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FACT CHECK ; Accuracy of Clinton quote questionable [Florida Times Union](Florida Times Union Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) An Internet post says that when Hillary Clinton was asked to give her greatest accomplishment as secretary of state, she gave a nonsensical answer. The facts: Clinton's response to the question supposedly was: "My accomplishments as Secretary of State? Well, I'm glad you asked. My proudest accomplishment in which I take the most pride, mostly because of the opposition it faced early on, you know. The remnants of prior situations and mindsets that were too narrowly focused in a manner whereby they may have overlooked the bigger picture and we didn't do that. Very proud. I would say that's a major accomplishment." In mid-2014, according to Snopes.com, many websites began reproducing the quote that supposedly was given on March 11, 2014. But there is no definitive proof that Clinton said such a thing. No videos, no transcripts and no reproduction of the statement can be found in any legitimate source. When Snopes.com did its research, none of the citings of the quote made any mention to whom Clinton was speaking, whether it was in a speech or an interview, where it was said, who asked the question and what else Clinton said on the occasion. Snopes.com also could find no record of a Clinton public appearance or interview on March 11 during which she might have uttered those words. And the quote also didn't begin showing up on the Internet until months after it supposedly was spoken, rather than immediately afterward, Snopes.com notes. It is true that Clinton did sit for an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer that aired on June 9, after which she was criticized by some commentators for not being able to provide a definitive answer when questioned about her proudest accomplishments as secretary of state. But her answer then was nothing like the "stream of consciousness" quote attributed to her earlier this year. The snippet video of the Sawyer interview and The Washington Post report about it show that rather than directly answering the question, Clinton changed the subject.FACT CHECKWant something checked out? If you see or hear about something that needs a Fact Check, e-mail [email protected] (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |