Obama and the Iraq withdrawal bamboozle

[LadyVT]

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/03/07/power_iraq/index.html?source=rss&aim=/politics/war_room

"FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2008 18:21 EST
Former advisor: Obama's Iraq plan "best-case scenario"
Samantha Power's description of Hillary Clinton as a "monster" might be what's ultimately remembered of her time as a senior foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama's campaign, and it's what brought that tenure to an end. But it's another set of comments Power made recently, in an appearance on a BBC program Thursday, that may ultimately prove more damaging to Obama's campaign.

snip

"STEPHEN SACKUR: Let me stop you just for a moment. You said that he'll revisit it when he goes to the White House. So what the American public thinks is a commitment to get combat forces out within sixteen months isn't a commitment, isn't it?

POWER: You can't make a commitment in whatever month we're in now, in March of 2008, about what circumstances are gonna be like in Jan. 2009. We can't even tell what Bush is up to in terms of troop pauses and so forth. He will of course not rely upon some plan that he's crafted as a presidential candidate or as a U.S. senator. He will rely upon a plan, an operational plan that he pulls together, in consultation with people who are on the ground, to whom he doesn't have daily access now, as a result of not being the president.
So to think, I mean it would be the height of ideology, you know, to sort of say, "Well I said it, therefore I'm going to impose it on whatever reality entreats me" --

SACKUR: OK, so the 16 months is negotiable?

POWER: It's a best case scenario.

snip

SACKUR: And of course in Iraq we've never seen best cases come off --

POWER: We have never seen best cases.

[RBInMaine]

1. Use your brain. They ALL have "advisers" who may mis-speak

or phrase something imperfectly. In this case, the woman DID say that the Iraq withdrawal time frame was the INTENTION, but she was just trying to be realistic and say that contingencies can arise which may alter such a plan. She REPEATEDLY stated that the time frame noted on the Obama website was the INTENTION. THAT IS NOT "bamboozling" anything. Now, I will say that the phrasing could have been better, and perhaps she took more liberty in her statements than she should have. And for both this and the "monster" comment, she has been dismissed. Sometimes these advisers say things a bit outside what has been authorized by the candidate, and then they are appropriately sanctioned, (much like the Hillary guy in NH who was dismissed for making unauthorized statements about Obama's past).

[LadyVT]

2. That is not, however, how it is being taken on the world stage--the point is,

if he is choosing aides and advisers who are committing large gaffes like this, what will his aides and advisers be like when he's in the White House? Will they "misspeak" and start WW3?

He needs several more years of political experience.

[OhioBlue]

5. Yes. I'm sure that is the focus of the "world stage"

The World that witnessed Bush convincing Americans that Iraq had something to do with 9-11 and watch Colin Powell almost stroke out when he knew he was lying for the Bush regime to the UN.

Yeah, I'm sure their focus is on the fact that an adviser can't spin the truth well enough that Obama will not handcuff himself to ideology or a plan drafted before he has the access as President to more information.

oy.

[ctaylors6]

4. You assume that the MSM will interpret her statements the same way you do.

I guess I'm more cynical. I think they'll either (1) make this look like a say one thing (16 months), mean another deal and say it's pattern with NAFTA stuff or (2) when obama campaign says advisor misspoke and his website position is correct (not merely a vague goal), the MSM will say he means he'll withdraw immediately no matter what the situation when he starts his term. Or some combination of those 2 things.

That's just my cynical opinion, but I don't have much faith in MSM

[Amonester]

3. My nigthmarish feeling by that time... the economy...

the econony will be so bad... that there won't be ANY money left (to borrow...) in order to keep squandering hundreds of billions (of non-existent anymore...) dollors... to the point staying in there will not be an option at all...

the bush record of lifetime bankrupcies will include 'murka Inc.

[TacticalPeek]

6. K&R

:kick: