Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Sunday blasted Hillary Rodham Clinton for talking about what she would do on the diplomatic front between her possible election and inauguration.

Clinton has told crowds she would send ‘distinguished Americans of both political parties to travel around the world on my behalf with a very simple message to the governments and the people alike: The era of cowboy diplomacy is over.’

Giuliani, pointing to a story in the Des Moines Register about her statements, said such comments hurt the United States and undermine the balance of President Bush’s term, which ends Jan. 20, 2009.

‘I think that it’s important that we conduct this debate in a way that we don’t interfere with the ability of the country to function in a proper way, between the now and (the election),’ Giuliani said at the start of a town hall-style meeting in Peterborough. Campaigning with his wife, Judith, the former New York mayor said, “Clinton should retract the statements and respect Bush’s responsibility.”

Well, Hillary says to hell with that.

“A spokeswoman for Clinton said Giuliani missed the New York senator’s point. ‘Senator Clinton and Mr. Giuliani have a fundamental disagreement. She will end the war in Iraq, reverse the Bush era cowboy diplomacy and restore America’s standing around the world,‘ said Kathleen Strand. ‘Mr. Giuliani wants to escalate the war in Iraq and supports President Bush’s failed foreign policy approach.‘”

Giuliani said, “Well, Hillary is not president-elect, last time I checked. We’re going to have something to say about that. Hillary’s not even the nominee of her party. It’s very, very premature to be talking about sending ambassadors all around the world even before she becomes president to interfere with the foreign policy of the United States.“

Well, that wouldn’t be anything new. Nancy Pelosi‘s been doing it for quite a while, went over to Syria to try to tell Bashar Assad, (paraphrasing) “Hey, don’t hold it against us. We Democrats love you. Just give us the chance to neuter Bush and take care of that and you won’t have any problems with us anymore.”

I’m surprised she didn’t schedule a meeting with Bin Laden to basically tell him the same thing.

What do you think about that?

I’m going to tell you, the hubris and the sense of conventional wisdom and inevitability, Mrs. Clinton is now going to send distinguished Americans of both parties around the world as ambassadors after she’s elected but before she’s inaugurated, to tell the rest of the world no more cowboy diplomacy. A bit far reaching, not very professional, but typical of power-mad liberals.