Distortions
Recently, Barack Obama stated: “I’ve always said that I would listen to commanders on the ground. I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed and when I go to Iraq and I have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”
The McCain campaign called Obama a flip-flopper and the media has been running with that story. Even though, this is exactly the same position, he stated at the debate in New Hampshire last September, when neither Obama, nor Clinton, nor Senator Edwards would commit to absolutely having troops out of Iraq by 2013.
Last September Obama said: “We don’t know what contingency will be out there. What I can promise is that if there are still troops in Iraq when I take office—which it appears there may be unless we can get some of our Republican colleagues to change their mind and cut off funding without a timetable, if there’s no timetable—then I will drastically reduce our presence there to the mission of protecting our embassy, protecting our civilians and making sure that we’re carrying out counterterrorism activities there. I believe that we should have all our troops out by 2013. But I don’t want to make promises not knowing what the situation is going to be three or four years out.”
In February, Obama told Steve Kroft at an interview on “60 Minutes” that he would not pull out of Iraq according to a timetable regardless of the situation: “I always reserve, as commander in chief, the right to assess the situation.”
Republicans are again resorting to distorting the facts and changing the subject away from the real issues to inconsequential things like lapel pins. Obama is demonstrating that he’s politically savvy enough to take irrelevant issues off the table.
In an interview Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared to defended Barack Obama from the accusation of being a flip-flopper by pointing out: “Flip-flopping is getting a bad rap, because I think it is great. As long as he’s honest or she’s honest, I think that is a wonderful thing. You can change your mind. Changing your mind, moving to the center in just reasonable politics.”
The McCain campaign called Obama a flip-flopper and the media has been running with that story. Even though, this is exactly the same position, he stated at the debate in New Hampshire last September, when neither Obama, nor Clinton, nor Senator Edwards would commit to absolutely having troops out of Iraq by 2013.
Last September Obama said: “We don’t know what contingency will be out there. What I can promise is that if there are still troops in Iraq when I take office—which it appears there may be unless we can get some of our Republican colleagues to change their mind and cut off funding without a timetable, if there’s no timetable—then I will drastically reduce our presence there to the mission of protecting our embassy, protecting our civilians and making sure that we’re carrying out counterterrorism activities there. I believe that we should have all our troops out by 2013. But I don’t want to make promises not knowing what the situation is going to be three or four years out.”
In February, Obama told Steve Kroft at an interview on “60 Minutes” that he would not pull out of Iraq according to a timetable regardless of the situation: “I always reserve, as commander in chief, the right to assess the situation.”
Republicans are again resorting to distorting the facts and changing the subject away from the real issues to inconsequential things like lapel pins. Obama is demonstrating that he’s politically savvy enough to take irrelevant issues off the table.
In an interview Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared to defended Barack Obama from the accusation of being a flip-flopper by pointing out: “Flip-flopping is getting a bad rap, because I think it is great. As long as he’s honest or she’s honest, I think that is a wonderful thing. You can change your mind. Changing your mind, moving to the center in just reasonable politics.”
posted by Jim O'Leary | 12:00 AM
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