Rice: Bolton’s criticism of Bill Clinton’s humanitarian mission to North Korea is ‘ridiculous.’

Susan Rice calls John Bolton's statements regarding Clinton's visit to North Korea "ridiculous".

KING: A man who once held your job at the United Nations, John Bolton, saying “it comes perilously close to negotiating with terrorists.” Sending Bill Clinton over there and giving North Korea, certainly, a propaganda victory with those photographs. Perilously close to negotiating with terrorists?

RICE: Absolutely not. That’s, in fact, a ridiculous statement. We don’t negotiate with terrorists, that’s the policy of the United States. But this was an unique opportunity for the former president on a private humanitarian mission to obtain the release of two American women who’ve been held for many months. It would have been disgraceful for the United States, having verified that this was a real opportunity to obtain their release, to leave them in captivity.

And yet that is exactly what some conservative punters have stated should have occurred.

Interviewer: How are we supposed to get the girls home, Dick?

Morris: Maybe they don't come home. Maybe they go to North Korea and they live with the consequences of their decision to go there.

Make no mistake. Were the Republicans still in power then those two journalists would still be in captivity in North Korea. And the Republicans would be perfectly happy with that. Or rather, they would see that as infinitely preferable to having any form of contact with North Korea.

And these nutcases are making this argument publicly and imagining that it might have populist overtones.

"Don't rescue Americans captured overseas, it's the American way!" Quite where they imagine there is populism in that message is utterly lost on me.

Tags: John Bolton, North Korea, rescue, Susan Rice