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Questions, Questions

December 12, 2007 11:45 AM

Political Punch has obtained the questionnaire that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois filled out in 2003 for the Illinois Chapter of the National Organization for Women. (Read it HERE).

In that 2003 questionnaire Obama vowed to vote to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act, though he said he "would consider replacing that shoddy and dangerous law with a new, carefully drafted proposal …"

Two years later, Obama voted in favor of re-authorizing the PATRIOT Act.

"This compromise does modestly improve the PATRIOT Act by strengthening civil liberties protections without sacrificing the tools that law enforcement needs to keep us safe," Obama said as he voted to re-authorize the bill.

Asked by NOW in 2003 if he would support "legislation that eliminates all discrimination in the military based on sexual orientation," Obama then hedged a bit. Though in many of his answers he simply affirmed "Yes," in this one he did not.

"I would have to examine specific legislation," he wrote, "but I would oppose policies that fail to advance equal rights in the military."

Obama today as a presidential candidate -– giving an answer that many gay and lesbian voters no doubt approve of -- has directly called for "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" to be repealed.

Asked in 2003 if he would support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (erroneously called the "Protection of Marriage Act" in the questionnaire), Obama wrote, "I support laws recognizing domestic partnerships and providing benefits to domestic partners. However, I do not support legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act."

Obama changed his mind on that issue in 2004 and now supports repealing DOMA. Per Obama spokesman Bill Burton: "Obama has opposed DOMA. He felt it was a poorly conceived law and, in 2004, after hearing from gay friends who relayed to Obama how hurtful it was for the bill to be law, he supported its repeal."

Burton's general comment about the questionnaire? "It's obvious that the Clinton campaign is desperately grasping for anything they can find. This is about as news-less as it gets. The only thing that's changed since she said she wouldn't attack her Democratic rivals is her poll numbers."

Burton also referenced the e-mail that a Clinton deputy campaign manager sent apparently looking for dirt on Obama's days as a community organizer, published yesterday by the New York Times. 

Obama opponents have been drawing attention to a story in the Politico drawing attention to a questionnaire he filled out in 1996 for the Independent Voters of Illinois/Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO) in which Obama, in the words of our Politico friends Mike Allen and Ben Smith, came out "flatly opposed to capital punishment, in support of a federal single-payer health plan, against any restrictions on abortion, and in support of state laws to ban the manufacture, sale and even possession of handguns."

You can read those questionnaires for yourself HERE and HERE.

It is perhaps not surprising for a candidate to shift his views as he trudges up the ladder –- it can be seen as either pragmatism or selling out, evolving or losing touch, I suppose. Obama's opponents say he has not been truly vetted and Republicans will make hash out of him using these questionnaires come November 2008 should he get the nomination. Obama's supporters say his opponents are desperate and grasping at straws.

The inimitable Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times followed up with a look at Obama’s responses in the IVI-IPO’s 2003/2004 questionnaire, saying, "Portraying Obama as a liberal -- even if he has moved to the center since 2003 -- speaks to the general election electability issue and puts Obama on the defensive over his liberal roots."

From here on the ground in Iowa, I don't really sense that these questionnaires and the larger issue of whether Obama is too liberal –- or has been too liberal -– is impeding the wind at his back. But what say you?

-- jpt

UPDATE: Phil Singer of the Clinton campaign writes: "Given how little experience Senator Obama has, it's understandable that his campaign doesn't want any kind of focus on his record.  These stories clearly raise questions that deserve real answers, not attacks.  They serve as a stark reminder about how little the public knows about Sen. Obama's views and positions."

December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (21)

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Posted by: JRE | Dec 12, 2007 12:15:30 PM

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