senator Hillary Clinton explains her vote for Lieberman-Kyl

The so-called Lieberman-Kyl amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill passed the Senate today by the disturbingly large margin of 76-22. Among the Yeas was Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.

Though modified slightly from its original, more bellicose version, this amendment still bears an eerie resemblance to the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act, and the 2002 AUMF—the two votes that gave the Bush Administration all the cover they would need to invade Iraq in 2003. In fact, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) called Lieberman-Kyl “Cheney’s fondest pipe dream” (somehow, I think he wanted to say something other than “pipe”).

So, how does purportedly Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton justify her vote to reward and codify the Veep’s nocturnal emissions?

Basically, I’m a two-faced coward, genetically incapable of real leadership as I triangulate my way to the presidency. I have no real policy in mind right now, but I want to appear tough to the 30 percent of Americans that would never vote for me anyway. I also want to reserve the option to do something similarly un-Democratic when I am president. I hope everyone allows me to be as secretive and unitary as the current chief executive.

No—not really. This is what she actually said:

Mrs. Clinton defended her vote on Iran, saying a tough stand was necessary because it “gives us the options to be able to impose sanctions on the primary leaders to try to begin to put some teeth into all this talk about dealing with Iran.”

“Now we’ve got to make up for lost time on the ground,” she said.

In other words: same difference.

(photo: Matt Rourke AP)