The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Iraq War Supporters Have Bad Judgment Until They Work for Obama

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The Spectacle Blog

Iraq War Supporters Have Bad Judgment Until They Work for Obama

By W. James Antle, III on 11.18.08 @ 6:26AM

As I write, this report hasn't been confirmed yet but if Hillary Clinton is going to be Barack Obama's secretary of state, doesn't that discredit a major argument in favor of the change agent's presidential candidacy? During the primaries, and to a lesser extent during the general election, Obama argued that his lack of foreign-policy experience didn't matter because he showed better judgment on these issues than the foreign-policy establishment of both parties. The main evidence he showed superior judgment was his early opposition to the Iraq war. In fact, if Obama had not opposed the war from the beginning he would have been much less likely to win the Democratic nomination.

It was the equivalent of Ross Perot's rejoinder that he didn't have any experience running up a $4 trillion national debt. Barack Obama didn't have experience leading or voting the country into a $1 trillion war. Obviously, this line of argument wasn't persuasive to Joe Lieberman but it was in line with most rank-and-file Democrats' thinking -- and that of many independents as well.

So who does Obama turn to when he starts hiring people for major positions in his administration? Joe Biden for vice president, even though Biden voted to authorize the Iraq war. Rahm Emanuel for White House chief of staff, even though Emanuel supported the war and says he would have voted for it even if he knew there were no weapons of mass destruction. And now Hillary Clinton for secretary of state, even though she famously voted for the Iraq war.

Obama now seems to owe Biden and especially Clinton an apology, given that he used their war votes and his early antiwar speech against them to great effect. If Hillary had voted against the Iraq war, it is difficult to see how Obama could have beaten her in the Democratic primaries without taking stands that would have doomed him in the general election. In fact, it's hard to see how he would have beaten her at all.

Again, if this report is confirmed, it will be interesting to see how antiwar activists react to this. Are they antiwar or just anti-Republican?

View all comments (6) | Leave a comment

stu.b.con| 11.18.08 @ 7:42AM

How about "anti-American"?

Mary| 11.18.08 @ 9:00AM

They're anti-Republican before they're anti-war. And, since our Military has done a tremendous job in circumventing the "we can't lose this militarily or win it militarily" argument/truth, they have everything to gain by not folding at this point, reducing the success of the surge to a necessity in a unnecessary war, and reaping the geo-political reward.

My relatives song of praise for the USA is that she liberated but never occupied.

During the UN debate leading up to the War, the Polish delegate mused about Poland's past, and said that the Poles used to aphoristically advance the argument that the way to liberation was through attacking the US and forcing an occupation.

I think, or perhaps more truthfully hope, that Iraq is a great success, and that she inspires those around her, and that President Bush will be viewed by history as the decent, and perhaps even noble, man that I think he is.

Donulvi Dolam| 11.19.08 @ 10:29AM

Take note that the US army in Iraq has just been allowed to stay another 3 years, the truth is that the Armies in Iraq and Afghanistan are mearly holding ground until further developments of the Iranian issue; once that's resolved Pakistan might need to remodel its borders with the Taliban and Iraq and Afghanistan will be left to their own devices albeit with IMF loans.
I would hasten to say these troubles will not end for quite sometime yet.

Stopwar| 11.19.08 @ 2:01PM

Obama was the only hope for peace among the Presidential Canidates. The deaths of over a million people, U.S. being directly or indirectly responsible, may not move Obama and more invasions will come, time will tell.

you're dumb| 11.19.08 @ 5:00PM

stu.b.con | 11.18.08 @ 6:42AM

How about "anti-American"?

^^^ Very original. Do people like you even pay attention to or listen to democratic speeches or find out what their policies are or what? Do you just automatically assume they're a commie because they're a democrat or left-wing?

Brantley| 11.23.08 @ 7:11PM

It appears that Obama has the best interests of Americans in mind when he selects people for his administration that he differs from politically. They can bring a different perspective to problems than those that politically agree with one another 90% of the time perhaps could not.