Hillary Clinton and Obama "absolutely" going to "hug it out"
Hillary Clinton is "absolutely" going to "hug it out" with President Obama at a party they'll both be attending on Martha's Vineyard, the former secretary of state said Wednesday, after facing criticism for remarks she made insinuating reproach for his leadership abroad.
"We're looking forward to it," she said at a signing for her new memoir, "Hard Choices."
A staunch defender of the president's global strategies since stepping down from her post as head of the State Department, the early frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination recently began to inch away from Mr. Obama's foreign policy. In a recent interview with The Atlantic, she knocked the administration's response to the civil war in Syria as well as the shorthand the administration has adopted to explain its foreign policy principles.
"Great nations need organizing principles, and 'Don't do stupid stuff' is not an organizing principle," Clinton said.
Faced with a heap of questions about her comments from conservatives and liberals alike, a Clinton aide said in a statement Tuesday that Clinton was "proud" to serve as the president's top diplomat, and in spite of some honest differences that "some are now choosing to hype," there is still "broad agreement" between the two leaders on "most issues."
Clinton echoed that sentiment Wednesday after a reporter punned a question about whether calling Mr. Obama a day earlier as she had was a "Hard Choice."
"No," Clinton said, laughing. "Read in the book: We agreed we are committed to the values and the interests and the security of our country together. We have disagreements, as any partners and friends - as we are - might very well have. But I'm proud that I served with him, and for him, and I'm looking forward to seeing him tonight."
Clinton made her trip to the Vineyard, where the president and his family are spending a two-week vacation, to attend a party Wednesday night for Ann Jordan, the wife of former President Bill Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan.