Obama: No Need For Foreign Policy Help From V.P.

[katty]

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html

Obama: No Need For Foreign Policy Help From V.P.
Posted April 7, 2008 | 07:52 AM (EST)


Last night at a fundraiser in San Francisco, Barack Obama took a question on what he's looking for in a running mate. "I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on," he said, and then he was off and running. "I think a lot of people assume that might be some sort of military thing to make me look more Commander-in-Chief-like. Ironically, this is an area--foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."

"It's ironic because this is supposedly the place where experience is most needed to be Commander-in-Chief. Experience in Washington is not knowledge of the world. This I know.

[leftofcool]

1. LOL

[Mags]

2. LOL

[GoldieAZ49]

3. LOL

[jillan]

23. hahahahaha

[anigbrowl]

4. Janet Napolitano, I tell ya

I've been saying for a while that she's his ideal running mate.

[murielm99]

5. "a bunch of stuff that I am not as expert on."

My twelve year old used to talk like that.

I thought Obama was supposed to be a great speaker.

He sounds overconfident and naive about how he will handle foreign policy. This is typical Obama arrogance.

[katty]

7. just sounds like a geo w bush line to me...."bunch o' stuff"

[TahitiNut]

13. "... not AS expert on..."

It's telling that you'd spin the quote - even unconsciously - to exaggerate the self-assessment.

I recall a President who entered office with military experience but without almost any travel to other places in the world, let alone living in other countries or having contact with other cultures. Yet the ditto-heads regarded him as some kind of 'natural' as CiC. Go figure.

Some folks travel in cocoons and regard themselves as - if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium - "experienced." Others have LIVED in other countries with different cultures ... but the Guided Tourism crowd dismisses them. Go figure.

Cultural myopia is NOT a demonstration of "experience" ... particularly when one's memory of such "experience" is so delusional.

[murielm99]

14. As you will see, I edited it.

Keep your bullshit Freudianism to yourself.

My comment was largely directed at the "bunch of stuff" and his general attitude.

His comments reflect his arrogance and naive attitude toward the rest of the world.

[TahitiNut]

15. "Freudianism"?? You have sexual repression issues?

:rofl:

Wow. Do you use such terms with ANY comprehension at all? :eyes:

[murielm99]

17. Typical Obama supporter.

Attack the messenger and deflect attention from the topic.

[TahitiNut]

18. You seem to be delusional.

I'm not an "Obama supporter" ... I voted for Kucinich. I don't have a horse in this race ... but Hillary sure hasn't earned ANY of my support, either.

It's interesting to find this black and white ("we vs. them") 'thinking' so prevalent among some on DU, though. It's surely a conservative trait. (Here, the euphemism is "centrist" though.)

[Mags]

22. bingo, attack, they can't see just what is really going on in the real world.

shut down the message, and the messenger. That way no one outside of DU will find these thing out.

[Arkana]

19. Sounds like he was just speaking frankly to me.

But carry on with your delusions. They're amusing.

[anamandujano]

6. A detail or two might be nice.

"foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."

[niyad]

8. "a bunch of stuff"??? this from an educated person who wants us to think

he has knowledge?

the arrogance of this comment is almost breathtaking.

[anamandujano]

9. If it's not written down, he can't go to town.

[niyad]

10. ?????

[anamandujano]

20. scroll to #5

http://bits.westhost.com/idioms/id262.htm

[Bullet1987]

11. Obama IS on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...

[murielm99]

16. He is also chair of the subcommittee responsible for

NATO and Europe. If Obama had ever convened a meeting of that committee, maybe he could have gotten some ideas on how our allies could help us with the deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan. But he is too busy running for President.

Anybody can have fancy committee assignments. Actually doing the work is another story.

[Muttocracy]

25. And you think Biden and Kerry have ignored Afghanistan?

Biden has held hearings before the full committee because of the importance of Afghanistan. Kerry has held hearings under his subcommittee, Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs. Obama's subcommitte is European Affairs. http://foreign.senate.gov/subcommittee.html Should he be overriding Biden and Kerry?

What, pray tell, are your ideas that Obama has missed?

None of the candidates, and that included my favorites Biden and Dodd when they were running, does a decent job being a Senator while campaigning. The missed votes and lack of hearing attendance for all of them are atrocious.

"Anybody can have fancy committee assignments." Is Hillary being on SASC "fancy"?

[jillan]

24. So? What has he accomplished on that committee?

[Beacool]

12. Yep, he needs help with "stuff",

but not in foreign relations because he must be already an expert in the field since he feels so "confident" about it.

The word "cocky" is quite appropriate, also breathtakingly arrogant comes to mind.

Hmmmmmm, we already had a very arrogant president, isn't his name Bush?

:eyes:

[GoesTo11]

21. What's wrong with keeping his options open?

He didn't say he won't select someone who knows about foreign policy. Just that he's not going to automatically make that the criterion for selecting a VP, since he doesn't see it as a week point. He does in fact seem pretty knowledgeable about foreign policy. But he might still benefit from someone who has a strong reputation in this area, for image especially.