Clinton camp again questions Obama

Posted: Monday, March 10, 2008 12:51 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro
Obama’s not really that against the Iraq war, and he’s a something of a hypocrite, was the message once again from the Clinton campaign. The Clinton campaign has hammered this issue over and over for months -- most famously, there was Bill Clinton calling his position on Iraq a “fairy tale.”

But when (now former) top Obama foreign policy adviser Samantha Power told BBC that Obama "will, of course, not rely on some plan that he’s crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. Senator," the Clinton campaign found something tangible to seize on. They did it Friday in a conference call with reporters and did it again today -- this time in a conference call with Lee Feinstein, the campaign’s chief foreign policy adviser, Gen. Wesley Clark, Admiral Joe Sestak and Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard.

“Candidates should not tell voters one thing and have advisers tell BBC others,” said Communications Director Howard Wolfson said. “You should not hit another candidate for a position you hold. …This is something voters should be particularly concerned about.”

Clinton herself has not set a date for withdrawal and has said she would take into consideration the advice of military personnel on the ground to assess the situation in Jan. 2009. But it’s not about that, the campaign said; it’s that Obama is being inconsistent.

'Resolve' and 'conviction'
Talking points alert: Clark, Sestak and Ballard each used the words “resolve” and “conviction” to describe Clinton and called into question Obama’s.

“What I heard from the Obama campaign raises concern,” Clark said. “It comes down to resolve and conviction ….That’s why I’m for Clinton -- she has the resolve and conviction.”

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Comments

Let's see here:

Hillary said she would begin pulling out troops after 60 days in office. She felt a brigade or two per month with everyone being out within 1 year.

A brigade is 3000-4000 troops

There are approximately 160K troops and another 100K contract workers over there.

8000 troops X 12 months = 96000 troops. That leaves 60K troops and another 100K contract workers. I can't make the math work at getting all the troops out in a year.

Check Obama's words. He said he will get the troops out as safely as we were careless getting into the war. You votes hear your candidate say something and then attribute it to the other guy. makes no sense to me.

Here's another one. hillary and Obama both say they would look at revising or pulling out of NAFTA but the only one being asked to explain his stance is Obama. Go figure.

Why is time as an elected official, travel overseas, law experience, financial problems with her campaign and previous support for a Republican candidate for President okay for consideration for Hillary but time as an elected official in Illinois and in washington, serving his community, law experience, teaching of constitutional law, and running a stellar campaign seems to make him unqualified?

Blake, Durham, NC (Sent Monday, March 10, 2008 4:51 PM)

News media,

You might want to review the september debate to find that 1) Obama was very forthright about the need to adapt an irasq withdrawl strategy to reality on the ground when you actually took the reins of power and

That Clinton was in agreement with him on the issue.

What has changed since then? Clinton's presumptive place as the nominee. Who is speaking out both sides of their mouth? The person that has always maintained the need to react to the situation when you get in office or the person who advocated that and has since changed position?

It's a matter of public record you shouldn't need a press release from the clinton or Obama campaign to write the story. You are journalists you are supposed to remember what was said last september and if someone moves the bar you should note their moving of that bar as news.

In short the ehadline should be about Hillary's about face on the issue and she should be being asked when she changed her mind about the president needing the freedom to adjust withdrawl tactics to the realities on the gorund when she takes office. Then you can ask her for a hard timeline plan on Iraq not the I'll ask my generals how to do it answer.

Adam, CA (Sent Monday, March 10, 2008 4:52 PM)

Inically, didn't just about all of congress vote for the war based on the bogus information given to them? What is the big deal if Clinton was for or against the war? The only candidate in either party to vote against it was Ron Paul. If I can recall there were 14 or 15 canditates to begin with. The issue is who will bring our troops home and when. Nine Billion each week is excessive for a country that is in recession. Take 20 thousand of the troops and send them to Afghanistan. Try a surge there and pinch them from Pakistan. The billions we gave them should allow a door for us to be open to our troops. In the mean time, take the funds for the NAFTA super highway and earmark those funds for a proper border between us and Mexico. Seal our borders. Its time that the USA go on defence. Sen. Hillary Clinton I believe shares many of my views and that is why she has my vote. Was Obama in congress when the vote took place? If not he should not distort his record and should say I could not vote against the war because I was not in office. If he was in office, he would probably abstain from the vote just like his home states assembly.

Mike, Scranton Pa (Sent Monday, March 10, 2008 4:54 PM)

Yes, Mrs. Clinton is resolved... to win at any cost, particularly to anyone but herself. As for conviction of her beliefs, I used to want to believe that about her, but no more. Her actions reveal a monarchial attitude. I will never vote for Hillary the Queen of Vicarious Experience. She's a joke.

bill, okla (Sent Monday, March 10, 2008 4:55 PM)

When has Hilary ever been consistent. She finds a new theme for every contest, she has to find her voice everytime she lost, she has to throw the kitchen sink when she is desperate. The woman is clearly bi-polar..not fit to be president.

Stavy, Philly, PA (Sent Monday, March 10, 2008 4:57 PM)

No matter what Sen. Hillary and her campaign says now, she will never win the nomination. Period. She is done and done for good with her presidential bid.

She should just pray not to lose the senate when she is up for re-election, especially with the Spitzer scandal which has brought to the forefront Bill Clinton's scandal of the Whitehouse.

Kizeem, Clifton, NJ (Sent Monday, March 10, 2008 4:59 PM)

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