Obama absent at Afghanistan hearings -- The Hill

[Demagitator]

03/01/08


Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who has come under fire about his readiness to be commander-in-chief, missed two of three Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Afghanistan since joining the panel.

Obama has said the U.S. should have stayed focused on fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan while repeatedly criticizing his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), and presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for their votes in favor of a resolution backing the Iraq war.

But since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a "new strategy" in Afghanistan, a country he has never visited.

Obama was absent from a January 31 meeting this year, and also was not present for a hearing on Sept. 21, 2006. He did attend a March 8, 2007 hearing on a new Afghanistan strategy.


http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html

[Double T]

1. Definitely NOT Presidential material..............

ALSO looks like NO-SHOW NO-GO obama is NOT Senate material either, UNLESS the SAME OLD business as usual is desired.

[northzax]

2. details are not important

hope and change man, hope and change

[rodeodance]

3. Poor JUDGEMENT on his part

[Demagitator]

5. RFK speech on working for change

"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation...It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. "

Robert F. Kennedy, Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966

[northzax]

6. ok, er, relevance? Nt

[Demagitator]

8. Ideas of hoping for humanity...

do not work very well without -- some work.

[northzax]

13. ok, good

I was afraid I was going to have to write another dissertation.

[spag68]

4. Here's an idea

Anytime they miss one of these votes, they get a deduction from their pay. Silly I know, but good for laughs.

[xchrom]

7. recommend

[Rageneau]

9. Apparently CHANGE means not attending boring committee meetings!

[Honeycombe8]

10. He was a bit busy on January 31st 2008. One could argue an equally important

matter...trying to win the Presidency so that it wouldn't go to someone who helped start an unnecessary war in Iraq that took resources and focus off the REAL war in Afghanistan.

[emilyg]

12. no excuse.

[Honeycombe8]

15. Oh, that's not an excuse. That's an explanation. Hill wasn't in Congress on that day, either.

It was right before the Iowa and N.H. primaries, wasn't it?

[Colobo]

11. He's in the middle of a presidential campaign...

[mattclearing]

14. Yeah, he's running for President.

You'll be gone in three days, won't you?