I will be the first to admit that I have been one of Senator Obama's greatest supporters throughout his entire struggle with Senator Clinton and the ongoing war of words with Senator McCain. But with that being said, I will also be the first to acknowledge that a candidate has made a mistake. Lately, it appears Obama has been waffling on core liberal issues and values. Maybe I have just been watching too much CNN, but seeing as the Senator's blog has been littered with negative commentary the past few weeks, I do not believe I am the only one who sees it.
For example, the Iraq war. One of Obama's key principles has been that if elected, he will have all American soldiers pulled out within the first 16 months of his presidency. We have heard it thousands of times. But lately, all of this has been called into question. Senator John McCain said that Obama's remarks on Iraq "have left a significant question as to exactly what he intends." But, despite the growing concerns, Obama denied any suggestion that he was shying away from his proposed 16-month phased withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq, calling it "pure speculation" and adding that his "position has not changed."
We all know that whenever a Democratic nominee makes a seemingly innocuous comment on a key issue, the Republican hounds come out in full force. Instantly, the Republican National Committee sent out a chain email stating that Obama was attempting to back out of his own policy of withdrawing troops within 16 months. But ex-presidential nominee John Kerry, who himself know a little something about the Republican Machine (anyone remember Swiftboat?), was there to back up Senator Obama:
The Republicans, and John McCain specifically, are trying desperately to get away from the reality of John McCain's position, which is that he has a plan for staying in Iraq and Barack Obama has a plan for getting out of Iraq...[Obama's position] has not changed whatsoever in his fundamental determination to end the war.
In the end, I have come to the realization that I overreacted. At some point, Obama would have to change from the saint that he was once viewed as to a true politician, and this has been a difficult transformation for me. But even if Obama does add a few months to his 16 month withdrawal, anything is better than McCain's plan for 16 years or 16 decades or even 16 lifetimes.
3 comments:
It seems like you've reconciled with yourself pretty well.
To remind everyone what Obama has said, he did not say that he would guarantee troops out in 16 months. He said that with the information he currently has available, he plans to have all troops out in 16 months. He has also said that when circumstances change, or when he recieves relevant information, that that timetable could change as well. Personally, I would like to see us leave Iraq responsibly. So if it takes a little longer to get it done correctly and relatively safetly, then so be it.
Brien i agree with you. I feel like leaving without reconciling the issues and problems that WE have caused would be utterly irresponsible and very poor judgement. I'm simply trying to explain the fact that the Republicans can turn almost everything, scratch that...everything, even if it is the most innocuous of statements, into a full fledged issue.
Democrats often do the same thing, its relatively common during a Presidential campaign for every statement to be blown out of proportion.
I feel like most times the democrats, true to form, are a little less cohesive in their attacks however, which makes the Republican's attacks seem even more vicious, and therefore often more effective.
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