Obama flip-flops
Here is video of Barack Obama in January 2007 clearly saying that the "Surge Strategy" would make no difference on the ground in Iraq. In the video, that statement is juxtaposed against his Political guru - David Axelrod - saying in late May 2008 that Obama always knew an increase in troops in Iraq would lead to a reduction in violence there. That is now Obama's talking point on the subject, but it is clearly not true:
Obama on January 14, 2007:
"We can send 15,000 more troops, 20,000 more troops, 30,000 more troops: I don't know any expert on the region or any military officer that I've spoken to privately that believes that that is going to make a substantial difference on the situation on the ground."
Wake Up America blog has a very detailed article that includes this video, and a lot of other analysis on Obama's attempt to cover-up his previous opposition of the surge and what he said about it at the time.
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From McCain.com
July 8, 2008
Barack Obama's Changing Positions
Everyone's Been Listening To HimARLINGTON, VA -- Today, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds issued the following statement concerning Barack Obama's statement that those accusing him of changing positions "haven't apparently been listening to me":
"Since becoming his party's presumptive nominee, Barack Obama has changed numerous positions and will continue to change his stances as he puts politics ahead of principle. From growing our economy to securing our nation, Barack Obama has proven his rhetoric to be nothing but empty words and broken pledges that are at odds with his left wing partisan record. Barack Obama is wrong: everyone's been listening and still nobody knows what Barack Obama truly believes."
Today, Barack Obama Said That Those Accusing Him Of Changing His Position "Haven't Apparently Been Listening To Me." "Asked by a voter about accusations of flip-flopping, Democrat Barack Obama dismissed the notion Tuesday that he has been shifting stances on Iraq, guns and the death penalty to break with his party's liberal wing and court a wider swath of voters. 'The people who say this haven't apparently been listening to me,' the likely Democratic presidential nominee said in response to a question at a town-hall style event." (Liz Sidoti, "Obama Denies Shifting To Reach Political Center," The Associated Press, 7/8/08)
CHANGE #1: Despite Pledging To Withdraw American Troops From Iraq Immediately, Barack Obama Now Says He Would "Refine" His Policy After Listening To The Commanders On The Ground
In July 2008, Barack Obama Said He Will Continue To "Refine" His Iraq Policy. Obama: "I've always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed...And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies." (Jeff Zeleny, "Obama: Open to 'Refine' Iraq Withdrawal Timeline," The New York Times' "The Caucus" Blog, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com, 7/3/08)
In The Primaries, Barack Obama Committed To Withdrawing Troops From Iraq Regardless Of The Advice He Received From Commanders On The Ground. ABC's Charles Gibson: "And, Senator Obama, your campaign manager, David Plouffe, said, 'When he is' -- this is talking about you - 'When he is elected president, we will be out of Iraq in 16 months at the most. There should be no confusion about that.' So you'd give the same rock-hard pledge, that no matter what the military commanders said, you would give the order to bring them home?" Obama: "Because the commander-in-chief sets the mission, Charlie. That's not the role of the generals. ... Now, I will always listen to our commanders on the ground with respect to tactics, once I've given them a new mission, that we are going to proceed deliberately, in an orderly fashion, out of Iraq, and we are going to have our combat troops out. We will not have permanent bases there. Once I have provided that mission, if they come to me and want to adjust tactics, then I will certainly take their recommendations into consideration. But, ultimately, the buck stops with me as the commander-in-chief." (Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08) read more »
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Barack Obama must now feel that ,since he won the primary, he can morph his positions on virtually every major position upon which he ran and no one will notice.
It's just incredible that,every day, he seems to ignore the words he read a few months ago and thinks that his newly written words will not be challenged.
I'm sure that Moveon.org was stunned by his rebuke of the "General Betray Us" ad that Obama refused to condemn during a senate vote and now says that it was mistake. There goes those small doner contributions.
How many times will Obama be allowed to change his mind and reject the town hall style debates (which he supports but won't have one with McCain) before the MSM decides that he is just another politician with an incredible marketing team?
Back on June 25th I posted about the Obama camps waffling on the issue of withdrawal from Iraq. I pointed out that his surrogates seemed to be leaving a huge amount of room available for Obama to move towards the center on the subject.
From June 25th:
Based on this story in the Financial Times ,I believe that Barack Obama will change his mind about withdrawing our troops from Iraq. His decision will be based on one principle. Political expediency. He will "Modify" his plan and mold it in to the most efficient model of assuring the most votes in November.
Apparently he has already started this process:
...Senior advisers to Mr Obama say the campaign is constantly monitoring and debating its response to the situation on the ground in Iraq. But they say that Mr Obama has no plans to modify his timetable for US troop withdrawal. However, Mr Obama and some of his most senior foreign policy advisers have been dropping tantalising hints that there might be a new flexibility over their definition of “withdrawal”...
Read the entire post here.
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Now others seem to agree that Obama WILL change his mind about withdrawing troops form Iraq.
From Jonathan Martin at Politico.
June 30, 2008
Categories: ObamaTomorrow's Obama flop today?
The next, and perhaps most significant, Obama move to the middle could be on the issue which initially sparked his campaign: Iraq.
Observers from the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol to George Packer, the New Yorker writer and author of "The Assassins Gate" can already see it coming:
Said Kristol yesterday on Fox News Sunday:
The next big flip for Obama, and this will make Brit even more astonished, will be on Iraq. He's going to go to Iraq, meet with General Petraeus, decide the surge is working and walk back from his immediate unconditioned withdrawal. And suddenly, it's going to be, "Well, we're going to be very careful, gradual." "Honorable withdrawal," Obama said the other day -- an honorable conclusion to the Iraq war. read more »
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Here is a Reality Check segment on Obama's decision to not keep his word on taking Public Financing for the General Election.
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Here is a report by Fox News' Carl Cameron that highlights Barack Obama's decision to not submit to Public Financing for the General Election campaign. Cameron also talks about a Fox News Poll showing the race virtually tied, and John McCain seen as "loving his country" by 64% of Americans compared to 48% for Obama.
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