Fred Barnes: Obama Falsely Claims Banking Committee Membership

News Busters ^ | July 25, 2008 | Brad Wilmouth

[Turret Gunner A20]

It seems Barack Obama had a "senior moment" on Wednesday during his trip to Israel regarding which Senate committees he is a member of. On the same day's Special Report with Brit Hume, during the "Fox All Stars" segment, the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes called out Obama for his claim, which the Illinois Senator made while trying to impress Israeli reporters, that he is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, and he took credit for the passage of legislation regarding Iran. Barnes: "[Obama] was trying to brag about how tough he was on the Iranians, and he said his committee, the Senate Banking Committee, had passed a resolution ... that would have caused American firms to divest of Iranian interests. And the trouble is, he's not on that committee. ... And he didn't vote for it. That would be a senior moment if McCain did it.

Indeed, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs membership roster does not list Obama's name. But during a news conference, which aired live Wednesday morning during CNN Newsroom, Obama seemed to embellish his resume: "Now, in terms of knowing my commitments, you don't have to just look at my words, you can look at my deeds. Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon.

[Lumper20]

You have a history of attacking people on this site.

TY for admitting you brought war up. Any reasonable person knows the only war we have going on is the GWOT.

[Turret Gunner A20]

You have a history of attacking people on this site.

You got that half right. To be anywhere near the whole truth, that should read, You have a history of counter-attacking people on this site.

If you had bothered to take even a cursory walk through the flame-war threads in which I was involved, you would have found out the truth -- that I have never attacked any of those meatheads until they attacked me first: by lying about or to me, calling me names, trying to talk down to me, or some other arrogant swill that noone with a shred of self-respect will take in silence. I can think of no reason why you should start attacking me, but you just did -- FOR NO REASON WHATEVER. So when I call you on the [at best] half-truth you posted, I will reply {this time} by only saying that you have come very close to telling an outright lie. You might wantto, if not retract or correct it, be a bit more accurate next time, if any.

TY for admitting you brought war up. Any reasonable person knows the only war we have going on is the GWOT.

I haven't the faintest idea what your GWOT means -- and couldn't care less. But I will say that if you really construe anything I have posted about "war" here, as referring to any war that is or may be going on in this thread between me and/or any other poster, you are a not half as intelligent as I was giving you credit for.

I WAS SPEAKING SOLELY ABOUT A MUCH NEEDED, BUT PROBABLY AN IMPOSSIBLE, WAR AGAINST CORRUPT POLITICIANS.

Got it this time around -- or are you going to insist on continuing with the flame war you just set a kindled? It's entirely up to you.

[Turret Gunner A20]

And, while we are on the subject of what I was actually talking about, you still haven't answered my challenge: Why don’t you tell us how you would go about winning a war to make politicians honest. For Thousands of years mankind has been fighting that war — and faiing miserably.