Hillary Clinton erupts in laughter at the mention of ‘John Bolton.’
Hillary Clinton erupts in laughter at the mention of ‘John Bolton.’
Super-hawk John Bolton has been having a tough time over the past week trying to find anything good to say about President Clinton securing the release of two American journalists in North Korea. It’s “negotiating with terrorists,” “rewarding bad behavior,” and endangering the lives of other Americans, Bolton has complained. CNN aired a clip of Fareed Zakaria’s new interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last night and when Zakaria tried to ask Clinton about Bolton’s criticism, she erupted in laughter just as Zakaria mentioned his name. Clinton then noted that it’s “absolutely not rewarding them“:
CLINTON: We’ve done this so many times before. We’ve had former presidents do it. We’ve had sitting members of Congress do it. It is something that, you know, it is absolutely not rewarding them. It is not in any way responding to specific demands.
It is a recognition that certain countries that I think are kind of beyond the pale the rule of law hold people and subject them to long prison terms that are absolutely unfair and unwarranted.
Watch it:
Host Erica Hill asked Lisa Ling, the sister of Laura Ling, one of the journalists President Clinton helped get released, about Bolton’s criticism as well. “I heard John Bolton make his statement,” Ling said, adding, “Bill Clinton went to North Korea on a humanitarian mission, to bring back Laura and Euna…[he] was gracious enough to agree to do it. And we are so, so grateful. If he didn’t do it, I know that the girls wouldn’t be here right now.”
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You mean like Bush and Guantanamo?
August 7th, 2009 at 10:43 amSuper-hawk John Bolton…
– - How many times do I have to clarify this? It’s Super-chickenhawk John Bolton.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:44 amNext time, can we just trade John Bolton for the prisoners straight across?
August 7th, 2009 at 10:47 amJohnny-boy Bolt-on says:
I am the Walrus
August 7th, 2009 at 10:47 amgoo-goo-ga joob
Heh. John Bolton DESERVES to be laughed at almost more than anyone else I know. And furthermore, he should be laughed at while he’s behind bars.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:48 amI thought that was awesome. That’s what dems gotta do when cooks like Bolton are brought up. Their opinions don’t deserve any respect.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:48 amPerfect response, marginalize Bolton does far more damage to him. Keep Bolton from being relevant.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:49 amIs she also laughing at slimebag Dick Morris who said the reporters should have stayed in the NK prison to “learn their lesson”?
August 7th, 2009 at 10:50 amMr.Bungle says:
Next time, can we just trade John Bolton for the prisoners straight across?
– - How about we cap Bolton and then trade him?
August 7th, 2009 at 10:51 amHeard the interview last night on a CNN replay – gotta say, it was good to hear Sec. Clinton let loose with that laugh.
Bolton and all his whining are just that – laughable.
Where other folks might have laughed it off and said somethinng about not dignifying the question with a response, Hillary explained pointedly why it’s laughable.
More and more, I am pleased with President Obama’s appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
Now, Mr. President, how about a few more good moves/choices? Stop pandering the rethugs and blue dogs.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:53 amThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Why is anyone wasting the time of our Secretary of State by asking her she thinks about the bloviating Bolton’s comments? He’s a nobody, a nothing, a useless mouthpiece for the uber-neocons, a dooshbag.
How is it that the dissenters are setting the agenda for what needs to be discussed? All Zakaria did by mentioning Bolton to Clinton was lend credence to his statement. Ignore the bastards!
PEACE
August 7th, 2009 at 10:57 amYou really an idiot.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:58 amGood for Hillary.
It is remarkable that President Clinton himself is still so admired and respected throughout the world, in much the same way that President Obama is now.
Can you imagine George W. Bush capable of effecting anything like this?
By the way, Lou Dobbs is a moron.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:58 amreally…
Really? So, Bill told Al to send those two reporters over there and stick a toe in N. Korean territory so that other attempts at diplomatic resolution could be tried and fail, just so that he could ride in a white horse and save the day?
Really? That theory holds about as much water as the Hawai’ian newspapers colluding with the Kenyan government to place fake birth announcements for a destined-to-be-President Obama.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:58 amreally… says:
Whenever there’s a need, that only one person can fill, that person usually created that need.
In this website, right now, there is a need. A very important, urgent need. And only one person can fill that need.
We need you, “really…”, to stop trolling.
Guess who created that need?
August 7th, 2009 at 10:59 amreally… says:
really?
August 7th, 2009 at 10:59 ama vast network? set those two girls up to play hero?really…you don’t believe this you just wanna draw a response so here it is. Now can we get serious… I suppose the current president isn’t a citizen either and soy products are a vast conspiracy by the “gay agenda”…
August 7th, 2009 at 10:59 amI’m glad that Clinton laughed! Bolton is such a chicken shyte he deserves to be ridiculed and laughed at.
really represents the typical mentality of the Rethuglican Party – tear down, criticize and obstruct because they’ve got no clue how to resolve issues and no direction.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:00 amWow, really disappeared really quickly.
And that’s really good. Really, also.
PEACE
August 7th, 2009 at 11:01 amHey Really, Didn’T you hear the announcement? “Stay away from the brown acid”!
August 7th, 2009 at 11:02 amreally… says:
Whenever there’s a need, that only one person can fill, that person usually created that need.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:54 am
____________
Is that why you’re posting here?
Did you look at this site and say “those folks at TP – they need a new troll. A new moron. A new idiot to blather idiotically and spew forth the most completely moronic and irrelevant drivel possible?”
And then did you realize that only you, really…, could fill that need?
Well, mission accomplished.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:02 amreally ridiculous?
really annoying?
really lying?
really trolling?
yeah, really.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:02 amAfter she was done laughing she should have said “who, the walrus?”
That would have ended it for Bolton. He would have had a stroke.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:03 amdbadass says @19:
If it’s trolls you’re a conjurin’, best be using “teh gay agenda”.
But seriously, if there ever was a vast network, it belongs to the Bush Crime Syndicate.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:04 amreally… says
August 7th, 2009 at 10:54 am
____________________________________________________________
I realize you’re p!ssed off that Bill Clinton’s mission was a success and ended well.
But, seriously — this is all you have? A wild theory that Bill Clinton arranged for a couple of Americans (both young females — nice touch) to be kidnapped by North Korea so he could play hero?
What would Bill gain from setting this up? He’s not running for office. He’s retired. He doesn’t even have a tarnished legacy he needs to fix (unlike another past president).
If you have some real evidence Clinton set this all up as some sort of political stunt, share it with us (and your fanciful imagination doesn’t count as “evidence”). Otherwise, STFU.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:04 amUsing “really” as a screen name invokes the same suspicion I have whenever somebody starts a pitch with “trust me”.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:05 amwhen Zakaria tried to ask Clinton about Bolton’s criticism, she erupted in laughter just as Zakaria mentioned his name
Perfect!
August 7th, 2009 at 11:06 amPLC, my personal favorite is “the facts of the matter are…”
Then I know I’m about to be lied to.
PEACE
August 7th, 2009 at 11:08 amIn hind sight I think I should have worked for and backed Hillary. The President treats the MORONS with too much respect. It would be nice to see more of this dismissive laughing off of the right wing. Of course, most of us were raised to not make fun of those less intellectually fortunate.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:09 amthose neocons are sooo funny, just the mere mentioning of their names elicits uncontrollable laughter.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:10 amIn March/April of 2001, an EP-3 ELINT spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter. The Chinese pilot was killed. the US aircrew managed to land in China without injury.
President George Bush sent condolences to the Chinese pilot’s wife. A couple of weeks of negotiations with the Chinese resulted in the release of the US aircrew, but the plane wasn’t returned until months later.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=44964
I’d like to see Bolton asked about that.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:12 amGreat response from Clinton…
I don’t recommend legitimizing the Bushco criminals…every single time their names are mentioned, it would be great if people responded by snorting with derision or by saying “you mean that criminal? are you kidding me?”
August 7th, 2009 at 11:13 amHillary was too nice to Bolton in her comments. That will drive Bolton and the other neocons crazy.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:14 amI really recommend clicking to read the comment at #11.
It’s such a great example of troll performance art — pop art, really — that I took it upon myself to enshrine it in the Troll Hall of Fame.
Congrats to the author.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:19 amOh, and Hillary nailed the p[roper response to Bolton’s criticism. Just simple derisive laughter.
After all, if these people are really going to participate in public debate, shouldn’t we at least demand that they be serious about it? The neocons left that standard far behind in the dust of ideological fervor.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:20 ampags2 @ 35 –
You’re right – if she’d Palinized her comments, attacking rather than artfully dissecting, she would have come off sounding shrewish, mean, resentful and, well, like Caribou Barbie.
Instead, she behaved like a Secretary of State should, spoke in unvarnished terms and facts…and summarily spanked Bolton down.
(This makes me think of the Isaac Goldberg quote to the effect of Diplomacy is saying the nastiest things in the nicest way.)
August 7th, 2009 at 11:22 amHillary Rocks!
And, pay particular attention to her mannerism. She treats Walrus-face as just a mere annoyance with no importance. Kind of like a pesky mosquito. Sure, the buzzing insect can become annoying, but during the grand scheme of things, it’s just an insignificant blip on the day’s events.
Gawd, that must drive the righties nuts!!!
August 7th, 2009 at 11:22 amreally?
Reality?
Check.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:23 amOr maybe Bolthead is smitten that they did not ask George the Shrub Bush to help out……as if he would ever get involved with a “axis of evil” dude, but rather asked a Clinton.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:27 amWhy isn’t Bolton faces war crimes charges?
That fool is morally bankrupt.
By the way, Lou Dobbs is a moron.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:29 amI’m pretty sure I’ve never appreciated Hillary’s laugh more.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:30 am40
August 7th, 2009 at 11:31 amAbsolutely…
John Bolton is the Kermit the Frog of politics.
You can’t take someone seriously when they flail their arms around, while having a hand up their arse.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:32 ambarracks9 says:
(This makes me think of the Isaac Goldberg quote to the effect of Diplomacy is saying the nastiest things in the nicest way.)
My definition of diplomacy is the art of being verbose without saying anything.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:37 amFrom his appearance to the bellicose insane language that emanates from his mouth, it is hard not to laugh at John Bolton. He should slink home and close the drapes.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:37 amOT…but Senator Mel Martinez (R) Of Florida is resigning today…
hmmm
why so soon?
August 7th, 2009 at 11:37 amDRxJ, I think you’re right. RC went way over the racist edge and I’ve been flagging and reporting for days now. I think it got banned.
PEACE
August 7th, 2009 at 11:38 amReal???
Wow! we have some dumb trolls that come here, but you take the cake. I bet you are one of those people who wonders were the sun goes at night, or if you walk far enough you’ll fall off the edge of the earth.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:41 amseems to me you’re confusing diplomacy with political campaigning.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:42 amDon’t give it so much credit…it’s too stoooopid to wonder about anything…that would take imagination and humility…
:|
August 7th, 2009 at 11:43 amI laugh whenever I see or hear about Yosemite John, too.
His big moustache is funny, and his eyes are tiny.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:45 amYou have to admit, the Repugs are diminished. Hillary is getting kudos for her job. Bill Clinton is a hero(To most of the world except Repugs) Al Gore is a Nobel Peace Prize winner (Along with Jimmy Carter) And America elected a Black president. The last couple of years have been a disaster to Republicans, even if MSM doesn’t think so. Georgie is reduced to picking up dog-doo. Gonzo is having a hard time landing a job, Dick Cheney is hiding somewhere(As long as he is out of sight, the world is a better place) and Bolton is a joke. And Condi.. Mmm…Where is Condi? Oh well, who cares?
August 7th, 2009 at 11:47 ampastcaring says:
OT…but Senator Mel Martinez (R) Of Florida is resigning today…
hmmm
why so soon?
As a transplanted NY’er living in FL, I say good riddance to this Bush apologist and overall dirtbag.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:56 amWow, Really stupid has a -26 rating. Only a couple dozen more votes down and we might reach his IQ…
I must say that during the primary campaign, something seemed off about her to me, but since she has taken the Secretary of State job and of course has done very well, I must admit that I was wrong about her. Here’s hoping that she chooses to run again in 2016 even though she will be near 70.
August 7th, 2009 at 12:02 pmAgreed…but I can’t help but wonder…why so soon…what skeletons may lurk?…
August 7th, 2009 at 12:07 pmYeah, it is laughable to think that someone, unapproved by congress, who was and is a mouthpiece for the last administration who it is now proven, had based its entire foreign policy on biblical prophesy of Gog and Magog, can have anything of import to say about a pragmatic administration that is actually achieving something for the American people and who, I might say, is earning the respect and approval from around the world that George Bush so irresponsibly threw in the trash. Yes, John Bolton is the clown that he looks to be HA HA.
August 7th, 2009 at 12:13 pmAnd let’s not forget the other administration jokers that also deserve laughs, George Bush, Dick Cheney (the man who can’t shoot straight), Karl Rove (turd Blossom to those who know him, watch your step), Karen Hughes (mouthpiece to Dubya’s stick), Donald Rumsfeld (Rummy to those who know him, why?), William (slam dunk) Tenant, Alberto (Gonzo, from the godfather series) Gonzales, David Yoo (know I will say anything yoo ask), and others too numerous to mention, A real circus of clowns with their finger on the nuclear button. And they say we should be afraid of Kim Jung Il. Who are they kidding? HA, HA, HA, AHA!
“Hillary Clinton erupts in laughter at the mention of ‘John Bolton.’”
As should any thinking individual.
The man is a lunatic.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:03 pmAnd, he was SOOOOO bad at what he thinks he does, even Repuglicans wouldn’t vote for him.
Why do people still care what he thinks? I don’t.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:14 pmHillary Clinton erupts in laughter at the mention of ‘John Bolton.’
Funny…I so often have the exact same reaction, myself.
That Hillary…whatta card!
August 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pmThat’s what every Democrat should do when the corporate whore media brings up Bolton or any of the other warmongering liars.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:37 pmI’m not an ideologue. I’m liberal on some issues, conservative on others. Reading the posts here, I can’t see how anyone who isn’t FAR left AND close-minded could come away from this site having an improved opinion of “progressives”. I understand that people here don’t represent all progressives. But when 95% of the posts sound as though they had been written by the same nasty, angry, fanatical, name-calling (always name-calling) person, you start to wonder just how pervasive this psychological makeup is. But the Right is just as bad, you respond. So that makes it acceptable to respond in kind? Two wrongs make a right? Didn’t you learn anything from your mother when you were fighting with your sibling? But he did it, too!
I realize that sites like this allow people to vent but they still reveal one’s underlying biases and predilections. Given the scorn you heap upon the Right’s intolerance, I’m curious if you have the ability to step back even an inch and see how rigid most of you are. When everyone sounds the same (as you do) and has the same methods of dealing with those with whom they disagree (and civility is not a part of this method), it’s hard not to wonder if there is some underlying pathology to people such as yourselves. There’s not much of a difference between anger and hate and neither has ever led to anything positive in the world. When I think of the messages I’ve read, I’m left with the impression of one giant SNARL. Ugly, ugly stuff.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:55 pmJust how long have you been reading posts here?
1 year, 2 years, 3 years…or just today?
August 7th, 2009 at 3:20 pmOh, the “reasonable” people are popping out of the woodwork.
I was surprised when Clinton was nominated for the State Department. She is certainly a brave and confident person. Am all for laughing at bad actors like Bolton.
August 7th, 2009 at 3:21 pmSoon my comment will have been voted down, proving how open the denizens of this fine site are to diverse opinions, even when those opinions are stating the obvious.
You’re either with us or you’re against us! Are you aware of the irony?
Pastcaring, I’m a first-time caller *ring*. I wandered in here using a link at the New Yorker’s website.
Am I being preachy? Probably. I just was taken aback by the tone of this site. A little meditation might be in order. An attempt to understand the “other” rather than dismissing them as villains might also be productive. That requires getting rid of the sense of outrage first, though.
Is an attempt like this likely to fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes)? Of course. But you can’t blame a guy for trying.
Reason, logic, and dispassion. That is your only hope. Good luck.
August 7th, 2009 at 3:44 pmHe is a joke. I laugh at him too.
August 7th, 2009 at 3:44 pmBrava, Hillary!
August 7th, 2009 at 3:53 pmThe response from Hillary should be the response by every credible mainstream journalistic outlet whenever Bolton, Cheney, Andy card, Coulter, Malkin, or any other wingnut utters a word. THe fact that Malkin or coulter or the others are actually considered CREDIBLE or Experts or even opinion leaders is laughable and preposterous. If they didn’t invite on TV we wouldn’t even know they exsisted.
August 7th, 2009 at 4:08 pmI’m not an ideologue. I’m liberal on some issues, conservative on others. Reading the posts here, I can’t see how anyone who isn’t FAR left AND close-minded could come away from this site having an improved opinion of “progressives”.
I might point out that you provide absolutely no specific criticisms in your message. While I might agree that there is a little too much snarling in this conversation–particularly towards the host, who catches a lot of childish personal shots–your entire message is one long generic scolding.
John Bolton is someone who should be laughed at. In better times, when our culture was more polite in general, blustering, temper tantrum-throwing Jingos like Bolton would never have been given a voice is the mainstream media. Nowadays, he can voice his smears and snarls and threats freely and get more air time than the grown-ups. It wasn’t the people on these progressive forums who changed the rules. It was Agnew and Reagan and McCloughin and Buchanan and Gingrich who changed the rules and made rudeness and insults part of our discourse.
At least Clinton didn’t say “Oh, there you go again!” to some rational, decent human being trying to make a reasonable argument. She laughed at a contemptible, dangerous creature who never should have been entrusted with any responbible public office.
August 7th, 2009 at 5:13 pmI’d like to add a word of support for danlevy. I too came across this site indirectly (via search for info on Gore’s media group employing Ling & Lee). Regardless of what you think about Bolton or Hillary, ask yourself some questions.
1. How is it that two reporters working for a media group started by a VP of the United States were not aware of the vulnerable position they were in at the N. Korean border?
2. Isn’t it ironic that Bill Clinton, the man responsible for providing N. Korea with advanced nuclear technology, ended up going to N. Korea to become a prop for a dictator’s photo op?
3. What must the Japanese and South Koreans, whose citizens have been kidnapped by N. Korean over the years, think of the U.S. action in this situation? Don’t you think they’re wondering what N. Korea is getting (behind the scenes) in return for Ling & Lee’s release?
Whatever your politics are, don’t ignore everything Mr. Bolton said. Hillary’s laughter is unbecoming of a Secretary of State.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:19 pmAs someone fluent in Japanese and who follows the Japanese news reports, I can say in answer to PoneJustice’s question #3, some Japanese government officials are now wondering if they can get Clinton to help them get the Japanese abducted to North Korea released.
August 7th, 2009 at 7:06 pmHillary’s laughter was quite an appropriate response to the most undiplomatic of US diplomats ever, John Revoltin Bolton.
LoneJustice says:
“Whatever your politics are, don’t ignore everything Mr. Bolton said. Hillary’s laughter is unbecoming of a Secretary of State.”
If you want to live in neo-con, right-wing, never neverland with John Bolton, that’s your business, this website is for people who think critically and actually take politics seriously. The fact that you don’t ignore everything Bolton says shows that you have just as much creditability as him…less than zero.
If you want to know what is, “unbecoming of a Secretary of State?” Read the transcript of former Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations about Iraq being a threat to our National Security. Powell was duped and made a fool out of himself in front of the whole world. How about a Secretary of State shopping for shoes while a major American city drowns, Condolezza Rice. Also the worst National Security Advisor in U.S. history. “Al Qaeda, what’s that?”
August 8th, 2009 at 12:21 amHillary Clinton is a fool just like her cheating husband.
August 8th, 2009 at 12:22 amAnd you are even a bigger fool, cancervative trolL in any case and especially if you think you’re changing any liberal minds here.L
August 8th, 2009 at 10:15 amWell I HATE to say this but it is no longer JUST Bush with Gito it’s ALSO OBAMA NOW! I voted for him and all BUT he needs to RELEASE those people that they have NO CASE AGAINST!!! There is NO REASON that they need to hold someone indefinitely with NO EVIDENCE, JUST A HUNCH & SOME “AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE”! It’s not only WRONG but remember what out “intelligence” said about Saddam Hussein & Iraq? Our “intelligence” said that Saddam had WMDs and that we would be greeted as liberators and we could be done with the war in a mere few months…. REMEMBER THAT??? Well did Saddam have ANY WMDs? NO! Were we greeted as liberators? HELL NO! Were we done with the ware in a mere few months? LMAO, NO! So on those FACTS, if we have NO EVIDENCE they MUST BE LET GO!!! Or if worse comes to worse then we should arm them with guns & explosives and drop them off in NORTH KOREA! LOL!
August 8th, 2009 at 5:29 pmconservative guy says:
“Hillary Clinton is a fool just like her cheating husband.”
Hey conservative guy, who is the more foolish here, the fool who ran this country into the ground for 8 years…or fools like yourself who voted for him twice?
Don’t you guys ever actually read something instead listening to talk radio and watching Fixed News on TV.
August 8th, 2009 at 8:48 pm