Obama regrets saying soldiers' lives 'wasted' (BARACK HUSSEIN JUST "REGRETS" GETTING CAUGHT)

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 2/13/07 | Lynn Sweet

[Chi-townChief]

DURHAM, N.H. -- In his first stumble, White House hopeful Barack Obama on Monday took back words from the day before, when he said the lives of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq were "wasted."

Following his Springfield launch on Saturday, Obama wrapped up a three-day swing in the key primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, ending at a University of New Hampshire rally where he assailed the "trivialization of politics" where "it is all about who makes a gaffe."

In this case, that would be Obama, the Illinois Democrat.

During his first press conference as a presidential candidate at Iowa State University, Obama, discussing his opposition to the Iraq war, said the war "should have never been authorized, and should have never been waged, and on which we've now spent $400 billion, and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted.''

He immediately realized he made a mistake, he later told a reporter. Even the most severe war critics in Congress have been very careful to praise U.S. troops and say nothing that could upset mourning families.

Reaches out to families Obama, in an interview with the Des Moines Register right afterward, told the paper, ''I was actually upset with myself when I said that, because I never use that term,'' he said. ''Their sacrifices are never wasted. . . . What I meant to say was those sacrifices have not been honored by the same attention to strategy, diplomacy and honesty on the part of civilian leadership that would give them a clear mission." By Monday, reporters covering Obama making his first visit as a presidential candidate in New Hampshire, asked Obama, campaigning in a Nashua home, if military families deserved an apology.

"Well as I said, it is not at all what I intended to say, and I would absolutely apologize if any of them felt that in some ways it had diminished the enormous courage and sacrifice that they'd shown. You know, and if you look at all the other speeches that I've made, that is always the starting point in my view of this war.''

At a rally in the gym at the university here -- not quite the stemwinder Obama delivered for University of Illinois at Chicago students on Sunday night -- Obama made a similar point about the Iraq war deaths, talking about the need to "bring that war to a close."

Those who died, he said, were "extraordinarily brave soldiers."

mailto:lsweet3022@aol.com

[Huck]

it is not at all what I intended to say

It's what he meant, though.

[Long Island Pete]

Hearing him over the weekend really scared the crap out of me. Big time socialist lib. If Shrillary needs to go left of this nut she is going to fall down.

[Lewite]

I personally believe he does not give a rats ass about American Servicemen nor the United States of America. He is a typical National Socialist Dumboshite, just like the Germans in the thirty's and forties. Why is his lips purple?

[advance_copy]

This is not going to hurt him at all among RAT primary voters. It's what they think. And, his insulting our Australian allies isn't going to alienate even one leftist moonbat.

[Dante3]

Like so many celebrities, you make a statement or get caught in a scandal, and you get publicity. Then you apologize, get more publicity with people rushing to your defense. This is followed by analysis of your reaction to the reaction to your apology and your own spin on things.

For some, like Foley and Newsome, a trip to rehab is the next step - that, however, would not do for Obama, who as we've been told, is articulate and no longer uses drugs.

[Huck]

exactly

[Hatteras]

I thought his first "stumble" was the whining about his sensitivity to his Dumbo-sized ears......

[Mr J]

"Well as I said, it is not at all what I intended to say, and I would absolutely apologize if any of them felt that in some ways it had diminished the enormous courage and sacrifice that they'd shown. You know, and if you look at all the other speeches that I've made, that is always the starting point in my view of this war.''

LOL. Classic pol-speak. No need to be brief and honest when the media will unquestioningly accept a disingenuous monologue.

[rhombus]

What nonsense. Of course he believes that or he wouldn't have opposed the war. What's appalling is he doesn't have the courage to stand by his conviction. He can waffle and back peddle all he wants but he does feel their lives were wasted and Democrats do support cutting and running.

[sono]

Barack Osama joins Jon Carry in the Hall of Shame. Apparently, he was for the troops, before he spoke against them.

[4yearlurker]

HA! The news media has pumped this nice clean fellow up like a basketball and threw him in front of the cameras.

Now he's making The Beast look good.....hey,wait a minute...

[goldstategop]

Of course they do. They just don't have the guts to cut off the funding for a war they're not in on at all.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Mo1]

He immediately realized he made a mistake, he later told a reporter

If he immediately realized it ... he would have corrected himself right away and not have waited till later

[TomGuy]

Hearing him over the weekend really scared the crap out of me. Big time socialist lib.

I had just turned on CSPAN and I heard him say this: "...savaged by white folks..."

I commented: [If one of the White candidates had made that kind of statement, they could be macaca-ed out of politics forever.]

Then this:

"The ways of Washington must change."

[My comment: al-Qaeda says the same thing.]

"Set the captives free" ????? huh????

At one point, he was really going on and on and on and on... I commented:

All he is doing is spouting the same ole political election rhetoric that every politician has spouted for decades.

Affordable college.
Affordable child care.
Jobs.
A chicken in every pot.
Universal health care.
Free America from the tyranny of war.
yada yada yada

[tearlenb]

"Their sacrifices are never wasted. . . . What I meant to say was those sacrifices have not been honored by the same attention to strategy, diplomacy and honesty on the part of civilian leadership that would give them a clear mission."

In other words, he got caught saying something he regrets, but now is going to rephrase it in a more wordy fashion hoping nobody will notice.

[Shady]

What an Obamadable comment!!!

[Albert Barr]

If Obama really beleives that the war is a waste and unneeded then he really believes that the soldiers that have died have been wasted. Why would he back down from that? Be a man Barrack and stand up for what you beleive in. It still makes you an idiot, but at least stand up for yourself. To say the war is a waste of time, but the soldiers are dying for something just does not make sense.

[Mr J]

Hey, he can run on that issue!

"I Barack Obama, stand before you and pledge that if elected President of the United States, I will end discrimination against the Dumbo-eared forever!"

[goldstategop]

Enough Americans really want equality more than they desire freedom. Otherwise leftists like Barack Obama could never be elected to high office in this country. Its an unpleasant picture but its the truth.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Long Island Pete]

And yet you never hear them say anything about victory. At least where our military is concerned. They make me sick.