Obama draws contrast with Clinton over Iraq war

John Whitesides

AMES, Iowa — Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama drew a contrast with rival Hillary Rodham Clinton over the Iraq war on Sunday, saying it was unclear how she planned to end the conflict.

On the day after he formally launched his 2008 White House bid, Obama said on a campaign swing through Iowa that even before the war began it was possible to see the dangerous consequences of a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

“Even at the time, it was possible to make judgments that this would not work out well,” the Illinois senator told reporters, indirectly contrasting his stance with presidential rivals Clinton and John Edwards, who both voted to authorize the war in 2002.

Clinton, now a war critic who has promised to end the conflict if she wins the White House, has been criticized by some Democrats for her 2002 Senate vote on authorization and for not renouncing the vote.

Edwards, the party’s 2004 vice presidential nominee and a former senator from North Carolina, has called his vote in 2002 a mistake.

Obama was not in the Senate at the time of the vote, but opposed the war from the start. He has proposed a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq to be completed by the end of March 2008, and he told reporters he was uncertain how Clinton intended to end the conflict.

“I am not clear as to how she would proceed at this point to wind down the war in a specific way,” Obama said when asked to evaluate Clinton’s Iraq stance. “I have tried to consistently present a responsible course of action that recognizes our national security interests in the region but would allow us to start redeploying our troops.”

Clinton came under pressure again on Saturday during a campaign trip through New Hampshire to explain her 2002 Senate vote.

“Knowing what we know now, I would never have voted for it,” she said, adding she was not casting a vote to authorize preemptive war but intended to give President Bush the authority to send inspectors back in to Iraq.

“I do not believe that most of us who voted to give the president authority thought he would so misuse the authority we gave him,” he said.

Obama, a first-term senator and former Illinois state legislator, has quickly jumped into the top tier of a crowded Democratic presidential field along with Clinton and Edwards.

His early opposition to the increasingly unpopular war is a centerpiece of his stump speech, drawing big cheers on a two-day swing through the state that traditionally kicks off the presidential nominating fight.

He repeatedly said voters should demand a clear plan on how to end the war from all the Democratic candidates.

On Sunday afternoon, Obama flew to his hometown of Chicago for a boisterous rally attended by more than 8,000 people at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

“The time has come for us to end this engagement in Iraq,” he said, saying he was proud he had been “consistent and constant” in his Iraq message.

Some anti-war hecklers demanding a cutoff in funding for the war interrupted his speech at one point. Obama concluded his campaign swing with a rally in New Hampshire on Monday.

Obama also had a sharp response for Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a Bush ally who said Obama’s proposals would create chaos in the Middle East.

“I think that will just encourage those who want to completely destabilize and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory,” Howard said on Australia’s Nine Network television.

Obama said it was “flattering” for a Bush ally to attack him the day after he formally launched his presidential bid, but noted that Australia had contributed 1,400 troops to the war compared to 140,000 U.S. troops.

“If he’s ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and send them to Iraq,” he said. “Otherwise it’s just a bunch of empty rhetoric.”

Obama’s first trip to New Hampshire as an official Democratic presidential candidate came with packed audiences, enthusiastic crowds — and scant scrutiny.

After entering the race on Saturday in his home state of Illinois, Obama came to New Hampshire Monday on the heels of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. She faced criticism last weekend for not saying her vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq was a mistake.

Obama, by contrast, faced little of that skepticism. Even his sharpest questioners began by offering praise and support.

“He hasn’t gotten into specifics, but that’ll come,” state Rep. Jeffrey Fontas said after a house party with 60 activists. “It’s early, so we’ll see more and more.”

That house party brought questions about:

• An Equal Pay Act. Obama helped promote a state measure during his time in Illinois, but didn’t commit to a national version.

• Childcare. Obama said it was a problem; he did not offer specifics.

• The USA Patriot Act. Obama is against parts of it, but did not offer an alternative.

Even though Obama did not offer specific solutions, New Hampshire voters gave him a pass.

“He takes time, he answers fully,” said state Rep. Melanie Levesque. “I think we need people who can bring people together. He can do that. We’re going to have a tough decision to make.”

Obama called for a national solution to health care, but stopped short of endorsing or rejecting proposals for mandatory insurance. He said more young people should consider teaching, but stopped short of specific incentives.

Later Monday, at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, Obama discussed Iraq.

“Unless we bring that war to a close, we cannot deal with all those other problems I just mentioned,” he said. “Not only has it resulted in the tragic loss of our brave soldiers, but it means we’re spending $400 billion rebuilding Iraq with money that could have been used here.”

Obama did outline an energy plan, focusing on a reduction in emissions, cap-and-trade plans for polluting industries and development of biofuels, including ethanol. He also repeated his stance on gay marriage — that civil unions are fine, but marriage is a religious bond.

“I believe that every American has basic rights that have to be respected,” said Obama, who noted that his parents perhaps broke the law when they entered into a biracial marriage in the 1960s.

A member of the university audience asked about his appeal to social conservatives. Obama said one of the best lessons he learned in politics was that he could not make 100 percent of voters happy. He then noted his friendship with the Rev. Rick Warren, who leads one of the largest megachurches in the United States.

(Reuters)