I THINK I would have voted against the Iraqi war resolution. Not I would have fought this bill with every fiber of my being. Not that I would have been standing with Robert Byrd through the night as he defended our constitution. No. "I think I would have voted against it if it were an up or down vote."
These were his exact words recorded in an interview with Jeff Berkowitz on 11/25/02 and available on this site about half way into the three minute clip.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
The single element that has catapulted this man with a scant four years of national political experience into the cusp of our party's leadership is that he was right on Iraq, that he opposed the war.
This video is flaky and stops in the middle. I had to give it several tries before I got to the part that I quoted, but it is the most important clue into the real nature of Senator Obama, that shows a different person than the one depicted today.
I don't know how to say this without being inflammatory, but the image of Barack Obama, that he represents integrity while Hillary Clinton is disingenuous seems to be exactly reversed. Hillary says that if she knew what she knows today that she would not have voted for the war. Was she being a calculating politician rather than a statesman when she voted for the Iraqi War Resolution? Very possibly so.
Would I prefer Russ Feingold or Bob Graham who in spite of higher political aspirations had the guts to vote against this bill? You're damn right I would. But neither of them are available.
Barack Obama is attempting to present himself as having the conviction of these two Senators who didn't vacillate but actually voted against it, and argued their point. Sure, the Illinois Senate did not have such a vote, so all we have is his word on what he would have done.
And it is his words, not mine, that conveys his sentiments during that time. It is his words spoken before the war that describes his uncertainty over whether the invasion, if were to occur would be a success.
And here is what makes me angry, that turns me off. It is a video from his campaign site that shows him giving a speech against the war, and then cuts to the interview that I linked above. But it excludes the part of the interview where he indicates indicates his ambivalent feelings about the Iraqi War Resolution.
It's now down to a choice of two people. Many of us are casting a momentous vote tomorrow, and this should be part of our decision.