The Hill's Stoddard falsely claimed Obama attempting to "get away from" national security, John McCain's "comfort zone"
SUMMARY: In an online video segment, A.B. Stoddard described national security as Sen. John McCain's "comfort zone" and asserted that Sen. Barack Obama "hasn't quite figured out yet how to get away from it, but he will. He has a few months to figure out how to always lob it back to the economy." But far from attempting "to get away" from the issue of national security, Obama has challenged McCain to debate the issue.
In the May 28 edition of The Hill's online video segment "Ask A.B.," associate editor and frequent MSNBC commentator A.B. Stoddard described national security as Sen. John McCain's "comfort zone" and asserted that Sen. Barack Obama "hasn't quite figured out yet how to get away from it, but he will. He has a few months to figure out how to always lob it back to the economy." But far from attempting "to get away" from the issue of national security, Obama has challenged McCain to debate the issue. In a May 16 speech in Watertown, South Dakota, Obama stated, "If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate that I'm happy to have any time, any place and that is a debate I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for."
From Obama's May 16 speech:
If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate that I'm happy to have any time, any place and that is debate I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for. George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for. They've got to explain why we are now in our sixth year, entering our sixth year of war in Iraq. We were supposed to be going over there for weapons of mass destruction that we never found. We were told that it was going to last a few months and cost a few billion dollars. We have now spent over $600 billion, thousands of lives lost and we have not been made safe. They are going to have to explain the fact that Osama bin Laden is still at large and is sending out videotapes with impunity. They need to answer for the fact that al Qaeda's leadership is stronger than ever because we took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan. They've got to answer for the fact that Iran is the greatest strategic beneficiary of our invasion in Iraq. It made Iran stronger -- George Bush's policies. They are going to have to explain why Hamas now controls Gaza. Hamas that was strengthened because the United States insisted that we should have democratic elections in the Palestinian Authority. They are going to have to explain why it is that Iran is able to fund Hezbollah and poses the greatest threat to America and Israel and the Middle East in a generation. That's the Bush-McCain record on protecting this country. Those are the failed policies that John McCain wants to double down on because he still hasn't spelled out one substantial way in which he'd be different from George Bush when it comes to foreign policy.
Moreover, contrary to Stoddard's claim, Obama has, in fact, taken an active role in addressing national security issues. As Media Matters for America has noted, Obama worked with fellow Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) on the "Lugar-Obama nonproliferation initiative" to secure unguarded weapons stockpiles in foreign countries -- which became law in January 2007 and for which the Senate Appropriations Committee provided $48 million in June 2007. Obama has also "spoke[n] passionately about the dangers of loose nukes" since he began his campaign for the Senate in 2004, as Washington Monthly's Christina Larson wrote in September 2006.
In addition to the Lugar-Obama initiative, Obama has introduced several other bills related to national security, including:
- The Nuclear Weapons Threat Reduction Act of 2007 (S.1977), co-sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), which would "provide for sustained United States leadership in a cooperative global effort to prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce global nuclear arsenals, stop the spread of nuclear weapons and related material and technology, and support the responsible and peaceful use of nuclear technology."
- Legislation that would have required the redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq.
- With Lugar and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), a bill "[t]o promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the rise of alternative fuels and new technology."
From The Hill's May 28 video segment "Ask A.B.":
STODDARD: Welcome back to "Ask A.B.," where I take your questions and you take my answers. I'm A.B. Stoddard, associate editor at the Hill newspaper. Thank you for joining my weekly Q&A on HillTube.
John McCain -- we haven't talked about him in a while -- is taking the general election to his comfort zone of national security. Barack Obama hasn't quite figured out yet how to get away from it, but he will. He has a few months to figure out how to always lob it back to the economy.
But for today, with a new report out from the International Atomic Energy Association, John McCain is talking about nuclear weapons, the threat of loose nukes, the threat of a nuclear Iran in a big speech today. And we're going to open with some questions on this very topic.
McCain is as expert, no more, no less, as GW Bush on matters of Iraq.
That is to say, both are CLUELESS, ignorant, and disingenuous.
National Security means a lot more than planning for wars. This country won't be secure until someone gets a handle on energy costs, poorly regulated financial institutions and an out of control healthcare system.
Iran, according to even the most fervent right wingnut, is years away from having nuclear weapons.
Our National Security will implode long before then with the way our economy is spiraling out of control. John McBush's attitude is to sit and watch as the markets work their magic.
I don't care to know the details of what Dick Cheney and those energy moguls worked out in those secret meetings early on in the Bush Administration.
I just have one question: Was the developed policy SUCCESSFUL? Or was it a failure?
If Successful, then $4 to $10 a gallon gas was planned and engineered. And it has been a boon to Dick's oil and gas buddies.
McCain's comfort zone is national security and he continually demonstrates a lack of understanding of foreign affairs...? Scary. Or aren't we supposed to notice this?
I understand that polls show voters are more concerned with the economy than the Iraq war. I think what Stoddard was trying to say was that Obama needs to learn to redirect the focus of debate on the economy rather than Iraq. It is true that McCain considers foreign policy his comfort zone and, admirably, Obama is not afraid to challenge him on that. Great idea as far as I'm concerned...hit McCain in what he considers to be his strongest suit. However, I can also appreciate the wisdom of bringing to the forefront those issues that resonate the greatest with voters...such as the economy. Not to defend Stoddard, but my appreciation of this piece was that Stoddard was trying to say Obama should re-direct the focus of his attack, and not that Obama has run from foreign policy. At least that's how I'm reading this...
my appreciation of this piece was that Stoddard was trying to say Obama should re-direct the focus of his attack, and not that Obama has run from foreign policy. At least that's how I'm reading this...
Irony,
That's how I read it also. It appears MMFA may have drawn the incorrect conclusion here as to what she was actually suggesting.
That said, McCain's one alleged strong suit is national security, though the more I hear from McCain, the more I'm inclined to believe that it's more media spin than reality.
This big myth by the media that McCain was the first to call for more troops is simply a lie.
On Feb. 25, 2003, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki famously warned the Senate Armed Services Committee that "several hundred thousand" soldiers would be needed to take and hold Iraq.
McCain was the first to call for Rumsfeld's resignation was another lie:
Four days later during a debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., aired on CNN, McCain said, "I'm the only one that said that Rumsfeld had to go."
A McCain spokesman acknowledged this week that that was not correct. "He did not call for his resignation," said the campaign's Brian Rogers.
This lie is allowed to be repeated and NEVER challenged by the media.
Mission Accomplished:
Additionally, in an interview with Salon.com published on June 13, 2003, on the same topic McCain stated: "Now, I think it's entirely appropriate now that regime change has been orchestrated -- and though the danger is certainly not over, the mission is 'accomplished' -- it's appropriate to have a hearing."
June 24, 2003, during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, McCain appeared to criticize "Mission Accomplished," saying: "[I]f you keep losing American lives after 'mission accomplished' it can present difficulties. But if the American people are spoken to, if I might say a little straight talk, I think they will not only understand but be prepared to bear the burden."
Torture?
I’ve made it very clear, I’ve made it very clear in my statements and in my support of the Detainee Treatment Act, the Geneva Conventions, etc., that there may be some additional techniques to be used, but none of those would violate the Geneva Conventions, the Detainee Treatment Act…And we cannot ever, in my view, torture any American, that includes waterboarding.
McCain votes against the Intelligenct Authorization Act for Fiscial 2008 which would force the entire government to use the Army field manual rules regarding tourture.
The truth is McCain's experience is being a seasoned politician, his so called straight talking days are long gone. McCain's goal is to get elected and if lying is required, McCain is more than willing.
I think one of the best ways to protect National Security is to make sure we protect our Constitution. Who better than a law school graduate and a professor who taught Constitutional Law?
From Eric Alterman's column
Remember when ABC held a debate at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia and didn't ask a single question about the Constitution?
Barack Obama is not waiting to be asked. "During a fund-raiser in Denver, Obama -- a former constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School -- was asked what he hoped to accomplish during his first 100 days in office.
"I would call my attorney general in and review every single executive order issued by George Bush and overturn those laws or executive decisions that I feel violate the constitution," said Obama." Here.
Who better than a law school graduate and a professor who taught Constitutional Law? Bottleblond
Bingo! That's what we need.