Ay Caramba,Hillary!

The score: Puerto Rican terrorists 12, Hillary Clinton 0. After nearly two decades behind bars, a dozen Puerto Rican former independence fighters are headed back to the streets after finally accepting the White House’s month-old clemency offer. Eleven will walk immediately, one will get out in five years – and to top it off, their lawyers say they’ll create a network of monitors in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to assure that the freed bandidos' rights are not interfered with. (With every law-enforcement agency under the sun opposing the deal, these guys might need their own Secret Service detail.) And even though her husband was probably just trying to help – how else to explain the out-of-nowhere proposal in August? – the one who really needs some clemency now is Hillary, thanks to some political contortionism that apparently runs in the First Family.

Let’s review. Last month, would-be New York senator Clinton eagerly supports her husband’s sudden decision to offer clemency to the long-jailed FALN members. Big issue in New York, and catnip to many of the city’s 1 million Puerto Ricans, but anathema to not only cops and upstate conservatives but to Jews, to whom "terrorist" is another word for Palestinian. Upshot: Hillary panders to one bloc, which was already going to vote for her (N.Y.C. minorities aren’t too fond of Rudy) and irks three more that already viewed her with some suspicion. Bad enough? She was just getting warmed up. On Saturday, Hillary flip-flops, saying the White House should rescind the offer because the FALN prisoners kept it waiting too long – thus sounding a false note with the groups she had already alienated, and alienating the folks she was trying so unnecessarily to woo in the first place. "She thinks we are politically expendable, insignificant to her campaign," said Puerto Rican activist (and New Yorker) Gloria Quinones, a childhood friend of one of those released. "We’ll just see about that Hillary."