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Saturday, January 12, 2008

Obama Iraq War 2004

The Star pushes forward Bill Clinton's question about Obama's stand on the war in 2004 in this article, Is Obama or Clinton really for 'change'?:
"Of course, he opposed the Iraq war in 2002 when Clinton voted in favour, but he said in 2004 he wasn't sure how he would have voted had he been in the Senate."
No mention of Obama's response.

Researching the story some more to get Obama's take on it, I find that Reuters ignore's Obama's response too, Bill Clinton defends "fairy tale" remark on Obama:
Former President Bill Clinton said on Friday Barack Obama's bid to be president was no "fairy tale" and said his use of that phrase earlier in the week referred specifically to Obama's claims about his stance on the Iraq war.
The NY Times tries harder, Clintons Move to Tamp Down Criticism From Blacks About Recent Comments:
Mr. Clinton, in his radio interview, disputed any notion that he had been impugning Mr. Obama personally.

He said he was addressing a specific issue that, he believed, had not been given sufficient scrutiny: Mr. Obama’s position on Iraq and a statement by Mr. Obama in 2004 that he could not say how he would have voted on the war had he been in the Senate, though he did not believe the case for war had been made.

Mr. Clinton said the 2004 view was at odds with Mr. Obama’s position that he, unlike Mrs. Clinton, has always been against the war. “I said that story is a fairy tale,” Mr. Clinton said. “Now that doesn’t have anything to do with my respect for him as a person or his campaign. I have gone out of my way not to express any personal disrespect for him and his campaign.”

Mr. Obama’s campaign said Mr. Clinton was engaging in revisionist history about his record on the war.
It's hard to get the whole story.