Obama ramping up his ant-war effort

[Ethelk2044]

*edited for copyright purposes proud patriot
moderator Democraic Underground*

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070519obama,1,5616450.story?coll=chi-news-hed


MANCHESTER, N.H. — The volunteers were wearing Barack Obama buttons and handing out literature about the Democratic candidate for president, but the explicit message the canvassers were peddling Saturday as they went door-to-door here was about ending the war in Iraq.

First, they asked that voters sign a petition to end the war, specifically calling on their U.S. senators to part ways with the president and move for the withdrawal of troops.

Only after that did they hand out fliers promoting Obama, whom some volunteers went on to describe as the strongest anti-war candidate in the Democratic field—a mantle the other candidates aren't ready to concede.

Obama has taken his war opposition to a new level in recent days, launching what some are calling his "16 votes" campaign urging that number of senators to vote to override President Bush's recent veto of a bill to re-deploy troops.

[Dawgs]

1. Good to hear, but I'm not a big fan of the '16 votes' idea.

[flpoljunkie]

2. I think we could get 16 votes if the R's voted their conscience and the will of their constituents.

It no longer serves them to serve as rubber stamps, as well.

[edwardsdefender]

3. I have a question, that I've been meaning to ask.

If John Edwards, according to some people, can't really have an opinion about the current votes about Iraq because he's no longer in the Senate, then why is Barak Obama given free reign to criticize the IWR, when he wasn't in the Senate at the time to vote on it?

Same concept.

Edwards, not there now.
Obama, not there then.

Edwards, told to shut up.
Obama, told it's alright for him to talk about something he didn't vote on.

How shortsighted, don't you think?

[Connie_Corleone]

4. No one says he can't have an opinion.

They're just saying don't be a hypocrite about it.

Edwards was a cheerleader of the Iraq War Resolution until 2005 when he had his "conversion experience".

[zulchzulu]

6. Here's your amswer

Obama was against the war in 2002.

The big difference with Edwards is that he was on the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2002 and knew firsthand that the intelligence being handed to them by Cheney et al was crap. He either knew it was bogus or he is clueless about being able to decipher bogus intelligence. Then he decides to co-sponsor the IWR with Joe Lieberman and play the hawk so well that Bush himself used what Edwards was saying as promoting the validity of the bogus intelligence.

Now Edwards is banking on short-term memory on the issue as well as assuming he gets a free pass for saying the vote for the war was a mistake. He knew the intelligence was bad, yet saw an opportunity to play the Hawk for political points.

[illinoisprogressive]

5. I heard it was a resounding success! thanks for sharing