Sen. Obama's Speech In Wilmington, DE Contains Four Misleading Attacks On Hillary

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Forum Name General Discussion: Primaries
Topic subject Sen. Obama's Speech In Wilmington, DE Contains Four Misleading Attacks On Hillary
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4374718#4374718
4374718, Sen. Obama's Speech In Wilmington, DE Contains Four Misleading Attacks On Hillary
Posted by exchange77 on Sun Feb-03-08 06:48 PM

Despite regularly asserting that he is running a positive campaign, Sen. Obama distorted Hillary’s record and laid down a number of misleading attacks today in a speech in Wilmington, DE.

"We expect that John McCain may end up being the nominee. And if John McCain is the nominee, then the Democratic party has to ask itself ‘Do you want a candidate who has similar policies to John McCain on the war in Iraq or someone who can offer a stark contrast?’ See, when I am the nominee, John McCain won’t be able to say that you were for this war in Iraq, because I wasn’t. He won’t be able to say that I followed the Bush-Cheney doctrine in not talking to leaders we don’t like because I don’t. He won’t be able to say that I went along and gave George Bush the benefit of a doubt on Iran because I haven’t. He won’t be able to say that I was unclear about my position on torture because I’ve been absolutely clear we never torture in this country. I can offer a clear and clean break from the failed policies of George W. Bush. I won’t have to explain my votes in the past."


Let’s address Sen. Obama’s allegations one at a time.

First: Sen. Obama begins by criticizing Hillary on Iraq. Sen. Obama does not mention that -- with the exception of Hillary's opposition to the promotion of Iraq war architect Gen. George Casey -- Sen. Obama and Hillary have identical voting records on the Iraq war.
http://facts.hillaryhub.com/archive/?id=5094

Second: Sen. Obama then misrepresents Hillary’s position on diplomacy. Hillary criticized Sen. Obama for pre-committing to a personal meeting in his first year with "with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea." She never said that a president should only meet with America's friends. She also promised vigorous diplomatic efforts with all countries, friend and foe.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript /
http://facts.hillaryhub.com/archive/?id=5507

Third: Sen. Obama then misrepresents Hillary’s position on Iran. In fact, Hillary was one of the earliest and staunchest opponents of Bush’s saber rattling on Iran, and spoke out on the issue back in February:

Hillary made a floor speech declaring that President Bush must get authorization from Congress before taking military action against Iran.
http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=269287&&

Hillary co-sponsored the Webb bill prohibiting use of funds for military action in Iran without Congressional authorization.
http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=284618&&

Sen. Obama missed the vote he is now using to attack Hillary. He issued a release 9 hours later and co-sponsored a similar bill in April. The bill was also supported by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), a staunch anti-war Bush critic and prominent Obama supporter.
http://facts.hillaryhub.com/archive/?id=4223
http://facts.hillaryhub.com/archive/?id=4143

Fourth: Sen. Obama accuses Hillary of changing her policy on torture due to ‘the politics of the moment.’ He couldn’t be more wrong. Hillary met with retired generals, talked with experienced military officers, and read reports commissioned by the Defense Intelligence Agency. She concluded that 'torture cannot be part of American policy, period.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/us/politics/05text-clinton.html?_r=4&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Sen. Obama laments this kind of politics in his book, Audacity of Hope:

For that is how most of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, enter the Senate…their words distorted, and their motives questioned.