Sunday, January 13, 2008

Fact Check for Jan 13th - Bad Oppo Alert! Sen. Obama’s Senate Record On Iraq

From the FactHUB

Today, the Obama campaign is claiming that Sen. Obama and Hillary have "clearly different" records on Iraq since Sen. Obama joined the Senate.

Actually, Hillary and Sen. Obama have identical voting records on Iraq, with the exception of Obama's vote to confirm Gen. Casey. Obama didn't vote for a phased withdrawal or a timetable for withdrawal before Hillary did. Here's ABC News:

"Obama's Senate voting record on Iraq is nearly identical to Clinton's. Over the two years Obama has been in the Senate, the only Iraq-related vote on which they differed was the confirmation earlier this year of General George Casey to be Chief of Staff of the Army, which Obama voted for and Clinton voted against." [ABC News, 5/17/07]

The Obama campaign's research document is highly misleading. For example, here is the citation that the Obama campaign provides from his floor statement on the 2006 Kerry amendment providing a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq:

Obama Called For an "Expeditious Yet Responsible Exit from Iraq." In 2006, Obama said, "What is needed is a blueprint for an expeditious yet responsible exit from Iraq." [Obama Floor Statement On Kerry Amendment, 6/21/06]

After reading this, you probably think Obama supported Kerry amendment. He did not, saying he opposed "a precipitous withdrawal of our troops, driven by congressional edict."

The document misrepresents many other quotes in a similar fashion.

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