Considering I’ve just been having a related discussion in the comments, I found this post from Ed Morrissey timely.
In three different appearances over the last two days, David Axelrod, Susan Rice, and Claire McCaskill all offered competing visions of Obama’s policy on Iraq.
(Former Captain) Ed is arguing that Obama’s surrogates are confused, and offers three different snippets as his proof.
In the first, he has David Axelrod saying that Obama would listen to commanders on the ground.
For those of you who have not been paying attention, or have been projecting your own positions onto Obama, this is an example of what I’ve been calling nuance.
Ed’s third example of “competing visions” comes from Susan Rice, who offers the view that Obama would listen to commanders on the ground. (Since her statement coincides with Axelrod’s, this is basically a supporting vision rather than a competing.)
Only the second of Ed’s examples is new, or different, and it’s the most interesting to me:
Monica Novotny: In this week’s New Yorker, George Packer writes about Obama’s original withdrawal plan in the context of what we’re now seeing as a relative stabilization in parts of Iraq. He writes about Obama, ‘He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded al Qaeda in Iraq, re-energize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia’s recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse. The question is whether Obama will publicly change course before November.’ Will he?
Sen. McCaskill: No. He will not.
Ed interprets this as, “Obama won’t change his plans at all.”
But the interviewer didn’t ask whether Obama will change his plans at all. The question was: will he publicly change course before November?
Claire McCaskill was asked a political strategy question — and it’s an interesting little tidbit.
I’ve noticed for some time that Obama’s website hasn’t been updated on this, and the Iraq war has not come up in speeches or discussion for a while. It’s been pretty clear that he’s playing the timeline out as far as possible, and her response confirms it.
I seriously doubt it will be November, though, before Obama begins explaining how the changes in Iraq affect statements that time has rendered moot.
And I agree fully with the gist of Neocon’s comment: Obama will have an enormous challenge explaining the situation to those who have ignored the nuance all along.
Polimom
I know this was in relation to our conversation and once again either you are confused as to what Im saying or you are deliberately trying to misspeak what Im saying.
So I will repeat it simply. Barak Obama is the antiwar champion. He is. That is I believe not open for debate. They have voted for him because in Black and White on his website he announces how adamantly he wants to get out of Iraq. He delcares I will bring the troops home.
Now in regards to your nuances. Barak Obama’s website has continually changed. To reflect reality. No problem. Yet these nuances are overlooked for the larger promise of ending the war and bringing the troops home.
I don’t care that he has changed his mind. But I am here to tell you that those who staked a claim to Obama’s soul do. I for one am a belier that we cannot come home from Iraq for many more years. However, the antiwar has demanded we come home now and they have put forth Barak Obama as their champion for this cause. The fact that he is changing his mind does not bother me.
But it will bother them AND…..Barak Obama is not the nominee yet. He is the presumptive nominee. Hillary could win this yet if those supers begin changing their minds and trust me if this keeps up they might well do that with the far lefts blessing and hand the nomination on the second ballot to Hillary.
Remember the reasoning could go like this.
Hillary WON more votes then did Obama if you throw in Mi. and Fla.
Neither candidate WON the necessary delegates to WIN the nomination.
IF a large enough block of democratic voters rebel who once SUPPORTED OBAMA but now feel betrayed then I find it perfectly reasonable for the supers to change their mind and be non committal on the first ballot thus denying Obama the Nomination.
After the first ballot all bets are off and those delegates who are pledged to Obama could well switch to hillary who wants to end the war and bring the boys home.
Will it happen? I don’t know. Could it? Absolutely.
Polimom,
I agree that (former Captain) Ed is in a strange place here, conflating the answers to two different questions and using the resulting confusion as evidence of disarray among Obama’s advisers. I guess it’s all about supporting the narrative (that Obama is a serial flip flopper who no one can know what he believes in).
As for Neocon’s hopes, they seem far fetched. Unless Obama is found “with a dead girl or a live boy” as the saying goes, the Democrat’s Superdelegates are not going to switch to Hillary. Obama will have to completely self destruct for them to switch at this point. Former Hillary supporters are free to hope, of course, but I doubt that this hope will result in “Change you can believe in”.
😉
I was just watching MSNBC and the far left is ranting and a raving over Obama’s flip flopping moving to the center etc.
12,000 people have signed a pettiton at Obama.com telling the senator to not vote for the fisa bill. And that is in just the last few hours. He cant vote for this. He has to reject it which is why they delayed the vote till after the 4th of July to see which way the political wind would blow on this.
I have said this will tell the tale. If he votes for it he will lose the support of the Far left along with his subtle shifting in the Iraq positions. If he votes against the bill then once again he is going to be seen as a typical politican who caved to the special interests of his own party.
I know Polimom thinks the world of Obama but this guy has put himself in some horrid positions this last week as he hurried to try and define himself without thinking thru the repercussions of that definition.
I cant believe it; you guys deserve a Republican in the White House in Nov; with guys like you, come November Republicans McCain and Cindy will replace bush and laura in the WH. Lay off and unite for change