U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s dancing at a nightclub in Colombia is “embarrassing,” and likened to an audition “for the sixth series of ‘Jersey Shore’,” says U.S.-based British conservative and Fox News pundit Nile Gardiner. In a Fox News interview and in his Telegraph column yesterday, Gardiner blames the highly-respected former First Lady for having a beer and dancing for a few minutes “on the taxpayers’ dime,” a fact that has not been proven.
“The overwhelmingly liberal US media is treating the story as a bit of fun, with the usually austere Mrs Clinton seen as letting her hair down,” Gardiner writes.
But I suspect that a lot of US taxpayers will see it differently – as a senior government official having a jolly time on an official overseas junket at taxpayers’ expense. And this was hardly a display of good judgment at a time when nearly 13 million Americans are unemployed, and US soldiers are laying their lives on the line every day in Afghanistan. In an effortless display of leading from behind, Hillary was partying in Colombia while the Taliban were about to launch a wave of terror attacks in Kabul.
It is hard to imagine Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright or Henry Kissinger “livin’ la vida locaâ€Â on the world stage. This was less an example of “smart powerâ€Â than a boozy nightclub audition for the sixth season of Jersey Shore. Hillary Clinton’s Colombian antics are an embarrassment for a high-level cabinet member on official duty, and have lowered the office of Secretary of State. Not exactly the sort of image the federal government should be projecting at a time of widespread public disillusionment with Washington excesses.
The vast majority of commenters on Gardiner’s op-ed piece “see it differently” than Gardiner too. A large number of readers of the conservative news outlets wrote they weren’t Hillary fans but thought Gardiner was being ridiculous. In fact, Gardiner seems to be the only one to take issue with Mrs. Clinton’s human display, and Fox News’s Stuart Varney seems to agree with the majority — “no story here.”
Of course, if it really wasn’t a story, why did FOX choose to run it?
Some of the comments at the Telegraph:
“You, sir, are a ding dong.”
“You don’t have to imagine Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, or even George Bush “livin’ la vida loca” – It’s right on the innertubes, just google it! What a non-story.”
“Maybe to stiff, conservobots, dildos like ‘Niles’ here. But to normal humans she’s fine and needs to cut-loose more often. In fact, that has been the criticism of her. She’s too serious.
“And now some ninny comes out and suggests she’s an embarrassment? You’re in the extremist bubble.
“She’s the next President in 2016 and this bugs the fuck out of you , doesn’t it Niles?”
“US Soldiers were in Iraq and Afghanistan when Bush was dancing it up in 2007, yes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
You’re welcome!
Yellow journalism at it’s finest. Bravo sir, you got me to waste 5 minutes of my life on this garbage, or should I say “rubbish”.
Grow up, Gardiner — you have no clue what you’re talking about, but hey, mission accomplished: you got your name out there, right? Now everyone on both sides of the Pond knows you’re a fool.
Digby has more videos and a few thoughts as well.