9/11 Panel's Top Democrat Backs Obama

Former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton's Endorsement Could Boost Obama's Security Standing

(AP)  Former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president Wednesday, praising his ability to transcend partisan division and calling his foreign policy outlook "pragmatic, visionary, and tough."

Hamilton, who during a three-decade House career rose to be chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, also was vice chairman of the Sept. 11 commission. His endorsement could boost the Democratic hopeful's national security standing.

"Barack Obama has the best opportunity to create a new sense of national unity and to transcend divisions within this country, not by ignoring them or smoothing them over, but by working together with candor and civility to meet our challenges," Hamilton said in a statement released by Obama's campaign.

On Obama's foreign policy stance, Hamilton said: "He will work with our friends and allies. Obama will strengthen our ability to use all the tools of American power, and relentlessly promote the American values of freedom and justice for all people."

Obama praised Hamilton for his leadership on the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group.

"Few public servants have done more to advance American foreign policy or to serve the people of Indiana, and I look forward to drawing on his counsel in the months ahead," Obama said in a statement.

Hamilton is best known as the top Democrat on the panel that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He also was co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission that assessed U.S. policy in Iraq.

Although Hamilton is not a Democratic superdelegate, his backing comes on the heels of several high-profile endorsements for Obama, who leads Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in delegates for the party's nomination. Sens. Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota endorsed Obama in recent days.

Hamilton is the highest-profile Indiana Democrat to back Obama before the state's May 6 primary. Sen. Evan Bayh and the bulk of Indiana's Democratic Party leadership have campaigned actively for Clinton in a state where neither candidate is regarded as a natural front-runner.

Hamilton spent 34 years in Congress representing a southern Indiana district before retiring in 1999.

Hamilton now leads the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. In a speech there last year, written by a longtime aide to Hamilton, Obama warned Pakistan that he would use military force if necessary to root out terrorists.

[robrob791]

Why is it that the bottom feeders ike Hamilton, Richardson and others wait until it looks certain that Obama will be the nominee before endorsing him? It is because they want to continue living on the public dole for the rest of their lives.
What they need to do is give the taxpayers a break and go home and stay out of the way, they are not doing the USA any good with their committes, only acting stupid while we are paying their big salaries.

[rowdytexan2]

Do you get it, Hungry? This guy helped promote total falsehoods about 9/11. And HE wants us to elect Obama!

[rowdytexan2]

"Col. George Nelson, U.S. Air Force (ret) %u2013 Former U.S. Air Force aircraft accident investigator and airplane parts authority. 34-year Air Force career.

Essay: "The government alleges that four wide-body airliners crashed on the morning of September 11 2001, resulting in the deaths of more than 3,000 human beings, yet not one piece of hard aircraft evidence has been produced in an attempt to positively identify any of the four aircraft. On the contrary, it seems only that all potential evidence was deliberately kept hidden.

With all the evidence readily available at the Pentagon crash site, any unbiased rational investigator could only conclude that a Boeing 757 did not fly into the Pentagon. Similarly, with all the evidence available at the Pennsylvania crash site, it was most doubtful that a passenger airliner caused the obvious hole in the ground and certainly not the Boeing 757 as alleged.

As painful and heartbreaking as was the loss of innocent lives and the lingering health problems of thousands more, a most troublesome and nightmarish probability remains that so many Americans appear to be involved in the most heinous conspiracy in our country''s history"

[rowdytexan2]

Twenty-five U.S. Military Officers Challenge Official Account of 9/11 %u2013 Official Account of 9/11 %u201CImpossible%u201D, %u201CA Bunch of Hogwash%u201D, %u201CTotal B.S.%u201D, %u201CLudicrous%u201D, %u201CA Well-Organized Cover-up%u201D, %u201CA White-Washed Farce%u201D

Eight U.S. State Department Veterans Challenge the Official Account of 9/11 %u2013 Official Account of 9/11 "Flawed", "Absurd", "Totally Inadequate", "a Cover-up"

Seven Senior Federal Engineers and Scientists Call for New 9/11 Investigation %u2013 Official Account of 9/11 "Impossible", "Hogwash", "Fatally Flawed"

Eight Senior Republican Administration Appointees Challenge Official Account of 9/11 %u2013 "Not Possible", "a Whitewash", "False"
Dec. 4, 2007

Seven CIA Veterans Challenge 9/11 Commission Report %u2013 Official Account of 9/11 a "Joke" and a "Cover-up"

http://patriotsquestion911.com/

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by hungry1968 at 11:01 AM : Apr 02, 2008

Go read the report sometime and those recommendations.

[hungry1968]

So the guy who basically authored the 9/11 Commission report and literally ignored all the facts, and wrote it exactly like Bush told him to is supporting OBAMA!

Why doesn''''t this surprise me!

Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 10:47 AM : Apr 02, 2008





Are you kidding? Rowdy - please don''t resort to lying.

The 9/11 commission authored 41 different recommendations for the Bush administration to follow, and he ignored ALL OF THEM!!!

If Bush had them write the 9/11 report as he sees fit, then wouldn''t he have also had them write the recommendations that he wanted - not the ones he had to ignore?

http://grumet.net/911/recommendations.html

[betty521]

The guy has no right to endorse Obama when it comes to anything related to Terrorism. Obama has more ties to Terrorists than I care to know. Google search Obama and Terrorists and read it for yourself. He should be the LAST one endorsing Obama.

[rowdytexan2]

So the guy who basically authored the 9/11 Commission report and literally ignored all the facts, and wrote it exactly like Bush told him to is supporting OBAMA!

Why doesn''t this surprise me!

[craigh9]

The grandstanding continues to be ridiculous! This race is OVER!!!!
Money is what makes a candidate electable - period. Hillary is not only behind in all the important numbers, but she is way behind in the most important category of all - contributions. Hillary is broke to the point of an inability to pay past bills never the less move forward. Obama raises money almost as fast as the treasury can print it. He has the money, he will get the nomination - IT''''S OVER FOLKS - TIME TO MOVE ON!!!

[hungry1968]

The violence in Iraq isn''''t just down because of the "surge". We have employeed, trained, armed, and known Iraqi insurgents. In essence we have paid them not to fight. Great strategy. So we train them to be better fighters, give them money, and arm them. All the while I bet Iran is a backer of Al Sadr, which will look even tougher and more of a leader in Iraq after this whole basra thing.

Posted by melchg at 09:40 AM : Apr 02, 2008




Al Sadr declared a cease fire in August, and THAT IS when the violence dropped over there. The surge had nothing to do with it.

I''m sure that our government paying 72,000 Iraqi insurgents $300 a month to NOT KILL our troops, has something to do with it too.