Senator Obama has failed to demonstrate leadership in crisis when given the opportunity. He completely abdicated his role as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs - by his own admission - because he has been running for President. He ignored that call - but wants to be able to answer the White House phone.
I guess the Bush administration needs no oversight.
Seems to me that there are multiple crises right now that could be aired and investigated in that committee - NATO's role in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Russian influence in former Soviet bloc countries....
That is why congressional hearings matter, and why a subcommittee chairmanship represents a significant responsibility. Knowledge is not just power but the fundamental requirement for either house of Congress to act as an equal of the executive branch in government.
http://www.salon.com/...
Obama on the stump today:
Because the question is not about picking up the phone. The question is -- what kind of judgment will you make when you answer?
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/...
Clinton on Obama's abdication:
"He was given the responsibility of chairing what's called a subcommittee in the Congress responsible for the European countries and our alliance with them and as part of that responsibility was NATO... [W]hat you learned last night is he's never held a substantive hearing or meeting to look at what is going on in NATO, to take a hard look at what's happening in Europe and in fact the reason he hasn't as he said is because he got the assignment when he started running for president. Well, I don't think that's an adequate excuse."
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...
Senator Obama: Why didn't you use your Senate chairmanship to engage in oversight of the Bush administration? Are you satisfied with their conduct on foreign policy? Why shouldn't a Democratic Senator use his position to hold them accountable?
Obama did issue a soundbite today:
"With respect to our NATO allies, I've been very clear that we do need more support from them. We also may need to lift some of the constraints that they have placed on their forces there," Obama said on his campaign plane.
I don't think that a quote on the fly makes up for failing to use your Senate leadership position on these issues.
Here's the thing: there are crises NOW that are under your jurisdiction. And you are nowhere to be found. Your committee work gets in the way of running for President. So the hell with oversight.
But that's all very relevant. You avoided dealing with crises that were under your jurisdiction. Why should you get the phone in the White House when you're not answering the phone now?
Senator Obama: Answer the phone.