Obama: Rivals lacked ‘backbone’ on Iraq vote

[Adelante]

Five years after he first staked out his opposition to the Iraq war, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois today commemorated his “judgment” by drawing his sharpest distinction yet with his leading Democratic presidential rivals, who were early backers of the invasion.

Obama returned to Chicago to mark the five-year anniversary of his speech to an Oct. 2, 2002 antiwar rally, at which he warned that a war in Iraq would only “fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda.” Soon after that speech, Congress — with the assenting votes of Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina — authorized President Bush to go to war.

"So there is a choice that has emerged in this campaign, one that the American people need to understand," Obama said in today's speech at DePaul University, according to prepared remarks. "They should ask themselves: Who got the single most important foreign policy decision since the end of the Cold War right, and who got it wrong?"

He continued, "This is not just a matter of debating the past. It's about who has the best judgment to make the critical decisions of the future."

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/10/obama_rivals_la.html


GOBAMA!

[CountAllVotes]

1. and did Obama vote for the $150 billion?

...

Money talks and bullsh*t walks.

[Bitwit1234]

2. So he's has nothing else to play on

he's going to start to beat the dead horse of his "opponents" mainly Hillary Clinton who voted for the war.

Regardless she said....if I knew then, what I know now, I wouldn't have voted yes." Damn if he is that stupid and hardheaded and can't get something thru his head, he'd be just like the worthless bush...stubborn and bull headed to the last. Gheeezzz

[ripple]

4. She also chose not to read the NIE before she cast her vote

and she says she trusted Bush to exhaust all diplomatic options. She trusted Bush!?!?!?
Even when most Americans knew what that vote meant???

accept her excuses all you wish, but he makes a very valid point.

[jaysunb]

12. she also voted no on the Levin bill.

what's the excuse for that ????

[killbotfactory]

13. There is no excuse

Hillary does not disagree with the goals of Bush's to foreign policy, she only disagrees on how he went about it. If the war went fine, she would be singing it's praises, championing her vote and kissing Bush's ass right now.

That was never a possibility, but if she thought it was, she has piss-poor judgment.

[Adelante]

14. She voted Yes to one of Byrd's

Limiting the authorization to one year, which is more than Edwards ever did.

Just saying, because it's true :hi:

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

3. He is also on record for destroying nuclear weapons.

The most sane position to have at this time in history.

[Cameron27]

5. They absolutely lacked backbone.

K&R

[Adelante]

6. This is the spunk I've been waiting to see

I'm watching.

[Cameron27]

9. Me too, WD

[ericgtr]

7. I am pro Obama

however if he would've had a vote on the war (one way or the other) I would have a little more confidence in his words regarding the vote. I don't think for one minute that any of the dems who voted for it wouldn't take it back if they could.

[Dawgs]

8. Watch this video and read this wiki. He was saying these same things back in 2002.

(Video) http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid901176778/bclid900482168/bctid659820802

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Barack_Obama's_Iraq_Speech

"But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars."

[ripple]

10. Oh, I think they'd take it back, too

they made a political decision in casting their 'yes' vote and its come back to bite them in the ass. They didn't want to be seen as weak on national security post-911, as they thought it might harm their future political aspirations.

When they say that they didn't think Bush would go to war without exercising other options first, they really mean that they had no idea it would have been so badly botched and we'd be stuck in a quagmire from hell, with public approval of the war sinking daily.

Obama spoke out when it was highly unpopular for an elected official to do so and he deserves every bit of credit for that. I'm glad he's taking it.

[AtomicKitten]

11. Precisely.

Gobama.