So, the Bosnia lie was dumb. The hospital story lie was amazing, since it assumed that voters were dumb. But…this new one is nothing short of outstanding.
Obama has been credited with foreseeing a troublesome war in Iraq primarily due to a speech he gave in 2002 while he was a state senator, where he spoke out against the war. Clinton said, “I started criticizing the war in Iraq before he did. So, I’m well aware that his entire campaign is premised on a speech he gave in 2002 and I give him credit for making that speech. But that was not a decision.”
So…um…she’s saying that even though Obama gave a speech before the war started that she was against the war before him. Before it started, but after she voted for it.
And we’re supposed to believe that.
Clinton\’s pro-Iraq War speech pt. 1
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Clinton\’s pro-Iraq War speech pt. 2
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Note that I’m not even going to touch the lie-within-a-lie where she said: “So, I’m well aware that his entire campaign is premised on a speech he gave in 2002″. If that is all she’s getting out of Obama’s campaign then she’s even more close-minded than I thought.
What’s even more amazing that Jake Tapper at ABCNews who has been carrying water for the Clinton’s campaign wrote a piece that not only called her out on this lie, but laid out actual facts:
In Eugene, Ore., Saturday. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., attempted to change the measure by which anyone might assess who criticized the Iraq war first, her or Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., by saying those keeping records should start in January 2005, when Obama joined the Senate. (A measure that conveniently avoids her October 2002 vote to authorize use of force against Iraq at a time that Obama was speaking out against the war.) She claimed that using that measure, she criticized the war in Iraq before Obama did.
But Clinton’s claim was false.
Clinton on Saturday told Oregonians, “when Sen. Obama came to the Senate he and I have voted exactly the same except for one vote. And that happens to be the facts. We both voted against early deadlines. I actually starting criticizing the war in Iraq before he did.”
It’s an odd way to measure opposition to the war — comparing who gave the first criticism of the war in Iraq starting in January 2005, ignoring Obama’s opposition to the war throughout 2003 and 2004. (And Clinton’s vote for it.)
And then he proceeds to mention a position paper from Clinton written on Jan. 26, 2005 regarding Rice’s confirmation that the campaign has pushed on reporters to bolster this outrageous lie. Tapper pointed out that Obama wrote a letter directly to Rice exactly the week before.
How did the Clinton’s campaign screw up something like that?
The misrepresentation of the record is symbolic of the re-writing of history Clinton has attempted on her record regarding the war in Iraq.
Because the larger context is more important. And Clinton’s written criticism of the war in a press statement in January 2005 received little attention compared to the press surrounding her trip to Iraq the next month, in February 2005.
You will also do well to remember that as late Spring ’07, Clinton was still supporting the war. It wasn’t until the first few televised debates that she started criticizing the way the war was run, but not the war itself.