Obama Wins the Debate About Change: EJ Dionne

CHICAGO -- A dozen or so young staffers were gathered around a bank of television sets at Barack Obama's vast campaign headquarters here on Michigan Avenue. They were cheering on Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., as he took their candidate's side in the great Obama-Hillary Clinton debate over how presidents should negotiate with unfriendly dictators.

The mood was upbeat not only because the Obama loyalists judged Smith the winner in his Wednesday clash with Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., on MSNBC's "Hardball," but also because Obama had pulled the front-runner into a direct confrontation over foreign policy.

Obama's own confidence was clear on Thursday morning during a conference call announcing he had won the endorsement of Rep. Paul Hodes, a freshman Democrat from New Hampshire.

Politicians often underscore their own virtues by discovering the same traits in others, and Obama was no exception. He praised Hodes, an upset winner in the 2006 elections, as "a fresh new voice" who "spoke the truth" and "believed he could be an agent of change." Hodes, right on message, explained his support for Obama as an effort to "complete my mission" in politics, which is -- you guessed it -- "to make some change."

for the rest:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/obama_wins_the_debate_about_ch.html

And he's right on this one. Thanks for posting it.

Truth is, Hillary has been framed as the "status quo" torchbearer of Chimpy's foreign policy, which is roundly despised by the American public. Her camp has to be hating how this.

coming from EJ Dionne. I don't see how this will do Hillary any good in the long run. She doesn't represent real change.