Friday, May 16, 2008

The Best Defense is a Good Offense

I hate how Democrats always play the victim - complaining about Republican dirty tricks instead of fighting back. Obama seems to share my frustration. Greg Sargent from TPM quotes Obama and writes:

"If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate I am happy to have any time," Obama said. "That is a debate that I will win."

He proceeded to rattle off all the things Bush and McCain have to "answer for." The unnecessary Iraq War. The phantom WMDs. The strengthening of Iran. The fact that "Hamas now controls Gaza." And the fact that Osama Bin Laden is "sending out video tapes with impunity."

Obama also slammed the notion that he'd ever supported any sort of negotiations with terrorists. "They're trying to fool you, trying to scare you, and they're not telling you the truth because they can't win a foreign policy debate on the merits," he said.

At times, Obama hit what I think is the right tone -- ridicule and bemusement, rather than outrage. At one point, for instance, he noted that McCain has now promised an end to the war in 2013, after repeatedly suggesting a much longer open-ended commitment might be necessary.

"I think he noticed that it wasn't polling well," Obama joked.

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