This is very much a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation for her:
In general, Mrs. Clinton is more supportive of military force than many Democrats, and as secretary of state, she advocated for a more-aggressive posture in a number of situations. But on Iran and Cuba, she favors the more liberal, diplomatic path—positions more likely to be popular with Democratic primary voters—and these are the areas her campaign is highlighting for now.
Still, she is running afoul of her many supporters who oppose the Iran nuclear deal, particularly those in the Jewish community who worry it will allow Iran more leeway to threaten Israel. Mrs. Clinton, who has historically enjoyed strong support in the Jewish community, is looking to reassure these backers.
In other words, Hillary has to reassure millions of people whose brains have been under assault by everyone from AIPAC to the
Jerusalem Post, telling them over and over that Iran is the root of all evil and must be destroyed (and broadly hinting that if the US doesn't destroy Iran, Israel will).
Here's a bit of what she's up against:
Republicans are seizing on opposition to the deal among much of Congress and many American Jews to criticize Clinton, frequently casting the agreement as a plank of an "Obama-Clinton foreign policy." A new Pew survey released on Tuesday found that just 21 percent of Americans approved of the deal — a 12-point drop since mid-July.
She's been threading the needle ever since her days at State, pushing sanctions when so many AIPAC-influenced people were calling for war, on the idea that sanctions would bring Iran to the negotiating table.
And that's exactly what happened:
As secretary of state, Clinton helped facilitate the talks that eventually led to the nuclear deal. She sent a top adviser to participate in secret meetings with Iran through the sultan of Oman that started the international negotiations.
Because of her work, and in the face of so many people who wanted and still want mushroom clouds over Teheran, war with Iran is going to be averted, and the nuclear club won't be admitting any more members.
I'm willing to put up with a bit of Obama-style woofing to see this result.
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