Anyone who has read Clinton's floor speech will see that she was far from being in favor of this war-Senator Clinton cautioned the President not to take her vote as a rush to war but instead to go to the United Nations to get the inspectors back. Obama has never been questioned on this- He definitely has potential in the Democratic Party but he needs more seasoning- Not only the experience with foreign policy, healthcare, etc. etc. but the Republicans will come after him with guns blazing- talking pretty will not protect him-

Uh, yeah right. Nice try Menemsha. She made a speech... and then she voted to authorize. I was a constituent of hers in New York at the time, and called up her office immediately and told them I would never vote for her after this shameless act of cowardice. And before that I was a real fan of hers.

I am an independent, but it does strike me that Senator Obama is playing fast and loose with the facts here. He was not a Member of Congress at the time the vote was taken, so he cast no vote. Whats more, I believe he has conceded that if he had been a Member at the time he is not sure how he would have voted. And after entering Congress, his voting pattern has been similar to hers. If this is the case, and I believe it is then there is not really much difference in their positions.

As far as this matter, i think Obama was very specific right from the beginning because he was sayingt hat he never supported the war,if i hear somebody saying that obama and clinton both have asmilar perception of supporting the war i wonder,if clinton said yes to the war and supported it iam sure obama never supported it,please don,t try to blackmail the gonna be us president in 2008.

I know we want to focus this on their positions on the war and not go into Hillary's baggage and over-ambition, so let's leave it at that. Haven said that, if Hillary's vote was only intended to 'give the President a bargaining chip' as she puts it, why did she not oppose the war thereafter. She only jumped on the bandwagon when the war became unpopular.

Obama opposed the war in 2002 and during his Senate race in 2004, at a time when George Bush was saying he would've still gone to Iraq, knowing what he knows now and still soaring in the polls. If the war was as unpopular then as it is today, Howard Dean would probably be President. If democrats knew in 1988 what they know now, they probably would've nominated Jesse Jackson, not Dukakis who eventually lost the general election to George H. W. Bush Sr.

Fred, thanks for your opinion. But it does little to change the facts. A speech is not the same thing as a vote, and the admission that he did not know does appear to have been made. You are obviously a strong supporter of Senator Obama and your reaction reflects as much. I am an independent, and the position of these two candidates is not as different as you think. Take a look at the entire voting record, and you will see what I mean.

Sorry, I meant Rick. Best regards.

Thank you for including Obama's statements last November to The New Yorker magazine. Funny, before he announced, he claimed to ALWAYS point that he was in different shoes in 2002. Then he announced and he leaves out this fact that he ALWAYS pointed out beforehand. That said, he funded the war just like Clinton, voted against Kerry-Feingold just like Clinton, voted for the Gregg resolution in March, just like Clinton, and now supports Reid-Feingold, just like Clinton. Or does he support it? I'm still unclear on that one, but his votes are far from what I would expect from an anti-war candidate.

Mike, it is pure speculation on my part but it may have had something to do with the fact that Hillary supported a separate piece of legislation also in 2002 to limit the war authorization to one year and that legislation failed to pass. This was indicative of the prevailing mood in congress at the time.
The effort to topple Saddam was successful, and there was little
dissent expressed in Congress at that
time, or in the press--Richard Cohen,
Bill Saafire, etc. The change in
support came later, after the
Administration made the mistake of
disbanding the Iraqi Army which created
the power vaccum causing the outbreak
of sectarian violence. At that point,
I believe Hillary, Obama and other members of Congress focused on the conduct the war. Obviously this was a
damsite harder to do while the other party controls congress. In sum, there is far more to it than Presidential politics.

your party does not control congress.

I see that ABC is a Clinton news friendly organization.

Obama has voted the same as Clinton.

He seems to think a speech in 2002 excuses his vote against Kerry-Feingold in 2006 or for the Gregg Resolution in March 2007.

Neither Clinton nor Obama have done enough to end this war.

Support the Troops. End the War!

I disagree with William. Obama's stance was clear: he said that Iraq was a dumb war all the way back in October 2002. In November 2002, he said he would have voted with Dick Durbin and 22 other senators in voting against the blank check authorization.

Hillary not only voted for the authorization, she failed to speak up before the war. She didn't say it was premature until the war turned south. Tom Daschle had the guts to speak up on the eve of war to say that there was a rush to war. Daschle is backing Obama.

Obama is just fluff. His voting record is the same as Hillary little difference execept his it is very very short. He was absent 33% compared to Hillary's 25%. Obama wants you to believe he is different but he is not. He is a great speaker but what he says lets you know that his inexperience will get us in trouble. The only thing we really know about Obama is he is a great speaker - which is why he is currently running for office - if he was not the speaker in 2004 we would not know him. We really do not know what he stands or how he will change things. People are fooled by his make me feel good speaches...he talks about change but what kind of change...he has no real plan... sounds like Bush going into Iraq...How many of you were behind Bush when he went to Iraq... people get new information and change their minds... alot of people were fooled.. no vote just means he was not able to vote so ..one really does not know what he would have voted...just what he says now..people change with new information be real...you all did or possible a lot of you..

OBAMA SHOULD POST THE 2004 SPEECH HE TOOK OFF HIS WEBSITE SUPPORTING BUSH.
THE VOTED FOR THE FUNDING 2007 HILLARY VOTED NO NO. PRES. CLINTON IS RIGHT, HE HAS SUPPORTED THE WAR DID NOT HAVE TO MAKE THE HARD VOTE. OBAMA IS A PHONY AND HAS DONE NOTHING IN THE SENATE TO GET US OUT OF IRAQ. VOTE HILLARY -

I said it before and I'll say it again:

Obama should add this to his stump speech:

". . . and I was living in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER"

(it fits) ;-D

The fact of the matter is that BOTH Obama and Clinton have consistently voted for funding of the War regardless if they were for it or against it. It shows you they are both spineless and have no courage to stand up for what they believe. They blow in the direction of the political wind. Kick them both out.

How can O'Bama even compare (to Clinton)his saying that he was against the Iraq War when he was not privy to all the info on it. No one knows how he would have voted if he had the intel at the time of the original vote and been able to vote. The Bush administration has admited to givng false information at that time. We should be comparing how their voting compares since the has reached the status of Senator.

Obama being the Jr. Senator from Ill.would have voted for the war too.He was not yet in the senate . VOTE HILLARY

I am not happy with Senator Clinton negative comments on Senator Obama.

Also, am not happy with she is trying to be the good gal-- Whew!

I am a register Independent-- When I do not like what is going on in politics I change my party. To be fair I just change my party to Democratic because I am from WY (big sky) and plan to vote in the caucus tomorrow 03/08/08 and will make sure will register as soon as possible. The Public Library in my country will be open for registration 9:00am and I will be taking care of this.
Again, I am not happy with these negative comments about Senator Obama. He will be our next Commander in Chief, President of the United States.
Senator Obama is the one who will change and fix America globally and internationally. So be it!
Senator Obama is a number ONE! candidate who will be our next U.S. President.

Demore