Obama foreign policy claim stirs controversy
Barack Obama has long argued that he has shown better foreign policy judgment than his remaining presidential rivals, specifically in opposing the Iraq war.
But at a fund-raiser in San Francisco over the weekend, he reportedly made the case that he has more foreign policy knowledge and understanding as well -- a claim getting a lot of blowback from presumptive Republican nominee John McCain and Democratic contender Hillary Clinton.
According to an account posted online on The Huffington Post, Obama was answering a question about what he would look for in a running mate if he wins the nomination. "I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on," he replied. "I think a lot of people assume that might be some kind of military thing to make me look more commander-in-chief-like. Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
Clinton took exception when asked about the comment while making the rounds of the morning TV shows in advance of the long-awaited testimony today by General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top US diplomat.
She laughed, actually, before responding on Fox News. "Well I’m somewhat shocked by that since I don’t see any evidence of it," she said. "This is kind of hard to square with his failure to ever have a single policy hearing on the only responsibility he was given, chairing the European and NATO subcommittee the foreign relations committee.
"I don’t know," she continued. "I’m speechless. Making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record."
Blair Latoff, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in an earlier statement, “Perhaps in an effort to one-up his own ridiculous assertions about John McCain’s record, Barack Obama laughably claimed to have more foreign policy experience than Senator McCain. Even by Obama’s standards, this is a horrifyingly false claim without a shred of supporting evidence. Perhaps the junior Senator from Illinois should focus on explaining to voters what exactly his foreign policy experience is before comparing it to John McCain’s wealth of experience on the issue.”
McCain and Clinton, as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will get their chance to question Petraeus and Crocker -- and make their points as candidates -- this morning. Obama will get his turn this afternoon when the two testify before the Foreign Relations Committee.
Foreign Policy experience.
The man has had his feet on the ground in many of these countries. If you don't think living and spending long stretches of time in another country and amongst other cultures brings a unique understanding to their situations and value systems, then you need to evaluate yourselves quite seriously.
I find it an asset that he has spent time in nations with Muslim populations then he understands the difference between an extremist and a peaceful Islamic person.
The Bush Administrations has so damaged the image of a very peaceful religion by making all Muslims and Arabs look like gun toting maniacs and bombers that we've developed a warped sense of what the reality is.
Obama has not been given the cursory notes about a country to make decisions with. He actually walked in their shoes. Much Much more important!
Closing yourself from understanding the world is very dangerous.
Obama didn't claim to have more foreign policy "experience" . He said " foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain." Given that such "experienced" people as Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney have caused the deaths of thousands of people in an immoral war of aggression against the people of Iraq, I am looking for someone with a little more "understanding" and a little less "experience".
He didn't claim to have more "experience" - he said he knows more and understands the world better. Experiences does not equal knowledge.
He has lived in Kenya, gosh darnit... Woman, you know your not "speechless" Oh drama Queens and Kings, go work for some other country.
Okay, so.... It just fascinates me this stuff. Nominees will use ANYTHING for press. No one excluded.
I kind of wish we had Edwards back.
I suspect Sen. Obama's point was that knowing the people, rather than the generals and the dictators and the spies, can give one a strong sense of what the issues really are in other countries. He could have expressed it more precisely, but then, the press is always waiting to swoop, as is the RNC, and it's tough to be 100% on target with all the "million words a day" one says in a campaign. Of course, he hasn't taken sniper fire or had an advisor who double-deals with foreign nations (and then gets "fired" but not really), but those are realms of experience reserved for the select, anointed few.
It is unfortunate that I too have become an idiot like all the bloggers who have room temperature IQ's. People who can't think for themselves. They are like a bunch of sheep who mimic the article that they just read. There is a reason for the fact that half the population in America does not graduate from High School. Thinking takes a great toll on the brain.
If H.Clinton is so much smarter than OBAMA, as she claims
- why did she bow down to the Telaviv Warhawks (YEW FIGHTS OUR WAR, types) and vote For The Damm, HATED, UNNECESSARY War ?
Shee's a PHONEY, A LIER, AND AN UNTRUSTWORTHY CANDIDATE FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP.
OVER, UND ZIE ----- OW.OW.OW.OUT !
Obama did not apparently say he had more "experience" than Clinton and McCain. He said the he "knows more and understands the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain". The two are not synonymous. I myself have little experience in foreign affairs, though I do travel to Canada frequently and once was in London. Yet I (and millions of others like me) knew, absolutely knew back in 2002 that there were no WMDs in Iraq, no AlQuaida-Saddam ties, no WTC-Iraq connection. I (and millions of others) knew, KNEW, that the run-up to the war was a Bush-CIA-Chalabi work. I'm happy to say that Obama, unlike his rivals, knew that too.
If you're curious to know HOW we knew, the answer is simple. Read. Don't watch TV and don't just read the tabloids or even the Times. Read foreign press. Read The Nation. And think! Think how a defeated, embargoed, divided, savagely oppressed country like Iraq could have developed WMDs while evading discovery. Wouldn't happen. Couldn't happen. Didn't happen. Obama knew. Clinton and McCain didn't. 'Nuff said.
This is not a claim of "experience" and should not be labeled as such. "I know more and understand the world better" is not the same.
Did anyone notice that Obama did NOT say "experience"? He said "knowledge." I think Obama does have more knowledge than McCain and Clinton in this area; he seems to understand the conflicts in the world better either of his competitors. That's why he voted AGAINST the Iraq war while Clinton and John "100 Years" McCain voted for the war.
Isn't it really obvious from the quote that he is saying, and i'll quote Obama directly here "I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
He is not necessarily saying that he has more experience. He is just saying he is confident he "knows and understands more".
Sometimes all the experience in the world won't do you any good if you don't bring to that experience an eagerness to learn and understand.
Why oh why must articles always twist words...
Par for the Obama course. All fluff, no substance. What a disappointment.
ummmm. what? is this really happening?!
where in obama's comment does he claim to have more EXPERIENCE on foreign policy. NOWHERE. His comment refers to JUDGEMENT and KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING the world, not experience in terms of years.
its subjective whether or not that is a valid argument. Regardless, how on earth does the press twist that around in such a way, then question clinton on a false pretense?
It's not clear in the article that Obama actually said he had more experience. What he did say in the article is that he knows more and understands the world better than McCain or Clinton. Experience doesn't always result in wisdom. I think the burden will be on McCain to explain why his experience brings him to conclude that we will need to maintain a military presence in Iraq for the next 100 years. I'm not sure his experience will result in a wiser foreign policy than the one a totally inexperienced George Bush has mired us in.
The brief quote from Obama in this article may not be complete, but he's not quoted here as saying he has more experience. "Foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain." Experience is one thing; understanding is quite another. Obama is able to think outside the box that McCain, and to some extent Clinton, can't seem to escape from.
I think he does have a better understanding than McCain and Clinton. I think he should not fear McCain's experience, but challenge it. McCain has been making questionable statements for a while and has been getting a free pass from the media. Many of his views are antiquated and I think Obama is wise to contrast them with his. Furthermore, McCain's judgment on Iraq is virtually the same as that of the current President. Age does not guarantee wisdom and I frankly find McCain's views of the world to be stupid and overly aggressive. I will not accept war mongering because an old man tells me it is necessary. End this war. Obama is being real - it is so refreshing. Fear not the darkness, go to the light!
How ludicrous to make this assertion! Only a childish Obamabot would believe it. This boy's a naive punk.
"She laughed, actually, before responding on Fox News."
This is all you really need to know about Hillary Clinton.
How does his assertion that he is confident and understands foreign policy have anything to do with a claim of more experience? One can be confident and understanding of something with very little direct experience -- for example, I have never tried to spin someone's words to mean something they didn't intend, but I am confident I could do it and I understand it very well. :)
Blair Latoff's response is obviously political, and an intentional spinning of Mr. Obama's words -- but what about the writer of this piece?
Hillary said "I don’t know," she continued. "I’m speechless. Making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record."
She is the MASTER (or mistress, whatever) of belying the facts and the records.
Pot calling the kettle black, to say the least.
Obama has been getting a daily dose of hate speech since he was a little child in muslim schools with muslim relatives and then anti-white, jewish, and American hate speech from his Chicago community. He couldn't even escape it in bed.
So when he says he knows the world's people better than twiddle dum and twiddle dee, he's probably right! He's especially right if you're talking about people who hate.
How can this guy fool so many people????? At best the second term of the Jimmy Carter administration is about to commence, and at worse we will be looking back fondly at the Carter days.
Obama never said that he had more experience, only that he knew more and better understood the world in terms of foreign policy. Bush has had more experience than all three candidates put together but that just shows you how experience does not equate to knowledge, understanding and capability. I am far more confident in Obama’s understanding of how the world works and his ability in making the right decisions than McCain and Clinton.
with each passing day the issues simplify, our choice becoming clear.
we can vote for hope, or we can vote for fear.
Having empathy is the main requirement for foreign policy. Obama has plenty of that while mcsame and shrillary have none.
Wow, so based solely on obama’s reasoning at what constitutes foreign policy experience, I would then have more foreign policy experience than obama. In my lifetime I have visited 12 countries, I lived for 3 years in a foreign country, and I can speak three languages. Sounds like I have him beat.
Obama didn't say "more experience", he said better judgement.
Hillary Clinton supporterd the invasion of Iraq
She's backed off that
Hillary Clinton supported Musharraf
She's back off that
Obama has not made the mistakes Hillary has.
It looks like McCain's folks are responding to a claim that Obama didn't make: that he has more foreign policy *experience*. Instead he said he felt he understood the world better.
Given McCain's recent statements about the various factions in Iraq, I think Obama has a pretty good case.
Senator Obama didnt say that he had more foreign policy experience. That was artificially and wrongly added by the media and Clinton. He said that "he understood the world better". By this I am lead to his own observations about the terrible mistake that he judged the Iraq war to be, when Clinton and McCain went along for the ride, and he is pointing to his own upbringing in various parts of the world. Saying that Senator Obama says he has more (implied) government foreign policy experience is a distortion of the truth on the part of the media, HIllary and McCain, and is just more of the worn out "Gotcha" game that is at the foundation of what has made politics so toxic in this country and has kept the best people away from it, and has placed this country on the edge of ruin.
Obama said:
"Foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
That's not quite the same as claiming "more foreign policy experience." I imagine he's talking about his time spent overseas — not time spent as a politician conducting foreign policy, but time spent interacting with foreigners.
Now, does that make him more qualified? Questionable, but that's what he said.
It's not what you reported, however. How did his claim to "understand the world better" translate into Foon Rhee reporting that he claim to have "more foreign policy experience?" They may turn on only a few words, but those are VERY different claims. Maybe I'm missing some other part of Obama's statement, but the reporting just doesn't match his words.
So where did this reporter get it?
Apparently from the McCain and Clinton camps' press releases.
That's sloppy reporting.
The opposing campaigns have misrepresented what Obama said. (Nothing surprising; all three campaigns do that.) Instead of reporting the misrepresentation, this reported has swalled it unquestioned.
Boo.
I did not see in his statement the claim to have more foreign policy experience. What I read is that he will look for a running mate who has more experience than he does. Obama went on to assert that he has more experience in judgement of what is best for this country and the world. The necessity to make informed decisions is the hallmark of his campaign, not reacting to threats of national security, campaign slurs, and general Obama bashing. In the heat of the moment being caught up in emotional spin is not leadership but reactionary and does more harm to the country when we can least afford it.
I tend to agree that Obama has a clearer understanding of "how the world works" compared with either Clinton or McCain. Hillary sometimes seems to think that people can be moved to a new position by her repeating fiction as fact (the Michigan primary was fair, I dodged sniper fire); McCain says he believes that "the terrorists will surrender", imposing a 20th century scenario onto a 21st century challenge.
"I don’t know," she continued. "I’m speechless. Making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record." (Hillary Clinton, from above)
Just like when you had to run for your life from sniper fire, eh?
It's unfair that his statement is being misquoted. He did not claim to have more foreign policy 'experience'. He said he was more confident that he knows and understands the world better than Clinton or McCain- a reflection of having better understanding and 'judgement' than experience. They're not the same.
The quote recounted here says...
"I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
He doesn't say he has more policy experience.
And, I'm inclined to believe that he does know more than either of the others about the current state of the world.
And the media gives Obama a free pass on statements like this. I agree with Clinton--this is an election, not a coronation.
Senator Obama didn't say he had more experience. He said he understand foreign policy better. He is right. The reason is simple: he has a multicultural background which gives him an insight into the cultural aspects of other countries. The ethnocentric policies that play well within our borders have created an image of an America that is scorned by the people in many countries around the world. America's image in some of these countries is worst than our own view of China's human rights record. So, yes Obama's multicultural roots are a plus in his column. To assume that foreign policy should be driven by business-like bottom line mentality , where we're friendly as long as we can use you, even to your detriment, excludes the values we learn in church, of reaching to our neighbors and becoming stronger through shared prosperity and affirmation of humanity. He is refreshing, and he has the intellectual capacity and will to bring change by putting an end to our failure to understand our neighbor's cultural values around the globe whenever opportunities and conflicts arise. Yes, I lived in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, and I know what Mr. Obama is saying. Cowboy diplomacy is great for the folks who have never experienced the world. But if they give Barack the chance he may open more doors and oportunities for average folks and businesses than Clinton and McCain ever could. A President should not be judged by how many countries he can keep in check (that's easy), but how many he has on his side(that's hard).
Well, I'm sure he's not looking for a VP who has seen sniper fire while shaking hands with little kids on the runway, or who has a blow out perception of her importance in handling the Ireland peace agreement.
He did not say he had more experience, he said he had a better understanding of the issues...not the same thing!
Stop putting words in the mans mouth! See the questionable quote below:
"Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
My Comment Obama shows that he has better judment than Mc Cain and Hillary, he oppose the Iraq war he is smarter than Hillary and Mc Cain.
He speak about experience and it is truth that he has experience, He lived in other countries he come from a humble upbringing he has done or gone as far as any human being can go.
He is defeating Hillary with all her millions and the political machine on her side Mc Cain never ever is going to be U. S . A. president he is the past Mr. Obama is the future, now Mc Cain is flirting the idea of a black running mate Mrs. Rice the Republican do not have black votes the reason long ago they disregard African Americans the reason was that years ago most black did not vote, now most of black vote they know that it is in their own benefit to vote, I guess is to late for the Republican Party start dancing with the blacks
Ideassoul
I am surprised at the way what was said by Mr. Obama has been so radically changed in just a few paragraphs. The quoted statement of "Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
Later, this article has started taking quotes from Mr. McCain, and Mrs. Clinton about his record on Foreign Policy. His statement was that he was most "most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton and Senator McCain."
How did that simple statement get shifted by the reporting parties to a Foreign Policy argument or a question of "official record?" Mr. Obama has clearly stated that he believes he understands the world outside the U.S. better than Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain. That is not something that can be measured, or put on record.
I am just upset that what should be journalism, and the reporting of facts, has degenerated into a media festival of reporting only what is controversial for the purposes of keeping the masses entertained, but uninformed.
I am repeatedly embarrassed by spokespersons being unable or unwilling to understand the spoken words. Senator Obama stated (taken from above article) "...I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain.". He never said anything about "experience". There is a distinction between having experience (a multitude of meanings can be attributed to this word), and knowing about a topic.
His statement was not a claim to experience but to knowledge. Who reports this stuff anyway?
The statement was: "I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
That is very different than claiming "to have more foreign policy experience than Senator McCain".
Personally, I think a lot of us with no "foreign policy experience" probably know and understand the world better than Clinton or McCain.
Obama is like that jr.high kid who thinks He knows everything, His justification for being president seems only to be his judgement to not go to war, I know many people who didn't choose war including the cashier at starbucks but that doesn't make them or anyone else Qualified for the president
(He's more the pied piper of children)
How does his assertion that he is confident on the subject of foreign policy, and that he understands THE WORLD have anything to do with a claim of more experience in foreign policy? One can be confident and understanding of something with very little direct experience -- for example, I have never tried to spin someone's words to mean something they didn't intend, but I am confident I could do it and I understand it very well. :)
Blair Latoff's response is obviously political, and an intentional spinning of Mr. Obama's words -- but what about the writer of this piece?
McCain and Clinton are sounding desperate there - nowhere in that quote from Obama does he claim to have more foreign policy "experience" than McCain or Clinton. That's really grasping at straws. He said he knows more and understands the world better. And regardless, it's not like any of them have worked as ambassadors to the UN or secretary of state - they're all career Senators, and all of their foreign policy experience consists of sitting on committees. It's really about who has the best IDEAS. All this B.S. about "experience" has got this country into the mess it's in today. I don't want to hear about "experience" if that means doing the same thing over and over. Ridiculous.
I hope all three candidates are confident about their foreign policy expertise and I hope they all are confident they know more than the other two. Why else would they be running for president!
The truth is that I know more about foreign policy and I'm confident I understand the world better than any of the three candidates. Nonetheless, I have more important things to do than run for president, but I trust all three of them will ask for my opinion or the opinion of people as knowledgable and as wise as I am, so they should be ok.
So Obama said, "... I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
It looks to me like Obama was speaking about skills of judgement and perception -- not experience. So I don't see how his statement breaks with his previous claim that his judgement trumps that of McCain and Clinton, nor do I see how his words make any claim of outright foreign policy experience.
All that said, I agreee with Obama. McCain's understanding of the world is simply outdated; Clinton's understadning of the world is simply irresonsible.
I would have to agree with Obama in this case, as he has actually lived outside of the US, has grown up in multicultural settings and is himself the son of an immigrant. I believe his multi-cultural background does indeed give him quite a different perspective from your average Anglo American, and is a big influence on the development of cultural intelligence, which is something our current administration lacks. Without true cultural intelligence, it is hard to relate and build relationships with those of other cultures. This is a vital characterisitic for a President, if he is to be a leader in the globalized world of the 21st century!
The real story here is that he travelled to PAKISTAN and Hyderbad while in college. Follow the trail...Obama sure did.
I agree that Barack Obama has a better understanding of the international community. I have read his book and understand the depth of understanding he developed when he traveled to other countries. I would trust that understanding before I trusted someone who had made a ceremonial stop and met with a dignitary and watched some students performing a dance. I also trust his judgment and intelligence. Remember--he spoke against the US's initial entry into the Iraqi War.
McCain would be a disaster regarding foreign policy and do you think any country in the MIddle East will want to negotiate with a woman?
RE: Obama foreign policy claim stirs controversy
I'm still trying to understand how someone could make the leap from Obama's statement, "...foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain" to translating that to say "he has more foreign policy experience"???
Is it possible for someone to have more knowledge about a topic and understand it better than someone who has been acting within that area? Absolutely! Having knowledge and understanding doesn't equate to experience, just as experience doesn't equate to wisdom or competence.
I know many therapists who know more about child rearing and understand the dynamics of home life and parent-child relationships than the parents they help...in spite of the fact that they have no children and little personal experience.
I just don't know how can you make that leap with Obama's statement? I don't want to sound sardonic, but it feels like someone's intent is to put words into Obama's mouth or just create news?
Thoughts?
You know what Obama may have a point. McCain and Clinton are versed at how things are done here in the states but someone who's lived in other countries may have a different take. I wouldn't say he has more experience but he has an insight the other 2 candidates don't have.
What the comment said was "I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain." One can have all the experience in the world and still know nothing about what they are doing! The comment said nothing about experience. There are many people around the world, who are not politicians that know and understand the world better than McCain and Clinton. When he was chair of the European and NATO subcommittee he probably did his research and cared about what he was doing. I'm thinking that I want a President like that!
If MCcaine and Clinton have more foreign deal experience compare with Obama, the experience of supporting Israel for her inhumane treatment of Palestinians is on the top of their list. But this particular experince has invited not one but two Iraq wars and war with Iran is on the horizon. This failed experience has cost the USA more than trillion dollar, 4000+ American lives, more than million Iraqi lives and destruction of Iraqi Civilization and above all our economical and political p[ower is at the bottom of our scale and more than 200 Nations excluding Israel are laghuing on us and OUR EXPERIENCE.
Let Obama become our President and change this war mongering foreign policy for ever. America is the kinder and gentle and peace loving Nation on this Globe and let that image is re-established once again.
"Know and understand" is NOT the same as "experience". Hillary *may* have more experience but it doesn't mean she knows and understands.
Senator Obama never said that he had more foreign policy experience. That was artificially and wrongly added by the media and Senator Clinton. He said that "he understood the world better". By this I am lead to his own observations about the terrible mistake that he judged the Iraq war to be, when Clinton and McCain went along for the ride, his overall understanding of world affairs and he is pointing to his own upbringing in various parts of the world. Saying that Senator Obama says he has more (government) foreign policy experience is a distortion of the truth on the part of the media, HIllary and McCain, and is just more of the worn out "Gotcha" game that is at the foundation of what has made politics so toxic in this country and has kept the best people away from it, and has placed this country on the edge of ruin. McCain who has the most foreign policy experience is speculating about the possilbility of keeping US troops in Iraq for decades, where as in the 5 + years we have had our troops there most of the Military recognizes that the US army is nearly broken, and our economy is ready to tank. What will be the result of "staying the course" for another two decades? (for example). Obviously there is a huge difference between having foreign policy experience and having foreign policy wisdom. It is to the later of which Senator Obama is clearly pointing.
Once again, the competitors take Obama's careful and exact words, which they clearly don't listen to, and make up things about what he really said, as we see below:
Lantoff's "Barack Obama laughably claimed to have more foreign policy experience..."or Clinton's: "This is kind of hard to square with his failure to ever have a single policy hearing on the only responsibility he was given, chairing the European and NATO subcommittee the foreign relations committee."
What he is quoted as saying is: "...confident that I know more and understand the
world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
How does his assertion that he has foreign policy confidence and understands the world have anything to do with a claim of more foreign policy experience ? Also, one can be confident and understanding of something with very little direct experience -- for example, I have never tried to spin someone's words to mean something they didn't intend, but I am confident I could do it and I understand it very well. :)
Blair Latoff's response is obviously political, and an intentional spinning of Mr. Obama's words -- but what about the writer of this piece?
obama --- change change change did I say i,m know about change. He will give us change -- He know one thing --change comes from the bottom up. The us will burn under this man--- with in.
Apparently Clinton sees no benefit to actually meeting the people instead of the leaders, and she laughs at anyone who thinks that could be valuable.
Hmmm...........one might suggest that Rumsfeld and Cheney had more experience than all of 'em, and, we can see where all that "experience" has led us. This is a non-issue, and the press should start asking some intelligent questions, like: "Senator McCain, and, Senator Clinton---what exactly are the jobs folks should retrain for under your plan to offset outsourcing? As a follow up: "Sen. McCain--doesn't it seem a bit hypocritical to speak of retraining for LOWER paying jobs, as you said in Detroit ,with the Queen of Outsourcing, Carli Fiorina at your side as a trusted economic adviser? And, what about your other lobbyist advisers? C'mon press corps get busy on something relevant. How about some focus on Phil Gramm another McCain cronie and his brilliant economic views?
Read his words carefully...Senator Obama never said he more experience, but it is just like his rivals to claim he did.
He could say it was raining and Clinton and McCain would say that they strongly disagree--it isn't snowing in their opinion! This is simply erroneous and misleading --something they are both know well for.
What Obama DID say was that he had more knowledge and understanding of the world. That is an entirely plausible statement. From some of McCain's and Clinton's political stances, I would say my 3 year old has more knowledge and understanding of the world!
Of course, the McCain campaign loses in the area of reading comprehension (or more realistically they're just being disingenuous). He didn't say that he has more experience than McCain. He said: "I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
Experience does not equal wisdom or knowledge. It simply equals experience. While more experience often makes a person more knowledgeable in an area it isn't a guarantee and obviously Obama feels that despite having less experience in foreign policy he still understands the world better than McCain and Clinton. He's probably right.
Clinton meanwhile goes almost the same route. While she doesn't specifically mention experience she talks about the "facts" (or what she considers the facts) and the record. Unless she can find an example of Obama clearly misunderstanding a foreign policy situation where she correctly assessed the situation she has no facts or record to base this on. The obvious one that I can think of is the decision to go to war in Iraq. Clearly Obama DID have a greater understanding of foreign policy than both Clinton and McCain.
Please note that Senator Obama did NOT claim to have more experience than Senators Clinton and McCain, but said "I know more and understand the world better". This is consistent with the argument that he has been making that Washington insiders do not necessarily have a global perspective. Please be careful not to twist his words.
It was probably not the best thing to say, but Obama never claimed he had more "experience." He claimed that he was confident that he knows and understands the rest of the world better. It's not entirely implausible. For all their experience, Clinton and McCain clearly didn't know or understand a lot about Iraq in 2002. More to the point, words should not be twisted into something he didn't say (Shades of Al Gore and the Internet--Gore did indeed take initiative at a crucial time in the development of the Internet and was backed up on this point by its technical architects Cerf and Kahn). Can we ever have a presidential campaign that doesn't revert to playground antics? I'm expecting Nelson the bully to start telling Obama to "Stop embellishing yourself."
Somehow my comprehension of standard English is different than yours. Obama stated, "foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain". How this gets translated into a claim on experience is beyond me. In fact, that is his exact point: experience cannot be equated with understanding. While it is true that experience often imparts a certain wisdom, it is possible for one to be enormously experienced, and learn all of the wrong lessons from the experience. Cheney and Rumsfeld come to mind....
being captured is experience? if mccain has so much experience you think he would no his sunni from his shiiite.
and hillary's laughing, thats good
This story should have read as follows:
"I don’t know," she continued while dodging bullets fired while running across the tarmac. "I’m speechless. Making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record."
Pot to Kettle, come in Kettle.
I think you are interpreting his words in the light of your question and overlook what he was talking about. He didn't say he had more experience. He said he has a better "understanding" of foreign issues. Experience and understanding of something are two different dimensions that might or might not correlate. I might understand politics very well as a professor of political science, but have no experience in politics because I have never actually played the game. See the difference? Subtle but important.
Leaving that aside, Obama would be best advised to measure his words. Statements like this one are confusing and take a lot of words to disambiguate. PlusPlus,
RNC spokeswoman Blair Latoff criticizes Obama for asserting he has more foreign policy experience than McCain. What Obama actually said was that he knows and understands the world better than McCain or Clinton.
This story will get buried while the net and msm go crazy over some idiotic smear about Hillary Clinton... which will then turn out not to be true.
Why are they so afraid of Hillary Clinton?
This is nothing newsworthy here... First of all there is the matter of the context of Barack Obama's remark: he was talking about the qualities he would seek in a VP that would complement his own. He was also speaking in the context of the endless claims by Clinton and her camp regarding her allegedly superior foreign policy experience vs. his own. Obama simply said foreign policy was an area where he felt he knew more about and "understood" better than Clinton and McCain. Obama's remark does not refer to his resume or the specifics of his engagement in foreign policy, but the larger, and in the view of many, more important question of "understanding"...and this encompasses issues like sensitivity and judgment. Those who support Obama generally do so precisely because they believe his understanding of the issues facing the United States and the world right now is vastly more nuanced and profound than that of his competitors. This is not something you can demonstrate with "evidence," because it relates more to Obama’s world view than any ticking off of accomplishments. Some may find the concept of “a world view” somewhat nebulous; others, like most Obama supporters, believe it is a crucial credential for a presidential candidate, especially in these times where America's role in the world needs to be examined and perhaps re-aligned, given the state of current world affairs.
Obama bases his claim to better judgment than his rivals in the presidential campaign entirely on one speech he made prior to being elected to the United States Senate. He was speaking at an anti-war rally in opposition to the invasion of Iraq. He boasts of his speech in almost every campaign appearance or ad without ever mentioning that he was not in the Senate at the time or that he has since admitted that he does not know how he would have voted had he been in the Senate when the Iraq War resolution was passed. He also fails to mention that since he joined the Senate, he has voted consistently to fund the war. He apparently has no problem with repeatedly misleading the American people on this issue.
Obama's recent claim to have more foreign policy experience than Hillary Clinton or John McCain reveals how naive and uninformed he actually is. As Sen. Clinton pointed out, he's been too busy running for president since the day he was elected to the Senate to chair even one meeting of his foreign affairs subcommitte.
I find it appalling that people are actually considering Barack Obama for the presidency without even examining his skimpy resume and his reputation as a slacker. It sounds as if some of our political leaders are supporting him because, God help us, their kids twisted their arms.
I'm sorry, but I must have missed where Obama said or implied that he had more foreign policy "experience" than Clinton or McCain. Is it the case that he said no such thing, and that this article should emend its diction?
The usual response from the lying Clinton campaign. Obama did NOT say that he had more foreign policy *experience." He said that he "knew more and understands the world better" than either Clinton or McCain. That is exactly right. He did not make the claims that Hillary and her Republican surrogates want to make. This is but more of the usual perversity from the Clinton/Republican machine. Strange that she should make this statement on Fox News. She seems to be spending a lot of time over there with Ailes.
He doesn't say he has more experience as in time spent. He says he believes his knowledge and understanding are greater which is completely different from how this is being spun. Now if you want, you can assume he is implying that he's learned more without a hands on role than any of the others with their levels of time spent. That may be a controversial assumption but I have a better one. None of them have a solid plan for the future domestically or internationally regardless of any experience or understanding they may or may not have with this world.
If you read it carefully, he is saying that he is confident of his knowledge, not that he has more experience. In fact, in reading that statement, he doesn't suggest that he knows more than the other candidates either. Yay for spin.
If you are familiar at all with the rhetoric of Obama, the following quote from this article does not sound like anything he would say, from the attitude standpoint and from the choice of words. I read something like this yesterday on a blog that was written by a Clinton supporter, which means it has potential for being bias and distorted.
He does KNOW more and UNDERSTAND the world better. What is so confusing? McCain's foreign policy judgment focuses on using bombs to conquer the world , and Hillary fails to read intelligence estimates before authorizing the US to go to war.
Go Barack!!!
While I understand the spin being placed Sen. Obama's statement on foreign policy, I would have to disagree with the RNC and Sen Clinton. The statement from Sen. Obama was one of knowledge and not one of experience. For either Democratic candidate to assert their having more experience than Sen. McCain would be silly.
However, for Sen. Obama to claim he has more knowledge of a particular subject matter is a valid argument. Framing the discussion in the context of knowledge, or judgement for that matter, is a way for the Democratic nominee to have some degree of success.
Frankly, by this point one would think the importance of experience would have been rendered moot.
Where does Senator Obama say that he has more experience?
Here's his quote in the article: " . . . foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
It looks like he feels that he knows more and understands the world better.
I don't see where he says he has more experience.
Looks like spin from not only this publication (read second paragraph) and his opponents. Shame on you.
Hey everybody, wake up!
He didn't say he has more EXPERIENCE than either of them. That's just how everyone is couching it. He said he is "most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain".
With McCain in Iraq for another hundred years and using racial slurs against Asians and Clinton's false memories of sniper fire that never happened ANYWHERE, I'm starting to think he may be right.
Obama isn't arrogant, he's correct.
McCain & Clinton both seem to think that the best way to fight al-quida is to attack countries that don't harbor the organization. Obama is the only candidates saying that Pakistan (where Osama Bin Laden is) should be considered.
It doesn't matter how long you've been playing the game if you can't admit reality. Obama has proven he knows more about foreign relations if only for the fact that he's dealing in reality and not conjecture and fear to fulfill an ulterior motive.
I hope people take Rove’s cue and begin calling Obama arrogant as the new insult ‘de jour’, because it gives him the chance to point out that despite Clinton and McCain having decades of ‘experience’ all they have to show for it is a working knowledge of getting what they want, regardless of whether it best for this Nation or whether it even has grounding in the real world.
The reason the mud slinging hasn’t hurt him and it won’t hurt him, is because it’s difficult to go from someone who is speaking truth to someone who is telling you that up is down and that Iran is a bigger threat to this country than the man who already attacked us. It’s sad that such old powerful figures in the parties have to be called out on their ignorance, but it has to happen for us to get to the work of finally fighting this War on Terror based on the reality of where the threat truly is.
This is nothing newsworthy here... First of all there is the matter of the context of Barack Obama's remark: he was talking about the qualities he would seek in a VP that would complement his own. He was also speaking in the context of the endless claims by Clinton and her camp regarding her allegedly superior foreign policy experience vs. his own. Obama simply said foreign policy was an area where he felt he knew more about and "understood" better than Clinton and McCain. Obama's remark does not refer to his resume or the specifics of his engagement in foreign policy, but the larger, and in the view of many, more important question of "understanding"...and this encompasses issues like sensitivity and judgment. Those who support Obama generally do so precisely because they believe his understanding of the issues facing the United States and the world right now is vastly more nuanced and profound than that of his competitors. This is not something you can demonstrate with "evidence," because it relates more to Obama’s world view than any ticking off of accomplishments. Some may find the concept of “a world view” somewhat nebulous; others, like most Obama supporters, believe it is a crucial credential for a presidential candidate, especially in these times where America's role in the world needs to be examined and perhaps re-aligned, given the state of current world affairs.
Obama seems so full of himself. He has only been senator for a couple of years and he thinks heknows all of the worlds problems. This man needs to realize that Clinton and especially McCain have more foreign policy experience than him. I don't know if Obama knows that McCain was a POW in Vietnam for a couple of years. For someone to be a POW in Vietnam and then be senator for many years, and now has a good chance of becoming president, to me has a hell of a lot of foregin policy experience. For Obama, do your research, before you open your mouth.
For the record Obama said he had more knowledge of foreign policy, not experience, and such knowledge is not confined to Congress. Twisting his words around contrives his point, which he should be given a chance to elaborate on, and the media shouldn't presume it laughable because he is a junior senator. The role of the media should be to ask the right questions (like they should have before we went to Iraq) and draw out detailed arguments for policy positions from politicians, not to mock them.
The important thing to note is that Obama is not saying he has more foreign policy experience, he's saying that he "know(s) more and understand(s) the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain", which is another matter entirely. President Bush has all sorts of foreign policy experience after his years in the White House, but that doesn't mean he has the knowledge and understanding to accomplish his goals. What matters is wisdom and judgement, which comes from a broader understanding of the world than just foreign policy committees and hearings.
Now after 5 years the United States is bogged down in the Iraq war. A war that is breaking the economy of this country. A war that is making us less safe. A war that we cannot win.
Clinton & McCain's experience:
They both voted FOR the Iraq war.
Obama's experience: He was AGAINST the Iraq war.
.
That's exactly the experience that I'm looking at.
That's exactly why I'm voting for OBAMA
end of story
The foreign policy experience that Sen. Obama has is his wise judgment linked to his principle how he has stood for. Well all I can say in contrast according to what she has been articulating to American people regarding her foreign policy experience against her rival is that Sen. Clinton has an inflated phony one--sniped attack with a big smile and welcome ceremony at the airport. Wasn't that foreign policy experience the presidential candidate can claim for showing to American people, being Ready on Dayone as a Commander in Chief?
OBAMA has NO Foreign Policy Expereience, If you do not know this than you are brainwashed by a campaign based on lies and falsehoods.
Obama is such a fraud with no qualifications for Commander in Chief.
It is so funny to hear this wack job speak
I was going to write what I thought about Obama and his comments, but clearly he would not understand what I was stating. I am writing this for Obama so he will understand.
U rote: "I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on," he replied. "I think a lot of people assume that might be some kind of military thing to make me look more commander-in-chief-like. Ironically, this is an area -- foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
U r write Obama, u r sumbody that thinks he kows lotts about foriengn polici and wher u is most comfortable, me hopes that u can ax sombodies to help u. I justs hopes that u can find a persons tht actully has an education and is good experenced. Thes countri needs U. I will vote for U.
Don’t think so……
Of course the Messiah is omnipotent!
Just ask his true believers!
There's a circular psychology going on,
he convinces his wide-eyed followers,
they convince him. He is not ready.
"Blair Latoff, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in an earlier statement, “Perhaps in an effort to one-up his own ridiculous assertions about John McCain’s record, Barack Obama laughably claimed to have more foreign policy experience than Senator McCain. Even by Obama’s standards, this is a horrifyingly false claim without a shred of supporting evidence."
Actually Obama never claimed to have more "Experience", what he said (if you read the statement carefully) was that "I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain" which is quite obvious. As McSame is clearly clueless not only about the economy, but he has shown that he also has absolutely no understanding of the Middle East (evident in his recent statements where he could not tell the difference between Shia and Sunni extremist, as well as his assertion that we could ever occupy an Arab country without US soldiers being shot at), then there is Billary, who has been too busy dodging imaginary sniper fire to take the time to read any NIE reports before making the most important vote of her career.
Personally I would rather have a president who has good judgement and intelligence than an "experienced" clueless old nitwit, or a vain "too important for the details" fibber any day.
I doubt that any President, starting from George Washington to Date, is an "Expert"
on everything thats envolved with being POTUS.
Thats the purpose of carefully selecting a VP, a Cabinet, and Advisors.
"...I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."
Nowhere does Obamaclaim to have more foreign policy "experience." He's simply claiming to have more foreign policy know-how.
Who would you rather have manage your baseball team, a coach who led his team to 8 straight last place finishes, or a new coach with fresh ideas and an ability to inspire his players?
I'd go with the fresh ideas and inspiration even though the coach with 8 straight losing seasons has more experience.
I have a question: what does this commentary have to do with Political INTELLIGENCE. I don't see any of the former in this piece.
So, he said he "knows more" and "understands the world better". That doesn't say he sat on more committees and voted more.
Knowledge and understanding come from life experiences and judgment. Obama's life experiences come from living both within and outside the U.S. and having relatives of every color, among other things. Judgment comes from family and ones innate character.
He's never claimed to have more Washington experience. That's what we're trying to throw out.
Ron Paul takes his marching orders from the constitution.
"You do not go to war without a declaration. This is an invasion. An aggressive invasion. Its an undelcared war. Its lasting way too long. We ought to just come home."
Then again, the "frontrunners" do offer pandering and intelligence greater than Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers.
Obama and foreign policy. What policy?
He never voted for the war because he could not vote. he spoke against it. Kind of what we all do when we have absolutley no responsibility for our words in the event we were wrong. Then two years later he is clearly on record saying "had he had access to security clearance (Clinton and McCain did) he "would have voted for the war". After he could vote, he voted the same as Clinton. He also stated in 2006 that "he did not have enough experience to run as President." And exactly what countries has he been to? What war zones has he visited? What world leaders has he even met? This guy is now starting to sound like a nut. He has been listening to his own sales pitch B S for so long, he is starting to believe it.
Obama will lose the General Election if he wins the Democratic nomination. I hope the Democrats, Super deleges and voters are smarter than this and vote for Clinton. Obama should have waited to run. He chose not too. And it was the wrong choice. Clinton is the chance we have to actually win in November. And winning in November is all that counts.
I doubt that any POTUS, from George Washington on down, was an expert in
everything needed to be POTUS. That is why it is important that you select
competent people as VP, Cabinet Members, Advisors to help make well informed
decisons in all areas.
It's incredible how the blinded sheep will follow their herder to whatever mirage he can concoct.
Obama is unelectable. Period.
Let the voters in Penn confirm this in two weeks.
Obama: "So when I speak about having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa--knowing the leaders is not important--what I know is the people. . . ."
Wiki: "Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, he spent most of his early life in Honolulu, Hawaii. From ages six to ten, he lived in Jakarta, Indonesia with his mother and Indonesian stepfather."
His foreign policy experience is largely based on living in Indonesia from age 6 to age 10. He knew the people there. All 245,452,739 of them. And while his parents flew back to the states, Obama walked back.
Does anybody else want to mention experience vs knowledge? It's not like the point has been beat to death already!
Ok, So Obama believes he has more knowledge of the world than Clinton or McCain. How So? I mean what is he comparing to this statement. Answer that you Obama fever heads.
More incredible than anything else is that all of you people have taken the time to vent your spleens and (apparently) in the process, read all of the other drivel posted here (I have not . . . .). Lighten up, folks. It's just this kind of hysteria and foaming at the mouth that creates the matrix for the self-anointed know-it-alls (the Matthewses, O'Reillys, and Russerts we've all come to know [far too well] and loathe) to continue to waste air-time and advance their undeserved claims of expertise and as an inevitable by-product, blow all of this Clinton-Obama-McCain stuff way, way out of proportion. Just sit back and let the system work. At least our juvenile "Commander in Chief" will soon be gone, and maybe this place can begin to straighten itself out. Just maybe . . .
Where is the intelligent life?????Seems like all of us understood what Obama said ...so what is the problem with other candidate's understanding. I berlieve that the Rev. Wright thing is more of the same twisted stuff from MS Parser of Words and shortness of memory- Hilary Clinton and MCNumb who lives in another world - the world where everything is better in Iraq....
and let those homeowners get themselves to homeless shelters for their stupidity....
God help us of McNumb or "MS" Hill are anywhere near the white house or the senate comes January 20, 2009.
SPread the word..A vote for Obama is a Vote for an intelligent human being !
whos the stupid writer who wrote the piece?? isnt it rather obvious that obama has not claimed more experience than his two stupid rivals???
Where is the substance of Obama's knowledge of foreign policy (a valid point is made that he did not say he had more experience)? Please tell me that.
Do you people read and comprehend?
He was chair on the Nato and European subcommittee and held NOT ONE hearing. No questions, nothing, a complete no show.
SO, where then does all this experience come from. Just going to countries and spending a little time there does not make you an expert on the politcal leanings or problems of a country.
That statement is nothing more than PURE ARROGANCE.
As for knowledge, knowing where to shop and hangout is not going to cut it. All those POLITICAL JUNKETS do not experts make.
Most of you really need to learn how to read and comprehend what you are reading. Although he did not directly say he was more experienced he IMPLIED he was.
Being a POW and dropping napalm on children does not equal foreign policy experience.
Being a first lady and going to cocktail parties with world leaders does not equal foreign policy experience.
Real experience only comes with spending lengthy time in a country and interacting with different layers of society. Duh! Anyone who's been an international tourist can tell you that much, now we have to explain it to our "experienced" politicians.
Experience vs. Principles
A great deal is being made about experience. While I do think experience is important, of GREATER importance are the principles that guide the president.
Also, the quality of experience should be considered. Lots of experience in doing things poorly only ensures that they will continue to do things poorly, but solid principles provide proper guidance even in entirely new situations where experience is of no use.
In my opinion the candidate with the best mix of principles, experience and vision is Obama. He has my vote and my prayers.
Given McCain's latest round of "errors" regarding Iraq and Iran, as well as demonstrating... well, let's call it "forgetfulness"... since he seems to change his foreign policy positions to match the latest hard-core Right-wing Republican polls... we're not even talking average Republicans, but a small minority of people who don't have any idea what's really happening in the world.....
AND given Hillary's latest rounds of, oh what does she call it?... "mis-speak"... and her own free trade errors and omissions--not to mention that whole Columbia thing.....
AND, yes, OBAMA NEVER SAID "EXPERIENCE"...
(www.cafepress.com/wetnoodle)
AND
Obama certainly lacks foreign policy knowledge AND experience; he relies on the uneducated lower socioeconomic class to buy this bull-crap and vote for him. Unfortunate.
The best way to demonstrate that Obama has more common sense and judgment in foreign policy than either Clinton or McCain is that Obama has consistently opposed this disastrous war from the beginning.
What more evidence to you need?
OBAMA is a JOKE!
to quote erica (post 1): "The Bush Administrations has so damaged the image of a very peaceful religion by making all Muslims and Arabs look like gun toting maniacs and bombers that we've developed a warped sense of what the reality is."
Peaceful religon! Ha! 9/11 and spain and london bombings? They were trained in pakistan! Pakistan exported nuclear technology. If it is so peaceful why jihad against Salman Rushdie. Why not discuss the merits of your "peaceful" religon? When 9/11 happened the Palestinians jumped with joy! they claimed it was gods will against USA. Now what happens to Indonesia? largest muslim pop. erica go marry a muslim. Be one of 4. Have equal rights. Get a life
It's disappointing that a paper like the Globe would reference a piece of tripe such as the article in the Huffington Post. If anyone bothers to read the original article as well as some of the other articles by that particular "reporter", you'll realize that she's very biased against Obama. In one article she actually said,
"The light catches the fabric of his suit. You know he is vain, because only fit thin guys can get away with shiny fabric."
Now her biased and misleading article has made its way onto the national spotlight. This is the kind of reckless journalism that lead us into this war. Journalist not digging deeper, simply repeating what some other journalist said until the story mushrooms and the lie becomes the truth in the eye of a trusting public.
Obama's experience...
random votes on very little stuff ...
not working on anything he is responsible for.
Looking at he resume, he shouldn't even get an interview for this job.
He is one of those big loud mouth in your company that says he does everything
but nothing get done.
When you go to look for a job, what do employers ask? Any job requires experience. Without experience, none of you and I can get a job except to work in a grocery store. So, experience is NECESSARY to KNOW the stuff. And the type of job that we are looking at will not provide any training. So, person has to be capable to take charge..
Looking at Mr. Junior and so called judgement, I do not want to put the country at risk..