Joe Wilson Questions Obama War Credentials: Endorses Clinton

[BeatleBoot]

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Wilson_questions_Obamas_antiwar_credentials_in_0213.html

In a aggressive essay targeting Barack Obama's qualifications for the presidency, Joseph Wilson, the former-ambassador-turned-war-critic married to outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, endorsed Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House.

Wilson's endorsement comes as Clinton finds herself 0-and-8 in February primary contests, and Obama's campaign gaining momentum headed into Wisconsin and Hawaii next week. The retired diplomat, who spoke out against Bush's characterization of Iraq's WMD program, said Obama's record opposing the war is too flimsy because he was just a state senator at the time "representing the most liberal district in Illinois."

"Senator Obama claims superior judgment on the war in Iraq ... and in so doing impugns the integrity of those who were part of the debate on the national scene," Wilson writes in the Baltimore Sun and at Huffington Post. "In mischaracterizing the debate on the Authorization for the Use of Military Force as a declaration of war, he implicitly blames Democrats for George Bush's war of choice. Obama's negative attack line does not conform to the facts. Nothing could be farther from the truth."

The essay appeared in the Sun Tuesday, as Maryland voters were headed to the polls. Obama bested Clinton with 60 percent of the vote there, to her 37 percent.

Wilson also argues that Clinton would fare better against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. He resurrects a previous comment from an unnamed McCain aide who charged that "Obama wouldn't know the difference between an RPG and a bong," and says that Obama backed down in a prior letter exchange with McCain.

"The wrathful Mr. McCain accused Mr. Obama of being 'disingenuous,' to which Mr. Obama meekly replied, 'The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you.'

"Mr. McCain was insultingly dismissive but successful in intimidating his inexperienced colleague. Thus, in his one face-to-face encounter with Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama failed to stand his ground," Wilson writes.

<more>

[SoFlaJet]

1. isn't this old news?

Like weeks old?

[Radical Activist]

4. It was also posted earlier today.

Someone got marching orders?

[BeatleBoot]

7. Nope. Date of Article is Feb 13th.

That would be today.

Of, course you probably didn't go to the link to find out for yourself, right?

[Windy]

19. here you go...google is your friend.. Try 12/21/07 not today

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-wilson/the-real-hillary-i-know-_b_77878.html

read the date of the post, not the huffpost banner!

[gulliver]

26. Check again. Different essay. The OP is new. n/t

[BeatleBoot]

31. Exactly. Thanks.

[ShortnFiery]

14. Old? Yes, but strangely there's been at least two threads posted today on this EXACT subject.

Go Figure? Ole Joe may be hoping for some excellent slot within a Clintonian Executive Branch.

Therefore, no one should ass-u-me that his motives are pure. :(

[thunder rising]

25. This is new "RE-Edorsement" by Joe Wilson. I knew I saw this before...months old

The Real Hillary I Know -- and the Unreal Obama Posted December 21, 2007 | 01:05 PM (EST)

[gulliver]

27. Wrong. You never saw it before. It's new. n/t

[thunder rising]

32. New Title, same endorsement, new wording. If you can't get new stuff keep re-gening the old

[elixir]

36. That's right, if it's something that casts aspersions on Obama whether direct or indirect..

it must be for evil motives, maybe some kind of payoff, whether monetary or a position, from the Clintons. Yeh, that's it.. nasty, shiftless, worthless Joe Wilson.

[ShortnFiery]

54. No, but you should not rule out that a former member of Bill Clinton's cabinet has hidden agendas.

:shrug:

[gulliver]

18. No. It was in yesterday's (12 Feb 08) Baltimore Sun.

And a modified version is on HuffPo today.

[rodeodance]

49. can't bury the truth--it keep bubbling up.

[TheDonkey]

2. New DU Hillary Meme: Keep dredging up Joe Wilson's endorsement of Hillary. YAWN

[gulliver]

28. Wrong. It's new. n/t

[elixir]

38. Good move. Change the topic as a diversion from the excellent points made by Ol' Joe.

Gosh, wouldn't it be terrific if Obama had Joe Wilson's endorsement. A true patriot willing to take on the establishment in defense of his wife and her honor - what a terrific guy. Hillary's very lucky and I couldn't be prouder.

[papau]

43. LOL - suppress Obama critism while repeating proven lies to smear Hillary - some folks could fbe GOP

but of course they are just Obama fans.

[rodeodance]

47. We try to please.

[Politicub]

3. Good for him... so now its time for the Hope Express bus to get gassed up...

so it can run Joe Wilson over.

[Bicoastal]

6. Look, I've said it before, and I'll say it again--Joe Wilson is a good guy, but...

...he's clearly biased in favor of his old boss. Nothing wrong with that. But remember, when it's all said and done, he's just like any other Op-Ed writer...

...far short of 100% objectivity.

[Politicub]

8. So predictable! We didn't have to wait that long for the driver. n/t

[Bicoastal]

15. My god, You seem to take this so personally...

...there are lots of people I like and respect endorsing both candidates. What am I supposed to do, change my mind every time one comes out in favor of the candidate I'm NOT supporting?

I've read the piece many, many, many times--and I simply think he is wrong on this one. He doesn't know Obama nearly as well as he knows Hillary.

[BeatleBoot]

17. Plenty of Gravitas with Joe Wilson - he's been around.

Plus his wife was a covert CIA agent and Bush Cheney outted her.

In a time of war.

Put in another, more direct way, Joe Wilson had more impact on outing the Bushies on Iraq than BHO ever did.

[mmonk]

20. But BHO more than Clinton.

So what's the big deal on his "war" credentials? Someone called in a debt maybe?

[FogerRox]

64. I dunno, but hes a republican isnt he?

[Bicoastal]

22. I didn't say he wasn't a good man! But I'm not changing my vote because of his endorsement.

What's so hard to figure out? And I've heard plenty of nasty things about people like John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, etc...so don't pretend like I'm the only one to think this way.

[liberalnurse]

5. Amazingly wise and brilliant Man!

I can see him in the next Clinton Administration. O8)

[bowens43]

9. Wow. What a dumb ass.

"Senator Obama claims superior judgment on the war in Iraq ... and in so doing impugns the integrity of those who were part of the debate on the national scene,"

Obama was right, they were wrong. Wilson is a jackass.

[Cha]

42. You zeroed in on that!

They were totally wrong and now they're after Obama to make themselves "superior"..What a bunch of rotgut. It seems all the hilary surrogates turn medieval after they endorse the not so inevatible one.

[DemGa]

10. Looks like the adults are starting to speak up...nt

[bowens43]

13. Wow. That's the same line the neo-cons used in 2000.

Good for you!

[theaxe7]

16. Obamaniacs are using conservative rhetoric against Hillary

[TheDonkey]

21. thanks for the slurs. Very helpful

[theaxe7]

23. but they have, for months

[SOS]

62. The adults?

Brezinski is older than Wilson.

[Windy]

11. Try months old! Bring up old news to try and help her. Joes lacks any credibility in on this issue..

His argument is totally ridiculous.

""In mischaracterizing the debate on the Authorization for the Use of Military Force as a declaration of war,"

Debate Joe? Hillary voted for this measure. What, did you and Hillary think that bush would use Military Force in Iraq to pave a road or build a bridge per chance?

His statements, on their face are ridiculous!

Joe, if Bush wasn't going to use force in Iraq, why did ya fight like hell and take action which ulitmately cost your wife her career to expose the misinformation Bush spread about buying yellowcake from Africa! BTW, didn't you share what you knew with your friend Hillary? Must not have.... or she wasn't paying attention. Your defense of Hillary on her war vote sure makes the destruction of your wife career based on "principle" seem like an exercise in futility!

[BeatleBoot]

24. Not old at all. He wrote an Op - Ed that hit the Papers yesterday.

That's what the article is about.

But I guarantee you won't read it.

"All aboard the Obama train, the edge of the cliff is right around the bend!"

[rodeodance]

50. HA HA--when you going to learn to know what your are talking about b/4 your spout off??

[theaxe7]

12. wow, great article

[Hill_YesWeWill]

29. Obama has war credentials? nt

[thunder rising]

30. This is an attack piece. The spin is evident in this paragraph

This is shit. I am beginning to see why Valerie was outed. It was indeed to get rid of Joe.

"an unnamed McCain aide"
"The wrathful Mr. McCain accused Mr. Obama of being 'disingenuous,' to which Mr. Obama meekly replied, 'The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you.'

The use of the word "meekly" to imply Barack was intimidated by the "wrathful" McCain. In an exchange with no other witnesses except this unnamed McCain aide?

The reply itself is classic Barack. Never get dragged down to "their" level. Take the high road.

[BeatleBoot]

39. Bush and Cheney said the same thing about his Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, "What I Didn't Find in Iraq

Imagine that?

You have something in common with Mr. Cheney?

How neat!

[spooky3]

33. should be required reading - from a knowledgeable patriot

[high density]

34. Well if we're going to boil Obama down to hearsay from an anonymous McCain aide

...I guess we can boil Clinton down to one of those crazy fucked up right wing emails being circulated around.

[BeatleBoot]

37. Full Op-Ed Here - if you'll read it.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.hillary12feb12,0,94551.story

[high density]

45. I've read it

And most of Wilson's argument (if it can be called that) is based on hypothetical questions posed to Obama, some polite letters, and the hearsay from the anonymous McCain aide. An Obama supporter could write the same questions, substitute Clinton's name , and play the same exact argument against Clinton.

Joe Wilson is being disingenuous himself by saying, "Nobody dislikes such poisonous partisanship, especially in foreign policy, more than I do," when he then throws out these bogus questions which nobody can answer. It's touching on politics of fear in my opinion.

[riverwalker]

35. Scott Ritter on Hillary

March 2007

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0303-23.htm

See Hillary Run (from Her Husband's Past on Iraq)

by Scott Ritter


<snip> "Let there be no doubt that Hillary Clinton is about as slippery a species of politician that exists, one who has demonstrated an ability to morph facts into a nebulous blob that blurs the record and distorts the truth. While she has demonstrated this less than flattering ability on a number of issues, nowhere is it so blatant as when dealing with the issue of the ongoing war in Iraq and her vote in favor of this war." <snip>

[Muttocracy]

52. ouch! n/t

[Mass]

40. Wilson has endorsed Clinton several months ago and has been acting as a surrogate since.

RawStory is wrong if they say it is a new endorsement.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/16/272199.aspx

[DrFunkenstein]

41. "In so doing impugns the integrity of those who were part of the debate on the national scene."

Boy, if this is typical Clintonista BS, I don't know what is. Seriously, why does every Clinton surrogate have to talk out of their second mouth?

[calmblueocean]

44. Wilson links to a Freeper post to support his opinion piece. What does that tell you?

It's right here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-wilson/battletested_b_86355.html

Worse than that, though, is how Wilson shamelessly misrepresents the exchange.

Here's a link to the whole exchange of letters by McCain and Obama: http://obama.senate.gov/letter/060206-sen_obama_and_sen_mccain_exchange_letters_on_ethics_reform/

McCain invites Obama to participate in a meeting to discuss lobbying and ethics reform. Obama shows up, listens to what McCain is proposing, and tells him that he is glad to work with him, but the Democratic caucus insists ethics reform proceed through the normal committee process. He writes a letter to McCain to thank him for reaching out to him, and reviewing what was said in the meeting.

McCain has a tantrum because he feels that Obama's work on the stronger Democratic bill on its way through committee will be used to score political points against Republicans. He "apologizes" to Obama for assuming that Obama was sincere about working on bipartisan legislation. McCain's letter is childish and embarrassing. Go ahead and read it yourself. It shows someone with real anger management problems.

So what does Obama do? He writes McCain a cordial letter in response.

"The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem."

This is the mature thing to do -- something a diplomat like Wilson perfectly understands.

And it was the right thing to do -- because the ethics reform McCain was proposing was inferior.

So when Wilson writes:

"Mr. McCain was insultingly dismissive but successful in intimidating his inexperienced colleague. Thus, in his one face-to-face encounter with Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama failed to stand his ground."

... he's just lying. If McCain had successfully intimidated Obama, Obama would've agreed to work on the weaker ethics reform with him. It's exactly because Obama stood his ground that McCain was so pissed off!

There's no way to read Wilson's remarks here as anything other than straight out lying. It's sad and shameful. Wilson obviously knows better. Too bad most of the people reading his piece won't know the facts. Joe Wilson's reputation -- and Hillary's -- took a major hit with this smear piece.

[BeatleBoot]

46. That Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity and Michael Savage all Hate Joe Wilson

[high density]

48. Wilson's editorial reads like a push poll against Obama

He gives few reasons to support Clinton and instead just throws out these crazy "what if" questions that his own candidate couldn't answer either.

[rodeodance]

59. tsk

[rodeodance]

51. my my--look at all the Obama people who are eager to bury this new article and some ready to throw

Joe under the bus. He used to be a hero on DU!!

[calmblueocean]

53. I don't hate Joe. I just want him to tell the truth. I already documented his lies above.

In this post: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4580656&mesg_id=4581341

I think it's really sad that he was willing to lower himself to lying in this way, especially given that the truth is already out there and easy to find. I can only think that he must not believe very much in Hillary if he needs to lie about her competition to make his case.

[rodeodance]

55. I imagine he says what he say cause he believes in it. I will read your post. thanks

[IndianaGreen]

56. Hillary's war credentials are those of a warmonger!

She voted to give Bush the green light to invade Iraq and to bomb Iran. She has told last year's AIPAC convention that all options were on the table on Iran, including the use of tactical nukes.

Hillary is too reckless and cavalier about nuclear weapons to be allowed anywhere near the nuclear button. Hillary will become the Hitler of the 21st century were she to use nukes on a first strike.

[FrenchieCat]

57. Recycling Endorsements?

and Hillary is best cause she voted for war? Now, that's funny! :rofl:

[Iktomiwicasa]

58. Heheheh

"war credentials"

Personally, I'm more interested in peace credentials.

[SoFlaJet]

63. GREAT POST!!!!

by Iktomiwicasa

[ShortnFiery]

60. I think this is the 8th of 10 Clintonian Joe Wilson threads today?

:eyes:

[Straight Shooter]

61. Thank you, Joe Wilson.

You stared down Saddam Hussein, and he blinked. You stared down Dick Cheney, and he tried to politically assassinate you and your wife, and the bush administration destroyed Brewster-Jennings in the process.

I know a hero when I see one. All this backbiting by some of his detractors would still be going on even if he weren't involved in Hillary's campaign. That's just the frosting on the cake, AFAIC.

Anybody going to deny that Kerry might be angling for a position in obama's cabinet?