I'll bet Obama wishes he'd voted on Iran...

[polichick]

He could really run with that now. As it is, Hillary is bound to lose some ground but it's Biden who stands to gain.

[Occam Bandage]

1. That's the problem with not taking a stand.

By laying down your position, you run the risk of being wrong. When you don't, though, you never get the benefit of being right.

Hopefully, this will bloody Bushco's nose, and slightly embarrass Hillary, as she won't be able to take quite so hard a stance against Iran any more.

Despite his occasional legislative disappearing act, I'm really pulling for Obama to win the primary.

[Lucinda]

13. K/L had nothing to do with nukes...it's a different issue.

[Occam Bandage]

19. I'm aware. This is not directly related to K-L.

However, a "no" vote would have given Obama more tactical options at this point.

Had he voted no, he could now say something along the lines of, "My opponent has taken advantage of every opportunity to be aggressive towards Iran. Iraq's nonexistent WMDs showed most of us the dangers of trusting George Bush and rushing past diplomacy. Her vote on the Kyl amendment, which I opposed, suggests that she has not learned that lesson. The most recent NIE report--which states that Iran does not have an active nuclear program--should remind all of us the danger of simply believing the White House's latest scare job."

[Lucinda]

22. He should have voted. I was referring to Hillary being effected because of it...I should

have been more specific. BTW - welcome to DU!

[maddiejoan]

36. I'll be wildly unpopular for saying this --

--But Hillary's IWR vote had far more to do with the IRG, and their classification as 'terrorists'.

Unlike nukes, there actually IS an IRG and they actually COULD present a problem.

the IWR vote keeps the screws on Iran, It doesn't necessarily call for war.

Frankly if anything it helps separate Iran as a nation from a rogue element, thus making War not the only option.

[earthlover]

37. do you realize that you are parroting rep talking points supporting Iraq?

[maddiejoan]

38. Nope.

I realize that I'm speaking my own mind.

But I'll be more than happy to report you for your accusation.

[maddiejoan]

40. also parroting Obama

Here's what HE said.

We do need to tighten sanctions on the Iranian regime, particularly on Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which sponsors terrorism far beyond Iran's borders. But this must be done separately from any unnecessary saber-rattling about checking Iranian influence with our "military presence in Iraq." Above all, it must be done through tough and direct diplomacy with Iran, which I have supported, and which Sen. Clinton has called "naive and irresponsible."==

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Sen.+B...

[maddiejoan]

42. realized that I meant to write

The Kyl/Lieberman vote keeps the screws on Iran, It doesn't call for War



mistyped --did not mean to write IWR there.

[Eurobabe]

2. Agreed, take a stand. It might not be the correct one

but at least is shows you are not afraid to vote. I was pissed at Obama for not voting on that one.

[polichick]

3. I don't have a horse in the race, but I hope...

Biden's campaign puts together a clever ad about this.

[Renew Deal]

4. Maybe. He was out early enough to say he opposed it.

There was no question on how he felt. He would have had a little more clout, but not that much. I still don't think enoug people will take Biden seriously to shift votes. There's that whole "voting for a winner" thing.

[Skip Intro]

8. It's a matter of actions vs words. Words are easy. Actions are sometimes difficult.

And hiding from responsibilities is...well, I'll just leave it at that.

[Renew Deal]

18. I don't think he was hiding

My understanding was that the vote time was moved to a time when Obama couldn't be there. That's not really an excuse, but shit happens. It would have been worse if he played coy, but he didn't.

[VarnettaTuckpocket]

25. It's my understanding that the dog ate his homework

Funny coincidence too, that he was due to turn it in the next day.

[Cameron27]

10. He wasn't out early.

He didn't say anything prior to the vote, and he didn't bother to bring it up at presidential debate that followed it.

[Bitwit1234]

5. If you would see all the votes he missed mostly hard ones

you would think, how this man be president when he doesn't have a stand on anything.

[polichick]

7. If the primary in my state was early enough to matter...

That would weigh heavily in my decision ~ it's irresponsible and chickenshit imo.

[Cha]

6. I guess you didn't read what

Obama's spokesperson said about the vote. He did take a stand and said he wouldn't have voted for it. If I recall Obama was sick that day and outta town when Harry called for the vote. Obama supporters can correct this if not true.

[polichick]

9. Yeah, but he wasn't sick enough to miss the next campaign stop. nt

[gateley]

21. Or the the debate that same night. nt

[Clovis Sangrail]

12. sick and outta town.?!?!?

WOW :wow:

he's super double safe then!

[Cha]

14. Yeah, go figure..

life happens when you had other plans.

[polichick]

20. So which was "life" and which was the "other plans"???

He chose to miss the vote ~ but not the next stop on the campaign trail.

[Cha]

24. Yeah, I'm not going to

quibble about Obama.

[rucky]

11. I hope Biden gains from it, but...

I don't think Obama's lost anything but an opportunity.

The whole thing just makes you wonder why the fuck Kyl-Lieberman was drafted in the first place.

[polichick]

15. imo it was drafted on behalf of Israel...

They're talking about this on Tucker ~ the guest, Cliff May, said that Israel's intelligence folks don't agree with the report, and it's harder for Israel to strike Iran because they don't have our air power.

[Think82]

16. Obama also missed the vote on Biden's Iraq exit strategy that SAME day.

Which got so little press. Dodd and Hill both voted for it. Got 75 votes. Kind of important, wouldn't you say?

[polichick]

17. Biden's campaign should come out with a double-duty ad!! nt

[Connie_Corleone]

23. Obama admitted that he missed the vote because he was out of town.

He also called it a mistake not being there. I know he wishes he was there for that vote. I wish he was there too. What's done is done.

He can still discuss the particulars of the resolution, which he has been doing.

[polichick]

26. They've all made mistakes, and this one might not hurt Obama much...

But I really do think we're at a turning point in the race ~ the candidates will probably be shifting positions a bit, with Biden (if his people take advantage of the opportunity) possibly gaining the most.

[AtomicKitten]

27. I realize you view this differently but, quite frankly,

he also said there are votes to rush back for and this wasn't one of them since it passed by some 50+ votes. Had he voted yes on this like you-know-who, we would have parted company, so I'm perfectly fine that he opposed K-L. It is those yes votes for war and more war that resonate.

[polichick]

29. I agree with you on voting for war..

Hillary's vote on Iran is a deal-breaker for me (not that it matters, since our primary is so late). And her choice of Colin Powell as spokesperson for this country reinforced those feelings.

I've tried to forgive them all on the Iraq vote even though I was really angry at the time, because I can see how they might have imagined that a U.S. president would do things very differently, using the vote as leverage.

As for Obama, I think he is reluctant to go on the record when it comes to controversial votes.

[AtomicKitten]

30. That could very well be true about playing it safe.

K-L was breathtaking, really. If it makes any difference, when asked in the debate in Nevada, Obama said not voting was a mistake. I'm okay with it because, again, I am relieved to the point of being thrilled that he didn't vote yes which would have made my head explode!

However, in retrospect, I do wish the principled stand he took was reflected in an actual vote that would satisfy people like you mulling this over.

His position in the statement in my sig line will resonate in the General Election if he is fortunate enough to get the nod. Obama PROMISES to be out of Iraq in 16 months, evacuating two battalions a month which was deemed safe exit strategy and something he can argue successfully because America wants out of Iraq. I am convinced Hillary will argue fighting a better war and that this war will go on under her stewardship ad infinitum.

[polichick]

31. Obama could very well get the nod...

And I'd be okay with that ~ but it's a bit of a spin for him to say that be didn't give Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran when he didn't use the power of his position to stop Bush either, but simply covered his own butt.

[AtomicKitten]

35. I think it was time apportionment.

I think it's more that Reid had tabled the vote, Obama was out campaigning and heard it was being called to a vote after all, and he expressed his opposition but said there are votes to rush back for and this wasn't it because it was expected to pass overwhelmingly (and indeed it passed by some 50+ votes), so truthfully his vote would have made zero difference.

I think he was being practical about apportioning his time, and I don't have a problem with that because he was right in that regard. My opinion, yours may vary. These apparently are the sticking points on which we base our votes.

[rinsd]

28. I think Obama was caught completely off-guard by Hillary's yes vote.

He was not even there for the debate on the bill that spilled over into the next day. He was in Maine and stayed there until he went to NH the next day for campaigning and that evening's Prez debate.

The bill was set to pass regardless so not being there was understandable to a degree but he had no idea Hillary would vote yes.

[polichick]

32. He wasn't the only one caught completely off-guard by her vote...

I found it shocking, and haven't been able to look at her candidacy the same way since.

[rinsd]

33. I was very surprised considering the shift in her voting up to that point.

[Clanfear]

34. I don't think he has anything to worry about.

He recalled in the NPR debate today that he was called naive and inexperienced because he said he would engage Iran in one on one talks. His non-vote is a non-issue. He's looking very good right now.

[BenDavid]

39. There frankly is no conceivable reason to accuse HRC

of somehow giving a wink and a nod to an attack on Iran, except narrow personal political advantage," Anthony Cordesman, an expert on military affairs in the Middle East.

HRC's statement of 10/11/07
"In what we voted for today, we will have an opportunity to designate it as a terrorist organization, which gives us the options to be able to impose sanctions on the primary leaders to try to begin to put some teeth into all this talk about dealing with Iran,"

Now that is one truthful statement.

Ben David

[Lord Helmet]

41. I wish Hillary didn't vote yes on it.