In response to United States Senator Hillary Clinton's inability - or refusal - to answer a relatively easy question posed toward the end of last night's MSNBC Presidential Candidates' Debate, Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Schenectady-Saratoga) today asked whether New York's Junior Senator was truly ready to make the difficult decisions demanded of a Commander-in-Chief.

Tedisco pointed to a question posed to Senator Clinton from debate co-moderator and "Meet The Press" host Tim Russert, as to whether she supported New York state Governor Eliot Spitzer's plan to give illegal aliens driver's licenses. Senator Clinton's response to Russert's question - as noted by fellow candidate John Edwards - spanned two different answers in less than two minutes.

"When asked last night by Tim Russert whether she was for or against Governor Eliot Spitzer's unlawful plan to give illegal aliens driver's licenses, I think America saw Senator Clinton set a new land speed record for flip-flopping," Tedisco said.

"Her multiple choice responses - 'yes, no, possibly, ask again later,' - were eerily reminiscent of Senator John Kerry's 'I did vote for the $87 billion - before I voted against it' flip-flop during the 2004 Presidential campaign," Tedisco said.

"I think that once Senator Clinton gets done debating herself on whether she supports or opposes Governor Spitzer's plan, hopefully she'll share her answers with the New Yorkers she represents. Hopefully, she'll be able to make up her mind and give a clear answer on where she stands, just like United States Senator Chris Dodd did in opposing Governor Spitzer's plan, even going so far as to characterize it as a 'bureaucratic nightmare.' If only Senator Clinton had provided that level of certainty," Tedisco stated.

"I believe last night's debate raised more questions than it answered regarding Senator Clinton's ability to make up her mind on the single most important public policy issue facing New York state. The biggest question is this: if Senator Clinton can't - or won't - answer the easy questions, can we trust her to make the tough choices as Commander-in-Chief?" Tedisco concluded.