Yes Sen. Obama, the Proof is in the Pudding
By NoQuarterLive on January 31, 2008 at 6:47 PM in Barack Obama
Most recently, ABC’s Jake Tapper has revealed a clip of then Illinois state senator in 2001 Barack Obama stating:
“The proof in the pudding is looking at the treatment of the other Bush nominees,” Obama said. “I mean for the most part, I for example do not agree with a missile defense system, but I dont think that soon-to-be-Secretary Rumsfeld is in any way out of the mainstream of American political life. And I would argue that the same would be true for the vast majority of the Bush nominees, and I give him credit for that.”
The proof in the pudding, Mr. Obama?
Much has been written of former SecDef Donald Rumsfeld - his arrogance, his far too numerous deadly and costly mistakes in Iraq. His shabby treatment of Gen. Eric Shinseki who was proved right in his request for more troops and his subsequent dimissal of Shinseki, despite Gen. Shinseki being correct. Or Rumsfeld’s stating that we knew where the WMD were – outside of Tikrit. And readers here at No Quarter may recall the post of Larry’s via Pat Lang’sSic Semper Tyrannis of the email exchange between Joe Galloway and Rumsfeld mouth piece and under secretary Larry DaRita.
And if someone asked me to say something positive about the man, I would say when the
Pentagon was attacked on 9/11, Rumsfeld’s tending to victims showed action and he exhibited courage by going back inside the burning building multiple times.
However, what also comes to my mind was his despicable act of auto penning next of kin letters of those who had been killed in action.
The president, of whom I am no fan of at least never did that.
Would Rumsfeld have continued to auto pen the KIA letters had he not been caught? I believe so. Hasn’t character or a lack of it been described as what we do when nobody sees us?
Rumsfeld said: “I wrote and approved the now more than 1,000 letters sent to family members and next of kin of each of the servicemen and women killed in military action. While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter.”
It was the late Col. David Hackworth, a soldier’s soldier, who uncovered Rumsfeld’s disgusting secret.
Contrast that with Sen. Clinton supporter and advisor, Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark…
In 1995, during the negotiation process, Clark and Holbrooke’s diplomatic convoy was ambushed on a road by landmines and small arms fire, after Milosevic refused them safe passage. One of their jeeps crashed down a ravine and killed its passengers. Risking his life, Clark, then a 50 yr old man and 3-star general, rapelled down the ravine to search for survivors, admist enemy gunfire. He stayed with the burning jeep until help arrived, saving the wedding band of a dead soldier to personally return it to the soldier’s widow.
No disrespect to Sen. Kennedy (and his niece Caroline, daughter of JFK) who has dedicated much of his life to service and his recent endorsement of Sen. Obama is something Camp Obama is rightfully proud of but I’ll take Wes Clark anyday.
Now in fairness to Sen. Obama, Rumsfeld sailed through his confirmation but his supporters never fail to remind us how prescient Obama was because of his opposition to Iraq. Sen. Obama constantly reminds us of his superior judgement while blasting away at Sen. Clinton’s. We are finding out more and more that Sen. Obama has made less than astute calculations of judgement and perhaps his precious prescience and his most excellent judgement is not as spotless as he and his followers would have us believe.
And when you claim to an agent of change – whose judgement is beyond reproach, I say to you sir, the proof is indeed in the pudding.
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