There is a reason I no longer watch Meet the Press on Sunday mornings. The host, David Gregory, is not at all capable of rising to the level of professionalism exhibited by the late Tim Russert. And the show is no longer worth watching unless you are a liberal ideologue. Sad, but true.
According to reports, Gregory performed true to record by asking Secretary of State Clinton if the GOP opposition to the signing of the START Treaty in the lame duck session hurts America and President Obama abroad. Yes, really. He did.
Here's Hillary's answer from the transcript:
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think the president believes strongly, and I agree with him, that this treaty is in the national security interest of the United States. And it's not only Americans who believe that. I'm, you know, very impressed by the number of leaders at the NATO Lisbon summit who voluntarily told their own press, or American press, they were chasing down reporters to say this is so much in the interest of Europe and others. So the president sees this very clearly. But I don't think he considers this a political issue. It's a question of whether we have the time and whether we can make the case in the limited time that the lame duck provides to satisfy the concerns of two-thirds of the Senate. I think we can. I think that everyone has operated in good faith. We have looked hard at this. When it came out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it came out with an overwhelming bipartisan vote, 14-to-4. I think that the questions are being--that are being asked by Republicans deserve thoughtful answers. And everyone in the administration stands ready, from Bob Gates to Jim Clapper, the head of the--director of national intelligence, because we all see it in the same way. And we're in the tradition of both Republican and Democratic presidents, going back to Ronald Reagan, who famously said, "Trust, but verify." We have no verification without a treaty about what's going on in Russia's nuclear program. So I think whether you're, you know, already convinced or can be convinced, I think we want to get our inspectors back on the ground, and the only way to do that is by ratifying this treaty.
Not accepting a non-partisan, completely diplomatic answer to his ideologically motivated question, Gregory pursues the issue:
MR. GREGORY: Is there an issue, though, of American prestige? The president was dealt a setback on fair trade when he was in Seoul. There was a feeling, when it comes to whether it's trade or economic policy, that America can't always get what it wants. Is this going to potentially be a problem with the president not being able to get what he wants on the world stage because of Republicans
Never mind that the fact that Obama failed to get the trade agreement with South Korea signed due to his own bumbling. It is well documented that the agreement fell through, after only lacking final signatures thanks to the previous administration's work, because Obama decided to make last minute demands and the South Koreans felt blind-sided. Obama's inexperience and arrogance were on full display and the South Koreans wanted no part of it.
Perhaps Gregory should put down the talking points from the White House and begin to think a bit for himself.
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