Clintion and Obama on Iraq

Bush: “Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among terrorists there is no doubt.”
Clinton leaps to her feet, applauding. Obama remains seated.

Not having watched the actual SOTU, I seem to have missed some interesting by-play:

Clinton and Obama’s divergent views on the troop surge in Iraq, however, were plainly visible.

When Bush proclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among terrorists there is no doubt,” Clinton sprang to her feet in applause but Obama remained firmly seated.

Tell me again that Obama and Clinton now have the same position on the war in Iraq. I didn’t hear you clearly the first time.

Update Of course Kevin Drum is right: this is snark, not analysis. But since “The Surge is Working” will be Republican Talking Point #1 for November &#8212 especially if Surgemeister-General McCain gets the nomination &#8212 and since “Iraq is the Central Front in the Global War on Terror” will be Republican Talking Point #2, I think it’s fair to note that one of the remaining Democratic candidates got up and applauded when these two talking points were recited in tandem, and the other candidate did not.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

One thought on “Clintion and Obama on Iraq”

  1. SOTU-ology

    SOTU-OLOGY….Tea leaf reading at the SOTU last night:When Bush proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among terrorists there is no doubt," Clinton sprang to her feet in applause but Obama remained firmly seated.Obam…

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