You want your peace candidate? You want your "real" Democrat?

[mtnsnake]

You got him.

Obama is unofficially running, and you don't have to wonder where this guy stands. He's already made it clear that there is no gray area in the Iraq war. He has 100% said it was a mistake to invade Iraq, and he's been consistent on that all along.

I think Obama will fit the bill for all of us, and the nice thing about it is that this guy can win.

[underpants]

1. Make mine Edwards

thanks

[liberal N proud]

10. Perfect ticket - Edwards / Obama

[Clark2008]

17. Edwards not only voted for the IRW, he co-sponsored it.

The man will say and do anything as long as it's politically expedient.

Sorry, he's not peace candidate.

[k_jerome]

2. i agree with you up until the win part....

i would support him if he gets the nom.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. ditto.

He's not my favorite... but far from my least favorite.

[kentuck]

3. I think this is based mostly on wishes...

rather thana reality. I like Obama but I don't think he can win.

[DemBones DemBones]

22. Me, too. I don't think the first black president is

going to be a guy who hasn't finished his first term in the Senate. Obama shoud wait until 2012, building a record in the meantime.

Obama doesn't seem too concerned about ending the war, which is not what I want in a president.

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. But what are his plans to get us out of Iraq?

His opposition to the war in 2002 doesn't get us out of Iraq.

[BayCityProgressive]

7. Exactly.

So far I like Kucinich because he was against it, and he has plans to get us out. If Obama is the same than I could suppor thim as well. We also need to be careful because some of these so called anti-war dems have no problem with blowing Iran or Cuba off the map.

[Freddie Stubbs]

8. Which Democrat has expressed support for blowing Cuba off the map?

:shrug:

[BayCityProgressive]

16. Well many

have spoke of regime change and kennedy acted on it in the 60's. I think that is what is meant by regime change. Many are also hostile to N Korea or Syria. No more imperialist wars!

[Freddie Stubbs]

19. Whcih ones have spoken about using force for 'regime change' in Cuba?

A trade embargo is one thing, military force is another.

[welshTerrier2]

9. opposition is not enough

i support "immediate" withdrawal ... i greatly appreciate all those who have consistently opposed the war ... i commend Obama for doing so ...

but troops will die today and will die tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and the day after that and on and on and on ... it takes more than just opposing the war; it takes ending it ...

the standard for those who believe as i do, and there are tens of millions of us, is NOT opposing the war but rather calling for it to end NOW and fighting for that agenda in the Congress and in the public square ...

[ripple]

14. He supports phased withdrawal

Here's the text of a Nov. '06 speech in which he articulated his position:

www.obama.senate.gov/speech/061120-a_way_forward_in_iraq/index.html

[Pierre.Suave]

6. He cant win

...

[TayTay]

11. Obama wants a non-partisan approach to ending Iraq.

I think this is a terrible idea. The problem with Iraq isn't that people were partisan about it, it's that people weren't partisan enough. The debate in Congress hasn't been real since the 2002 vote. (and that was muted.)

Sen. Obama is dead wrong on this. We need more debate not some dopey appeal to brain-dead bipartisanship. We need to hold people accountable for what happened in the lead up to the war, not sweep everything under the table in some phony appeal to comity.

I am deeply disappointed in Sen. Obama. I think he is too green as a politician on the national stage to run credibly for President and I think his words so far on Iraq betray a lack of substance. I think it's too bad he has elected to run in '08 because I don't think he is ready and I don't think his lighter than cotton candy pronouncements over what should happen in this country and in our policy toward Iraq will stand up over the course of a long primary.

[Zodiak]

20. I noticed that, too

When we went to war...everyone and their mother was telling us "America is conservative and we are going into Iraq...so there". In truth, Congress was bipartisan, then. They had the House and we had the Senate, thanks to Jeffords.

Now there is a huge Democratic landslide in the face of this disaster of a war. What is everyone and their mother saying? "Americans are non-partisan...we need a bipartisan approach". Of course, the bipartisan approach means at least a year more killing (1000 Americans and at least 50,000 dead) and another 100+ billion dollars.

Who gets the tiniest voice in this paradigm? Democrats....and the "left" who were against war in the first place. Six years of being right and six years of being ignored by those that have always been wrong.

It is getting hard to convince me that this framing paradigm is not contrived.

I wish Obama all the luck in the world, but if he thinks that we need to sweep these last 6 years under the rug to "heal the nation", then I am afraid my primary support will have to go elsewhere. Americans have to learn to bite the bullet and take responsibility for their actions rather than hide behind "feel-good" phrases that amount to no accountability. I am afraid that no Democratic president will satisfy me in itself. If we let the Neocon ashes remain on the ground and refuse to scatter them to the wind because we need to "heal the nation", I promise you the Neocons will rise again like the phoenix and burn all of our butts! It's already happened twice (Nixon and Reagan) and each time, they become more virulent.

[acmavm]

12. Nope.

[Major Hogwash]

13. What a load of bull!

Obama has been a Senator for 2 whole years.

Who did he defeat to get into the Senate, anyway?

Alan Keyes!
And why was Alan Keyes running?
Because Fitzgerald quit and the Republicans couldn't even find a decent replacement candidate to run in his place.

Obama beat Alan Keyes for that seat in Illinois.
That does not qualify him to be the next President of the United States.

But, I'm glad he's running.
I want him to sound off about the Bush administration every single day.

[blm]

15. Antiwar and REAL Dems claim the lead up to Iraq was ALREADY LITIGATED and doesn't need

to be 're-litigated' eh? Interesting claim for and antiwar Dem lawmaker. How many other antiwar Democrats besides Obama have made that statement against investigating the how and why Bush took us into Iraq war in the past few months and voted against Iraq withdrawal?

[ProSense]

18. Saying it's a mistake and working to end the war are not one in the same.

Kerry has long said the war was wrong:

For the sake of our country, the legitimacy of our cause and our ultimate success in Iraq, the administration must seek advice and approval from Congress, laying out the evidence and making the case. Then, in concert with our allies, it must seek full enforcement of the existing cease-fire agreement from the United Nations Security Council. We should at the same time offer a clear ultimatum to Iraq before the world: Accept rigorous inspections without negotiation or compromise. Some in the administration actually seem to fear that such an ultimatum might frighten Saddam Hussein into cooperating. If Saddam Hussein is unwilling to bend to the international community's already existing order, then he will have invited enforcement, even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act. But until we have properly laid the groundwork and proved to our fellow citizens and our allies that we really have no other choice, we are not yet at the moment of unilateral decision-making in going to war against Iraq.

Posted here: War hawks, war doves, war spin

Kerry has maintained that position in words and actions. Obama voted against Kerry-Feingold.

In fact, Obama's current position on the war reflects his obsession with the political climate and the need to work with Republicans. He is asking people to die for a bipartisan solution to war. The war is wrong, start there and end it. We need leadership, which encompasses working together, but it also means making the case when one must stand on conviction, when it is the right thing to do. End the war.

[AtomicKitten]

21. Obama will move this country forward.

There are many attempts to sink this rising star from * ahem * the usual suspects using a variety of strategies. However, Obama is straightforward in his discussion of solutions, understands that the country has had just about enough of the rabid division, and he is fully capable of remaining true to his liberal roots in the process of establishing an open and accountable government. I have every confidence he will do well.

[DemBones DemBones]

23. Has he said "If I were president, I would end the war, I would

bring the troops home right away"??? When did he first say it was a mistake to invade Iraq? Got a link to quotes from him?

[ripple]

24. A couple of links for you:

Here's a link to Obama's speech opposing the invasion in 2002:

www.en.wikisource.org/wiki/Barack_Obama's_Iraq_Speech


Here's a link to his speech outlining his plan for phased withdrawal:

www.obama.senate.gov/speech/051122-moving_forward_in_iraq/index.html