The joke's on you, Hillary

Oops, she's done it again. United States presidential candidate and former first lady Hillary Clinton seems to have a knack for putting her foot in it when it comes to famous Kiwis.

In what the Labour Party would hope is more ignorance than prophecy, Mrs Clinton described Helen Clark as "former prime minister of New Zealand".

The gaffe came in a chummy interview with American magazine Newsweek, when journalist Karen Breslau asked Mrs Clinton for a joke: "Here's a good one. Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand: her opponents have observed that in the event of a nuclear war, the two things that will emerge from the rubble are the cockroaches and Helen Clark. [Laughs]"

Mrs Clinton also once said her parents named her after Sir Ed Hillary, a nice line till it was pointed out she was born more than five years before he climbed Everest, when he was still a lesser-known beekeeper.

She was recently caught out in another "mistake", telling a tale of flying into the Balkans under sniper fire. She told an audience she dashed head-down to waiting cars, and that an arrival ceremony had to be cancelled because of the danger.

CBS then unearthed a news video of her arrival, which was posted on YouTube.

The footage shows a serene Mrs Clinton strolling with her entourage from the plane, head held high, to be greeted in a traditional arrival ceremony. There was no evidence of snipers or terrorists.

She explained this away by saying she "misspoke". She called it a "minor blip", saying: "I say a lot of things - millions of words a day - so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement."

Miss Clark found the anecdote amusing and had some words of wisdom for Mrs Clinton - talk to her husband, former United States president Bill Clinton.

"As a current prime minister I spoke with him as a former US president in London only two weeks ago," she said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Kapp   #27   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Just shows how much the US relationship with New Zealand means to them.

Canada   #26   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Shows how ignorant these americans are....

Judie   #25   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

You would be surprised how many Americans DO care about New Zealand. and Hopefully it won't surprise you that there are alot of us that consider Hillary to be the biggest joke the USA could have.

johanna   #24   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

thats not even a joke -let alone one that americans would understand. poor effort hillary

Myphesto   #23   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Ms. Clark is correct not miss. RE: Former PM Comment. NZ is always about 6-12 months behind the USA anyway so maybe Hillary knows something...! here's hoping!

Nick   #22   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Doesn't saying former ruin the joke?

Alison   #21   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I commented and made a big mistake in it. So if it comes up I meant. "Miss would indicate that she wasn't married". Hopefully I stopped it in time.

It is Ms Clark.

But as some one else said. Americans just wouldn't care and why should we? It's not an insult. We are small and insignificant. I like it that way. No bombings. I would hope our prime minister has better things to worry about.

Alison   #20   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I believe she uses Ms Clark. Miss would indicate that she is married.

But I do agree. Americans wouldn't give two hoots. Many don't actually realise that we are not part of Australia.

Noel   #19   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

We hope that Hillary is right

sarah   #18   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

so why on earth is 'Miss Clark' married!? Wouldn't that make her a 'Ms'...

i agree with Josh...i'm currently living in Australia & I've quickly learnt that not even the Aussis care (nor know) all that much about NZ politics! Can we blame them!

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