Clinton releases ‘Hard Choices’, with foreign policy in the limelight

Even before it’s Tuesday’s release date, Hillary Clinton’s memoir, “Hard Choices,” has already garnered a flurry of media commentary and a lengthy interview on ABC, where foreign policy has become the sticking point.

Witht the release comes more speculation about the former secretary of state’s potential bid for the presidency, her foreign policy decisions, and how she sets herself apart from President Obama.

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“Hard Choices,” while advertised as a memoir, focuses on Clinton’s time in the State Department rather than her life as a whole. Several media outlets have suggested that the book also is a means of positioning herself for the 2016 election, though she hasn’t committed to running as of yet.

Hillary’s decisions overseas

Among the foreign policy issues discussed in the book are the Iraq vote, Benghazi, and the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

Clinton tackles the questions surrounding her affirmative vote for the Iraq war head on, according to book excerpts from “Politico”: “I got it wrong. Plain and simple…I should have stated my regret sooner and in the plainest, most direct language possible.”

She goes on to say that admitting a mistake isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather of strength and growth.

On the other hand, Clinton is guarded in discussing Benghazi, one of the most defining moments of her time in the State Department. CNN notes that in Hard Choices, Clinton strikes a “defiant tone” and berates those who would exploit tragedies for political gain: “I will not be a part of the political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans…It’s just plain wrong, and it’s unworthy of our great country. Those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me.”

Clinton does express regret for the situation and provides a hefty amount of background information to help the reader understand what led to it.

Looking toward a more positive foreign policy decision, Clinton explains her role in easing the U.S. embargo on Cuba. She argues that the embargo gave the two Castro brothers “an excuse not to enact democratic reforms” and that both she and Obama believed that “the best way to bring about change in Cuba would be to expose its people to the values, information and material comforts of the outside world.”

Clinton was integral to the changes made in U.S. policy toward Cuba, which allowed for more travel between the U.S. and the island nation as well as relaxing regulations around family remittances.

A Calculated Separation?

“Hard Choices,” by numerous media accounts, is a cautious book.

On the one hand, Politico notes that the book includes “detailed instances of substantive foreign policy disagreements between the two [Clinton and Obama],” differences that have been minimized in the past few years as the two leaders have tried to present a united front. Many suggest that creating a bit more separation between the current president and herself is Clinton’s way of readying herself for a presidential race: given Obama’s poll numbers, Clinton needs to forge her own path if she’s going to garner much support.

On the other, there aren’t any shocking revelations of the kind that will drastically change the public’s perception of Clinton, and she’s being careful not to directly criticize her boss. Additionally, polls already show that a large portion of Americans perceive the Secretary of State as “strong,” a perception that Hard Choices will easily reinforce.

Despite the hints and constant media attention, Clinton has not yet committed to a run for the presidency. If she does, however, this book seems to set her up well: as stated by TIME Magazine, she may not have made anything official, but “that won’t stop her from already doing everything that a full-bore candidate for President would do at this point in the 2016 election cycle.”

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