Hillary's Alternative Facts

2016 Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton came out of the woods on Friday to deliver the Commencement Address at her alma mater Wellesley College; located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  During her speech, she took a shot at President Trump; telling the graduates “You are graduating at a time when there is a full-fledged assault on truth and reason.”  This comes from a woman who has assaulted truth and reason many times throughout her political career.  You might say that Hillary is an expert at coming up with “alternative facts.” 

 

Hillary attempted to empathize with the graduates, many of whom are probably not thrilled about the election of President Trump, by saying “We were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice.”  She was talking about Richard Nixon there; but apparently forgot that Nixon was never actually impeached.  He resigned before impeachment proceedings began.  Only two Presidents in the history of the United States ever faced impeachment.  Andrew Johnson, who became President following Lincoln’s assassination, was the first President to face impeachment and the second one was none other than Hillary’s beloved husband, Former President Bill Clinton. Both men were acquitted of their charges and neither was actually removed from office. 

 

Even if her mix-up about President Nixon was an honest mistake, Hillary has deliberately misled the American public as she was seeking the highest office in the land. During the 2008 Democratic primary season, Hillary famously brought up her “heroic” trip to Bosnia as first lady where she “landed under sniper fire”.  Journalist Sharyl Attkisson, then a reporter for CBS News, travelled with Mrs. Clinton on that trip and provided her account of what happened.  While Attkisson admitted that going on the trip presented some security risks, her account of what happened was quite different than Mrs. Clinton’s.  “But I don’t recall, and did not note, any close calls on this trip with sniper fire or any other dangers.”  In addition, video footage from the 1996 trip shows that Clinton was greeted, not by sniper fire; but by a little girl handing her a poem.  Clinton initially stood by her statement but later admitted that she “misspoke.” 

 

Everyone should have known that the attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 that killed four Americans was a premeditated terror attack.  Hillary certainly knew; which is why she told her daughter Chelsea as well as the Egyptian Prime Minster that the incident “was a planned attack-not a protest.”  But knowing that a terror attack occurring eight weeks before a United States Presidential Election might hurt her buddy President Obama’s chances at re-election, she decided to come up with an “alternative fact.”  According to this “alternative fact”, the terror attack in Benghazi was actually a spontaneous reaction to a controversial internet video that many Muslims found offensive.  She shared this “alternative fact” with Pat Smith, whose son died in the attack, at a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base honoring the victims.  This “alternative fact” was later shared by the US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice on the Sunday talk shows on the Sunday following the attack.   

 

 

More recently, in a 2014 interview with ABC News’s Diane Sawyer, Hillary said that she and Bill were “dead broke” when they left the White House in 2001.  The website “Politifact” rated this statement “mostly false”.  While the Clintons did have enormous legal bills upon leaving office, they still managed to buy houses in Westchester County, New York and Washington, D.C.; each with a price north of $1 million.  Any financial troubles surely melted away as Former President Clinton collected hefty speaking fees at the ascent of his post-presidency. Apparently, Hillary “misspoke” again.  If there was a Nobel Prize for misspeaking, Hillary would certainly win it. 

 

As a country, we should all work harder to be more honest.  However, the last person who should be lecturing people about honesty is Hillary Clinton.  Although she will never be the Queen of the United States, she will always be known as the Queen of “alternative facts”. 

 

Because I’m such a nice guy, I have created the table below summarizing the contents of this article with the “alternative fact” on one side and the fact on the other side.

 

Alternative Fact	Fact
Richard Nixon’s presidency ended in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice.	Richard Nixon resigned before any impeachment proceedings began.
Hillary “landed under sniper fire” in Bosnia, no greeting ceremony took place.	A greeting ceremony did in fact take place, with a little girl handing the then-first lady a poem.  There were no close calls with sniper fire on the trip.
The Benghazi attack was a spontaneous reaction to an internet video.	The Benghazi attack was a pre-planned terrorist attack.
The Clintons were dead broke when they left the White House in 2001.	Any financial troubles caused by legal bills were sure to melt away as Former President Clinton was on track to collect enormous speaking fees in his post-presidency.  Also, can a “dead broke” couple really afford to buy houses with price tags exceeding $1 million?