Richardson says he alone calls for total Iraq pullout

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Richardson+says+he+alone+calls+for+total+Iraq+pullout&articleId=76d6c9b3-32d7-4433-8889-6a61c0844e10

Richardson says he alone calls for total Iraq pullout

By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter
Saturday, Jul. 28, 2007

MANCHESTER – Democrat Bill Richardson likes watching the feud between fellow presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama but he refused to get involved yesterday.

"I don't want to interfere in their dispute," Richardson, who has been gaining momentum in recent New Hampshire polls, told reporters following a foreign policy speech at Southern New Hampshire University.

"In fact," he said, "I hope their dispute continues."

But, like Obama, the New Mexico governor and former United Nations ambassador said he would negotiate with leaders of hostile countries with no preconditions, provided the U.S. benefits from such talks. He also said his Iraq withdrawal plan is better than Clinton's, Obama's and John Edwards's because Richardson said he would leave no "residual" troops there.

Clinton and Obama have been sparring since an exchange during a debate on Monday, when Clinton called Obama "irresponsible" and "naive" for saying he would meet, without preconditions, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela in the first year of his administration. Obama then called Clinton irresponsible for voting to authorize to send troops to Iraq in 2002 without knowing the exit plan. He called her "Bush-Cheney Lite," to which Clinton replied, "Well, this is getting kind of silly....What's ever happened to the politics of hope?" -- a reference to Obama's mantra.

Richardson, beginning two days of campaigning in the first primary state, delivered a "grand plan on terrorism" address to the non-partisan World Affairs Council, calling for a re-focused U.S. anti-terrorist effort on al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan and for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

FULL story at link.

[John Q. Citizen]

1. The headline is misleading. Kucinich has a bill that mandates full pullout. HR1234

It's the best plan I've seen to actually acomplish it.

[LWolf]

2. That's correct.

It's also common for his opponents to accidentally "forget" that he is running. This is not the first time.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. I've noticed that also.