Coming as a surprise to no one, Barack Obama has endorsed Hillary Clinton. In a video released today, the president said, “I want to congratulate Hillary Clinton on making history as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States.”
He goes on to say, “I know how hard this job can be. That’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She’s got the courage, the compassion, and the heart to get the job done.
“Even after our own hard-fought campaign in a testament to her character, she agreed to serve our country as secretary of State. . . . I have seen her judgment, I’ve seen her toughness, I’ve seen her commitment to our values up close.”
Just as a friendly reminder, let’s look at some of the highlights from that 2008 hard-fought campaign when Obama didn’t think Clinton was qualified at all to be president. In the following ad, then-senator Obama said Clinton is everything that’s wrong with politics today: “She’ll say anything, and change nothing. It’s time to turn the page.”
Obama repeatedly pointed out that Clinton was an establishment candidate, clinging to the status quo. This campaign ad that mimics Apple’s famous 1984 advertisement shows just what Obama thought of Clinton’s qualifications to be president:
Here, Obama calls out Clinton for being an entrenched establishment candidate, reminding voters it is indeed time to “turn the page.”
Obama now praises Clinton’s “judgment” despite her blunders on the Russia reset, mishandling the Arab Spring, failing to protect the lives of Americans in Benghazi then lying about it, helping overthrow President Gaddafi in Libya, failing to support the Iranian Green Movement in ousting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, contributing to deteriorating relations with U.S. ally Israel, and violating regulations in her use of a private server and classified emails while secretary of State.
Considering Clinton’s dismal failure as secretary of State, Obama should have stuck with his assessment of her in 2008 when he responded to her 3 a.m. phone call ad.
“The question isn’t picking up the phone but what kind of judgment will you exercise when you pick up that phone,” Obama said. “We have had that moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer.”
In 2008, Obama didn’t think Clinton was qualified to be president because she was part of the old guard, flip-flopped on issues like forcing people to buy insurance, and lacked the judgment to be president. Her stint as secretary of State only proved that he was right all along.
