Speaking about the prospects for a congressional resolution opposing President Bush's announced new policy in Iraq, Obama said Monday:
I think we will get a majority of the Senate saying that this is a bad idea. That will give us, I think, the impetus and the political symbolism to then start pursuing a more concrete plan to . . .Once he got this far into his sentence, I thought I could guess what he was going to say next. I thought the next words out of his mouth would be something like "stop the bloodshed in Iraq," or "bring stability in Iraq to the extent that we can start to bring our troops home," or maybe even "constrain the terrorists."
Imagine my shock when the actual words he used to finish the sentence were:
". . . constrain the president."Is that what this is all about? Is Iraq just one more theater in the political war in Washington between Republicans and Democrats? Is there less concern for who wins in Iraq than there is for who wins in the next general election?
How disappointing that we should hear such a statement from someone who today took the necessary legal step to allow fundraising for a possible presidential campaign.
Peace is the goal, senator, not the White House.
Please keep your eye on the goal. Don't let flatterers and hangers on who see you primarily as a tool to advance their own personal careers in Washington distract you from the real goal.
