal accomplishment at the State Department to her name, no indelible peace sealed with her handshake, no war averted, no nuclear crisis defused.”
Strong supporters of the would-be 2016 presidential candidate at a recent Democrat convention also seemed puzzled over Clinton’s diplomatic achievements, if any.
What do you think Hillary Clinton accomplished during her time in public office?