Knowing Hillary and her understanding that anything she said would be thoroughly inspected by bloodthirsty journalists (and comedians?), have you considered the possibility that she landed at another time under the circumstances she described?

scottlooper,

Considering the awareness of pols that the things they say or do will be scrutinized and their lies and such will come to light, there is but one response,

Spitzer

Really, didn't years of "A Different World" already teach us that sage lesson?

So is the point that Hillary is a liar who fibs to pad her resume, or is it that she hates the troops and disses the First Armored's ability to secure a measly little airport?

Or maybe she just watched "Clear and Present Danger" too often, imagining herself in Harrison Ford's role, and now she really does remember running across the tarmac under fire, just before her convoy came under RPG assault in a dead-end alley and then she had to rendezvous with Willem Dafoe.

Or maybe this is just another instance of the Clintons stepping on a black man: Commerce Secretary Ron Brown died on an official mission to the Balkans in 1996, and now Hillary is claiming the danger he faced as her own "experience."

For all the barking and crowing Hillary supporters do about media double standards that favor Obama, this is something to consider. Why are we quibbling over when Obama was in the pews of his church instead of addressing bold-faced, substantially deceptive lies like this?

Chelsea Clinton accompanied her mother on this trip.  It is one thing to take risks with your own life, but to risk the life of your child in such a manner is inexcusable, monstrous even. I can not believe for a moment she put Chelsea in a situation where she would ever need to put her head down, so the conclusion is she is either a monster for putting her daughter in such danger or an out an out liar. I don't believe she is a monster, she is just a liar.

As to why, I can't imagine how she can be so stupid. McCain would eat her alive with this.

"Knowing Hillary and her understanding that anything she said would be thoroughly inspected by bloodthirsty journalists (and comedians?), have you considered the possibility that she landed at another time under the circumstances she described."

Sort of like,

"I did not have sex with that woman, Monica Lewinksy"?

And she's half the politician her husband was.

scottl -

Considering the hammering she's going to take on this (deservedly so, IMHO), if there WERE another time she landed in Bosnia under the conditions she described, don't you think she'd be out in front of this with all the details?

I personally hope she's nailed to the wall over this. How many more lies can she tell about her "important role in foreign policy" (this one with the added twist of serving under life-threatening conditions!) and remain standing?

I see no reason to doubt Senator Clinton's version of the event.  Those of us of a certain age (she's 60; I'm 56) find our memories especially sharp at this juncture in life, in particular memories of important or remarkable occurrences. Furthermore, the self-confidence that comes with maturity means that we have no need to lie, exaggerate, embellish the truth, or otherwise self-aggrandize.

I was reminded of this one evening a few months ago when I had occasion to share a hot tub with three recent Penthouse Pets of the Year. One of them, after nearly fainting from awe at the massive size of my engorged love muscle (not to mention my prodigious sexual prowess and stamina), noted with pleasure the vintage Petrus we were drinking. Yes, I said, it is delicious, but it cannot compare to the 1978 Romanee Conti I enjoyed at a similar soiree several years ago.

So you see, our memories are sharp, and our ability to recall our actions with crystal clarity (and yet, abject humility) actually improves with age, like fine wine.

williamyard -

Brilliant. You're consistently the best writer (among a host of excellent writers) on these blogs.

billyard, that is a lie, I know for a fact there were only 3 playmates there.

chmclean: thanks very much!

blackie: you'll admit I got the "abject humility" part correct, at least.

Love muscle!  Hooray!

(Ps I feel embarrased for Senator C with this one, I have to think maybe she was just insane from sleep deprivation.  This is so cringe worthy).

I god, I just had to explain to my girlfriend why I just spit a mouthful of bourbon on her computer. She couldn't understand why something on TNR could be so funny. She knows nothing of Mr. Yard.

another anti Hillary diatribe.

don't guys ever get bored with your repetious condemnations and put downs of Hillary?

Jackson,

Sen. Clinton has claimed superior experience and cited her trip to Bosnia as an example. She suggested she arrived in Bosnia under fire. The news reports from this trip, as well as Sinbad’s first-hand account, clearly contradict her claim.

Her claim is false; this post points this out. Certainly there are posts that are condemnations or put-down of Sen. Clinton. But this is not one.

jackson - I fail to see how pointing out a blatant lie qualifies as a diatribe.  Why isn't it a perfectly legitimate indication of her true character and equally legitimate grist for the Presidential campaign mill?

Yeah. In the event that I'm ever a rich and famous novelist (yeah, right), I will try to implant a recurring character into my story arcs referred to as "The Poet William Yard." He will be a completely disgusting human being, of course, but he will be the mouthpiece for my most clever witticisms---a Shakesperean character, if you will, who we can admire and despise at the same time. Being my own creation, he will be only half as clever as the real William Yard, which might lead to some Borgesian meta-drama over the search for the True Poet William Yard.

I'm only half-kidding.

This is why I don't take his perennial threats to abandon TNR seriously; he gets too much love from the rest of us.

jacksondyer: "don't [you] guys ever get bored with your repetious condemnations and put downs of Hillary?"

Give them a break. It's a slow news cycle. Blogging is snap judgment. The scribbled footnotes in the margins of the mind. The disadvantage of insta-punditry is that the audience demands its fix in immediate, up-to-date nibblets, and the world simply doesn't move as fast as blogging must. So the reliable formula is to pick a few themes, and then harp on them continually until the scene eventually changes.

Of course, the scene can't change until one candidate has the nomination and the other goes home crying. The Plank staff mostly seems like they *want* a scene change, but can't effect one until this ugly stalemate is over. It's a perfectly reasonable reaction, from both a blogging-logistics perspective and a lets-get-this-the-hell-over-with-so-we-can-move-on perspective to attack and diminish the losing candidate until the tower finally crumbles and and fresh issues can be examined.

Jackson,

If your candidate's grip on the truth is tenuous, isn't that critical to point out? Especially in light of the last 16 years??

Give Bill and Hillary a break. They succeeded in politics in a pre-digital world, where you just make stuff up.

Remember how Reagan would give one speech in Neshoba, Mississippi, in front of 10,000 wild-eyed white follks, then a month later talk about his record of moderation?

It worked. Today, Reagan wouldn't have lasted any longer than George Allen. It's a new ballgame.

I'm with fougasseu. It's something I've wondered before, particularly about Bill - it hasn't sunk into him that we all have youtube now. I know sleep deprivation well. The NH tears I chalked up to that, and a couple of gaffes, but this is a lie. It didn't happen so she has no memory of it happening, and so she is lying. To exaggerate there has to be a grain of truth. I don't even see a grain of danger here.

What Hillary said could have come from the mind of a trashy action novelist.  You know--he was under fire,  and had to make it back to Shanghai for the martini he'd be sharing with his comely German lass . . . ."

Pols and the crazy things they say:  I think this is a lot of older pols who just don't get the power of the internet and how easy it is to nail them these days.  Sure they're busy and might not have the time to glaze out over YouTube--they're too busy being blown by hookers and fabricating toilet reading.  When the Writers Guild was on strike, they made hay out of stringing together clips of moguls bragging about the billions they'd make off the internet--all while telling the guild the net made no money.  Those guys were old and clueless.  They were so clueless, in fact, that they forget to register their association's domain.  

Ugh, Fougasseu, you got there first.  But age is no excuse.  It really isn't--not if you're claiming you should be running the most powerful country on our planet.

I'm with the feller who asserts that this is another anti-Clinton "diatribe"  obviously it all depends on what you mean by "sniper fire" and "ran."  And besides, how was the Senator to know that that little girl had friendly intentions?  I think  Hillary is a very brave women. These personal attacks on her only show how deluded those who make them are, etc., etc., etc....

Hey, guys, if she believes it's true, then it's true.

You have no right to question the integrity of a Clinton.

www.huffingtonpost.com/.../how-will-hillarys-bosnia_b_92844.html

Pretty damning.

Michael Dobbs updated the fact check to include the recollections of hillary's speechwriter at the time, who was with her on the flight.  she's obviously way less qualified to talk about it than Sinbad, but still.  obviously, hillary is still world's the biggest liar, worst person ever, etc.

"I was on the plane with then First Lady Hillary Clinton for the trip from Germany into Bosnia in 1996. We were put on a C17-- a plane capable of steep ascents and descents -- precisely because we were flying into what was considered a combat zone. We were issued flak jackets for the final leg because of possible sniper fire near Tuzla. As an additional precaution, the First Lady and Chelsea were moved to the armored cockpit for the descent into Tuzla. We were told that a welcoming ceremony on the tarmac might be canceled because of sniper fire in the hills surrounding the air strip. From Tuzla, Hillary flew to two outposts in Bosnia with gunships escorting her helicopter."

sprechs -

Senator Clinton said, repeatedly, that  X happened. A videotape clearly shows that X didn't happen.  You point out that Senator Clinton's speechwriter says that Senator Clinton was told that X "might" happen. Is this supposed to show that X did happen -- that Senator Clinton is correct, and the videotape  wrong?

If you want to see a perfect example of the media's decided-upon narrative shaping election coverage

Hillary Clinton's not-as-dangerous-as-advertised trip to Bosnia twelve years ago, discussed here