MSNBC First Read: Obama meets the press (surprise - not a fluff piece)

[Skip Intro]

and not a big piece either, just a one para spot, but...

------------
*** Obama 'Meets The Press': For the most part, Obama seemed to handle as well as he could the various contradictions that NBC's Russert presented. The question, of course, is which answers did he give that the Clinton campaign -- or another one -- believes it can use against him. His answers on the war? What about lobbyists? He didn't really have a straight answer as to why he accepts money from state lobbyists and not federal lobbyists. Then there was the acknowledgement during the back-and-forth over the war when Obama admitted that politics of the moment (the 2004 Dem convention) prevented him from totally speaking his mind on Iraq. Isnt' that EXACTLY what he accuses Clinton of? Obama tried to make light of that moment in July 2004, but something tells us we'll see that soundbite again.
------------
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/

[sandnsea]

1. So the Clintons create a war policy

and it's Obama's fault because he lets the leaders of the party lead.

:crazy:

[Skip Intro]

2. No, he wants to claim the anti-war mantle but his "experience" (record) doesn't quite match up.

he said in 04 that there was no difference between his view on the war in Iraq and g w bush's.

read the transcript

[AtomicKitten]

4. that's nonsense

The machinations of some people here to try to marginalize Obama's high ground on the issue of going to war are nothing short of spectacular.

Hillary, Edwards, Dodd, and Biden voted for war with the IWR.
Hillary voted in the affirmative on Kyl-Lieberman for more war.

Obama has the high ground on this.

[Skip Intro]

8. HIS WORDS:

In July of ‘04, Barack Obama, “I’m not privy to Senate intelligence reports. What would I have done? I don’t know,” in terms of how you would have voted on the war. And then this: “There’s not much of a difference between my position on Iraq and George Bush’s position at this stage.”

[AtomicKitten]

9. for your perusal:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3709254

[Skip Intro]

18. sorry, that doesn't change anything - sounds like he's trying to have it both ways

he also says he doesn't know how he would have voted, if Russert is quoting correctly, which I assume to be true because Obama didn't challenge him on those quotes


and he also says little difference between himself and bush - on Iraq - in 04 - - - kinda hard to see how he can claim to have always been on the front lines of the anti-war movement when he said stuff like that


just saying...

[sandnsea]

5. Who was supporting "stay the course" in 2004?

Who was touting winning in Iraq? Would that be Hillary? Oh yeah.

[Skip Intro]

19. and bush, whom Obama said he had little difference with on Iraq in 04

that's the thing.

he wants to claim he was on the front lines of the anti-Iraq war movement from the begining, tries to slam Hillary for being duplicitous, while you have these quotes where he says there's really no difference between bush's position on Iraq in 04 ("stay the course") and his...


he wants to claim his opponents will never say he supported the war in Iraq, when you have him saying he doesn't know how he would have voted...


he wants to claim that Hillary speaks with political calculation and that he talks straight, while you clearly see that in 04, he represented a position made wholly from political calculation - making positive statements about the war for political expediency - he says that in the interview with Russert, as an excuse for the quotes Russert asked him about...


its the hypocrisy, and if that had been Hillary, claiming to have always been at the forefront of the anti Iraq war movement and then having quotes where she said her position is basically the same as bush's, she would have been crucified here...again, its the hypocrisy

[Imagevision]

3. "his experience"? - while Bill does an intern in the White House? isn't Bill more qualified?

that's true character for you, and Bill Clinton when asked why he did it in the WH>? his reply; "because I knew I could" end of quote. integrity, Bill is an excellant con, that's why he's paid so much doing speeches. (end of story)

[Skip Intro]

6. WOW! That sounds like its straight from Ken Starr, or one of the rights mouth pieces.

Just wow.


Where is straight talk???


----------------

MR. RUSSERT: Last night, the Jefferson Jackson dinner here in Iowa, you spoke, and this an—a quick quote from your speech. Let’s listen.

(Videotape)

SEN. OBAMA: I am sick and tired of Democrats thinking that the only way to look tough on national security is by talking and acting and voting like George Bush Republicans.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: “Talking and acting and voting like George Bush Republicans.” Who’s that?

SEN. OBAMA: Well, look, we know that too many Democrats, I believe, went along with George Bush when it came to the war in Iraq. In fact, of all the major candidates, I’m the only one who, in 2002, opposed the war in Iraq. I am concerned about the latest moves that the administration has been making with respect to Iran. And when, for example, Senator Clinton supported the Kyl-Lieberman amendment that suggests that we should structure our forces in Iraq with an eye toward blunting the influence of Iran in that country, that is, I think, a wrong message, not only to the world but also to the region, where we should be pursuing direct diplomacy. And so, on a series of issues, what I believe is that the Democrats have not stood forcefully against George Bush, they have not been clear about what an alternative foreign policy strategy would be, and, unless we present as a party a different vision about how we would approach national security, how we’d approach battling terrorism, I think that we are going to make ourselves vulnerable in the fall, and, more importantly, we’re going to be doing a disservice to the American people.

MR. RUSSERT: You were not in the Senate in October of 2002. You did give a speech opposing the war. But Senator Clinton’s campaign will say since you’ve been a senator there’s been no difference in your record. And other critics will say that you’ve not been a leader against the war, and they point to this: In July of ‘04, Barack Obama, “I’m not privy to Senate intelligence reports. What would I have done? I don’t know,” in terms of how you would have voted on the war. And then this: “There’s not much of a difference between my position on Iraq and George Bush’s position at this stage.” That was July of ‘04. And this: “I think” there’s “some room for disagreement in that initial decision to vote for authorization of the war.” It doesn’t seem that you are firmly wedded against the war, and that you left some wiggle room that, if you had been in the Senate, you may have voted for it.

SEN. OBAMA: Now, Tim, that first quote was made with an interview with a guy named Tim Russert on MEET THE PRESS during the convention when we had a nominee for the presidency and a vice president, both of whom had voted for the war. And so it, it probably was the wrong time for me to be making a strong case against our party’s nominees’ decisions when it came to Iraq.
----------------

[Maccagirl]

11. You are only using part of his "explanation" about L'affaire

Lewinsky. In his book he says that he "did it" for the worst possible reason "because I knew I could". That is much different than what your post suggests-and this is from someone who is still plenty pissed at Bill Clinton for dragging his family, and the rest of us through his self-destructive issues.

[FredScuttle]

7. Did "Lil' Russ" ask him why he invited an "ex-gay" clown to host his campaign event?

No? Gee.....what a surprise. :eyes:

[AtomicKitten]

10. Actually, Russert did ask him.

But don't let factual information get in the way of your campaign to slam Obama on everything, anything, nothing.

[FredScuttle]

12. So he did

MR. RUSSERT: And yet you had a group of supporters on a Bible tour in South Carolina headed by a singer called Donnie McClurkin...

SEN. OBAMA: Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT: ...who said that homosexuality was a curse and that he had been cured by prayer. Do you believe homosexuality’s a curse?

SEN. OBAMA: No.

MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe that it is something that you are born gay and that—or that you can change your behavior?

SEN. OBAMA: I do not believe being gay or lesbian is a choice. And so I disagree with Reverend McClurkin. But understand, Tim, part of what I hope to offer as president is the ability to reach to people that I don’t agree with, and the evangelical community is one where the Democratic Party, I think, we have generally seen as hostile. We haven’t been reaching out to them, and I think that if we’re going to makes significant progress on critical issues that we face, whether it’s education or healthcare or energy or our foreign policy in this country, we’ve got to be able to get beyond our comfort zones and just talk to people we don’t like. And—or just talk to people we like, or people that we agree with on every single issue. And so when I—one of the things that I’ve tried to do is to reach out to the evangelical community and tell them very clearly where I disagree. I’ve talked to African-American ministers. There’s a problem of homophobia in the African-American community. I will go into churches, I will go into meetings with ministers and say, “I disagree with you on these issues. This is not how I interpret my faith.” But the fact that we’re having a conversation, I think, allows the possibly that I will change their minds, make them more tolerant of these issues. They may not agree with me on this, but ultimately, , I think, prevented us from making progress in this country for so long.

Why is Obama reaching out to bigots, eh? And why is he equating religiousness (particularly christianity) with bigotry?

[AtomicKitten]

13. He already answered your question.

"And so when I, one of the things that I’ve tried to do is to reach out to the evangelical community and tell them very clearly where I disagree. I’ve talked to African-American ministers. There’s a problem of homophobia in the African-American community. I will go into churches, I will go into meetings with ministers and say, “I disagree with you on these issues. This is not how I interpret my faith.” But the fact that we’re having a conversation, I think, allows the possibly that I will change their minds, make them more tolerant of these issues. They may not agree with me on this, but ultimately, I think, prevented us from making progress in this country for so long."

Obama is trying to change hearts and minds on the issue of homophobia in black churches. No other candidate has addressed this issue. You may disagree with him, but he is following his convictions and has received a good rating by the LGBT community on his record.

[FredScuttle]

14. Hell of a way he's showing his "courage" on LGBT issues

by inviting an "ex-gay" clown to headline his campaign fundraiser and giving him a microphone and a 1/2 hour to spew homophobic filth to a receptive audience.

Quite the trailblazer, that Obama. :eyes:

edit: But do go on and tell me all the good works you've done on behalf of the LGBT community. :puke:

[AtomicKitten]

15. The reports of this concert on blogs have been inflammatory

and in instances grossly exaggerated to incite and extract precisely the rage you are spewing here.

But this spectacle of an episode at DU has caused me rethink and moderate the rage I felt when Hillary voted "yes" on Kyl-Lieberman. So, I thank you for that.

[FredScuttle]

16. Yes, because the truth is often "inflammatory"

It wasn't the bloggers, or the posters on this board, that hired an "ex-gay" clown to headline Obama's event....it was him, even in the face of countless objections, warnings and protests that this was an insult. HE WENT AHEAD AND DID IT ANYWAY. Hubris and arrogance is a bitch and Obama will soon find that out in the primaries.

I love that you think that pointing out a Democratic candidate who tacitly accepts bigotry into his campaign is "grossly exaggerating" and "inciting rage". You would have been loads of fun during the 50's and 60's, I'm sure.

[AtomicKitten]

17. Except Obama is gaining in the polls.

I would suggest it is hubris and arrogance that is a bitch in suggesting otherwise. You presume to speak on behalf of an entire community of people, and I assure you there are many LGBT Obama supporters that do not agree with this jihad.

I have read through all the material on this, and I stand by what I've said. And the fact that all you can think to do now is try to insult me speaks volumes. You have no clue what you are talking about, but I have always found puffed-up posturing (and hollow threats) on anonymous message boards amusing.

And I'm not interested in swapping insults with you, so I will wish you goodnight.