It's really pathetic that Hillary will not admit she was wrong to vote for authorization for the use of force in Iraq. It was a mistake and she should just admit that. Instead she just rambled on and avoided answering the question during the debate. Obama will be ready and right on day one.

Americans dont really care about Iraq as much as they care about the economy and health care.

Clinton did much stronger in those areas, which is why she won the debate.

Americans don't care about Iraq????
John in LA...you are sadly mistaken. Stick to acting.
Yes, the economy and healthcare are important issues, but you cannot discount Iraq! It's the root of all our financial problems right now!

Hillary did answer the question...she said at the time it was a credible vote about weapons inspectors, and it was misused and abused by Bush to lie about the dangers and drag the whole country to war! Just last week it came out that we, as a nation, including Hillary in the Senate, were LIED TO over 900 times by the Bush administration! Obama was not even IN the Senate yet, so there is NO WAY you can predict how he would have actually voted, especially given his record of voting "present" so as not to have to take a stand. HILLARY '08

4000 American's Dead!!!!! For What? She still Refuses to say she was WRONG.

Yes we do care, John in LALALAND.

It's the NIE.  Hillary didn't read the NIE before casting her vote on the Iraq resolution to use force.  She also ceded Congressional authority to declare war to the president by voting against Levin/Reed.  She flunked on the most important votes of her Senatorial campaign.  Obama was against the war from the very beginning and will be the next president of the United States.
Obama '08

Obama was in a Senate race at the time.  If he had the guts to say it on the stump, I think we can be pretty sure how he would have voted.  Face facts. Either she got suckered by GW and the neocons who had been pushing their wacky Iraq invasion scheme for years before 9/11, or she made a political calculation to cover her right flank with an eye on running for the White House.

Obama is preaching to get out of the PAST ...

Hillary Clinton is focusing on the future which is GETTING OUR TROUPS SAFELY AND INTELLEGENTLY OUT OF IRAQ.  

Laura, WASH.STATE

Look you chumps - a vote for Hillary is a vote for McCain--- and you can thank Hillary and Bill for that.  Their divisive politicking has singularly divided the Democratic party to the point where no Obama supporter would EVER vote for her in the general..... I should know, I've been collecting signatures for the last three days on a petition to this effect and have been averaging 1 signature per minute. Imagine one democratper minute pledgining not to vote for her in the general election between now and november. I can think of two other presidential elections in recent years that wre lost by fewer votes than that.

Hillary has never met a war she didn't like.  

Bill said that one area where he and she disagreed during his presidency was she wanted to send troops to Africa.  

Hillary is a neo-con.  She wants to expand American culture at the point of a bayonet.  She has voted recently to support Bush with his attacks on Iran.

If Hillary says she wrong she gets crucified in the media. Obama is going to right day one. Do you not think Bush thought he was right on day one and we are still paying for it. It is not about being right, its about what you do when find out you were wrong. It sounds like Obama is decisive about never being wrong but he can't decide if wants to mandate healthcare or not. As he said if you mandate you have to enforce. So how is he going to enforce kids having healthcare?

Hillary did answer the question...she said at the time it was a credible vote about weapons inspectors, and it was misused and abused by Bush to lie about the dangers and drag the whole country to war! Just last week it came out that we, as a nation, including Hillary in the Senate, were LIED TO over 900 times by the Bush administration! Obama was not even IN the Senate yet, so there is NO WAY you can predict how he would have actually voted, especially given his record of voting "present" so as not to have to take a stand. HILLARY '08

Cathy, Upstate NY (Sent Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:31 PM)
--------------------------
I was in the ARMY at the time and we all knew when that resolution was passed that we were definitely going to war.  Hillary can't be that naive.... oh wait she is that naive because she voted to give Bush his first step to going to war with Iran.  

Hillary definitely doesn't have the judgement to be commander in chief.

Hillary knew what was going to happen when she voted for that resolution.  She was trying to bolster her war and strength credentials.  Her vote backfired except with those who are blind Clinton loyalists.  She HAS NOT apologized for it, EVER.  She's still trying to parse language.  She got it WRONG and won't admit to it.

TMWheaton:
Count me as a signer (in spirit) on your petition!  I didn't even vote for her in the 2006 NY senatorial primary; her vote on the war, one of political expediency, prohibits me from ever supporting her for any public office in the future.
Obama '08

I dont understand why people care whether Hillary or Obama always supported or opposed the war; and how that history of opposition helps Obama in the General Election. It doesnt make sense Hypothetically,(in an Obama/McCain runoff) in the General Election McCain will say we need to stay in Iraq and Obama will say we need to leave - AT THAT POINT - McCain then say (to America) we (he and Obama) have two divergent positions but you can only trust my position b/c I have the requsite Natl Security Experience and where will Obama be then -- Hillary is the only democrat left who can say we need to get out and yes I have the Natl Security cred to back it up. I hope the Democratic Primary Voters arent so short sighted.

It amazes me that hillary still refuses to admit she was wrong in voting for the war. And yes, giving the president authority to use force against Iraq is clearly voting for war, since the bushes have never been known as soldiers for peace. If him moving to war surprised her, she has no sense of judgment at all.

And with everything that's happened, not admitting that was a mistake is juvenile behavior of the worst kind. Taking responsibility for your own actions is basic to adult behavior. If she can't even do that, she is that last person we need making important decisions.

Hillary looked like a fool when asked about Iraq.  She refuses to admit that she had POOR JUDGMENT on the MOST IMPORTANT VOTE of her political career.  A vote that WE, the American people are paying for, with loss of life, a dying economy,(and yes, the war DOES effect the economy) and loss of trust in our leaders.  At least she could admit that she made a mistake.  But no, instead she claims that she didn't REALLY think that we would use force, and had she known then what she knows now......  Is this woman for real?  Does she really think that ANYONE believes this!!   Trying to defend her vote this way makes her look like an idiot.  It makes her look like she didn't know what she was voting on, and how can we trust her to have good judgment as the POTUS, if she doesn't know what she is reading, and signing, and voting for while in the Senate.  If you look at her experience and record, you will find that having poor judgment is a big trend.  And I can just see it now- McCain vs. Clinton two losers that VOTED FOR THE WAR.  GAG ME WITH A SPOON!!!!! A lot of people who will be voting on Tuesday were watching this debate, and I think Hillary REALLY looked silly.  Just the same old same old.
OBAMA 08

It's the economy, stupid.

Of course there are two reasons why the economy is in the sewer right now. 1) The housing crisis and 2) the money being spent on the war that could and should be spent here.

If Hillary is unwilling to say the vote was a mistake, she is in no position to run either the war or the economy.

She can't be our nominee. This would be her downfall!!!

Her biggest vote ever. Her words! Huge mistake!!!
Let's not make another one!

Obama' 08

Almost 4,000 troops DEAD! Thousands wounded!         9 billion dolllars spent a month.
For what? Not a mistake? Thanks Hillary!

Hey John in la la land! Iraq is my #1 issue and many others also! I would never support any candidate that voted this horrible war! And I promise there are many, many more people that agree with me! Hillary can't even say it was a mistake now!!!!! NO WAY!!!

OBAMA; our only chance to really end this war!

This is one Democrat who will NOT vote for Hillary.  Democrats have a choice now,  is it the democratic party or the Clinton "dirty tricks" party.  I know where my vote is.

Clinton pro war.  Iraq & Iran.  Remember though, Rwanda is not genocide and Somalia is not retreat.
McCain pro immigrant.  At least so business can have low cost labor.
Clinton pro Wal Mart.  See above.
McCain anti tax cut.  Until this past week when pay-go went barrow-go.
Clinton anti Lobbyist reform.  Except Clinton does most things standing up, not upright.
Given these facts that have emerged from this campaign, I have to ask.
Who is the democrat and who is the republican?

One thing is for certain.
Clinton & McCain are the past.
Barack Obama is the future.
Courage, competence, commitment & candor.
Leadership we can trust to do the right thing from day one.

Hillary 2008 = Nixon 1968. There will be no peace with honor in Iraq.

She is not going to get the troops out of Iraq without a date certain. It's stupid to think we can focus on health care or the domestic agenda without an end to spending $200 Billion annually on Iraq. In any event, it's also stupid to think getting health care reform through without building a working agenda that would overcome Republican filibusters.

jaycee, Ventura, California (Sent Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:55 PM):

You forgot one small detail too, she didn't read the report given to her to base her vote on; and, none of her staff had high enough clearance to read it for her.  She voted without knowing any of the information she "claims" to know now!

HIllary cast that vote so that when she ran for Pres. she couldn't be accused by the Repubs. of being weak on defense, unpatriotic and all the other accusations the Repubs make.  It had less to do with what was good for the country and more with what she saw as good for her ambitions.

SHE ALWAYS SAYS COMMANDER IN CHIEF   HAS SHE FORGOT THE GENERALS SAID THEY WOULD RETIRE RATHER THAN SERVE UNDER HER  OR OBAMA   WE HAVE NO ARMY  THE DEMS LOVE IT

I submit that Clinton explains her vote for the Iraq War on the delusion that the President would, having this blank check to go to war, seek further diplomacy before starting the war.  

Many in the Senate thought such wishful thinking was in fact delusional and sought to have an amendment that would make sure the president tried diplomacy one more time.  Why was Clinton opposed to the Levin amendment if she felt that was not voting for the “rush to war”  She claims Levin would have subordinated the power of the President to the U.N.  That’s just wrong and deceptive.

In the Senate she said:

“Even though the resolution before the Senate is not as strong as I would like in requiring the diplomatic route first and placing highest priority on a simple, clear requirement for unlimited inspections, I will take the President at his word that he will try hard to pass a UN resolution and will seek to avoid war, if at all possible.”

She abdicated the responsibility to Bush.  There is a reason the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and here is where she failed in that responsibility the founders instilled in her and others.

If you want an example of her experience and so called leadership failing to act with the wisdom and judgment she was entrusted with as a senator this is it.  “Open and shut” as she put it.

While I am no Kennedy fan, I am reassured by his sense of what his job was on this issue:
“In this situation, it would be wrong for Congress to act now to authorize the President to go to war before the steps the President has outlined are exhausted.  The most solemn responsibility any Congress has is the responsibility given the Congress by the Constitution to declare war. We would violate that responsibility if we delegate that responsibility to the President in advance before the President himself has decided the time has come for war. –Ted Kennedy

Compare Kennedy’s experience and knowledge about senatorial responsibility to Clinton’s willingness to delegate that responsibility to Bush.

So it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interests of our nation. A vote for it is not a vote to rush to war; it is a vote that puts awesome responsibility in the hands of our President- Clinton

Constitutionally Mr. Kennedy had it right didn’t he?

Later Votes on Funding are a Red Herring

Votes to fund the war after that are not the issue as nearly every patriotic Senator is reluctant to remove funding for troops already in the field and produce an unstable situation without a commensurate plan from the Commander in Chief to execute in the face of cut funds.  It’s irresponsible do cut funding for an army dying in the field.  Put another way, voting for arson is not the same as voting for the equipment and firefighters to put out the fire caused by the vote for arson.  

On Levin

Hillary claims that the Levin amendment would have given the U.N. authority to handcuff (“subordinate” in the debate) the President.  That is: it would somehow surrender sovereignty to the U.N.  That is clearly an excuse.  But it’s also a lie..

As another senator (chaffee) who supported the Levin amendment put it,

The Levin Amendment “affirmed that Congress would stand at the ready to reconsider the use of force if, in the judgment of the president, a United Nations resolution was not “promptly adopted” or enforced. Ceding no rights or sovereignty to an international body, the amendment explicitly avowed America’s right to defend itself if threatened.”

While I understand why Hillary voted for the war in the post 9/11 fervor, she can’t get me to believe that it was for the reasons she said.  Else she would have voted for Levin.  I also understand why she doesn’t want to admit a mistake on the biggest issue she voted on.

But there is the rub.  She chooses instead to try and deceive me.  Therefore she will not get my vote.  I really don’t want another President lying to me for political purposes.  If she told the truth I’d vote for her, at least in the general.  But as it stands she is no better than any other liar on this issue.

You know that vote was in the past and it was one vote from one person, that one vote did not start this war and she was not the 'decider' so what is the point to beat this dead horse over and over. Oh yeah we need talking points instead of ideas of how to change the dynamic. It shows that there are people out there who say they look to the future while groaning continually about the past. If you can't get past this, you are still in the past. OPPPPPS that may be too much clarity for some people, sorry go back to complaining about one vote in the past while the rest of us look for real change.
Wanting Senator Clinton to admit she made a mistake is not going to change anything and the real reason you want this is so you can jump up and down and say " SEE SEE, I TOLD YOU SO", might make you feel better but will not make things better. And anyway nobody likes a know it all, so argue current issues but never, never say that you want to forget the past and look to the future because you are not really doing that here.
I am not surprised though Obama supporters know very well that they talk out of both sides of their mouths, thats what independents do best, jump from one side to the other as it fits their own needs.

She loses on this every time.  Everyone who saw her speak knows she knew what she was doing.  She needs to apologize for helping to get us into this mess

Hillary did answer the question...she said at the time it was a credible vote about weapons inspectors, and it was misused and abused by Bush to lie about the dangers and drag the whole country to war!
Cathy, Upstate NY (Sent Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:31 PM)
_______
H.J.RES.114
Title: To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.

(c) War Powers Resolution Requirements-

(1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.

_______
Not only was it titled "To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq." but it included "statutory authorization" by Congress under the War Powers resolution.

Sure seemed pretty clear to me.   This would have been a non-issue if she would have said a long time ago that she made a mistake, has learned from the mistake, and is moving forward.  But she refuses to ever admit she was wrong, and blames everyone else for her errors.

The ranting and raving and howling of the Clinton hatersis shameless. She won last nights debate hands down. She will win the primaries. She will win the general election. She will be your next President. The good news is that you are going to be able to rant and rave and howl who the next eight years. So go back to your cages.

It concerns me that Hillary puts question in my mind about how she will effectively stop the occupation.  I still have the feeling she may not withdraw  just like Johnson did with Naim.  Obama and Edwards sound clear when they talk about withdrawal.  Clinton does talk fuzzy.  The Iraqis are talking about the need for further training with logistics.  Would Hillary bend to this request.  Which I think is an excuse to extend the occupation. Yup Iraq is more important to me than the ecconomy. For me this mess in the economy has be caused by Wall Street and the deregulation of home loans that have been sold.  The other reason is our debt and job loss. American can no longer depend on her self.  I wonder who makes our military uniforms.  I think its China. We will either make it out of this mess or go bottom up.

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