Why Can’t Obama Get His Facts Straight?
By Larry Johnson on February 28, 2008 at 8:12 PM in Current Affairs
So much for the “new” politician who ain’t going to spin you. Barack Obama’s claim about his 2002 opposition to the war in Iraq does not hold water. Maybe it is a memory lapse. Maybe a lie. What is certain, it is not true!
Senator Clinton said the following:
SEN. CLINTON: Well, I have put forth my extensive experience in foreign policy, you know, helping to support the peace process in Northern Ireland, negotiating to open borders so that refugees fleeing ethnic cleansing would be safe, going to Beijing and standing up for women’s rights as human rights and so much else. And every time the question about qualifications and credentials for commander in chief are raised, Senator Obama rightly points to the speech he gave in 2002. He’s to be commended for having given the speech. Many people gave speeches against the war then, and the fair comparison is he didn’t have responsibility, he didn’t have to vote; by 2004 he was saying that he basically agreed with the way George Bush was conducting the war. And when he came to the Senate, he and I have voted exactly the same. We have voted for the money to fund the war until relatively recently. So the fair comparison was when we both had responsibility, when it wasn’t just a speech but it was actually action, where is the difference? Where is the comparison that would in some way give a real credibility to the speech that he gave against the war?
And Barack responded:
SEN. OBAMA: Let me just follow up. My objections to the war in Iraq were simply — not simply a speech. I was in the midst of a U.S. Senate campaign. It was a high-stakes campaign. I was one of the most vocal opponents of the war, and I was very specific as to why.
Only problem–Barack did not start running for the U.S. Senate seat until 2003. You see, in 2002 he was running for State senate. In that position he was pandering to the most liberal district in the State of Illinois. But hell, it is Barack. Why hold him accountable for anything?
But this raises a more fundamental issue. Why can’t he get his facts straight on something so important to his campaign. Why does he rely on a bullshit account of history? And why does the media allow this guy to get away with this nonsense?
Hat tip to lambert strether for this catch.






















