AIPAC: Clinton Says Obama Understands Israel

Hillary Clinton, in the middle of her speech at AIPAC, praised Barack Obama and attacked John McCain for their foreign policy positions.

Clinton said that Democrats have long had a commitment to Israel, one that will continue “under the next Democratic president.”

“I know that Sen. Obama understands what is at stake here,” she said. “It is honor to contest these [primaries] with him. It is an honor to call him my friend. And let me be clear, I know Sen. Obama will be a good friend to Israel.”

She continued: “We need a Democrat in the White House next January. It is not just Israel that faces challenges. America does too. The next president will inherit grave problems.”

Then she turned to McCain. Using rhetoric that echoed Obama’s call for a new direction, she tied McCain’s foreign policy to President Bush’s.

“For all the strong rhetoric you heard from Sen. McCain on Monday, he will continue the failed policies” of the Iraq war, she said.

“America needs a new beginning in our foreign policy to make our country stronger, and, frankly, to make our position in the world more credible.”