IN THE FACE OF A REAL FOLLOW-UP, QUEEN HILL RETREATS

Queen Hill has had to backtrack on her "we're less safe" line, in the face of questioning from ABC's George Will:

GEORGE WILL: “In your statement to the Houston paper, you said, ‘less free, less fair, less smart.’ How about … safe, however? …”

CLINTON: “It’s a combination. And I have said repeatedly that we have made some real progress when it comes to homeland security, but we haven’t done nearly enough, according to any expert, any nonpartisan, independent observer who has looked at what we’ve done since 9/11. Have we made ourselves safer? Yes, we have. We’ve done some good work that needed to be done.” (emphasis mine) (ABC "This Week," Dec 7, 2003)

Hillary! Clinton is not a stupid woman. She had to know that her rant would attract some attention, and not all of it from the leftwingnuts that dominate the Dems these days. Maybe she really thought no one would call her on it; more likely, she figured the original comments would reach their target audience, while any follow-ups or rebuttals would come from obscure blogs or the least watched Sunday morning gabfest. It's hard for someone like her to lose, even making the most insane comments, when the bulk of the press just ignores her warts and plays up her strengths.