Hillary camp slaps Obama down but good! [View All]

http://facts.hillaryhub.com/archive/?id=5603

Just 24 hours after Sen. Obama asserted he has run a consistently positive campaign, he released excerpts of a speech to be delivered this morning in Denver, CO that distorts Hillary’s record and lays down a number of misleading attacks. In fact, Sen. Obama will issue four misleading attacks on Hillary in a single sentence.

“It’s time for new leadership that understands that the way to win a debate with John McCain is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq; who agreed with him in voting to give George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; who agrees with him in embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don’t like, and who actually differed with him by arguing for exceptions for torture before changing positions when the politics of the moment changed.”
Let’s address Sen. Obama’s allegations one at a time.

First: Sen. Obama begins by criticizing Hillary on Iraq. Sen. Obama does not mention that -- with the exception of Hillary's opposition to the promotion of Iraq war architect Gen. George Casey -- Sen. Obama and Hillary have identical voting records on the Iraq war. Read more here.

Second: Sen. Obama then misrepresents Hillary’s position on Iran. In fact, Hillary was one of the earliest and staunchest opponents of Bush’s saber rattling on Iran, and spoke out on the issue back in February:

Hillary made a floor speech declaring that President Bush must get authorization from Congress before taking military action against Iran.
Hillary co-sponsored the Webb bill prohibiting use of funds for military action in Iran without Congressional authorization.
Sen. Obama missed the vote he is now using to attack Hillary. He issued a release 9 hours later and co-sponsored a similar bill in April. The bill was also supported by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), a staunch anti-war Bush critic and prominent Obama supporter. Read more here and here.

Third: Sen. Obama then misrepresents Hillary’s position on diplomacy. Hillary criticized Sen. Obama for pre-committing to a personal meeting in his first year with "with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea." She never said that a president should only meet with America's friends. She also promised vigorous diplomatic efforts with all countries, friend and foe. Read more here.

Fourth: Sen. Obama accuses Hillary of changing her policy on torture due to ‘the politics of the moment.’ He couldn’t be more wrong. Hillary met with retired generals, talked with experienced military officers, and read reports commissioned by the Defense Intelligence Agency. She concluded that 'torture cannot be part of American policy, period.'

Sen. Obama laments this kind of politics in his book, Audacity of Hope:

For that is how most of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, enter the Senate…their words distorted, and their motives questioned.