Barack Obama held his first press conference today in Amman, Jordan in which he acknowledged that he has some differences with General Paetreus in terms of the Iraq timeline for withdrawal.
The Popular Message of Barack Obama
I don’t think that I’m pointing out something new by saying that in general, the consensus of the American people is that we need to start pulling out of Iraq. (In fact, I dare say some would argue we should’ve been pulling out of Iraq a long time ago.) I personally think that this is one reason that Obama is so popular and such a media darling. He happens to believe what the American people want to hear. And in case you doubt his “belief” is anything more than political ploy. . .check his senate record. He has consistently and always been against the Iraq war even when others in his party were for it.
While he and Paetreus agree, Obama says that he’ll reconsider should conditions on the ground change.
The Not So Popular Message of McCain
McCain on the other hand has been painted as not understanding the American people for comments like “they can stay in Iraq for the next 100 years. ..” He has deliberately refused to name a timeline, he supports the operations there and he says that a pull out must be based on conditions on the ground rather than an arbitrary timeline.
McCain by the way, has been to Iraq some thirty times. While the media has at times painted him as someone “who doesn’t get it”, I have to disagree. A POW, someone who is active on the Veteran Affairs Committee, and who has actually spent a substantial amount of time in that area of the world–I think gets it. His opinion isn’t popular, but it’s not uninformed either.
So who to you makes the most sense? The person who is going to pull troops out on a specific deadline or the person who says he’ll evaluate the conditions when he’s in office and consider seriously the recommendations of the Commanders who are there?
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Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, and also writes about politics and the occassional movie review. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.