Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) praised Hillary Clinton’s performance at the House Select Committee on Benghazi last week as “presidential,” saying: “I could see her across the table from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
Clinton “showed a drive and a staying power and a motivation,” Feinstein said in a conference call with reporters, as reported by the Sacramento Bee.
Clinton had the opportunity to face off against her Russian counterpart as Secretary of State in President Barack Obama’s first term. In 2009, she infamously championed the “reset” with Russia, which became a capitulation.
In an infamous press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Clinton presented Russia with a bright red button that purportedly said “reset”–except the State Department mistranslated it as “overcharge.”
During Clinton’s tenure, the U.S. obeyed Russian demands and backed down from missile defense systems in Europe. The U.S. also signed the New START treaty, which included one-sided concessions by the U.S. That set the stage for Russia’s ongoing aggression throughout the world, including the invasion of Ukraine, intervention on behalf of the Assad regime in Syria, support for Iran’s nuclear program, and confrontations with U.S. air defenses.
Yet that record is apparently ancient history. Sen. Feinstein, who is vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, believes that Clinton’s performance in the House qualifies her to face off (again) against Putin.