Friday, July 18, 2008
Fact Check: Obama's Position on Afghanistan
WASHINGTON -- Just what is the best way to explain Barack Obama's stand on Afghanistan _ has he shown great leadership or is he a Johnny come lately? Potential Obama running mate Sen. Joe Biden has used both descriptions.
Republicans were quick to point out the discrepancy in Biden's stance Thursday in a case that shows the risk of having a former rival rise to your defense in a political spat.
Biden's criticism came last year when he was running against the freshman Illinois senator for the Democratic presidential nomination, while the praise came this week in response to GOP attacks.
THE SPIN:
As Obama prepares for his first visit to Afghanistan, Republicans are criticizing him for failing to hold a single hearing on NATO's mission in the country as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs.
"He's going to go to the American people and say, `I want to be commander in chief,'" Republican presidential candidate John McCain told reporters Thursday, "and yet he has been the chairman of the subcommittee that oversights NATO and he has never had a hearing nor has he ever visited Afghanistan."
South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, the top Republican on the panel, sent Obama a letter this week urging him to have a hearing on Afghanistan after his visit. DeMint got a response by letter from Biden, who explained the full committee that he chairs has held three hearings on the issue in the past two years.
"Sen. Obama has displayed great leadership on this issue," Biden wrote, pointing out that Obama chaired the confirmation hearing for the ambassador to NATO and nearly a year ago called for the deployment of at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan.
But when Obama made the call for those extra brigades last summer in the midst of the primary campaign, Biden had a different take. The Delaware Democrat issued a statement saying Obama had a "Johnny come-lately position" on Afghanistan and was late to the debate.
"Thank you, Sen. Biden, for proving the point that Barack Obama has no credibility on Afghanistan," said RNC spokesman Alex Conant in a statement Thursday.
THE FACTS:
In a February debate, Obama acknowledged he hadn't had any oversight hearings because he only became chairman as he launched his presidential bid. He's not been around Capitol Hill much since then _ nor has McCain.
The subcommittee's jurisdiction includes "all matters, policies and problems concerning the continent of Europe, including the European member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."
Obama may have missed a chance to build his foreign policy credentials by making use of his leadership position. Biden could tell him about that _ he was the leading Democrat on the Europe subcommittee for nearly 20 years and used the position to become one of the Senate's leading foreign policy experts.
But some observers of the committee have said major issues like a war in Afghanistan are typically examined by the full committee _ as Biden argued was more appropriate in his letter to DeMint.
But the RNC pointed out to reporters Thursday that Obama only attended one of the three full committee hearings on Afghanistan that Biden mentioned in his letter. And in Biden's "Johnny-come-late" statement, he criticized Obama for asking only one question unrelated to Afghanistan at that March 8, 2007 hearing.
But the Democrats aren't the only ones with a mixed-message messenger on the issue. DeMint skipped the one hearing that Obama chaired on the NATO ambassador's nomination, and McCain also has missed multiple Armed Services Committee hearings on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars while campaigning for president.
WASHINGTON -- Just what is the best way to explain Barack Obama's stand on Afghanistan _ has he shown great leadership or is he a Johnny come lately? Potential Obama running mate Sen. Joe Biden has used both descriptions.
Republicans were quick to point out the discrepancy in Biden's stance Thursday in a case that shows the risk of having a former rival rise to your defense in a political spat.
Biden's criticism came last year when he was running against the freshman Illinois senator for the Democratic presidential nomination, while the praise came this week in response to GOP attacks.
THE SPIN:
As Obama prepares for his first visit to Afghanistan, Republicans are criticizing him for failing to hold a single hearing on NATO's mission in the country as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs.
"He's going to go to the American people and say, `I want to be commander in chief,'" Republican presidential candidate John McCain told reporters Thursday, "and yet he has been the chairman of the subcommittee that oversights NATO and he has never had a hearing nor has he ever visited Afghanistan."
South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, the top Republican on the panel, sent Obama a letter this week urging him to have a hearing on Afghanistan after his visit. DeMint got a response by letter from Biden, who explained the full committee that he chairs has held three hearings on the issue in the past two years.
"Sen. Obama has displayed great leadership on this issue," Biden wrote, pointing out that Obama chaired the confirmation hearing for the ambassador to NATO and nearly a year ago called for the deployment of at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan.
But when Obama made the call for those extra brigades last summer in the midst of the primary campaign, Biden had a different take. The Delaware Democrat issued a statement saying Obama had a "Johnny come-lately position" on Afghanistan and was late to the debate.
"Thank you, Sen. Biden, for proving the point that Barack Obama has no credibility on Afghanistan," said RNC spokesman Alex Conant in a statement Thursday.
THE FACTS:
In a February debate, Obama acknowledged he hadn't had any oversight hearings because he only became chairman as he launched his presidential bid. He's not been around Capitol Hill much since then _ nor has McCain.
The subcommittee's jurisdiction includes "all matters, policies and problems concerning the continent of Europe, including the European member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."
Obama may have missed a chance to build his foreign policy credentials by making use of his leadership position. Biden could tell him about that _ he was the leading Democrat on the Europe subcommittee for nearly 20 years and used the position to become one of the Senate's leading foreign policy experts.
But some observers of the committee have said major issues like a war in Afghanistan are typically examined by the full committee _ as Biden argued was more appropriate in his letter to DeMint.
But the RNC pointed out to reporters Thursday that Obama only attended one of the three full committee hearings on Afghanistan that Biden mentioned in his letter. And in Biden's "Johnny-come-late" statement, he criticized Obama for asking only one question unrelated to Afghanistan at that March 8, 2007 hearing.
But the Democrats aren't the only ones with a mixed-message messenger on the issue. DeMint skipped the one hearing that Obama chaired on the NATO ambassador's nomination, and McCain also has missed multiple Armed Services Committee hearings on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars while campaigning for president.
