July 16, 2008
Hotline After Dark -- No Surprises
Barack Obama made the TV rounds last night, appearing on PBS' "NewsHour" and CNN's "LKL." Some highlights:
PBS' Ifill: "I would like to talk to you about Iraq. You gave a big speech on that subject today. A new poll out shows Americans are kind of split about whether there should be a withdrawal timetable or not. So is John McCain right or are you?"
Obama: "Well, you won't be surprised to learn that I'm right."
Ifill: "Oh, I'm surprised."
Obama: "My opposition to the war in Iraq from the start was never premised on the day-to-day tactics that we employ once we are in Iraq. I've never had any doubt that the U.S. military would defeat Saddam Hussein's army. There was never any doubt that if we poured enough resources in there, that we could lock down Iraq. The problem has always been a broader strategic question, and that is was it wise for us to go in there in the first place and once we were in there, you know, was it wise for us to continue a long-term occupation in Iraq. That remains the question."
After the jump, more Obama and reaction to his Iraq speech.
(KATHERINE LEHR)
Ifill: "You have 26 percent of people still think you were raised a Muslim. People look at your shifts on issues, from warrantless surveillance to gun control, and they say:'Who is this guy? What does he believe?' How do you begin to, in this stage in your campaign, tell people who you are and have it stick?"
Obama: "Well, first of all, I do think that this notion that somehow we've had wild shifts in my positions is simply inaccurate. You mentioned the gun position. I've been talking about the Second Amendment being an individual right for the last year and a half. So there wasn't a shift there."
Ifill: "Campaign finance?"
Obama: "Well, campaign finance, there's no doubt that that was a shift in recognizing that we could not broker a deal with the Republicans that would prevent the Republican National Committee or the Republican Governors Association or all these other organizations, that are already spending millions of dollars against us, that we could not contain them within a public financing system. So the broader point, Gwen, is if you compare sort of my shift in emphasis on issues that I've been proposing for years, like say, faith-based initiatives, which have raised questions in the press, if you compare that to John McCain -–"
Ifill: "And raised hackles among some of your supporters."
Obama: "Well, raised hackles amongst some in the blogosphere, if you compare that to John McCain's complete reversal on oil drilling, complete reversal on George Bush's tax cuts, complete reversal on immigration where he said he wouldn't even vote for his own bill, that I think is a pretty hard case to make that somehow I've been shifting substantially relative to John McCain" ("NewsHour," 7/15).
Obama, on The New Yorker cover: "Well, I know it was The New Yorker's attempt at satire. I don't think they were entirely successful with it. But you know what, it's a cartoon, Larry, and that's why we've got the First Amendment. And I think the American people are probably spending a little more time worrying about what's happening with the banking system and the housing market, and what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, than a cartoon. So I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it."
CNN's L. King: "But didn't it personally sting you?"
Obama: "One of the things, when you're running for president for almost two years, is you get a pretty thick skin. And, you know, I've seen and heard worse. I do think that, you know, in attempting to satirize something, they probably fueled some misconceptions about me instead."
Obama, on McCain saying Obama was wrong about the surge and wrong in his Iraq proposals: "When I said that I was going to be talking with commanders and we would be refining our plan, he suggested that somehow we had changed our mind. Where Senator McCain, I think, is confused is the difference between tactics and strategy. I am absolutely convinced that, strategically, it is time for us to bring this war to an end. And we can bring our combat troops out over the course of 16 months. ... My job as commander-in-chief is going to be to look at the total picture and not just a narrow slice of the picture, as John McCain has had a tendency to do."
Obama, asked if he would go in to Pakistan, militarily, to get Osama bin Laden: "If I had actionable intelligence, we would go after bin Laden" ("LKL," 7/15).
DEFINING AND REFINING
There was also reaction to Obama's "major" Iraq speech.
Washington Post's Kornblut: "I'm not sure he would have necessarily wanted to define the trip before he went. But given that he did get twisted up in whether he was refining his strategy or not, this really gave him an opportunity to define his trip, define his policies before McCain could get in and do it. He was starting to lose some control over his own storyline when it came to Iraq, and he's really trying to reclaim it on his way out the door" ("Race for the WH," MSNBC, 7/15).
Fortune's Easton: "I think he got spooked by the reaction to that comment about refining his policy. And, frankly, I think it was a big mistake to give this speech before he goes to Iraq. Not only does it open him to ridicule from McCain, saying you haven't even been to Afghanistan, you haven't met with General Petraeus, you missed hearings on Afghanistan, but it also boxes him in policy-wise, because here he is saying I want to withdraw from Iraq responsibly. And he uses that term a lot. ... When he comes back, it just doesn't leave him a lot of wiggle room to adjust to his policies" ("Special Report," FNC, 7/15).
Salon.com's Walsh: "One of the things he did today that I think was important was link it to Afghanistan, and also link it to our problems at home. He's strong on the economy. And that's our top issue. ... That was a great thing about the speech, was showing all of our squandered opportunities here at home" ("Election Center," CNN, 7/15).
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): "[Obama]'s ill-prepared to be commander in chief, and let me tell you, the best evidence of that statement that I just made is that he said today that Iraq is not a central battle in the greater war on terror, and it never has been. Well, General Petraeus has a different view, Lee Hamilton has a different view, Admiral Mullen has a different view, Osama bin Laden has a different view. If you can't understand that losing in Iraq would hurt us in the overall global war on terror, then you're not ready for the job" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 7/15).
Posted at 09:19 AM
Comments
What about Obama's flip flops about the war, which I've seen documented on video tape all over the news. You see, the news itself flip flops a lot. One week we have to worry about terrorist attacks, and terrorist countries stopping the flow of oil, and starving our economy ... and, the next week when everything looks ok, the far left liberals crawl out of the wood work to give the false impression that all threats to this country are fabricated.
Howard | 07.16.08 03:26 PM
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What about Obama's flip flops about the war, which I've seen documented on video tape all over the news. You see, the news itself flip flops a lot. One week we have to worry about terrorist attacks, and terrorist countries stopping the flow of oil, and starving our economy ... and, the next week when everything looks ok, the far left liberals crawl out of the wood work to give the false impression that all threats to this country are fabricated. Talk is cheap, but, if a real conflict threatens this country, we all know who will be hiding under the table, and who will once again stand up to defend America with courage and honor.
Howard | 07.16.08 03:29 PM
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Why won't Obama accept the invitation for a "town hall" debate with John McCain at Ft. Hood, yet he make times to give Campaign speech in Germany? Isn't he running for for Commander in Cheif of the US? He doesn't have time to answer questions from the troops and their families????
susie | 07.16.08 08:39 PM
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Why won't Obama accept the invitation for a "town hall" debate with John McCain at Ft. Hood, yet he make times to give Campaign speech in Germany? Isn't he running for for Commander in Cheif of the US? He doesn't have time to answer questions from the troops and their families????
susie | 07.16.08 08:40 PM
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Susie, susie. Howard, howard.
Press post ONCE.
Ethan | 07.16.08 09:13 PM
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Is W answering questions from troops and their families? What about the proposed troop insurgence into Afghanistan by the end of January 09? I know a guy in the Guard who is hoping his unit goes there (he's known about it for a month now and they're 25% short of their quota) and he just wants to go so he can kill something. Is Obama (or McCain) the president now? NO! W is, and what does HE have to say??? It's his call and he ain't talking. Wake up and SEE what IS going on, not what you HOPE is going on.
Big Mowma | 07.16.08 11:07 PM
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