A great deal has been written about Hillary's position to not pull out of Iraq immediately. This position has caused a loss of support among many people, especially in the netroots. As I read many posts about Hillary, Iraq and the "Hillary Bubble", many things don't make sense. I'm hoping that responses to this post will clarify some issues.
To go back and start with the vote on Iraq. I give a great deal of credit to those in Congress who voted against the resolution. I give credit, but less, to those representatives who voted for the resolution and now admit that vote was a mistake. At the time, because a great deal of information had been withheld. Blogs such as this one, MyDD, Atrios, etc, did not exist. I can understand why a representative would have voted for the resolution, and, on reconsideratation of currently available information, changed his/her position.
Fast forward to today and Hillary . . .
As a First Lady, Hillary spent a great deal of time making trips around the world to promote the role of women. She was greeted in many places, had a positive effect and learned a great deal about the world. When she returned to the US she was blasted with all the Clinton hating media reports.
Hillary won the NY State Senate seat because of the work she did to travel around the state and meet with many residents. She won because she was viewed as a person who took the time to understand real people and their situations.
My impression is a majority of people who are part of the Netroots are not impressed with Hillary, mainly because of her position on Iraq - she doesn't support an immediate troop pullout. Personally, I don't think she's should run for President, but, I'm having a problem reconciling the impression that Hillary is not listening to people in the country when that seems to contradict what she has done in the past.
My question is - does anyone know why she doesn't support an immediate troop pullout? Is there a basis for her position other than talking points? Personally, I believe the troops have done everything they can and by keeping troops in Iraq the US is making the Middle East more unstable. But, why does Hillary not agree with that position?
I'm interested in reactions from the very esteemed group of posters to this site. I am looking for fact, not emotion.
Thanks.