I am so sick of Obama saying he did not vote for the war. Sorry Senator, that just does not fly with me. The senators who were faced with this very difficulty decision were not afforded the luxury of a "present" vote. They actually had to make a decision and go with it, no riding the fence for them and for that they have my respect. Many people were for the war at the beginning but are so quick to condem it now. 20/20 is a nice thing to have when you don't have to make the tough decisions. If Hillary does not get the nomination, this democrat is backing McCain. No wishy washy "present" leader for me.

Glad to see some GM workers are getting to hear Obama speak. This whole business that he's all rhetoric and no ideas is just a talking point by the Clinton and McCain camps. Take a look at his website and you can see his specific ideas. His plans make sense and he has the ability to get them done.

"His plans make sense and he has the ability to get them done."
That is leadership = version + ability!

Who isn't sick of hearing about Obama's speech about the war? It's the closest thing he has to foreign policy experience. Hey, maybe I should run for president. I was against giving Bush authority to use force too. Told everyone that would listen to me about it at the time too. Oh, but I wasn't in the Senate and I didn't actually have to vote, so maybe I should zip it.... If I were in the Senate, serving as chair of a Foreign Affairs committee, I can guarantee you that I would feel compelled to actually do some business, you know--maybe convene a hearing or two. Not Obama. No, that would be too much like actual work....

I do have as much national security experience as Obama does, which is none. And I actually have better cred when it comes to the economy--I have an undergraduate degree in economics--with honors no less. Thankfully, like Obama, I've never actually DONE anything related to the economy (other than go shopping), so no one can criticize me on my record.

Hey, if it works for him.....

Let's set the record straight. Intelligence reports stated there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq so Obama voted AGAINST protecting America. There is no way he could have known that there were not weapons there--so- I think he SUCKS at national security. If you vote Obama, you are voting for the downfall of America.

Julia: Many were against the war from the gate. I was in shock and awe-- not at the superior US fire power but at the enormous gullibility of others for allowing Bush to sidetrack into Iraq when he began to fail in Afganistan, partly in thanks to his do-nothing but soak up US financial aid buddy in Pakistan. We had no business invading Iraq. Please feel sick all over again reading this. I can assure you it's not nearly as sick feeling as the many many people who oppose this war feel, particularly the ones both American and Iraqi, who came to understand that bombing for democracy is the method of a madman.

Nancy - if you have some catchy chants, hip catch phrases and slogans you just might be "The One!" Sounds like you have very competitive qualifications. I just might vote for you!

Well it's good to know I have good reason to support Hillary. She made the wrong choice on Iraq but at least she made a choice. She powerful in the Senate which the last I heard was renowned for accomplishing nothing. She is knowledgeable about governing. I guess in large part because of her time as first lady and her failed attempt at health care reform. I for one am ready for change. A continuation of past failures and misjudgments is not enough. Obama campaign has shown me anything is possible and Obama may be just the person to make it happen. Its time for change. Its time for a new vision. Its time to move beyond the politics of division. Its time for honesty. Obama has what it takes to make it happen. We cannot afford more of the same.

Barack Obama questioned the legitimacy of the intelligence on Iraq and was 100 percent correct in questioning it. What bothers me is not the fact that Hillary voted for the war, but that time after time she refuses to apoligize for it or admit that she made a mistake. As for John McCain, he's seen the great loss of life and the trillions of dollars we've spent (and why is the economy so bad?) yet he still is not opposed to committing our troops there for years to come. I do not question his experience but I do question his sanity.

Show me above where he EVER says he did "I did not vote against the war"! You can't because he never said that. He rightfully critized Hillary and MaCain for voting FOR the war - a war that is bankcrupting us. So if you weren't in the Senate to vote for the War you can't call them on this blunder?

I don't hate Hillary, but I realy am turned off by her suporters hate for Senator Obama.

Julia, you've convienently left out the fact that Obama made a speech against the war while Hillary et al were voting for it. He didn't 'later' with '20/20' hindsight say he was against it. At least be honest about the debate. Hillary later voted against an amendment to give inspectors more time and then recently voted to classify the Iranian Revolutional Guard as a terrorist organization (viewed by most Democrats including Biden as giving Bush/Cheney carte blanch in Iran -- thank God the NIE came out). This is clearly Hillaryland here. Stop the spin. Go read Obama's speech opposing the war. As Ted Kennedy said, "let now one deny the truth of that matter."

For those who think that his Iraq vote is his own foreign policy experience, I would just like to point out that he is actually on the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate and did extensive work on nuclear proliferation issues.

He must talk about the war because that is all he has. The media killed us with the WMD talk it was a day and night pep talk on that issue, no one in the world did not think something major was going down in Iraq. We had England, Aus and everyone else on this WMD cry. Obama must of not been listening or had first hand information as to what was there or not because he sure seems to know now that everyone that said yes to this war was wrong, maybe it would be good for him to let us know what that information was.

Intelligence reports stated there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq so Obama voted AGAINST protecting America. There is no way he could have known that there were not weapons there. LOL

That's funny, I live in Canada and somehow knew, along with the rest of the world that you were being duped by a dumb President.

It really wasn't hard to figure out.

My American friends- Vote for the smart guy this time. You voted for the dumb one the last eight years.

Seriously? His campaign is justifying his sudden "presidential" appeal simply because he can read from a teleprompter? The man can deliver a line when it is prepared for him; but when he is in an unscripted situation, he cannot perform. If he would accept one of the debates and discuss the economy off the cuff, I would be impressed. My "hopes" are not up though.

If Obama is so against this war, how come he's voted for every funding bill submitted.

FYI, the economic proposals in Obama's speech today were were already put forward by Senator Clinton in '07.

The National Infrastructure Bank is a bill she has co-sponsord with Senator Hagel.

Who has the new ideas?

I'm really getting tired of everyone and their simple little catch phrases. "His plan makes sense and he has the ability to get it done." What? Really? He can solve all of the problems of this country with his plan and his vision and his happy speeches of hope and change? People need to wake up and realize that we are living in a country that has 50 percent liberals and 50 percent conservatives. And Obama claiming to be able to "unite" the different parts of this country sounds so much like George Bush and his "I'm a uniter, not a divider" it makes me cringe. If he and his supporters are so sensitive and unable to work with people like Clinton (who agrees with him on almost everything) how is he going to "bring together" the 50% of the country he disagrees with almost 100% of the time?

dk: Obama voted to feed the our soldiers that were there following a commanders orders-this commander-in-chef was himself disobeying orders given to him for Vietnam war. If he did not ,you the dk, will have called him callous unpatriotic.
OBAMA is the only present candidate beside DrRON Paul-who opposed IRAQ WAR.

It has taken Obama months to finally come up with any plans. He is only doing it now because his speeches are getting old. He not only didn't vote on the war, but when he did become Senator and actually had to attend a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he quickly handed a staff member a note saying "Shoot me now"....not exactly what I want in a President. He loves the limelight but doesn't want to work.

Quote: "I am so sick of Obama saying he did not vote for the war. Sorry Senator, that just does not fly with me. The senators who were faced with this very difficulty decision were not afforded the luxury of a "present" vote. They actually had to make a decision and go with it, no riding the fence for them and for that they have my respect. Many people were for the war at the beginning but are so quick to condem it now. 20/20 is a nice thing to have when you don't have to make the tough decisions. If Hillary does not get the nomination, this democrat is backing McCain. No wishy washy "present" leader for me."

I for one applaud Sen. Obama for his opposition to the Iraq war at its outset. People forget he was running for the Senate at the time, and his was a courageous, nearly lone voice. It is not the case that he was sitting around playing pinochle between votes in the Illinois legislator and simply offered up casually: "I'm agin' it!"

And, if you don't know how present votes work in the Illinois legislature, you could of course find out. Sen. Obama has explained it. One suspects, though, that you do know but don't really care.

If you're against Obama, fine. But your half-baked rationale is laughable.