In an interview released Monday, syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer remarked that he has no idea where Hillary Clinton stands on anything as she ramps up her 2016 campaign.
Krauthammer, who spoke for more than 100 minutes to The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, made the comment when discussing the apparent decline of America in the world. The conservative commentator added to Kristol that he isn’t even sure if she knows where she stands on anything as she kicks off her campaign.
KRISTOL: How much, though, once the choice — once you start down that path, how easy is it to reverse?
KRAUTHAMMER: Very hard. It’s not irreversible though. Reagan shows you. Carter’s last year shows you. He began to increase the defense budget. I mean, it can be done. That’s why the election of 2016 is so important. I mean, we’re not at a point where we can’t come back. It’s easier to reverse the defense budget, relatively speaking. You build up a lot of weapons, there’s a delay in time, so you’re behind a little bit. You know, you gotta re-arm. At the beginning of the second World War, we were a mess. We did not have a lot of success in places because our army and our armaments were so depleted, but it takes a while. But America has the industrial capacity to do whatever it wants, so in that sense, it’s reparable. The harder to repair is the sense of American strength. The inherent deterrent power of knowing who we are and what we might do. Regaining the respect of our allies, and the confidence of our allies, and regaining the respect of our adversaries. That takes time and it takes a kind of demonstration.
You think of Margaret Thatcher, her moment was the Falklands. Who would have expected that? But she did something improbable, half-crazy, succeeded, and it restored the power of Britain. Not that she became, all of the sudden, a great industrial power or a great military power. But it was a will. You show will then people listen to you. That’s what it will take.
KRISTOL: There’s a big choice coming up whether to continue on the path of decline.
KRAUTHAMMER: And that’s going to be a test of the country. I really think so. Although I can’t even imagine, let’s say Hillary Clinton, were she elected, would continue the Obama policy. I don’t know where she stands on anything. I don’t know if she does. But you go by her husband’s administration, and by the mood of the country, except for the hard left, people do not like where we are in the world. They have a sense that this is not the America they love and there’s something about our taking responsibility.
You know, we know one of the things — one of the prides about being an American: you know you’re for a country that’s liberated more people on more continents over 100 years than any in the history of the world. That’s a source of pride.
WATCH (Starts at 44:27):