I Love Hillary

If John Kerry was Senator Flip-Flop, what shall we nickname Senator Hillary!, whose commitment to standing on all sides of every issue makes John Kerry seem an Eiffel Tower of clarity and conviction?

In an obvious re-positioning for 2008, Sen. Clinton made news a few days back by extending an olive branch to pro-lifers; now, the back-pedaling has begun in earnest:

Clinton Is Pressed to Clarify Her Stance on Abortion Laws

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's recent remarks on abortion, in which she expressed support for parental notification laws, have provoked concern among some advocates of abortion rights, with one organization asking the senator to clarify her stance on such laws.

The advocates said Mrs. Clinton appeared to be going out of her way to appeal to opponents of abortion with her comments on parental notification, made at a news conference on Monday that followed a speech to about 1,000 supporters of abortion rights.

In response, two of Mrs. Clinton's aides qualified her support for parental notification laws, saying she preferred an approach like New York's, which does not require minors seeking abortions to tell their parents, but does provide them with information about their medical options.

...Mrs. Clinton, widely considered a possible candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, was asked at the news conference if her views were in line with the national Democratic Party's thinking.

"I think so," Mrs. Clinton said. "I'm only speaking for myself. This is what I have advocated and believed for a very long time." She added, "I supported parental notification with a judicial bypass," referring to legal exceptions in which a judge gives a minor permission to get an abortion without informing her parents.

Mrs. Clinton's remark on parental notification raised concerns at Family Planning Advocates of New York State, which had invited Mrs. Clinton to speak at its annual conference on Monday, and among other groups, according to abortion rights supporters.

JoAnn M. Smith, president of Family Planning Advocates, said yesterday that she called Mrs. Clinton's staff members after the senator's remarks because some people within her organization were concerned. She asserted, however, that it was not a widespread feeling within her group.

"We thought that on the question of parental notification, she had misspoken," Ms. Smith said. "I had thought that her position on all health care is that there should be informed consent, and I think that is what in fact her position is."

Two aides to Mrs. Clinton said yesterday that while she once supported Arkansas's parental notification law, she now preferred New York's approach.

...Asked if Mrs. Clinton still supported state parental notification laws that include the judicial bypass option, a spokeswoman, Jennifer Hanley, said: "This is too sensitive and important of an issue to make it as black and white as yes or no. The senator believes that New York is the model. In states where it is the only option, then yes, she supports parental notification with judicial bypass."

Well, that is perfectly clear - when Sen. Clinton said "I supported parental notification with a judicial bypass", what she meant was, I supported it once, and would do so again unless the votes were there for something even less restrictive.

Clearly this is too sensitive for a yes or no answer.

Comments

[TJ Jackson]

If Hillary believes anyone is going to buy into this act either she has a better grasp of the intelligence of the American people or they aren't shallow cretins who will listen to the last one who talked to them.