Barry (Barack) Obama has gone overboard with his histrionics about remarks made by President Bush and Senator John McCain regarding Obama's desire to negotiate with people like Iran's Ahmedinijad.
The President didn't even mention Obama's name. For all we know, he could have been referencing Jimmy Carter, who recently held completely fruitless talks with the leaders of Hamas. But, true to form, the Democrats circled the wagons and are now tearing away at Bush and McCain for simply disagreeing with the liberal foreign policy position of negotiating with those who call us enemy.
Actually, the Carter example is a great case in point. He met unconditionally with the Hamas leader, came out of it blathering about some progress being made, only to be contradicted by that very same Hamas leader hours after Carter left. It was a completely fruitless discussion that changed absolutely nothing.
Is this really the kind of discussion Obama wants to have with Ahmedinejad? To what end? This is a legitimate foreign policy question and here are the Democrats crying foul, going on the attack, but saying absolutely NOTHING of substance to support their position. In the article linked, Obama rightly cites examples of previous administrations, Republican and Democrat, negotiating with those with whom the United States had major differences. But the difference between what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and what Obama, Kerry, Daschle and all the rest of these liberal "intellectuals" is that there were very specific outcomes desired out of these negotiations.
But we really don't know what outcomes Obama wants out negotiations with Iran. This latest incident was a terrific opportunity to state exactly what he would say to the Iranians, but all he's offered is lame criticism and a promise to debate McCain. Tough talk.
And how dare Senator Obama, with his paltry couple of years in Washington and absolutely no foreign policy experience whatsoever - NONE - go after McCain's policy as "naïve".
Obama keeps harping on Bush's defense secretary recommending that we enter discussions with Iran. What Obama doesn't seem to understand is that when Bush moves a second carrier group into the Persian Gulf, when he rallies support for his position among our allies in the UN, when he does his level best to see sanctions imposed, that Bush IS negotiating with Iran!!!We don’t have to have bilateral conversations to take part in negotiations. Just how stupid is Barack Obama, anyway?? For all of his high-minded blather, Obama really is a geopolitical ingénue, and if elected, Ahmedinejad and Chavez and Kim Jong Il and every other leader who has it in for us will run circles around him while he tries to get a word in edgewise.
Here's the question I would love to ask Senator Obama - would he enter bilateral negotiations with Osama bin Laden? What would he say to get bin Laden to quit plotting against us? He said he wouldn't negotiate with terrorists, but why not? If he thinks he can improve relations with Iran, why not Al Qaeda too?
He could send good ol' Jimmy to Afghanistan with a cadre of Habitat for Humanity volunteers.
