Clinton's Iraq vote was cynical, Obama's brave

[jefferson_dem]

Editorial from my hometown paper, penned by Cynthia Tucker...

Clinton's Iraq vote was cynical, Obama's brave
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 02/03/08

<SNIP>

With the U.S. now mired in Iraq, and with those costs and consequences alarmingly clear, most Americans, preoccupied with a faltering economy, are ready to turn the page. They want to bring the troops home and forget about the warmongering and demagoguery that led to this foreign policy debacle. Old news, many say.

Not so fast. If voters are looking for clues about judgment and maturity and the capacity to make wise decisions in times of crisis, those early stances on Iraq are telling. As human resources experts are fond of pointing out, an employee's work history is a strong indicator of future performance.

Clinton is hardworking, bright and accomplished. She has mastered the intricacies of the U.S. Senate and the details of important public policy proposals. However, her Iraq vote was not only wrongheaded. It was also cynical. She made it without taking the time to do critical background research, work that would have revealed doubts about Saddam's alleged weapons of mass destruction among U.S. intelligence agencies.

A 90-page National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, the consensus of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, was made available to all members of the Senate, but apparently she didn't bother to read it. (It's a classified document, but senators were permitted to read it at two secure locations on Capitol Hill.)

For a policy-maker who prides herself on preparation and a mastery of detail, that was a curious lapse — suggesting she had made up her mind to cast a vote that would armor her against charges she was too soft to be commander-in-chief. In other words, she, like many others, sent young Americans to war to boost her political fortunes. That's not the only mistake Clinton has ever made, but it is the most damning.

In his seminal Chicago speech, Obama made clear that he's no naive pacifist.

"I am not opposed to all wars," he said. "What I am opposed to is a dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics."

When it came to one of the most important issues of our generation, Clinton made the wrong choice. Obama discerned the right course and had the courage to take it.

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/tucker/stories/2008/02/01/tucked_0203.html

[mitchtv]

1. Obama has no Iraq vote

nice. He didn't have to face a public slobbering for war against anyone. I applaud his position, but he's no Barbara Boxer

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. It wasn't just Boxer. 22 Senate DEMS and the majority...

of House DEMS voted against IWR.

Arguing that Clinton voted as she did out of fear of the reaction of her constituents is a weak argument indeed.

She's not as brave as most DEMs in congress? Yikes.

[neutron]

10. That vote is ALL Obama has. Hillary stomps his

tepid healthcare plan, and his weak economic plan.
Krugman punches holes in them.
All the guy has going for him is that one vote.

[Brundle_Fly]

12. you mean the vote

with 3943 lives attached to it.

not one I would disregard so lightly.

[mitchtv]

22. what vote are you talking about?

He wasn't in the Senate yet.

[BlackVelvet04]

25. He DIDN'T fucking vote.

do you people really not get that?

[girl gone mad]

17. Plans change, policies change..

Once either of them gets elected, they'll face pressure to reconfigure their current policy proposals, anyhow.

Those 4000 Americans and 1,000,000 Iraqis aren't ever going to come back.

[girl gone mad]

15. Her public was not slobbering for war.

Frankly, the revisionist history around here lately has gotten under my skin.

The public at large was in favor of a diplomatic resolution. The unilateral military action that Bush was pushing for was extremely unpopular. People wanted to give the inspectors much more time. Clinton's state was even more opposed to action in Iraq than the public at large.

Clinton and her ilk chose to take a lazy political gamble rather than stand up for the people and do what was right. They gambled that once the bombs fell, the public would line up behind Bush and rather than try to stop him they were better off riding on his bandwagon.

[msongs]

2. neither votes consistently to end the occupation -twiddledum &twiddledee nt

[mrreowwr_kittty]

19. Ending funding does NOT end the occupation

The nutjobs in charge of this country would sooner leave our troops over there with no food and no armor before they'd relent.

[BenDavid]

3. but he did walk his ass out of the senate chamber and not cast

a vote against the resolution against Move-On.

All right Move-On, can I tell you something? We're gonna win this thing. We're gonna get the votes we need and we're gonna win this thing. And you know what I'm gonna do after that, I mean that very night, I'm gonna go to TGIF's, I'm gonna order a big steak, and I'm gonna make a list of everybody who tried to fuck us.

[OHdem10]

4. There are reasons people vote the way the vote--Sometimes

Influential Groups(not Business) have impact.

[bigtree]

5. I love the way the title makes it appear Obama actually had a vote

He wasn't Senator at the time. He was a state legislator in a liberal district.

[krabigirl]

8. I know, the spin is incredible.

[Qanisqineq]

16. Bingo

very misleading headline

[Cha]

6. Yes, intelligent people know

what hilary did without regard enough to read the NIE and that Obama came out against it when it wasn't the popular thing to do.

Cue the hilarys..WAHHHhhh

[Clintonite]

9. Obama had not vote. He would have voted present!

[MADem]

11. Stupid headline. Makes the writer look like an idiot. If she didn't

choose it, she should be pissed. If she did choose it, she's an idiot.

[TacticalPeek]

13. Useful idiocy.

Fairy tale - yes.

Surprising? Sadly, no.

[girl gone mad]

14. I've really been thinking about this the last couple of days.

I guess I had suppressed some of my memories from that time. Not only did Clinton not bother to do her research, she refused to even meet with people who had. She went out of her way to avoid conferring with those making the case against war. Her actions were unconscionable, really. There is, then as now, only one explanation in my mind.

[jasmine621]

18. Obama's "what" was brave? Atlanta Consitution guilty of same kind of distortion

they accuse the Clintons of. Obama never voted on the IWR.

[suston96]

20. All he has is the Iraq vote and his best preacher act and sadly people and the media buy it...nt

[suston96]

21. I just noticed: "Clinton's Iraq vote was cynical, Obama's brave" Obama voted on Iraq? When? nt

[BlackVelvet04]

23. When faced with making a judgment call about

a land deal with Rezko, what did Obama do? Let's look at judgment calls he actually had to make. He didn't nor could he vote on Iraq. We'll never know what he might have done since he says himself he doesn't know.

Good judgment is only good judgment when you actually have to stand up and use it.

[Clinton Crusader]

24. Talk about SPIN! He HAD NO VOTE!

[suston96]

26. How can Cynthia Tucker and the Atlanta Constitution make such a stupid error...?

Obama made no Iraq vote ! And why no reply to these "no Obama vote for Iraq" posts here? Is it because Obama was so "brave" for not voting in a US Senate to which he did not belong?

[BenDavid]

27. obama's brave! Is that what you wrote? BRAVE???????

obama is just lucky on the iraq war. Lucky, HOW? oh lets say that when bush stood on the carrier under the mission accomplished sign and things began to turn right for the military and we did have a success within two years....Now obama cannot repeat those I was against the war in 2002 over and over again.....his ass would be out there saying how many votes he rendered in supporting the funding of the war.....BRAVE????? not hardly.....BRAVE, is when you got radical hollering in real time and obama folks in here shouting and ranting and name calling for HRC to apologize for her 02 vote. Now that is BRAVE! you see what that apology got edwards, right?

oh and in case you obama folks have not forgot, the whore media stills loves their bush, and you can bet yo ass that if things are going as good as reported in iraq you can rest assured bush with the help of his whore media will be making efforts to bring some troops home in an attempt to bolster McCain.....This will work against Obama but HRC it will not....why? hey remember that vote you all wanted her to apologize for? uh huh