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Mistranslation Produces Tense, Awkward Moment for Hillary in Africa

  • 8/11/09 at 10:00 AM

It's tough being Hillary Clinton right about now. Despite being the most powerful woman in the country, it's her husband who has once again stolen the spotlight. Everyone is all, "Bill Clinton is single-handedly thawing relations with North Korea," or "We forgot how awesome Bill Clinton was," or "Is there even another Clinton besides Bill?" Meanwhile, Hillary is trudging through Africa doing the thankless, demeaning grunt work of an actual diplomat, forced to dance for the amusement of her hosts and crack jokes about her own hair for some cheap laughs. Then, at a town hall in the Congo, a student had the gall to ask her what her husband — who is supposed to be just some guy now — thinks about the World Bank. That hit a nerve, and an incredulous Hillary let him know, in no uncertain terms, who wears the pantsuits in that family. Unfortunately, the question had been mistranslated — the student actually wanted to know President Obama's opinion. So that probably made her feel better.

Lost in Translation: Clinton Says She, Not Bill, is the Secretary of State [Political Punch/ABC News]

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