AP: Obama Ridicules Cheney's Iraq Comments

[Pirate Smile]

Obama Ridicules Cheney's Iraq Comments

By KELLEY SHANNON
The Associated Press
Friday, February 23, 2007; 6:39 PM

AUSTIN, Texas -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ridiculed Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday for saying Britain's decision to pull troops from Iraq is a good sign that fits with the strategy for stabilizing the country.

Obama, speaking at a massive outdoor rally in Austin, Texas, said British Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision this week to withdraw 1,600 troops is a recognition that Iraq's problems can't be solved militarily.

"Now if Tony Blair can understand that, then why can't George Bush and Dick Cheney understand that?" Obama asked thousands of supporters who gathered in the rain to hear him. "In fact, Dick Cheney said this is all part of the plan (and) it was a good thing that Tony Blair was withdrawing, even as the administration is preparing to put 20,000 more of our young men and women in.

"Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we'd be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we're in the last throes. I'm sure he forecast sun today," Obama said to laughter from supporters holding campaign signs over their heads to keep dry. "When Dick Cheney says it's a good thing, you know that you've probably got some big problems."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022300658.html

[Tin Man]

1. You know, just reading his words, I can hear Obama's voice in my head.

...that's a good sign. Obama makes an impression on people - quickly.

[never cry wolf]

17. Weird, I read the article before the posts and had the same thought

I could hear his voice in my head saying what was quoted...

I am from Illinois and have loved this man since before the '04 convention but dammit, I DO get the impression he is ready for the big time!

[rebel with a cause]

20. I agree whole heartedly.

Another Illinoisan who's support for him predates the D. convention and who can also hear his voice when reading his quotes. I also can see that he has grown even more since 2004 and seems really ready for "the big time". I don't get excited that easily over a candidate and do not stay in their camps no matter what, but I have stayed with him even when I don't always totally agree with him. (Nothing I can't get past. When that happens, I will let you and him know it.)

I would encourage anyone here that has a chance to hear him in person to do so. Not because he is a rock star, but just because....Well, just because.

[never cry wolf]

27. I thought he had "it" but was afraid he may be naive

I think that he has handled every challenge so far excellently... The faux madrassa crap, Aussie PM Howard, the Geffin/Clinton sniping and chiding darth cheney cannot ever be a loser...

[Demeter]

2. He Talks the Talk: Let's See Some Serious Bill-Filing and Coalition Building Now!

The man has potential.

[Cha]

3. Yeh, you always have to keep

in mind that this was the guy who said we'd be greeted as liberators..he, rummy, and bush were on the same page with that.

Good on Obama getting that out now! Keep it UP!

[hlthe2b]

4. That is EXACTLY how to handle Cheney and the RW lies...

ridicule the heck out of them... Kudos, Senator.

[malaise]

6. Bingo n/t

[grytpype]

11. Hear, hear!

When Cheney criticized Pelosi she complained she was being attacked and asked Bush to distance himself from the remarks, and they laughed in her face. The "bitch-slap" theory -- Cheney attacked her so he's strong, she complained about being attacked so she's weak. The wrong thing to do.

Obama has it right, Biden and Dean are also masters of this, whenever they hear "Cheney thinks that..." they go on the offensive, as well they should!

[Beetwasher]

16. Yup, Obama Gets It

That's pretty cool. I'm starting to like this guy.

[ryanmuegge]

22. Exactly. Use their own words and official sources against them.

Innuendo and bumper sticker sloganeering won't cut it.

[calimary]

29. Absitively! Make them a laughing stock. And what's nice is Obama's

doing so with specifics. It helps to offer examples of how cheney has just lied his ass off, consistently, from Day One, and I'm glad Obama is reminding people of some of the details. After all, it's important that people remember. And they won't be kept on course by watching our grossly negligent media. We individuals have to do it ourselves. I'm sure glad to see Obama getting in there, too. We need him! After all, his voice carries! Besides, I think it's really well-worth it to keep reinforcing the lying bastard theme in cheney's case. After all, if he told me the sun rose in the east every morning and that I was a die-hard Democrat, I'd STILL go get a second opinion.

[BeyondGeography]

5. Sounds like he's getting comfortable out there

:thumbsup:

[BayCityProgressive]

8. I am tentatively

a Kucinich guy...but I am really getting to like Obama...he may win me over as long as he doesn't go excessively anti-Iran.

[Qutzupalotl]

7. I like his sense of humor and ability to think on his feet.

We need a good rapid-response guy on the ticket.

K&R

[jakem]

9. I think he is earning his cape...

[goclark]

36. Superbama!!!!

Yes he is!

[Olney Blue]

10. Love it!

[MethuenProgressive]

12. Yes! It's better to talk about THEM than your fellow Dems!

Way to go, Obama!

[gratuitous]

13. Yes!

Is this so hard? Remembering all the nonsense this administration has peddled over the last six years? Good on Obama for bringing it up. Although I'm sure he'll be in for some right wing hysteria for criticizing Cheney while Cheney's on foreign soil, or some such ginned up fake controversy.

[jefferson_dem]

14. Right on, Obama!

Here's a pic from the event -->

[ariesgem]

30. That's a good one. Here's my favorite....

another poster captioned it:

"This campaign's only big enough for one sheriff"

[TankLV]

45. I loved him in "Blazing Saddles"!

sorry, I just couldn't resist...

"...the new sheriff is a (loud music)!..."

What a sea change from only a couple months ago.

Where before every word from his mouth made me wince and wonder who he was and why was he even out there, now every word from him is GOLDEN and I like the new Obama - a LOT!

He is lately saying EVERYTHING I've wanted to hear...

[TankLV]

46. I loved him in "Blazing Saddles"!

sorry, I just couldn't resist...

"...the new sheriff is a (loud music)!..."

What a sea change from only a couple months ago.

Where before every word from his mouth made me wince and wonder who he was and why was he even out there, now every word from him is GOLDEN and I like the new Obama - a LOT!

He is lately saying EVERYTHING I've wanted to hear...

[Chovexani]

48. That is one good lookin' man.

:loveya:

[David Zephyr]

15. How refreshing to have a Democrat speaking like this.

Not to mention drawing crowds the way he does.

[DianaForRussFeingold]

18. Way to go Obama!

[Laurab]

19. He's kind of a smartass - in a really good way

I like that about him. "I'm sure he forecast sun today", indeed!

I still don't know enough about Obama, but what I've seen, I really like.

[Pirate Smile]

24. That's my favorite part of his responses. That's what makes them so good.

:)

No one deserves to be mocked and ridiculed more then Dick Cheney.

[bklyncowgirl]

21. He shoots, he scores! Nice one! Ol Deadeye must be fuming. nt

[olddad56]

23. we have two years to hope he doesn't have his plane 'crash'.

[winston61]

25. Obama ain't shit and

neither is anyone else in the Senate or House as long as Dick and George are still walking around as free men. Fuck him and Hillary, stop talking the talk and START walking the Walk.

[geek tragedy]

26. Stupid, stupid comment--since the HOUSE impeaches. eom

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JanusAscending]

35. Ummm..............OK

Who did you have in mind as a "real leader"????

[winston61]

42. That's the really sad part

there are no real leaders.

[JanusAscending]

47. Do you mean there are no leaders who are running?

Or no leaders at all? 'cause if thats the case, maybe we all need to crawl into a hole and die now!??? Why are you so negative? We are all feeling it, and determined to try to make things better, why not you? There's an appropriate saying "LEAD,follow, or get the hell out of the way!!" Which do you prefer?? Just wondered.

[Hekate]

28. As they so richly deserve to be ridiculed. Keep it up, Senator!

Tell it like it is -- it's a breath of oxygen. He keeps his wits about him, and I like that.

Hekate

[Vinca]

31. Obama - 1, Deadeye Dick - 0. nt

[Stardust]

33. Obama definitely gets it...an eloquent speech from 2002 (before anti-war was cool)

This is Barack speaking about the war in October of 2002, hundreds of billions of dollars and many thousands of lives ago.

"I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil.

I don't oppose all wars. My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil.

I don't oppose all wars. After September 11, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this administration's pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such tragedy from happening again.

I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne. What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income, to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.... The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors...and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars. So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the president.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure that...we vigorously enforce a nonproliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil through an energy policy that doesn't simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil.

Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair."

http://action.barackobama.com/page/s/iraq

[rocktivity]

34. This is prescisely why Clark, Obama and Edwards are my favorites

THEY DON'T TAKE RIGHT WING CRAP.

:applause:
rocknation

[goclark]

37. Exactly ~ throw it right back at um

Love it!

[saskatoon]

38. I am very afraid

that Obama will be bumped off, it will be a very professional job. He is too big a threat to Bush/Cheney camp.

[Tiggeroshii]

39. Is he a threat to the military industrial complex?

Maybe. A threat to a few white, racist extremists in the south? Probably. Is he a threat to the status quo? Very likely.

I think that anybody running for president with a good chance of becoming president who can offer serious change is a threat to a lot of people, and these people are the ones that are likely to act irrationally. That must not let us give up, or turn astray but rather continue fighting for this change and stay optimistic no matter what happens. Probably our only hope

[cui bono]

40. I'm starting to like this guy more and more...

but I heard his votes are pro-corporation. Got to look into that...

[Placebo]

41. Good goin' senator!

This really is the best way to handle these liars. Just make them a big joke.

[goforit]

43. Hmmm.... Is this why Al Qaeda has more threats toward Britain?

[gratefultobelib]

44. All right! This is EXACTLY what the American public needs to hear. Tell is like it is. Go, Obama!