Christopher Hitchens Calls Hillary Clinton As Secretary Of State A "Ludicrous Embarrassment"

Christopher Hitchens appeared on "Hardball" Monday night and voiced his strong opposition to Hillary Clinton being named Secretary of State.

Appearing with Peter Beinart of Time, who is for Clinton's appointment, Hitchens said, "This is the woman who played the race card on Obama... This is the woman whose foreign policy experience consists of making a fool of herself and fabricating a story about Bosnia."

He also brought up the Clintons' overseas fundraising connections and called the idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State a "ludicrous embarrassment."

A longtime critic of the Clintons, Hitchens wrote the 2000 book "No One Left To Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family."

WATCH:

Comments

[CrisOmg]

I think this is part and parcel to a second Clinton presidency in 2016.

There are many within the Democratic establishment that believe she would make a good president.

This appointment would conceivably give her experience in a field that she currently "lacks".

I'm not saying I agree with it...

[Knowitall]

I wouldn't count on it. Clinton will be 68 by then, and there will be many new, bright, young, rising stars gravitating to the Democratic party during the Obama Administration. There will be so many in fact, that the Republican party will aggressively court and recruit some of them (They are already looking to Bobby Jindal who is still in his 30's). America will be looking forward, not back. Many of the men and women in their late 50's, 60's and 70's who are there now will be long gone, retired, or regrettably, deceased.

Clinton is smart, and a pragmatist. She will step aside.

[neoprimordial]

Do you really believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton would voluntarily back away from an opportunity to become president of the United States of America? It doesn't matter if she's going to run against the equivalent of a Republican Obama. She wants it bad, moreso than her husband (and that's saying something). If she becomes Secretary of State under Obama, watch what she does. It's an unusual stepping stone, but one nonetheless.

[Jinxykb]

The cadence of Hitchens voice is so droning. His voice is like listening to the television through a wall.

[iChoose]

Go sober up before you give advice. What a shame they parade this guy on cable tvs to tell us what to do.

[colddoseofsumthin]

if it wasn't for ad hom attacks on hitchens, it would seem that everyone must (secretly) agree with him

[mmerose]

Yup. That's one way of putting it.

Clearly an Obama decision to maintain the corporate state status quo is another way. My vote for Ralph Nader has been justified one more time.

If Obama had a molecule of "change" in him, how could we not be talking about Nader at least for Health and Human Services?

[Mnemanth]

While I support the President-Elect, I find this choice to be transparently silly. I think everyone waving their "Support Obama" flags right now are just as bad as the past eight years of people waving the "Support Bush" flags.
How soon we forget. Isn't this the woman who claimed to have taken sniper fire during a visit to the troops? Come on- just one example here- but, this woman doesn't need to be in charge of anything.
The Clintons are just another example of a family who've made their questionable fortunes from politics...and we don't need that anymore.

[Merckx]

Why is this clown even given air time? He is dumb-er than Sarah Palin.

[yannb]

Amen.
This dude is such a wind vane. Just look at his CV:

1970's : troskyist palling around with Europe's harshest marxist cells
1980's : socialist -- European style
1990's : Clintonian
2001-08 : staunch Bush supporter
2008 : Obama suck up

I wouldn't trade a bent rusted nail for this guy.

[campgranata]

why is MRS Clinton GIVEN political office? She is a prime example of ' it's not what you know but who.

[iceage7]

Is this guy ever sober

[Heyman]

Ms. Clinton is a Bilderberg-CFR puppet. Obama is making a BIG mistake, if he appoints the PUPPET to Secretary of State.
That's why many Obama supporters are upset.

[Cowboylove]

I think it wise, to consider what Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton would do to this President's foreign policy initiatives as critics outside his inner circle. Bringing Hillary into the tent, while tying Bill's hands may be far more brilliant than the critics imagine.

It has been said Obama and Hillary have become close during the last weeks of his campaign. He may see in her a strong leader separate from her troublesome husband. It is also possible that having the position of Secretary of State will let Hillary - for once - get out from under Bill's shadow. I suspect without Bill Hillary could become quite an impressive figure. In effect this nomination neutralizes Bill far more than Hillary. It is, after all, Bill who is and always will be a problem.

I am putting my faith in Obama's judgment which to date has been much better than mine or Christopher Hitchin's.

[truthynesslover]

It is better to have them pissing outside the tent etc. its a good idea to keep her busy working for him where its a reflection on both of them.As opposed to being in the senate maybe looking toward 2012 and sabotage.

[Izadora]

He's DRUNK. He' a good friend of D. Morris (spell?) who hates Mrs. Clinton. Remember him?
Mrs. Clinton once asked DM not to be around them anymore? And after that THE DRUNK one and
DM started saying and writing bad stuff about the Clinton's Family!
But I enjoyed his book "Mother Teresa!"

[cyoohoos]

Why all the Hillary haters? I voted for Obama, even in the primary, but I'm not hating on Hillary.

[TstormVA]

We don't hate Hillary. We hate drama! Will it be the Obama foreign policy or the Billary show. She would have not been by Secretary of State. ("He would not have been my pastor." Hillary Clinton) Well you can't pick your family but you can pick your SoS. In the end it's Obama's choice.

[campgranata]

to not welcome the incompetent MRS Clinton to a job beyond her capabilities is not hate but pragmatism.

[Bitsko]

How'd that love affair with Trotsky work out, Hitch?

[PotatoesVsPotatos]

On slightly related note... Why is it that NBC videos do not play very often and go to generic screen with all the shows titles? Very often you press Play and it goes to that default screen "Check for more NBC News..."
Is it them or H Post or...?

[WarriorLemming]

I'm no Christopher Hitchens lover (maybe a "liker" since he supported President-elect Obama) but he is right about Hillary as SoS. I remember the lies she told about Bosnia and landing at the airport and having to run for cover amid gunfire and she told this story FOUR TIMES, incredible.

Hillary is to blame along with the Bush administration for the deaths of Americans and Iraqis when she supported a preemptive strike the sovereign nation of Iraq. Now the comments heard about the Iraq war is that's it's a good thing to have gotten rid of Saddam but then why not North Korea or Cuba or some of the regimes in Africa or China or Russia. No, please let's not give Hillary the chance to express her poor judgement. *shudders*

[CalliDem]

Watch Christopher Hitchens drink himself to death on national TV

[elp37]

What is all the hype - what's all the fuss about?

Isn't it public knowledge that Hillary got the Secretary of State deal on June 5th 2008 at Diane Feinstein's - the secret meeting? We know she got something - we know she came out of that meeting smiling like a Cheshire cat. We know she wouldn't have thrown her support behind Obama if she didn't get what she wanted - and we know that she didn't give a hoot when Obama selected Biden as VP.

If Hillary had not been satisfied at that June evening meeting, she would have been the ultimate spoiler; would have gone to work for McCain. Just ask Diane Feinstein if it isn't true. She knows.

So Obama has clay feet - but can you blame him? What would you have done on that fateful day, had Clinton said to you, "Barack, give me Secretary of State or you'll never see the inside of 1600."? Hmmn?

[Knowitall]

I don't know anything about any secret meeting. Second, Hillary would NEVER have gone to work for McCain. What would be the payoff? Republicans didn't want the Clintons. Diane Feinstein? Really?

Your last paragraph is so ludicrous it's laughable. How could the person who LOST the primaries offer any deal to the WINNER? If Hillary Clinton had turned her forces against Obama, perhaps, just perhaps he might not have won, but she would have lost too. Her political career would have been over. By June, Barack's "movement" was already in full force, and her 's was declining. Influential Democrats were jumping to Obama by the dozens.

The Republicans were all revved up (had been since 2000) to run, and win against the Clinton machine. If Clinton had been the nominee, they would have seen no need to choose Palin for VP (obstensibly to capture the disgrunted women's vote). They would have chosen a traditional VP, more acceptable to the right wing of the party, like Huckabee, maintained their right wing base, and won the presidency by running on a "Change" platform of grievance against the tax and spend liberals of the Clinton era (more of the same) who they would have made responsible for all of the economic problems going on right now. They would have won.

Hillary Clinton saw where the wind was blowing and came on board with Obama. It's as simple as that.

[laurelei23]

Since it was a secret meeting how do YOU know about it?

You don't happen to be wearing a tinfoil hat, do you?