ST. LOUIS, July 5, 2008
Obama: I'm Committed To Ending War
Candidate "Puzzled" By Reaction To Earlier Iraq Statements
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Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks to reporters in his campaign charter en route to St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Photo Essay Barack Obama A look at the life and meteoric rise of the president-elect.
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Photo Essay Week In Iraq Photos A daily diary with scenes of the latest attacks and snapshots from the effort to rebuild a nation.
"I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," the expected Democratic presidential nominee told reporters flying with him to Missouri from Montana. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."
On Thursday in North Dakota, Obama said that "I'll ... continue to refine my policy" on Iraq after an upcoming trip there. With a promise to end the war the central premise of his candidacy, the Obama campaign has struggled over the past two days to push back against Republicans and others who say his recent statement could be a softening.
In two news conferences on Thursday, Obama said any refinement of his position on Iraq wouldn't be related to his promise to remove combat forces within 16 months of taking office, but rather to the number of troops needed to train Iraqis and fight al Qaeda. But he also acknowledged that the 16-month timeline could indeed slip if removing troops risked their safety or Iraqi stability.
"What's important is to understand the difference between strategy and tactics," he told reporters. "The tactics of how we ensure our troops are safe as we pull out, how we execute the withdrawal, those are things that are all based on facts and conditions. I am not somebody - unlike George Bush - who is willing to ignore facts on the basis of my preconceived notions."
Noting that "we want to build on" the lessening of violence in Iraq, he added: "It doesn't change my strategic view that we have to bring our occupation to a close."
He said he didn't misspeak in his comments earlier in the week and suggested the media and critics read unintended significance into the remarks.
"I was surprised by how finely calibrated every single word was measured," Obama said. "I wasn't saying anything that I hadn't said before."
Obama has always said his promise to end the war would require consultations with military commanders and, possibly, flexibility.
The Illinois senator also said he and rival-turned-ally Hillary Rodham Clinton plan to help each other raise money in a series of fundraisers in New York next week.
Two events are scheduled for Wednesday night - one to raise money for his general election campaign and one to help Clinton pay off debts from her primary campaign. A third fundraiser, for Obama, is a breakfast Thursday morning with women donors that Clinton, a New York senator, will attend.
The fundraisers will be the first joint appearances by the former foes since their lovefest in Unity, N.H., on June 27.
The events were put together to showcase his campaign's commitment to helping Clinton retire her debt and her commitment to helping him get elected, Obama told reporters.
The candidate said his aides and those to former President Clinton are still arranging their first campaign appearances together. What role Bill Clinton will play in Obama's campaign has been a glaring question mark ever since the former president made comments earlier this year that Obama's supporters said injected race into the nomination contest.
"I'm looking forward to his advice and counsel and participation in the race ahead," Obama said.
Earlier Saturday, Obama took a swipe at Republican rival John McCain, saying that for "someone who has been in Washington for 30 years he's got a pretty slim record on education and when he has taken a stand it has been the wrong one."
McCain has voted against increasing funding for the No Child Left Behind law, increasing funding for Pell grants and hiring 100,000 new teachers, Obama told a Washington conference of the National Education Association that was beamed via satellite from Butte, Mont.
"He even applauded the idea of abolishing the Department of Education," Obama told the teachers' union. "In fact, the only proposal of his seems to be recycling the tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice."
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded in a statement: "Improving America's schools will take bipartisan leadership and a commitment to the issue, but Barack Obama has never spearheaded education reforms while in the U.S. Senate and has no record of working across the aisle for change."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More From Politics
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 1116 Commentsby ihavenobias
Here are 3 Stunning facts that could not only change the outcome of this election, but with regard to the first two points, they could change the results of every election for years to come *if* we make enough people aware of them.
1) Over 70% of our National Debt was created by just 3 Republican presidents.
2) According to new research from Larry Bartels out of Princeton, real middle class wage growth is double when a Democrat is president compared to when a Republican is president.
3) 90% of Americans would pay less taxes under Obama''s proposed tax plan compared to McCain''s.
More at: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6430781
* McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he supported it.
* McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.
* McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he%u2019s pro-ethanol.
* McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.
Is this the "experience" I''ve been hearing so much about?
* McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as %u201Can agent of intolerance%u201D in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man who said Americans %u201Cdeserved%u201D the 9/11 attacks.
* McCain used to oppose Bush%u2019s tax cuts for the very wealthy, but he reversed course in February.
* In 2005 he said that he opposed the tax cuts because they were %u201Ctoo tilted to the wealthy.%u201D By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and insisted he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.
* In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending %u201Cdirty money%u201D to help finance Bush%u2019s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.
* McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn%u2019t.
* McCain said before the war in Iraq, %u201CWe will win this conflict. We will win it easily.%u201D Four years later, McCain said he knew all along that the war in Iraq war was %u201Cprobably going to be long and hard and tough.%u201D
* McCain said he was the %u201Cgreatest critic%u201D of Rumsfeld%u2019s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as %u201Ca mission accomplished.%u201D In March 2004, he said, %u201CI%u2019m confident we%u2019re on the right course.%u201D In December 2005, he said, %u201COverall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.%u201D
* McCain went from saying he would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the exact opposite.
* McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain supported moving %u201Ctowards normalization of relations%u201D with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
* He argued the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party%u2019s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn%u2019t.
* McCain supported the drilling moratorium; now he%u2019s against it.
* McCain strongly opposes a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
* McCain thought Bush%u2019s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
* McCain defended %u201Cprivatizing%u201D Social Security. Now he says he%u2019s against privatization
* McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn%u2019t.
* McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.
* He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it %u201Cone of the worst decisions in the history of this country.%u201D
"Iraq raises idea of timetable for US withdrawal"
and mccain wants to stay in iraq for 100 years?
They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it. ''I will give each of you one wish, which is three wishes in total'', says the Genie.
The Canadian says, ''I am a farmer and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada''
POOF!
With the blink of the Genie''s eye, the land in Canada was forever fertile for farming.
Osama was amazed, so he said, ''I want a wall around Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or Canadians can come into our precious land.''
POOF!
Again, with the blink of the Genie''s eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.
The Texan says, ''I am very curious. Please tell me more about this wall.''
The Genie explains, ''Well, it''s about 5,000 feet high, 5oo feet thick and completely surrounds the countries. Nothing can get in or out; it''s virtually impenetrable.''
The Texan sits down on his Harley, cracks a beer, lites a cigar, smiles and says, ''Fill it with water.''
Since when did center-America begin supporting spying on Americans?
Since when did center-America begin supporting retroactive immunity provisions?
Obama is not making moves to the center. He''s pandering to neo-cons. I guess he''s spent way to much time around Pelosi.
By the way San Francisco, why in the Hello do you keep re-electing Pelosi when her leadership is clearly a fraud, and all while she keeps stabbing progressives in the back?
Progressives need to send a message to the DNC. Until we do, we will simply continue to be used.
Vote your conscience. Vote for an honest third party candidate.
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Posted by noprejudice at 12:12 PM : Jul 07, 2008
He could be a damned mosquito for all I care just as long as he''s kept away from our White House and a security clearance!
Afternoon Rowdy. Were ya able to kick back a little on Sunday? Sounded like you were pretty busy on Saturday.
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Posted by aldon61 at 01:15 PM : Jul 07, 2008
Yeah, pretty much so...had a wonderful Sunday! How about you?
He IS the baby Jesus! His first miracle is turning red states blue. His next miracle will be ending war. His thrid miracle will be surviving.
Afternoon Rowdy. Were ya able to kick back a little on Sunday? Sounded like you were pretty busy on Saturday.
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Posted by raflin1 at 10:11 AM : Jul 07, 2008
You sure like to make a lot of crackpot assumptions.
Actually I HIRE THEM AND PUT THEM TO WORK. I pay 75% of their insurance premiums for THEIR insurance. I spend hours each week filling out their papers so that they also qualify for food stamps, medical assistance for their children (SCHIP), educational assistance, WIC, Utility assistance and housing assistance. I allow them all the hours they can work for as descent a wage as I can pay and advance them as fast as I can.
AND THEY STILL CAN''T MAKE A LIVING BECAUSE THEY HAVE THREE OR FOUR BABIES FROM THREE OR FOUR DIFFERENT ABSENT FATHERS AFTER HAVING A DAMNED GOOD TIME IN THE BACK OF THEIR CHEVY''S!
Am I disgusted with such irresponsibility? Yes I am!
Do I begrudge these employees the help the need to support these babies? NO!
Someday the people of this country are going to wake up and realize that the government is not responsible for their irresponsible BEHAVIOR, immoral lifestyles, and flat out laziness!
******
could it be that the mere fact that Obama is not a WASP, could it be that the melanin in his skin and his father''s ethnicity are such a threat to you, that you would make these outlandish and invalid associations? isn''t this what george bush does right prior to dropping bombs? this reminds me of the movie ''momento''....no short term memory, but the guy is well versed in distorting the facts to justify his jackhole behavior. Prejudices are revealing of character, eh???
Posted by dante805 at 09:42 AM : Jul 07, 2008
He is a lawyer, but not a trial lawyer; that one was John Edwards.
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Posted by raflin1 at 10:11 AM : Jul 07, 2008
You''re making an awful lot of assumptions based on her political position; it could be she believes she''s right. Put it down to a legitimate disagreement, and you''re both entitled to that.
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