Hillary Clinton is out to convince voters she’s tougher and savvier than Barack Obama. The New York Times tells us:

Iran has lodged a formal protest at the United Nations about comments by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton that the United States would “totally obliterate” Iran if it attacked Israel with nuclear weapons, the state-run news agency, IRNA, reported Thursday. Iran’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, sent a letter of protest on Wednesday to the United Nations secretary general and the United Nations Security Council denouncing the remarks, according to IRNA. Mrs. Clinton made the comments in an interview on ABC last week. “I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran,” she said when she was asked what she would do if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons. “In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them,” she added.

Maybe this doesn’t carry much weight in a Democratic primary, but in the general election (should she make it that far) this would be gold for Clinton. She wants to show voters she’s tough and not like all those weak-kneed Democrats of the past? This can be Exhibit A. If she really wants to wow them, she can reply that she doesn’t give a fig what the UN says. But that might be a bridge too far, even for her.

For now, she’s miles ahead in the macho (or whatever you want to call it) contest.