Obama says one thing, his advisors say something else

[Caro]

So where does Barack Obama really stand on these three issues?

PMO: Officials only got briefing from Obama campaign (The Canadian Press)
OTTAWA — Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton never gave Canada any secret assurances about the future of NAFTA such as those allegedly offered by Barack Obama's campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office said Friday. With the NAFTA affair swirling over the U.S. election and Canadian officials skittish about saying anything else that might influence the race, it took the PMO two days to deliver the information. After being asked whether Canadian officials asked for — or received — any briefings from a Clinton campaign representative outlining her plans on NAFTA, a spokeswoman for the prime minister offered a response Friday. "The answer is no, they did not," said Harper spokeswoman Sandra Buckler.

In the case of the Obama campaign’s briefing, it’s not just an allegation. We have the document prepared afterward: “(Obama senior economic advisor Austan Goolsbee) suggested that of the Democratic candidates, Obama has been the least protectionist (unintelligible). HOM asked whether we could expect to hear more of this as the elections progressed, Goolsbee thought not. In fact, he mentioned that going forward the Obama camp was going to be careful to send the appropriate message without coming off too protectionist.” Judging from the use of the word “unintelligible”, one might think the interview is on tape somewhere. In other words, Obama is dog whistling.

And there are other examples of Obama saying one thing and his advisors saying another. See the next two excerpts, below.

Obama Adviser: I ‘Strongly’ Believe Telecoms ‘Should Be Granted Immunity’
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has consistently spoken out and voted against granting retroactive immunity for telecoms that participated with the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. This stance was part of the reason he won the support of Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), a leader on civil liberties issues. One of Obama’s advisers on intelligence and foreign policy advisers, however, is someone who “strongly” supports telecomm immunity. John Brennan is a former CIA official and the current chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. In a new National Journal interview, Brennan makes it clear that he agrees with the Bush administration on the issue of immunity.

Power on Obama's Iraq plan: "best case scenario" (Politico)
For all the chatter about Obama adviser Samantha Power's calling Clinton a "monster," another set of remarks made on her book tour in the United Kingdom may be equally threatening to the Obama campaign: Comments in a BBC interview that express a lack of confidence that Obama will be able to carry through his plan to withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months. "He will, of course, not rely on some plan that he’s crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. Senator," she said at one point in the interview.

As the Clinton Fact Hub points out, “Sen. Obama has repeatedly criticized Hillary for not having a ‘firm’ and "clear" withdrawal deadline.” (Thanks to No Quarter.) He did it again Friday, in Wyoming.

Carolyn Kay
MakethemAccountable.com

[Nitrogenica]

1. Wow, so it's not all black and white? Good lord!

You're either with him on every issue or against him?

Give me a break.

[anamandujano]

11. The way he plays is that you can be BOTH with him and against him.

The facts are there.

This ever burgeoning catalog of Obama double talk has honestly made me :wow: several times. Whats next?

[Nitrogenica]

15. More Hillary swift-boat style smears are next, right?

[anamandujano]

20. Did you read the OP? This is worse than flip-flopping; it's approaching

schizophrenia.

[Nitrogenica]

23. You Hillary supporters are dead to me. Just an FYI, it's gone too far.

Enough.

[anamandujano]

25. Face the truth.

[Bluerthanblue]

59. you fact the truth- not the spin. How about a reply to my comment to you?

[LVjinx]

65. Are you suggesting the Swiftboat attacks were true? Seriously?

[papau]

35. very true - but truth about Obama is rejected on DU if it doesn't support the idea that his

loafers don't get wet as he walks on water.

[jody]

2. Good question. BO also says he supports Dem platform "We will protect Americans' Second Amendment

right to own firearms" but says we should ban all semi automatic firearms and has ties to VPC that advocates banning all handguns.

He either supports the Dem platform or he supports gun-grabbers. :shrug:

[BOSSHOG]

3. All ya gotta do is hope, I think thats what cultists do

Come on ObamaCultists give me your best shot. Prove my claim that many of you have no concept of right and wrong. Whats that next step? He gets the nomination OR ELSE. Come on. Open up.

[TwilightGardener]

6. Why are you insulting Obama supporters?

[anamandujano]

13. When the truth feels like an insult, it's time to re-think your attachments.

[TwilightGardener]

16. WTF?

[Bluerthanblue]

32. when you can't distinguish between 'the truth' and slander it is time

to seriously re-think your OWN attachments.

:shrug:


She surely is teaching her 'children' well.


peace~

[anamandujano]

38. It's been documented that Obama's advisor's have done the wink-wink.

There's a memo for NAFTA-gate and they've got Power on tape.

Stop bending your mind like this. He's not worth it.

[Bluerthanblue]

41. no mind bending needed- read this-

SEN. OBAMA: Well, if the Iraqi government says that we should not be there, then we cannot be there. This is a sovereign government, as George Bush continually reminds us.

Now, I think that we can be in a partnership with Iraq to ensure the stability and the safety of the region, to ensure the safety of Iraqis and to meet our national security interests.

But in order to do that, we have to send a clear signal to the Iraqi government that we are not going to be there permanently, which is why I have said that as soon as I take office, I will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we will initiate a phased withdrawal, we will be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. We will give ample time for them to stand up, to negotiate the kinds of agreements that will arrive at the political accommodations that are needed. We will provide them continued support. But it is important for us not to be held hostage by the Iraqi government in a policy that has not made us more safe, that's distracting us from Afghanistan, and is costing us dearly, not only and most importantly in the lost lives of our troops, but also the amount of money that we are spending that is unsustainable and will prevent us from engaging in the kinds of investments in America that will make us more competitive and more safe.

Where is the contradiction between this statement and what Powers said?

Hillary is the one who made a 16mo. commitment-

And Hillary was sitting right next to Obama when he said this in the last debate!


:shrug:

peace~

[Bluerthanblue]

58. well? no witty rebuff? no wise comment?

Here are his words that contrast her claim- and that show Powers was saying what Obama is saying.

Where is the problem here???


:shrug:

peace~

[Caro]

60. The contradiction is that he criticizes Clinton ...

... for not saying she'll get the troops out immediately. She says what Powers says, which is that you can't know what the situation will be in January of 2009.

He did it again yesterday, in Wyoming.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Obama_responds_She_doesnt_have_standing_to_question_my_position.html

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[anamandujano]

63. More double talk. Is Pakistan not a sovereign government?

http://www.barackobama.com/2007/08/01/the_war_we_need_to_win.php

I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will.

Spin that binky!

[Bluerthanblue]

64. Your excerpt is not about troop withdrawl- but

you know that. I personally don't believe that taking out al Qaeda in any country is a good idea- But Obama does support the possibility of focused strikes, against specific individuals, rather than an out and out war against a soverign nation.

You probably know that Hillary and co-president Bill attempted to do this back in the '90's. It ended up destroying an asprin factory.

I don't need to spin anything- can you just address the issue of pulling out the troops?

I do not agree with 100% of Obama's ideas- This is one area where he and I don't share the same view of what is best- but it is one of only a very few.

peace~

[Usrename]

33. What do you mean by OR ELSE? Come on, try and answer.

I'm curious about what you think Clinton's path to victory really is.

How is she going to win this thing? Could she lose the delegate race, lose the popular vote, and somehow come away with a win from the convention?

And this scenario helps the party how? She won't ever win a general if she does that. Her negatives will be even higher than they were when this thing started. A year ago half the people in the country wouldn't vote for her. If she snakes the nomination away from a movement that won more votes and more delegates then she'd be almost guaranteed to lose every state in the general election. Half of the people that can still stomach her now will never vote for her if she continues.

How does she get to the Whitehouse?

Do you have any plausible scenario?

What do you think the OR ELSE will look like?

[lligrd]

4. Uh, Are His Advisors Running?

Didn't think so. Perhaps you should try using my opinions against him too.

[GoldieAZ49]

12. They are hired by Obama - shouldn't they be touting the party line

not their own opinions?

Why shouldn't the inconsistencies be questioned?

HRC is irrelevant, she isn't going to win, don't you think this should be addressed before the GE scrutiny starts?

[lligrd]

14. I Think Obama Still Believes In Free Speech And Thoughts nt

[GoldieAZ49]

22. contradictory messages from his campaign has nothing to do with free speech

nice try, you think that will cut it in the GE?

[lligrd]

31. I Think Is Shows They Are Allowed To Have Their Own Opinions

I rather like that. I think it will make the cut just fine.

[GoldieAZ49]

36. Glad you do, who is going to vote for someone when they hear a variety of stands

on all the issues?

The schizophrenic are not a large enough voting block to win the GE.

If his campaign cannot forward his agenda, regardless of their own opinions, how do you think his cabinet will be able to do that?

He needs to start running a tighter ship, or it is going to sink.

[lligrd]

37. It Is Really Not That Difficult. You Listen To The One Running

since it is his opinion that matters. Is that so hard?

[GoldieAZ49]

40. It is when his advisors keep talking to the press

To think that is not going to come back and bite him in the ass is just delusional.

The GOP and the 527's will have a field day, McCain won't even need to bring it up...well maybe in the debates.

[lligrd]

44. That Is Ridiculous. But I Will Give You That It Is Apparently

to difficult for you to figure out and thus might possibly be for some Repugs. But we weren't going to get their votes anyway and I am guessing you will be following Hillary's advice and voting for McCain as well.

[GoldieAZ49]

47. So anyone that questions Obama is either a Hillary supporter or a Repub

that is sad, good luck with that

[lligrd]

50. You Weren't Questioning Obama

you were questioning his staff. If your not a Hillary supporter or a Repug then you must just be a ... never-mind!

[GoldieAZ49]

53. I was questioning the campaigns inconsistent message

I see their is no tolerance for that

I can see most are still engaged as if the primary isn't over (other than H doing as much damage as possible)

[lligrd]

55. It Is Not Over Yet

So save those kind of questions for later.

[Zynx]

51. Considering that a president does rely on the advice of advisers routinely this is a legitimate

issue.

[lligrd]

57. Maybe The Advisor Gives Good Advice In Other Areas

or perhaps the advisor always gives bad advice so Obama knows to go the other way. Who the heck cares as long as Obama comes to the right decision? I would think it prudent to listen to all sides of an issue before making a decision. But I have never been a lock-step advocate.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Your tagline" "Make them accountable"--

And you support Hillary? The cognitive dissonance!! :rofl:

[GoldieAZ49]

10. Does having questions about consistency automatically make the OP a H supporter?

why can't these questions be asked?

These are advisers that Obama hired, if they have personal differences, that is fine, but shouldn't they be talking the party line publicly?


You don't think they will be raised in the GE?

[TwilightGardener]

17. Obama's people have their own opinions--they're not mindless talking point drones,

like Hillary demands, a la George W. Bush.

[GoldieAZ49]

26. Then they should run their own campaigns and not be speaking for him

It is unprofessional and he cannot win a GE like this


Winning the GE is purpose of the campaign, right?

[TwilightGardener]

28. I don't think it's a problem, except that Monster fans want it to be a problem--

I can't wait till the shit hits the fan when the GOP dissects all the Clinton sleaze and dirty foreign business deals from the last 7 years, if she's the nominee. I'll just sit back and LAUGH. And you're worried because Obama understands that his specific plan for Iraq is a GOAL, responsive to the current situation there, and not an absolute mandate--his position helps him in the general, actually. Good luck to ya.

[GoldieAZ49]

34. Forget about Hillary - she is history, she just hasn't accepted it yet

not every question of Obama is about Hillary, good grief!

If Obama and his supporters are going to frame the answer to every question around Hillary they are going to lose.

The GE is not going to have a Hillary clause.

I hope you don't really believe the GOP is going to give Obama a pass on every inconsistency of his campaign.

[TwilightGardener]

42. Obama's campaign flaws are minor. You are holding him up to a standard

that no candidate can meet. Hillary doesn't meet it, and McCain certainly doesn't either. And unless you can prove that Obama's advisors are trying to spread a totally different message on their own than what he says, you're really nitpicking. Power didn't do that, neither did Goolsbee--they may have shown a different angle or used different wording, but neither have contradicted Obama's message--the howling screech monkeys of the Clinton campaign want that to be true, because their bankrupt campaign has nothing left to lose, but people are geting burned out on this bullshit. It's just not important. It will be even less important in the GE, when the differences between Obama and McCain will be so great that no one will care whether Obama's two brigades a month end up being one and a half.

[GoldieAZ49]

43. I think Obama will be held to a higher standard in the GE

He has been in the primary

And yes the policy differences in the GE will be huge, but look at the petty little things that have been used in the past, successfully.

[TwilightGardener]

46. I'm glad you admit that he's held to a higher standard--that's why I'm proud

to support him.

[GoldieAZ49]

49. He held himself to a higher standard, that was what attracted me to begin with

but it doesn't mean blind allegiance

[TwilightGardener]

52. I don't have blind allegiance. I just think he has more integrity and

would make a better President.

[GoldieAZ49]

54. no doubt there. But I think the GE has already started

he is being hit from every direction. I think it is time to circle the wagons and get everyone on the same page.

[Caro]

61. That's what they were saying last week.

And look what happened.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[John Q. Citizen]

7. I'm just glad Obama hasn't endorsed McCain like Hillary did. And where are her tax returns?

[ossman]

8. Lets hold Hillary accountable to everything Mark Penn says

speaking of advisors...

[TwilightGardener]

9. Howard Wolfson believes that candidates should release their tax info--

except when it's the Monster.

[anamandujano]

18. Another lame thread hijack--It's all about the taxes! ROFL

[TwilightGardener]

21. Why is Wolfson saying something else now? Why did he deny that he said

Obama was like Kenneth Starr? How many surrogates have been "fired" by the Monster, or had to apologize, for going "off-message" in the Clinton campaign compared to the Obama campaign?

[anamandujano]

24. This stuff is off ISSUE, not off message. The guy is lying to the electorate.

He tells us one thing; his advisers run and tell the bad guys not to listen, he's really on their side.

[TwilightGardener]

27. LOL! You lose.

[anamandujano]

39. Not even a lame rationalization to back up your proclamation?

:shrug:

[PurityOfEssence]

19. and his supporters say whatever they damn well please

Reality is but another tool of convenience when swept along by the dizzying throng..

[leftofcool]

29. At least they do talk some about the issues.... he talks about math

[Bluerthanblue]

30. was Hillary not listening in the last debate she had with Obama?

here is his actual comment-

SEN. OBAMA: Well, if the Iraqi government says that we should not be there, then we cannot be there. This is a sovereign government, as George Bush continually reminds us.

Now, I think that we can be in a partnership with Iraq to ensure the stability and the safety of the region, to ensure the safety of Iraqis and to meet our national security interests.

But in order to do that, we have to send a clear signal to the Iraqi government that we are not going to be there permanently, which is why I have said that as soon as I take office, I will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we will initiate a phased withdrawal, we will be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. We will give ample time for them to stand up, to negotiate the kinds of agreements that will arrive at the political accommodations that are needed. We will provide them continued support. But it is important for us not to be held hostage by the Iraqi government in a policy that has not made us more safe, that's distracting us from Afghanistan, and is costing us dearly, not only and most importantly in the lost lives of our troops, but also the amount of money that we are spending that is unsustainable and will prevent us from engaging in the kinds of investments in America that will make us more competitive and more safe.

This is completely in line with what Stephanie Powers said in her comment- And this is NOT the first time Obama has said he will listen and plan to get the troops out of there as quickly as is possible given the situation that exists when he becomes president- Why is this so hard for people to understand?

At 2brigades a month, it is going to take quite a while to get us out of there- Was anyone else not listening to the hearings by Petraeus and his other mouthpieces at the congressional hearings?????

[blm]

45. Caro wondered why BCCI criminals ended up involved in 9-11, but never wondered why Clinton

deep-sixed those matters for GHWBush and Jackson Stephens throughout the 90s.

To think I used to think YOU CARED about accountability.

Now you advocate for Clintons to continue the protection of BushInc into the next decade.

[indimuse]

48. 100% do NOT trust Barack Obama!

for so many reasons.

[cottonseed]

56. Hillary says Obama has no experience. Wants to be his VP.

That's speaking out of both sides of her mouth.

[Caro]

62. In eight years he can gain a lot of experience.

THEN he'll be ready to be president.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com