Just so we have this straight:

Non-democratically selected communist dictators of authoritarian states are okay.

Democratically elected socialist president of constitutional republic are not.

Looks like Hugo needs to obliterate private media, abolish any mechanism for his removal from office, and slaughter a few million of his own citizens before Mike Pence would consider it morally acceptable to deal with him.

Wow! I didn't like Clinton before...she seems to be winning me over. Isolating governments that sell us oil isn't in our interest. I don't know if anyone remembers the Saudis preventing exports of oil to the US in the 80's and the long lines at the pump. I'm sure Chavez hold that card.

I find this all so very odd. The election is OVER. Stop with the campaigning. It's one thing to say the following:

"The President did [fill in the blank], which most of us now agree caused [fill in the blank with a bad thing]. What say you?"

This is important. Lets review what we have done, and find out if we can do better next time. Compare to this:

"The President is doing [fill in the blank]. This strikes me as dangerously naive, and, I feel, is sending the wrong message to our enemies."

Here, Pence is prejudging based on cherry picked actions weighed against a failed outcome that he incorrectly deems as successful.

I walk a fine line here, because I remember getting in these arguments with those on the Right when Bush was in office. Where does constructive criticism end and rank partisanship begin?

Give 'em hell, Hillary :)

Way to go, Hil! Congressman Pence was looking for a gotcha. What did he get? -a swing and a miss!

Burton and Pence are perfect examples of the small gene pool that is Indiana.

One would have to assume that these shitkickers did not have access to the clip from Venezuelan television which showed the terse exchange between Obama and Chavez.

You can take the talk show demagogue out of the broadcast booth, but you can't take the grandstanding scumbag out of the demagogue.

Mike Pence might be one of the dumbest people in Congress today. He neither understands where this country came from, where we are or where we're going. Instead he reacts to immediate events without the benefit of being aware of history. I fail to understand how this dimwit made it this far in life.

Every day proves more and more that we Democrats had two exceptionally capable candidates to choose from, and both do us a tremendous service by working together.

Sen. Pence, you got spanked. Now, STFU.

The Thugs apparently need to be reminded as often as possible that OBAMA WON THE ELECTION. Good for the SOS for doing her part. Oh, and Biff Diggerence, Indiana went for Obama in November. Douchebag politicians come from all over, so why don't you take whatever problem you have with my home state and stuff it up your ass?

Note to GOP:

You lost, and so did your approach to the world (you know, the one that begins ansd ends with a middle finger)

Give 'em hell.

p.s off topic but if waterboarding isn't torture, why doesn't DICK have to try it out for us to prove that?

Eric, with all due respect, shouldn't the media be referring to the Secretary of State as "Clinton"? I can't remember ever reading news articles that talked about Condoleeza or Madeleine or Colin.

Just a small thing, from a former journalist. Thanks!

Excellent pnwage. This really shows the wisdom of having a secretary of state of Clinton's stature.

Hillary was great today! I am donating some funds against her debt and thanking her for working with our president to re-establish the U.S. as a respected leader in the world.

OK: I'll go first:

Yes, I absolutely hated Clinton during the primaries. I hated her husband. I hated the 2 of them together. I hated them separately.

I thought it was absolutely brilliant reasoning to invite her into the cabinet ("I want to know where you AND your husband are at all times" kind of strategy), but I thought she AND Bill would be a constant source of madness for President Obama. Especially President Clinton.

I was wrong. SOS Clinton has been absolutely a very bright, capable, strong, steady presence in the Administration. She was a perfect person (high status with her own power base and "aura")to reinvigorate diplomacy after almost a decade of extreme militarism.

And after seeing her performance today: Strong, clear, not dancing around the perfectly reasonable women's health/abortion nexus (thank you, SOS Clinton, for not being coy about the work "ABORTION") - exquisite.

So: There you have it. I think I feel better...-)

I am so glad that Hillery is on our side. I think that the Republicans will think twice before they attempt to go toe-to-toe with our great Sec. of State, Hillery Clinton. What a wonderful pick for Sec. of State.

Pence, the value of Mike's thoughts.

Being from Indiana, I agree with Hillary. Obama won the election, and Pence is an idiot. He's trying to make a name for himself in national Republican politics and since he has Rush Limbaugh's blessing, he will probably go far in Wingnut Land. Indiana has been hit hard economically though, and Pence needs to do more than just bash Obama if he wants to stay in elected office.