"Whatever the Politics Demand"??

They do know this is the guy who spoke out against the war when it was politically stupid to do so, right?

Nonsense.

A) they hop back in forth in the timeline so much it is hard to tell what is being said when.

B) Since when has Obama asked for Immediate Withdrawal?

C) If McLamebrain wants to play like this he should realize he has made 61 flip flops and counting

Go to this site for a list of McCains flip flop, flippedy floppery, flop flop flip Floppery.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/90956/

I caved in and gave it a "view" - it's almost eight minutes long and I wonder how many will actually sit through it all. I actually think it serves it's purpose though and is an effective vid. John McCain has discovered youtube.

Better title: Barack Obama: Right About the War, Wrong About The Surge Before He Was Right About the Surge

I find it fascinating that they used clips of Obama revising his position based on new facts ... as an example of how his position does not change based on new facts.

Or something.

Why did they include so many clips of him honoring the sacrifices of our brave men and women in uniform? Don't they usually edit that stuff out, like the MSM seemed to do with gen. Clark?

Once again I love how the "surge" has become generally accepted as working. Who says it's working? John McCain? What makes it a success? What gains has there been made by the Iraqi politicians in this time? How many Iraqi's have been killed in sectarian violence?

Some how because the surge is said to be working that means that going into Iraq in the first place with the right decision? That seems to be being lost in the latest round of Iraq discussions.

Interesting that they didn't disable comments...

So where is this smytrie being pedaled?

I been gone and maybe missed something, but who is this meant for? I don't understand what forum they will use this, can anyone answer that, I have no clue. I am assuming it is not meant for voters, because it is too long. I could not sit through 7 minutes of it, and I am a political junkie. Is it for town hall meetings?

I truly don't think anyone is listening to this discussion that isn't into politics. I ask people I talk to all the time, and they just want affordable health care, gas prices that don't take $50 for a fill-up. A lot of the younger crowd does seem to have a vested interest in global warming. Most seem concerned with stagnation of wages, no union power to help them receive more than cost of living annually, and last but not least, being able to continue to make their house payments with lay offs and hiring freezes. My point is, when a voter selects his candidate in November, I think it will be the economy, period. The only exception, in my humble opinion, will be a moral vote (Roe v. Wade) or possibly a racism issue.

You know, I think that an honest assessment of this video and of Obama in general would have to admit that he has occasionally been just as guilty as other Dems of clumsily talking about Iraq out of fear of sounding soft on defense or not supporting the troops.

The truth is, every time he makes that stupid comment about how our troops have performed brilliantly he's acting from that scared place, he's pandering, it's weakness. A smarter approach is to shoot holes through the whole "support the troops" red herring, to expose it for what it is, to hammer home all the info out there about just how badly the troops have been supported by this administration, from poor supply lines (etc. body and vehicle armor), to tour extensions, to Walter Reed.

Obama has shown flourishes of ability to take control of the debate, to call bullshit and reframe effectively ("Let's talk about 9/11!"), but there are gaps and he has to be more consistent.

I don't think that this video will convert anyone into a McCain supporter, but Republicans eat this kind of thing up, they love it, so someone will be happy about it.

It is McCain's strategy to narrow the National Security discussion to one region, nay, one country--Iraq.

McCain wants the debate to be, "I was right on the surge, and Obama was wrong".

It is Obama's challenge to broaden the debate to include the larger conflicts we face in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If the National Security debate focuses on Iraq, McCain is in a strong position. If the debate takes into account the entire region, Obama wins.

I got through about 4 minutes - it was unpersuasive and weak, though for droolers, it should be enough to induce doubt in Obama. I think McCain risks being a complete one issue candidate - and the issue's not even Iraq; it's the surge. I've never seen a political movement so vested with an idea as the surge is for the right wing. I think it's the Vietnam thing - the impotency they still feel over another war that couldn't be won militarily (with the exception of killing all or most of the populaion) - and when the Arabs dared fight back in Iraq, the right saw another quagmire and another chance for disgrace - and it's frying their circuits hard: they're pitching victory where they got none, willing to take home the smallest sack of marbles if they can just say, "we win," and if they can exploit it to keep the White House, so much the better. That America could be fooled again is the scary part. But it could happen.