There has been quite an uproar in the press that Sen. Obama has flip flopped on Iraq. I think there is deep rooted misunderstanding of Sen. Obama's position on the Iraq war. There is a false presumption on the part of the public and the media regarding the speech Sen. Obama made on Chicago lake front.

Let us go to the facts: Sen. Obama delivered his now famous "Iraq war speech" on October 2nd 2002. The Iraq war resolution was passed by the House of Representatives on October 10th and passed by the senate on October 11th. By October 2002 Obama had already made up his mind to run for the US Senate. He was well aware that the majority of the Illinois Democratic delegation was going to vote against the war resolution. In fact it is public record that 9 out of 12 Democrats in the Illinois delegation voted against the resolution. Here is the list:

Sen Dick Durbin- Rep Jerry Costello- Rep Danny Davis- Rep Lane Evans- Rep Luis Gutierrez Rep Jesse Jackson, Jr- Rep Bill Lipinski- Sen Bobby Rush- Rep Jan Schakowsky

Sen. Obama's run for the senate required the support of the congressional Democrats and it would have been unwise for him not to speak against the Iraq war. It was not necessarily his convictions that made him speak up against the war it was in fact a political necessity. So I can see why he might now want to "refine" his position.

I am glad we have a nominee that is politically vary savvy and a real winner.

http://usliberals.about.com/od/liberalle adership/a/IraqNayVote_3.htm

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Barack_Oba ma's_Iraq_Speech

While we were debating amongst ourselves Senator Clinton was working her heart out to ensure our troops come home, that Health care is available,and all the other benefits an Obama Presidency would bring. Meanwhile McCain and his Rovian "proteges" are preparing to stop all this. They are not interested in ending the war without "victory" They won't change
health care except for making sure you can't choose to have an abortion, yet we are talking on Mydd about how Hiliary must be taking great pleasure in Obama being scrutinized. While others are insinuating without a trace of evidence that Obama suporters are shutting down pro Obama blogs that dare to question his actions. If this was the case MYdd would be the first to be shut down. While other diaries imply he might be an anti abortionist. The latest "Talking Points" by McCain focus on you can't believe a word Obama says he's a "typical politician" that treated Senator Clinton unfairly and who won't end the war. The Republicans would love to instill division within our party and of course this is their strategy. This is why I admire Senator Clinton so much she has her eyes on the prize. For her changing America far outweighs any personal goals. Let's keep debating the issues but let's not forget Rove, McCain, Bush and the America they have created.

Insidious Real Goal of Reporting on Supposed Obama "Flip-Flop" on Iraq

All the chatter over the last 24 hours on cable news has been about Obama's supposed "flip-flopping" on the Iraq War.  Besides the fact that these "allegations" are utterly baseless, the right-wing-inspired blathering has distracted us from a very substantive discussion of policy which Obama offered in Fargo.

I alluded to this yesterday, but didn't have confirmation.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/7/3/14554 7/1055

Charlie Crist is getting married !!!!

http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/593 449.html

The Nation is reeling from eight years of the complete disregard of the most precious treasure we posess, the Constitution of the United States of America.  In that time many have sacrificed all they have because they thought that document actually means something.  There are those that have thought sacrificing some freedom for security was the only thing to do when faced with attacks on our home.  On that score the wise words of Franklin are very clear "Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither".  

Senator Obama you must look to our Founders for the wisdom to guide your stand on many issues.  Yes they owned slaves but they had one thing sorely lacking in politicians today, courage.  In their time they stood up to the greatest empire of the day to create this imperfect nation.  Each one of them did so with a real threat of death for their actions.  When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he didn't know if he would live or die for his treason against England.  Indeed there were times when it looked as if they would all surely hang when the course of that War was going against the Colonies.  They could hear the thunder of the cannons and in their own homes they could see the price of freedom.  It was no distant conflict but one that took place on their front doorsteps.

Senator Obama there are many issues on which to compromise but the Constitution is not one of them.  I hope you spend this July 4th in deep reflection on what this day truly represents.  Perhaps a solitary walk thru Arlington Cemetary to commune with those that have sacrificed all for that document.  Yes there are the fireworks, the barbeques, family and friends, and all the celebration.  Today will also be a day when a soldier will be wounded or die somewhere in Iraq or Afghanistan.  They will do so because they believe the Constitution makes this nation worth it.

Amendment [IV] The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Senator Obama rethink your incomplete thought on FISA and don't protect those that have violated our rights under the Constitution.  (They don't deserve immunity or anything else.)  Above all have the same courage as our brave soldiers when it comes to defending our most precious treasure which is the very essence of our nation.  Rise above political calculation, or Party and become the first Statesman our nation has seen in a very long time.  The People need and want a true leader this time for the very hard path which is ahead.

Have a great July 4th

Earlier this week, Donzella James and David Scott met for what will be their only debate at the Atlanta Press Club studio.  While neither one had a good handle on the overly restrictive format, the message was clear - if you're a progressive support Donzella - if you're a Bush Dog, support Scott.  One caveat: Donzella did offer qualified support for more oil drilling - kinds wish she hadn't.  The realities of global warming make that needle impossible to thread, IMHO.  I'm still behind her, though!

Finally, a word of apology: I've never worked with an embed code, so all the video is through links.

There has been a lot of talk this week about Obama's sudden lurch to the right. While it is fun to watch his supporters run around waving their hands in the air and crying, we must not become too complacent.

Most of this week's accusations of flip-flopping have been a little weak on substance. Guns, no real change, but we can still throw it in there to add to the count. The same holds true for abortion, death penalty, and NAFTA. I wish we had stronger claims for a "lurch" to the right on these, but maybe if we keep bringing them up no one will really notice.

The biggie is FISA. Hopefully, no one will notice that the bill in question was passed in the House and not in the Senate. They also might not notice that Obambi said he was still against immunity and would work to remove it in the Senate version. Don't give up, guys and gals, keep pounding on this one. It's our best shot.

(cross-posed at Kickin it with CG and Clintonistas for Obama)

Last week the blog Clintonistas for Obama was locked by Blogger.  The following message was provided:

Dear Blogger User,

This is a message from the Blogger team.

Your blog, at http://clintonistasforobama.blogspot.com /, has been identified as a potential spam blog. You will not be able to publish posts to your blog until we review your site and confirm that it is not a spam blog.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

To unlock, a code had to be entered to request an editorial review from a live person, which took four days.  I also would like to preface that C4O's mandate is as follows...

We agree with Hillary Clinton, we support the progressive values she supports, and we share her dedication to making this nation better... That's why we support Barack Obama for President! :-)

The locking of the blog puzzled the group that posts there, and personally made me suspicious since C4O is the furthest thing from being spam.  So I decided to investigate this a bit further.  What I discovered was shocking and disturbing to be frank.  

My investigation began with a Washington Post article that exposes that the Obama smear emails originated on Free Republic. No shocker there. Freepers have been leaders of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy since its inception and full of smears, slime and innuendoes, especially about the Clintons.

But after the article was published, a Freeper, charged that the WaPo reporter has exposed the identity of anonymous posters in the past, and the WaPo article also "exposed" ordinary people who dared to think the rumour was important, but who denied being involved in the spamming.

The author is quite paranoid about it:

The article Mosk wrote today purports to be about efforts to track down where the `Obama is a Muslim' allegations began. However, it is actually a warning shot across the bow to opponents of Obama that they will be tracked down and exposed for speaking ill of the Obamessiah.

While it literally pains me to agree with a Freeper, is this what is going on?  Shutting down free speech online?  Finding the name and address of people who post anonymously on websites?  Reporters harassing them and exposing them to ridicule?  I am embarrassed to say that I have witnessed behaviour akin to this on 'progressive' blogs as well.

Which brings me back to C4O.  It seems that there is a concerted effort amongst a group to shut down political criticism of Obama.

Blogger offers readers the opportunity to flag blogs as spam or complain about objectionable content.  And apparently someone has been using this to shut down blogs that are perceived as critical to Obama.

Several sources, including Blogspasm report that several blogs that have been shut down by Google that are critical of Obama, and the suspicion is that Google is being manipulated to shut down the opposition.

Now no one could think that the Obama campaign is promoting such deeds, but when people attack and try to shut down sites critical of a political candidate - we all have to worry.

Is this really what some people have become, bullying and intimidation to fall in line with what is 'acceptable' discussion?