Reply #77: They are presidential candidates, right? [View All]

They showed the right judgment on Holy Joe/Lamont; others did not.

==Those examples are worthless and I can all but guarantee that if Edwards had been in the Senate, he would have done the same as the other dems.==

That is like saying Obama surely would have voted for the IWR if he had to cast a vote. ;)

==Edwards has had the luxury of playing armchair quarterback for the past few years==

Like Obama did in 2002. I notice how much importance Obama's supporters and campaigns place on 2002. You don't hear much about what he did in 2005, 2006, or 2007. Of course, we both know why. ;)

==I think it made sense for him to vote to continue appropriations for Iraq, particularly before the dems took control of the senate.==

That is one thing. The main problem I have with him on Iraq is his plan to continue the war, albeit a de-escalated war. Although, when Obama supporters invoke some sort of purity on Iraq, it has to be noted that Kucinich has consistently voted against financing the war, unlike Obama.

==I believe he's taken a thoughtful approach to the Iraq debacle from the very beginning and unlike your portrayal of him, he didn't jump the shark and all of a sudden decide to support the war. He has never supported it and he's been quite vocal about that all along==

He does support it. His plan to "end the war" in fact continues the war. That is pro-war in my book!

==While such a move might have elevated him in the eyes of the more absolutist anti-war activists, it would have done more damage than good to his reputation with the electorate at large.==

SO you are saying--contary to the mythology--that Obama's votes on Iraq were based on political reasons? Isn't that exactly what you guys alleged HRC, Edwards, Biden, Dodd, Kerry, et al. did (with no supporting evidence, although there is evidence that Obama changed his vote as a state senator on abortion for political reasons. The source? His friends...)?

==If you are truly honest with yourself, you'll admit that you can't say for sure whether or not Edwards would have voted any differently than Obama, had he still been in the Senate after 2004. Nobody can, really.==

That is ironic, since Obama supporters claim that if Obama had been in the senate in 2002 he would have voted against the IWR, even though Obama himself has said he doesn't know what he would have done had he been on the senate.

You are right, though. We don't know how Edwards would have voted on most Iraq bills since 2005. What we do know is that Edwards spoke out forcefully against capitulation right after the veto; others silenced their powerful voices. We also know Edwards is calling for ending the war; others are not but like to portray themselves as favoring an end to the war.