Clinton v Trump: The difference between competence and bravado.
Clinton delivers solid, detailed speech on military policy that stands in stark contrast to Trump
The Washington Post headline may have read “Clinton plans to slam Trump as a dangerous isolationist in American Legion speech,” but anyone who tuned in expecting Hillary to deliver a speech laden with barbs and one-liners was disappointed. Seriously disappointed, because this was a serious speech in which Clinton only occasionally drew a contrast between her positions and those of her opponent.
In a campaign marked with extraordinary nonsense and antics from the Republican Party, Clinton’s speech may not generate headlines. It provided no eye-popping reversals of policy stretching back decades. It threatened no allies, and was singularly lacking in heavily partisan content. It was completely free from the strutting, screaming, and self-congratulation that marks a Donald Trump tirade.
Still, though Secretary Clinton opened the speech by saying she was going to limit the politics, it was a political speech. In this season, it could hardly be otherwise. But it was a political speech of a very different stripe than those we’ve heard too often this year (and which we’ll hear again tonight when Trump gives his latest spin on immigration).
The United States is an exceptional nation. I believe we are still Lincoln’s “last best hope of Earth.” Still Reagan’s “shining city on a hill.” Still Robert Kennedy’s “great unselfish country.”
Instead, it was a call to treat the military, and particularly veterans, in a nonpartisan manner and an attempt to assert American exceptionalism as not just a call to lead, but a call to lead “humbly.”
Most of the references to Trump in the speech were not direct, but implicit. As when Clinton discussed the reason America is so closely bound to our allies and how those ties go far beyond a fiscal investment. Or when, in discussion of the raid on bin Laden, Clinton slipped in a mention of how American forces did not use this occasion as an excuse to take revenge on his family members. Or when she discussed the need for steadiness in foreign policy and for not radically changing positions from one day to the next.
You don't build a coalition by insulting our friends or acting like a loose cannon. You do it by putting in the slow, hard work of building relationships, getting countries, working together was my job every day as your secretary of state. It's more than a photo op, it takes consistency and reliability. Actually, it's just like building personal relationships. People have to get to know that they can count on you that you won't say one thing one day and something totally different the next. And it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours. And then flying home again. That is not how it works.
Donald Trump’s name may have been missing-but no one had any doubt about the subject.
For much of the speech, Hillary concentrated on laying out her record as a supporter of the active military, of veterans, and of military families. And she detailed actions that the next president should take to ensure that the American military retains a preeminent position including preventing the privatization of the Veterans Administration, and ending the sequestration so the Pentagon and other agencies can plan for sensible, consistent funding rather than dealing with arbitrary cuts.
Throughout the speech Clinton maintained a posture that was itself humble. She constantly spoke of her previous service as a “privilege,” pointed up her awareness of the sacrifices made by members of the armed services and their families, and frequently referred to the presidency as an open question, as in “whoever is elected” and “if I am given the great honor of serving.”
It wasn’t Hillary Clinton’s most beautiful speech. It had lists of policy points mingled with broader statements that kept it from soaring. But there’s no speech she’s given that provides greater contrast with Donald Trump.
The complete speech can be watched here.
Source By Mark Sumner at DailyKOS
[OP note: I would advise people to watch the speech. Military and attitude towards the World Stage is another area where the false equivocation of Trump and Clinton is just blatantly wrong. One of the most common labels I've heard applied to Clinton by progressive is that of "war hawk" and I don't think it's accurate. I think it's important to hear and read what she says about the military and the people involved in the military. ]