ABCNews reports today that during a speech in my hometown of Eugene, Oregon:
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.
What's the problem with that?
ABCNews notes:
Clinton's claim was false.
As it turns out, even granting Clinton her yardstick of January 2005, the record shows that, even then, Obama criticized the Iraq war before she did.
See below the fold for the analysis...
[E]ven if one were to employ this "Start Counting in January 2005" measurement, Clinton did not criticize the war in Iraq first.
Scrambling to support their boss's claim, Clinton campaign officials pointed to a paper statement Clinton issued on Jan. 26, 2005, explaining her vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State.
"The Administration and Defense Department's Iraq policy has been, by any reasonable measure, riddled with errors, misstatements and misjudgments," the January 2005 Clinton statement said. "From the beginning of the Iraqi war, we were inadequately prepared for the aftermath of the invasion with too few troops and an inadequate plan to stabilize Iraq."
But Obama offered criticisms of the war in Iraq eight days before that, directly to Rice, in his very first meeting as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 18.
So, do I think that this is the biggest thing in the universe? Of course not.
Unfortunately, this doesn't come at a great time for Senator Clinton, as she is still trying to explain away the incorrect hospital story she's been talking about and the Tuzla story.
Can we all agree with ABCNews when they say:
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.)
Can we all agree that Clinton should stop making up stories in order to paint a more flattering picture?
What was behind THIS lie "mistruth"?
Senator Clinton may have a right to stay in this race, but she needs to GTFO if she's going to insist on continuing to kneecapObama and make herself (and the Democratic Party by extension) look silly.