At Presser In Jordan, Obama Details His Conversation With Petraeus
Barack Obama's press conference is underway now in Amman, Jordan, and he's detailing the private conversation he had last night with General David Petraeus.
Obama told reporters that Petraeus asked for "as much flexibility as possible," and revealed that he told Petraeus that he understood Petraeus' desire but told the general that his own job as commander in chief "extends beyond Iraq."
"The U.S. military can't be there forever," Obama said at the presser, adding that he'd had a "terrific conversation" with Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. "The job they've done on the ground is extraordinary," Obama continued.
"In his role as commander on the ground, he wants to attain as much flexibility as possible," Obama said of his talk with Petraeus. "What I emphasized to him was, if I were in his shoes, I would probably feel the same way."
"But my job extends beyond Iraq," Obama said.
More soon.
Late Update: I've removed Obama's answer to the question about the surge, because I can't be certain precisely what was asked. We're going back to check the tape and will bring you the question and answer soon.
Late Late Update: At the presser, Obama was asked something to the effect of whether he was ignoring his commanders' advice. He rejected that premise, saying:
"The notion is that either I do exactly what my military commanders [say] or I'm ignoring their advice. No, I'm factoring in their advice, but placing it in the broader strategic framework that's required."
Works for me.
Late Late Late Update: Here's vid of Obama discussing his talk with Petraeus...
Um, you think?
Is there some context I'm not getting here?
July 22, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
please see the update I added
July 22, 2008 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Greg.
I actually looked up the word "colloque" to make sure it meant what I thought it meant. I was wondering if I was having a McCain moment.
July 22, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I'm not sure what he really means by that....He has been debating Iraq with McCain for weeks already.
July 22, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
It seemed totally clear to me.
Obama means that traditionally campaigning isn't supposed to happen overseas, and you don't take political potshots while you're abroad. All he meant is that he isn't looking to hit the McCain campaign until he gets back to the US, which is why he sidestepped the question about whether he thinks McCain's surge has been successful.
July 22, 2008 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, well when you put it like that it makes sense.
July 22, 2008 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Doh! (slaps own forehead)...overlooked that as well. Thanks.
July 22, 2008 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jeez...Andrea Mitchell's pissed....but then again, per wikipedia, we know which side she lies on....
"Andrea Mitchell was with first lady Hillary Clinton on her trip to Bosnia where Clinton claimed to have come under sniper fire during her 2007 democratic primary campaign. Mitchell knew Clinton's claims were false but failed to report it. After a Youtube video exposed Clinton's false statement Mitchell confessed that she knew the truth but failed to report it."
July 22, 2008 10:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Andrea Mitchell always seems pissed or confused, so your comment is just consistent with her track record. I swear sometimes I'll see her answering a question and I just want to scream "SPIT IT OUT!" She seems genuinely befuddled by Barack Obama and the whole Obamenon...
July 22, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good luck hearing the questions. It's impossible.
However, the question was clearly about McCain's attack yesterday and Obama said, in effect, he doesn't want to get into a partisan back and forth while he is overseas and had hoped to find areas where we could agree. He then went on to praise McCain.
July 22, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
I sincerely hope he didn't describe himself as the C-I-C in present tense, non-hypothetical terms...
Can someone who is watching this live clarify? I could see that being just the opening they've been waiting for; These are the folks who have the power to convince wide swaths of the electorate that Obama is aloof and an elitist. Yesterday it was "Oh, they remodeled the front portion of the plane and left the journalists riding in regular old coach seats for 14 hours". Today I read an article about how they were waiting for Obama in Amman in an open-air tent in the blistering heat. I doubt they're too into that either.
July 22, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, he did absolutely wonderful at the presser.
No real gaffes just a brain fart about "Israel will always be a strong friend of Israel" loll when he meant hte US.
The guy is just so fucking smart it's crazy.
July 22, 2008 10:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
He didn't...
July 22, 2008 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you.
And DAMN! That's a downright pitch-perfect statement of Presidential authority.
July 22, 2008 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama said it best when he said something like, "the notion that I'm ignoring the advise of the commanders on the ground is wrong, I'm 'factoring' in their advice, with all the other information I have to think and worry about."
July 22, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
So Petraeus wants as much flexibility as possible? Sounds like Petraeus wants to be the new Paul Bremmer. Barack needs to make it clear to McAUTHOR of the surge that just because BUSH adducted his responsibility as Commander and Chief and let Petraeus run the war, doesn’t mean that he is not going to take charge of the military when he is elected.
July 22, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
I love the idea that Obama manually picks out the media individuals so that they may ask questions --- instead of having a select few be allowed to ask questions at each conference like Bush does.
July 22, 2008 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Based on this description of the presser, it sounds like Obama is already the President... or thinks he is.
July 22, 2008 10:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
*Sigh*...leave the spin up to the Republicans.
Obama:
Notice the "if"? he was asked a hypothetical, and he responded...hypothetically.
July 22, 2008 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
No, I didn't see the "if" because it's not in the summary. I specifically was commenting on the way the presser was described. I haven't read/heard the actual presser, but would like to.
July 22, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. Greg, you may want to revise your post b/c it does give the impression that Obama has already assumed he is CiC. I read the summaries and, like others, was immediately worried that he stepped over the line from senator/ presumptive nominee to inaugurated president.
July 22, 2008 11:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
had that thought myself, looking at the wording in Obama's reply
""The notion is that either I do exactly what my military commanders [say] or I'm ignoring their advice. No, I'm factoring in their advice, but placing it in the broader strategic framework that's required."
granted, the paraphrase of the question seemed to set that sort of response up, but they're not Obama's military commanders yet, they still answer to Shrub for a few more months....
July 22, 2008 11:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Anyone noticing how much better he is at these pressers? he is a lot more confident now than he was in the early part of the campaign. His campaign does a great job in briefing him.
July 22, 2008 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am from Independence, Missouri. We learned all about the relationship between the President and the commanders on the ground from Harry Truman. There is a difference between strategy and tactics.
The Bush nonsense that the president is hamstrung by the generals on the ground is total crap. A President is elected to take the big view. A responsible President doesn't concede his broader strategic duty to the generals on the ground. He listens carefully to their advice and then he factors their concerns into his calculations. Obama is striking exactly the right note.
If Truman had adopted the Bush view MacArthur would have dropped nukes on China and WWIII would have been ugly.
July 22, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly! I've always found this line to be BS from the Bushies. It's simply a tool that they use to duck responsibility for their own administrative failures. It boils down to an excuse not to lead.
July 22, 2008 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. The whole line about "following the advice of commanders on the ground" is just another GOP tactic for ducking responsibility. Imagine them criticizing a CEO for not doing what his division vice presidents tell him -- it sounds ludicrous. That the idea of the country's foreign policy being dictated by a theater-level commander doesn't sound equally ludicrous is a measure of how much our political discourse has been distorted by Republican propaganda.
Equally ludicrous are the reporters (and wingnut bloggers) who say "well, what is he going to do if General Petraeus comes to Congress and testifies that we shouldn't get out of Iraq, huh?"
a. Generals don't do that, because their role is to advise on military policy and carry it out, not to dictate it.
b. If he did, Obama would justifiably fire his ass for insubordination.
(Not to mention that Bush only started claiming to "listen to commanders on the ground" after he fired every general who dared to disagree with him.)
July 22, 2008 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
He nailed it. I'd love to see him repeat his last line about the commanders on the ground over and over.
Anyone who thinks this guy isn't incredibly knowledgeable on foreign affairs isn't paying attention or is listening to a failed press corps
July 22, 2008 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Any military leader would want EVERYTHING he can get to accomplish what he thinks is necessary -- that goes for any worker in society. But life sucks and we don't always get what we want because of OTHER FACTORS --- like what Obama mentioned -- our U.S. economy, health care, Afghanistan war, environment, etc... ALSO need help.
A President or leader MUST consider ALL factors, not just what HE prefers to care about (like Bush and McCain).
July 22, 2008 11:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's called having a Balanced Vision!
July 22, 2008 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where's the audio/video for this presser?
July 22, 2008 11:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
By the way I don't blame Petraeus. He is doing the job given him. That he is pushing hard for more in Iraq is exactly what we want and should expect. That said, if Obama is elected it is pretty clear who is going to be in charge.
July 22, 2008 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
I thought that Obama did a great job overall.
July 22, 2008 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
The MSM is so into this either/or, he said, she said way of framing things that they are having trouble it seems with actual grown-up answers to things.
And Obama gives grown-up answers. I love it - "Petraeus says he wants this, I understand, but I have a bigger mission."
Thank you so much Obama for being a grownup and smart one.
July 22, 2008 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama speaks to people as if they are rational, mature, intelligent, adults (even those working for the MSM). McCain talks to everyone (especially potential voters) as if they are particularly slow-witted children. I suppose you could call that targeting his base.
July 22, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
What I love about this is that, while he respects the priorities of Petraeus, he has a clear vision of the responsibilities of the Commander in Chief, and is not reluctant to make that vision clear to these foreign and military leaders and to the nation. Leadership.
July 22, 2008 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know - I can't believe we're hearing actual thought-out views of Iraq. None of the people who started this shit have ever said one thing that made the first second or third amount of sense. Ever.
Bush just throws shit out there to get the questions to go away - I listen to my commanders. I will appoint a war czar - you dumb fuck, that's what the CIC is.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to stand having a real honest to god president again. It's been a damn long time -
July 22, 2008 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama actually understands what the presidency is all about. God, what a gift from the universe.
July 22, 2008 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
"The notion is that either I do exactly what my military commanders [say] or I'm ignoring their advice. No, I'm factoring in their advice, but placing it in the broader strategic framework that's required."
I love that Obama resists the urge to say, "Listen dunderhead, we elect presidents to conceive successful policy. We pay generals to carry out those policies. Not, the other way around."
July 22, 2008 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, he really shows he has a long term strategic vision in foreign policy. I would love to hear what Johnny Mac's is. All he can say is My Friends, The Surge has Worked, and we have to stay forever. He is just like Bush41. He has no vision thing. Even if he had a vision, he is so inarticulate he couldn't express it in a coherent way.
July 22, 2008 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Even if Obama did "ignore" the advices of his commanders, that would be his perogative as the Commander in chief.
Also, Bush and Rumsfield ignored what their commanders said prior to going ito Iraq. Gen. Eric Shineski was booted out earlier than his intended retirement date because Rumsfield ignored the fact that army needed more troops than he provided, and that general spoke the truth at a congressional hearing.
McCain claims that he knows how to wins wars, but spent time in a POW camp of a war which the US lost. Does he actually represent the kind of forward thinking, strategic comprehension that they are teaching in our military acadamies?
I'm not surprised that the surge worked given that Petraeus had a very forward thinking view of how to conduct a counter-insurgency war, of which Bush and et al were in denial.
The trouble is that McCain wants to claim credit for a highly criminal and dubious war that was based on lies and fabrication and gross incompetence. And it's taken the US army six years to get it right?
Yet Bin Laden and al Qaeda are still running in a region that McCain can't even properly identified.
Obama appears to have a more strategic view of the war on terrorism than McCain, who seems to be more interested in being "right" about the surge rather understanding the geopolitics of it, and what the US ought to be doing in other parts of the world to stem the kind of terrorism being propgated by bin Laden and his kind.
July 22, 2008 11:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent points. What bugs me is that the media keep equating Commander in Chief with President of the United States. CIC doesn't equal POTUS. Obama clearly gets that.
July 22, 2008 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Any takers on why CNN keeps bashing Obama. Now Anderson Cooper is indicating that Obama went too far on Irak. The new spin from CNN, is that there is only one president, and that Obama has crossed the line, and that he is acting as if he were the president as opposed to listen...
July 22, 2008 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
I noticed that too. The meme started last night on 360 on CNN, when David Gergen thought that Obama/Hagel/Reed's press release went too far. No one but CNN seems to think so.
July 22, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
This seems inevitable, and I'm sure the McCain camp and WH are pushing this meme hard. It used to be that Obama couldn't possibly be president. It will soon be Obama isn't president YET.
Obama needs to reiterate his comment that there is only one president at a time; he's there to listen. The press conference invited him to speculate -- perhaps unfortunately -- and he needs to get back into the listening and learning mode.
July 22, 2008 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think that type of push is going to affect much, most people want our current CIC to be gone asap.
July 22, 2008 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I noticed that as well...Why didn't they mention General Mullen playing politics on Fox News yesterday panning Obama's position...of course they wouldn't because they are biased...in addition would they say the same thing to McCain if Malaki endoresed McCains position Fox News would have broadcast it 24 hours straight without a commercial break as breaking news..along with all the other media outlets
July 22, 2008 11:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
And the spin is that the Media is Obama biased? What a joke?
July 22, 2008 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just went to CNN.com to see what others wer talking about, and the headline they are now offering is: "Could an Obama victory hurt black Americans?" Interesting question, but CNN is the wrong place to puzzle through an answer.
July 22, 2008 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain and others are saying that Obama is failing to admit that the Surge has worked. My simple question is how do they know what would have happened in Iraq if there had NOT been a Surge? In complex situations in society,believe it is hard to make an attribution that A caused B when a lot of other events and situations are occurring simultaneously!
July 22, 2008 12:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
omit the word "believe" from previous post. Thanks...
July 22, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is one of the reason why I no longer watch CNN. I used to like Anderson Cooper, but he has reached the level of Lou Dobbs and others...He should be better off joining Fox...
July 22, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
What Team McCain does not understand is that the more they attack Obama on Iraq the more they are giving him credibility, else, why bother to attack him? They are confirming their own worst fear, which is that Obama has what it takes to be CIC.
July 22, 2008 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have one question regarding all of these people asking the qusetion about listening to the commander's advice: Who runs things? The Military or the CiC?
July 22, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink