Last week, observers were quick to jump on Mike Huckabee for his response to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. He offered "apologies" to Pakistan (later clarifying he meant "condolences") and then placed Afghanistan on Pakistan's eastern border rather than western. If his mistakes received headline treatment, so should Senator Clinton's gaff. Over at the Politico, Ben Smith notes that "Clinton errs on Pakistan":
Senator Hillary Clinton was praised in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for demonstrating her command of the players and the issues at stake in Pakistan, even as another candidate, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, was criticized for stumbling over details.
But in two confident television appearances, on CNN and ABC, Clinton made an elementary error about Pakistani politics: She described President Pervez Musharraf as a "candidate" who would be "on the ballot."
In fact, Musharraf was re-elected to the presidency in October.
Ouch. Not good for a candidate who based her entire campaign on the idea she's the best person qualified for the White House. She loses credibility when she can't differentiate between a presidential election and a parliamentary election in a nation critical to the War on Terror. It's even worse when she makes the mistake twice in three days. If she can't get Pakistan right, then she's not prepared for the Oval Office. And this reminds us that none of the three Democratic frontrunners have meaningful national office or executive office experience, compared to John McCain, Rudy Giulani, and Mitt Romney. Even Mike Huckabee served as governor longer than any of the front three Dems served in national public office. We'll see if any reporters other than Ben Smith pick up the story.
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