Hillary and Channeling Bill

What we've got here is failure to communicate.



From ABC's Political Punch:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost her cool Monday after a Congolese student, speaking through a translator, asked her what "Mr. Clinton" thought about a Chinese trade deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"You want me to tell you what my husband thinks?" Clinton replied, clearly irked by the thought of being her husband Bill's spokeswoman.

"My husband is not secretary of state, I am," she replied. "If you want my opinion I will tell you my opinion. I am not going to be channeling my husband."

The only problem? Apparently the translator made a mistake and the student had wanted to know what President Obama thought of the deal. A State Department official tells ABC News the student went up to Clinton after the event and told her he was misquoted. No immediate word yet how Clinton responded.

I'm not really going to criticize Hillary on this one.

It's not her fault that the translator screwed up.

She tried to understand the question. It's not as if she just went on the attack or really flipped out.

Yes, Hillary's response was snippy. She could have maintained a bit more control and snarled less. However, overall, I don't blame her for being irritated.

We can't have a wimpy secretary of state. She should show that she has a spine. She's her own person. She holds authority. She shouldn't be channeling Bill.

It turns out there was confusion in the translation, but that didn't appear to be the case at the time. Naturally, Hillary answered the question as it was posed. The question, as posed, was disrespectful and inappropriate.

The translator made a mistake. Hillary did not.

It was a misunderstanding.

If a male secretary of state gave a similar curt response I doubt this would be an issue at all.