Politics

Hillary Clinton Colombia Party Photos Not “An Embarrassment” Or Disgrace

Last week, Daily Beast writer Howard Kurtz did a video segment titled “How Hillary Clinton Got Cool” coupled with his article on her increasing likability, so it should come as no shock to anyone that the Secretary of State boozed it up in Colombia over the weekend at Cafe Havana.

Photos from the night out on the town reveal Clinton throwing back a bottle of beer and dancing with some friends, and while many would agree this is a good way to soften her image and show she can play hard in addition to working tirelessly, some say this was no way for Clinton to carry herself. In a Telegraph piece titled “Is Hillary Clinton becoming an embarrassment as Secretary of State?”, Nile Gardiner asserts that “this was hardly a display of good judgment at a time when nearly 13 million Americans are unemployed, and US soldiers are laying their lives on the line every day in Afghanistan. In an effortless display of leading from behind, Hillary was partying in Colombia while the Taliban were about to launch a wave of terror attacks in Kabul.”

Gardiner goes on to liken the long-time political figure to cast members of reality show, “Jersey Shore,” naming several people in power he could never imagine behaving in such a manner: “It is hard to imagine Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright or Henry Kissinger “livin’ la vida loca” on the world stage. This was less an example of “smart power” than a boozy nightclub audition for the sixth season of ‘Jersey Shore.’”

Clinton has been in the public eye since ’79, when her husband became governor of Arkansas, and this is likely among the first party photos of her to surface since she’s been a well-known individual. When you think Hillary Clinton, images of Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan probably don’t come to mind, so there’s no reason why these harmless snapshots should be causes of concern.

TAGS: hillary clinton

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