From The Road
March 17, 2008 2:24 PM

Obama: Clinton a "Late-Comer" on Opposing Iraq

By
John Bentley
Topics
Barack Obama
(CBS)
From CBS News' John Bentley:

MONACA, PA. –- Striking back at Hillary Clinton today, Barack Obama asserted that the U.S. would not be at war in Iraq is his judgment had been followed.

"It's not enough to stand up five years later in the heat of a campaign and say that you're ready on day one – you have to be right on day one," Obama said. "On the war in Iraq, Senator Clinton's judgment was wrong. If we had followed my judgment, we wouldn't be standing here five years later debating how to end the war in Iraq, because we never would have fought it."

Clinton criticized Obama this morning in Washington for being all talk and no action. "Senator Obama holds up his original opposition to the war on the campaign trail, but he didn't start working aggressively to end the war until he started running for president," she said. "So when he had a chance to act on his speech, he chose silence instead."

Obama denied that assertion, saying Clinton was a "late-comer" to her opposition of the war. "I'm not about to allow Senator Clinton to get away with saying this is just about speeches," he said. "Because of that vote, we are less safe and less respected at home."

Obama also took on the current administration, saying the president was partially to blame for the current economic crisis.

"History will not judge President Bush kindly for his failure to act in a way that could've prevented or alleviated this economic crisis," he said, adding that be believed the President's tax cuts "on the wealthiest few" and blocking of regulatory oversight contributed to the current economic problems. "It's a policy so divorced from the reality facing the American people and the American economy that it would be laughable if it weren't so frightening."

Concerned that Wall Street is "teetering on a potential crisis," Obama asked his colleagues in Congress to pass the legislation that he Chris Dodd, D-Conn., have introduced that would offer incentives for lenders to buy existing mortgages. "This is not a bailout for lenders or investors who gambled recklessly, and it is not a windfall for borrowers," Obama said. "It is a fair and responsible way to help stem the foreclosure crisis."

Add a Comment See all 18 Comments
by fifilaroach March 18, 2008 1:45 AM EDT
Bravo! This is the kind of tough talk that Obama should have been using all along. It''s a bit late, but this is a step in the right direction. Remember, everyone is watching you and how your react to challenges, and if you let Hillary walk all over you, I don''t think people are going to feel that''s very "Presidential".
http://www.cafepress.com/sugarbelleshop/4226338
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by irish4obama March 17, 2008 9:31 PM EDT
Only a hypocrite will condemn george bush on the war and then turn around and give Hillary clinton a pass. This is why i say nothing makes sense in this country. Bush supporters defend Bush, Hillary supporter defend her - everybody finds some kind of excuse to defend their own candidate. Why don''t people stop being hypocrites!
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by blondchic March 17, 2008 9:10 PM EDT
Obama was still wiping milk and cookies off his chin when U.S. Senator''s were busy trying to do the right thing for the country after 9/11. All They had to go on was the intelligent reports provided by the Bush Administration that indeed there were WMD in Iraq. So before Obama can stand in the shoes of the men and women who voted for Bush to use his best judgment, he really has nothing to say about it%u2026The truth is Obama didn%u2019t vote for the war because he wasn%u2019t there to vote for it. Standing up and making a speech about how he wouldn%u2019t have voted for the war is bogus and it doesn%u2019t count. In fact, now the truth comes out about his church blaming 9/11 on Americans and that we deserved it%u2026No wonder he didn%u2019t vote for it!
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by l00ker March 17, 2008 7:42 PM EDT
Barack will be smart and just move on and forget this ***, because outlets like ABC, CNN and Fox are splashing about in the Clinton swamp anyway, so it''s more molasses for them. Barack should just say that he''s said all that he''s saying about this Wright ( Barack shouldn''t sacrifice his good name and standing in defense of this unreasonable guy ), and the rest is about the Iraq War, Economy, Social Security, Health Care, Trade, America''s Standing, Afghanistan, Energy, Manufacturing, Education, Environment and National Service.
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by jgkoomey March 17, 2008 7:37 PM EDT
Nanging3 is incorrect. Obama was not at that July 22 sermon. Kristol of the NYT retracted his statement about it.
Reply to this comment
by jgkoomey March 17, 2008 7:31 PM EDT
Nanging3 is incorrect. Obama was not at that July 22 sermon. Kristol of the NYT retracted his statement about it.
Reply to this comment
by jgkoomey March 17, 2008 7:30 PM EDT
While this is off the topic, nanging3 has brought it up, so it''s fair game. Davis''s claim about Obama being present at the July 22 sermon has been disproved, and Kristol has retracted his citation of it in his NYTimes oped piece. Please don''t spread falsehoods.
Reply to this comment
by jgkoomey March 17, 2008 7:14 PM EDT
While this is off the topic, nanging3 has brought it up, so it''s fair game. Davis''s claim about Obama being present at the July 22 sermon has been disproved, and Kristol has retracted his citation of it in his NYTimes oped piece. Please don''t spread falsehoods.
Reply to this comment
by jgkoomey March 17, 2008 7:12 PM EDT
While this is off the topic, nanging3 has brought it up, so it''s fair game. Davis''s claim about Obama being present at the July 22 sermon has been disproved, and Kristol has retracted his citation of it in his NYTimes oped piece.
http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/1797602/did-kessler-make-false-claim-about-obama/
Reply to this comment
by jgkoomey March 17, 2008 7:11 PM EDT
While this is off the topic, nanging3 has brought it up, so it''s fair game. Davis''s claim about Obama being present at the July 22 sermon has been disproved, and Kristol has retracted his citation of it in his NYTimes oped piece.
http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/1797602/did-kessler-make-false-claim-about-obama/
Reply to this comment
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