Obama 2008? Mr. Electability? - Iowa Update

Back in 2005 when I first ran across an 'OBAMA 2008' bumper sticker (initial thoughts here), I completely dismissed Obama as a viable candidate.

However, as the 2008 race on the Democrat side has developed, I can now see why he won in Iowa last night. After all, out of the top three finishers, he is the only new face and he has been running a good campaign, and let's face it, he is not all that bad. (For a Democrat.)

About a year ago I wrote the following:

...Obama has been consistently against the war in Iraq which I will give him credit for. Unfortunately for him, we are in Iraq, and his position on Iraq is one against winning there and therefore not an option for many in 2008. And that is a shame because he is a pretty decent candidate, when compared to the other Democrats running against him. Which is exactly the type of position that might win him the Primaries only to get creamed in the General Election, which is the only one that matters. - Link

Now Iraq did not feature much at all in Iowa, but this is why I think his position on Iraq will cost him later on:

While the press may not be portraying Iraq as anything close to victory, the election is about two years away, and when people go to vote, they will be judging Iraq as is it is at the time that they vote, not at the time that the candidates have staked their position. - Link

Which is exactly why you have not heard much out of the candidates lately about Iraq. However, once the primaries are over, whoever the Democrat candidate is will have to defend their Iraq position as whoever the Republican candidate is will call them to account for it. Given that it was recently reported that negative news coverage forced the Military to abandon an offensive resulting in losses, this is something that Mr. Obama and others are partly responsible for and will be called to account for later.

A secret intelligence assessment of the first battle of Fallujah shows that the U.S. military thinks that it lost control over information about what was happening in the town, leading to "political pressure" that ended its April 2004 offensive with control being handed to Sunni insurgents.

"The outcome of a purely military contest in Fallujah was always a foregone conclusion — coalition victory," read the assessment, prepared by analysts at the U.S. Army's National Ground Intelligence Center, or NGIC.

"But Fallujah was not simply a military action, it was a political and informational battle. ... The effects of media coverage, enemy information operations and the fragility of the political environment conspired to force a halt to U.S. military operations," concluded the assessment. - Washington Times

Senator Obama had submitted legislation in the Senate to force a March 2008 withdrawal from Iraq. He was also one of the Congressmen that provided the 'Political Pressure' mentioned above. That should not be forgotten.

Than again, ALL of the Democrat candidates are equally as guilty in this matter. And I am disappointed that there is no alternative being offered on the Democrat side. I guess for the Big 3 finishers last night, he is the best of the worst, simply because he is the most novice. It will take him time to learn the ins and outs of being President, which I think is a good idea, unlike having a Hillary who will waste no time at all playing political games which I am sure everyone agrees that nobody needs, or having a Lorax of a President (Senator Edwards of course) who will 'speak for the trees poor'. (If you remember the story, things didn't turn out too well for the trees.)

See the links below for more concerning Obama or click on the 2008 tag below for more election opinion.

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Obama 2008? Mr. Electability? - 25 July 2005
Benedict Clinton 2008, Benedict Obama 2008: Presidential Victory through defeat in Iraq - 18 Feb 2007