"..when I had the chance to vote years ago on the funding of the war in Iraq, $87 billion at the time -- and I thought the president was headed on the wrong course. It turns out, unfortunately for our country, that I was right -- I voted no."
Senator John Edwards
2008 presidential candidate John Edwards was interviewed on CNN's Situation Room by Wolf Blitzer today.
On the entry of Senator Barack Obama into the 2008 presidential race:
"I think we want good people in the race, because we desperately need new leadership in 2009."
Regarding Senator Edwards' comments about the Iraq war during his speech at Riverside Church in Harlem last Sunday, Wolf Blitzer asks Senator Edwards:
"Did you see that as a direct attack against [Senator Hillary Clinton]?
"I wasn't thinking about anybody in particular. It was directed at members of Congress who, I believe, as a matter of conscience, should stop this president from escalating this war and from continuing in a long series of really tragic mistakes that -- that he's made in Iraq. And, as I said in the clip you just ran, Congress has the power to stop this escalation. [...]
[...]I didn't speak about anybody by name. I talked about members of Congress. By the way, I also spoke to the American people, who need to step up and be heard on this escalation of the war.
And I was specifically referencing Dr. Martin Luther King's speech 40 years ago, a year to the day before he died, in Riverside -- at Riverside Church, where he spoke out against the war in Vietnam, and talked about silence being a betrayal. And that was the theme of what I was talking about.
I believe I was right. I stand behind it. We should not be escalating this war. And I hope that members of -- of Congress will have the good conscience and the good sense to show some strength about this, and stand up to the president, and stop him."
* Thanks to NC Dem for the YouTube video.
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24 comments:
Edwards is the only one who is speaking the truth about the war.
The Democrats are afraid they will be called soft on terrorism, but in reality a wide majority of America, both parties are thinking what Edwards is saying.
too bad he wasn't against the war when he was actually in office
in fact, he not only voted for the war, he co-sponsored the resolution that made it the decision of Bush, rather than congress
whatever is popular 'Now', and works for Edwards 'Now', you can be assured that will be the position he takes
To my Des Moines troll: You're just repeating yourself without acknowledging any of the facts I ooffered to you. This is the second time you brought this up and this will be the second time I'll link you to a full discussion with most of my thoughts on the issue. I guess you didn't read it last time while you were spamming anti-Edwards stuff all those other blogs.
You're allowing yourseld, clearly for troll-like anti-Edwards reasons, to forget who politicized the intelligence to line up a war of incompetence while lying to all Americans. BushCo did that, not Edwards or any Senator who voted yes to the IWR.
When Sen Edwards and the majority of our U.S. Senators gave their good faith authorization to an American President to handle a National Security matters, he abused it. The WMD question was not al all clear in October 2002. You should be aware of that. If not, see THIS REPORT.
I defend Edwards, Clinton, Biden, and Kerry on their decision to give good faith authorization for our POTUS to deal with the UN in 2002. It doesn't mean any of them wanted what BushCo actually did. Edwards didn't fail us when he elected to risk error on the side of the defense of National Security and the American people, when he joined his fellow Senators to show a united resolve after the worst attack on US civilians in American history, and when he decided to follow the regime change policy of the President who came before Bush.
It was absolutely refreshing to have heard Edwards say, well over a year ago, that he was mistaken and he's sorry for his IWR vote. It was so refreshing to see that he recognized his mistake while still in the Senate when he refused to vote for the $87 billion once he fully realized Bush was a totally incapable commander in chief....absolutely refreshing to hear his stand today.
He's right. If he's right and it's popular with the people, so be it. All the better for him, I'd say.
You're barking up a loser's tree. Democratic primary voters did not punish Senators John Kerry or John Edwards in 2004 when they consciously chose them as the best leaders, and there's no reason why the chances would increase that they would punish either Senator today.
actually, 'fellow troll' would be a better way to address me, I saw your work in all those other blogs - lol!
if it were just one issue, i might be inclined to go along with you
but it isnt
it's the same on jobs and civil rights too
and back to the war resolution, the founding fathers gave congress, not the president the authority for war for exactly the type of scenerio that occurred
funny how edwards supports never like to discuss his record
I have many more reasons to disagree with you on your bashing of the U.S. Senators for vote for the IWR. This is a complicated issue, and if I had been in the Senate myself, especially on the Select Intelligence Committee, I would have understood that the security and welfare of my fellow countrymen is a sobering responsibility and that the right of my nation to make decisions independent of the UN if need be, especially when the threat of terror and 4th generation-style warfare taking place on my own soil was high, was a point with which myself and my fellow Senators agreed and wished to speak strongly and united about.
The Founding Fathers cared about more than checks and balances. They understood that, without the welfare and security of a nation's people, there will be no nation.
I'm aghast that you, who comes here without giving a name (you must be so proud of yoruself), call the proprietor of the blog you abused with spam "a troll" simply because she found you out.
that resolution not only delegated congress's responsibility for war, it also delegated a change of policy to 'first strike', a HUGE change of policy
we got through the cold war, a potential complete nuclear holocaust, on the credibility that we dont do 'first strike'
edwards delegated a change away from that policy, to a warmonger
there's no excuse for what happened
i dont trust him - at all
That means you don't trust the majority of our Senators and Congress. I'm sorry, but this is not something that's ever going to hurt Senator Edwards, as much as you'd like it to. He's been a decent and honest man, a good American, a good example - and he publically admitted that his vote for the IWR was a mistake long before most Senators did.
But I know you're not going to care - after all, you're a man (or woman) on a mission, aren't you? Seek and destroy. LOL.
You'd best block your IP if you don't want to be seen for what you're up to.
Iddy, all of the following voted against it:
Members of the Senate who voted against:
Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI)
Jon Corzine (D-NJ)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Bob Graham (D-FL)
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Jim Jeffords (I-VT)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Carl Levin (D-MI)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Paul Sarbanes (D-MD)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Paul Wellstone (D-MN)
Ron Wyden (D-OR)
House NAYS 133 ---
Abercrombie
Allen
Baca
Baird
Baldacci
Baldwin
Barrett
Becerra
Blumenauer
Bonior
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (IN)
Clay
Clayton
Clyburn
Condit
Conyers
Costello
Coyne
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle
Duncan
Eshoo
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Frank
Gonzalez
Gutierrez
Hastings (FL)
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Hostettler
Houghton
Inslee
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kaptur
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kleczka
Kucinich
LaFalce
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lofgren
Maloney (CT)
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McKinney
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Millender-McDonald
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moran (VA)
Morella
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Owens
Pallone
Pastor
Paul
Payne
Pelosi
Price (NC)
Rahall
Rangel
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sawyer
Schakowsky
Scott
Serrano
Slaughter
Snyder
Solis
Stark
Strickland
Stupak
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Towns
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watson (CA)
Watt (NC)
Woolsey
Wu
And?
my point is that many LEADERS voted against the resolution
Edward's primary credential for the presidency, is his one term as Senator
that's it - really, nothing else
yet, on issues that I care about, he never showed any leadership, and his followers never point to any, because there WASNT any
notice he never brings up his record?
isnt that odd?
His record will be out there during the Democratic debates, and so will his many other accomplishments. The same goes for all contenders for POTUS. Their records, their accomplishments, their character, all of it.
By the way, the IWR passed with a majority of the Legislative Branch showing resolve after 9/11. You can show me the list of the ones who took a risk with our security on nothing but their gut instinct and gut distrust in Bush in October of 2002 and you can do it until Mars explodes, but it won't change the facts. The U.S. presented a united resolve, by the passing of the IWR, to protect and defend the American people.
The fact today is that "Iraq War 2007" (soon to be Iraq/Iran war) has NOTHING to do with the contingencies laid out by BushCo when he asked for authorization in to deal with Iraq and the related UN resolution in 2002. That authority now needs to be rescinded. Senator Edward Kennedy is pressing for a new resolution on this.
anonymous,
I just have to add the fact that I truly love this country and its people.
I know that Senator Edwards does, too. He'd have never done anything to harm our nation. Every word I've heard from him about where we stand and where we need to go has rung true. He's a good and decent man.
You want to reflect on a historic past you can't change and about which our best political leaders know was a mistake in retrospect. That doesn't mean any one of those Senators wished for or anticipated the unbelievable mismanagement, naivete, and utter failure that Bush and the magical-thinking Neocon Utopians to whom Bush bows down brought upon this nation.
Keep your blinders on if it helps you to hate John Edwards, but you are dead wrong and we know it.
the burdon of proof falls on those who support war, not those against it
particularly so, when it involved a major policy shift toward first strike
alluminum tubes? shown on the news over and over again? many other countries already had nukes.
Inpectors blix and ritter were dead set against the war
the build up stunk of 'railroad'
'His record will be out there during the Democratic debates, and so will his many other accomplishments.'
why not mention a few items now? dont tell me you run a blog supporting him, without knowing it already?
Maybe the troll should hang out on the Ann Coulter blog with people of his elk.
John Edwards will surprise a lot of people, including the media who are writing him off.
and as a side note, whatever you may think of me or my position, even if you dont agree with me, will you at least conceed that my points are very detailed, and that not one of them has been shown false, even if you disagree on the interpretation?
none of it is quoted from coulter, hannity, rush, etc, because i think they're mindless propagandists
we all need to get beyond red-state, blue state
I'll make this clear. This is not a John Edwards blog. This is my personal blog. These are my personal opinions and thoughts. I'm paid by no one to say them. As a matter of fact, I've never made a dime from blogging.
I have blogged for four years about many varied issues. I'll be here blogging long after the 2008 race is over.
Perhaps you should start your own blog, anonymous troll. I'm not going to get into time-wasting debates with you if I don't know who you are. I have some standards here at this blog. I don't care if that gets me 1000 readers or two readers a day. I'm saying what I personally believe. If I choose to get a debate going about a topic, I will begin that debate with a blogpost. This blogpost is not about Hans Blix, although I can point to you where I talked about him and gave my opinion YEARS ago.
The best thing the troll could do it start his own blog.
He could write all the right-wing views he wanted and then maybe he would find a blogger soulmate somewhere.
and as a side note, whatever you may think of me or my position, even if you dont agree with me
Oh, come on. I don't even know who you are, so how could I think anything of you at all? Sheesh. I don't respect you for your on-line activities, as I've pointed out.
Also, I have no idea, judging from anything we've said here, where you picked up any Red State/Blue State reference or attitude. Where on earth did THAT come from? It has NOTHING to do with our conversation. You're starting to scare me.
larry,
what about anything i said is right wing?
did you not notice that i referred to bush as a warmonger?
or do you just call someone right wing whenever you disagree with them?
Many of the faceless expressions have been expressed by right wing pundits, so one could assume that those views are still rignt wing.
...and building on Larry's comment, "right wing" doesn't mean it comes from what pundits have coined as "Red" states. I have "right-wingers" who live down the street from me and all around my own Northeastern city.
Ideologues are PEOPLE - not places.
so i'm that 'new kind' of rightwinger, who refers to bush as a warmonger
riiiiiiiiiight
I like John Edwards because of his views on Iraq. I recently saw a video about John Edwards on Iraq. He says that we should begin the process of pulling out our troops from Iraq. He says that pulling them abruptly will only cause complications and threaten our national security. We have to let the Iraqis participate in rebuilding their nation.
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