Clinton says National Security is more important than Human Rights. Obama disagrees. [View All]

Note how Obama doesn't back down when Blitzer tries to get him to buy into the concept concept that we have to chose one over the other, whereas Clinton capitulates.



Senator Obama, is human rights more important than American national security?

OBAMA: The concepts are not contradictory, Wolf.

BLITZER: Because occasionally, they could clash.

OBAMA: They are complementary.

The more we see repression, the more there are no outlets for how people can express themselves and their aspirations, the worse off we're going to be, and the more anti-American sentiment there's going to be in the Middle East. We keep on making this mistake.

<snip>

But we've got to understand that, if we simply prop up anti- democratic practices, that that feeds the sense that America is only concerned about us and that our fates are not tied to these other folks.

And that's going to make us less safe.

That's something I intend to change.

<snip>

(other candidates give responses here)

BLITZER: You say national security is more important than human rights. Senator Clinton, what do you say?

CLINTON: I agree with that completely.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0711/15/se.02.html