McCaskill: Clinton "More Traditional" on Foreign Policy

SUPER SURROGATE CLAIRE AGAIN PLAYS HARDBALL

Sen. Claire McCaskill said the biggest difference between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton on Iraq is Clinton's "traditional" foreign policy worldview.

McCaskill made the comments on Tuesday's Hardball with Chris Matthews following the Iraq Congressional hearings.

McCaskill said the hearing revealed that Ambassador Crocker had not even considered forcing Iraq to help foot the bill for our temporary bases.

"The American people have a right to be really irritated that Iraq has budget surpluses, we have budget deficits and we're paying for everything," McCaskill said.

When pressed on the differences between withdrawal timetables set by Sens. Clinton and Obama, McCaskill instead veered back to the past and hit "the judgment" talking point.

"I think there's a lot of difference if you look in the rear view mirror in terms of judgement about this war in the beginning between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama," McCaskill said. "The American people have to decide about judgement. Going forward, they both, I think, want to get us out as quickly and as reasonably as possible."

McCaskill said one difference between Clinton and Obama's Iraq strategy is Obama's willingness to be open to having to deal with "the bad guys in the Middle East," as well as focusing on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Having a much more open view of tough diplomacy, but nonetheless diplomacy with those people that we've got a learn to check in terms of their threat. I think Hillary Clinton is much more traditional in terms of her view as it relates to foreign policy," McCaskill said.

Host Matthews said he didn't see much of a difference on the timetables between Clinton and Obama.

"They have some nuances, but they are fairly close," acknowledged Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, a Clinton supporter, who was also on the program.

BTW: If you're a Chris Matthews fan, you'll want to check THIS out.