RNC: Obama's Bad Week on Preconditions

Will Obama's Supporters Continue To Misrepresent His Position On Meeting With Hostile Leaders Without Preconditions?

WASHINGTON, May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was issued today by the Republican National Committee:

FLASHBACK: Obama Stated He Would Meet Hostile Foreign Leaders Without Precondition:

At A July 2007 Debate, Obama Announced He Would Personally Meet With Leaders Of Iran, North Korea, Syria And Other Hostile Nations "Without Precondition." Question: "[W]ould you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?"... Obama: "I would. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them -- which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration - is ridiculous." (CNN/YouTube Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Charleston, SC, 7/23/07)

Click Here To Watch Obama Say "I Would" Meet Unconditionally With Leaders Of Iran, North Korea, Syria, And Other Nations.

SUNDAY: Sen. Joe Biden, Former Sen. Gary Hart, DLC Chairman Harold Ford, Jr. All Attempted To Revise Obama's Position On Meeting With Foreign Leaders:

Sen. Biden Said Obama Gave "Wrong Answer" On Negotiating Unconditionally With Hostile Foreign Leaders, But Then Falsely Claims Obama Has Changed His Position: Biden: "[Obama has] learned a hell of a lot. I think he has. What we're talking about here is that he has repeatedly since then said he would not negotiate unconditionally, meaning him sitting down, alone, right off the bat with these leaders. He's talked about his Secretary of State, his Secretary of Defense. Matter of a fact, the statements he use mirrors the statement the rest of us have been talking about. This is a fellow who I think shorthanded an answer that in fact was the wrong answer, in my view, saying I would within my first year, it implied he'd personally sit down with anybody who wanted to sit down with him. That's not what he meant. That's not what he has said since then for the last year or thereabout. And so I think he's fully capable of understanding of what's going." (ABC's "This Week," 5/18/08)

Former Sen. Gary Hart On CNN's "Late Edition" Said Unconditionally Meeting With Leaders Of Rogue Nations "Doesn't Lead To Anything," Went On To Misstate Obama's Stated Position. CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "But the question he was specifically asked at one of the Presidential debates is, would you personally as President, be willing to sit down with these leaders, whether leaders of North Korea or Venezuela or Cuba or Iran without pre-conditions, in your first year as President, that was the specific question, he said yes. He later expanded. He said that there would be preparations that would have to be done by lower-level officials. But he was saying without pre-conditions, he personally would be willing to do so." Gary Hart: "Well, depends on how you define pre-conditions. I've been in those debates, and everything gets compressed. I don't think Barack Obama or any other President is going to meet with a head of state without lower-level discussions preceding that. It doesn't lead to anything. What you do is send diplomats and negotiators to explore areas of mutual interest. And if it does seem profitable, then you go to the heads of state. We did this with the Soviets throughout the Cold War. Richard Nixon did it with the Chinese. And the preparations led up to those discussions." (CNN's "Late Edition," 5/18/08)

DLC Chairman Harold Ford, Jr. On NBC's "Meet the Press": "I'll concede you cannot meet with foreign leaders - with terrorists rather - and those that lead rogue nations without some conditions." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 5/18/08)

MONDAY: Obama Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Susan Rice Denied That Obama Ever Said He Would Meet With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

Obama Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Susan Rice Denied That Sen. Obama Said He Would Meet With Ahmadinejad. CNN'S Wolf Blitzer: "How does Senator Obama defend that decision to meet without preconditions with a leader like Ahmadinejad?" Rice: "Well, first of all, he said he'd meet with the appropriate Iranian leaders. He hasn't named who that leader will be. It may, in fact be that by the middle of next of year, Ahmadinejad is long gone." ... Blitzer: "Let's be precise because when they criticize Barack Obama, not only John McCain but others, for suggesting that he would meet without preconditions with Ahmadinejad, who only last week on Israel's 60th anniversary called Israel a 'stinking corpse.' The question that they ask is what is Barack Obama going to talk with him about?" Rice: "Well, first of all as I said, it would be the appropriate Iranian leadership at the appropriate time - not necessarily Ahmadinejad." (CNN's "Situation Room," 5/19/08)

TUESDAY: Former Sen. Tom Daschle Misstated Obama's Position On Meeting With Hostile Leaders:

Daschle: "I Would Not Say That We Would Meet Unconditionally -- Of Course There Are Conditions ..." CNN's John Roberts: "Senator, you thought about running for the nomination in the 2004 election briefly. If you had become president, would you have met with Ahmadinejad and others without precondition in the first year of your presidency?" Daschle: "Well, I think it's important to emphasize again when we talk about precondition, we're just saying everything needs to be on the table. I would not say that we would meet unconditionally -- of course there are conditions that we would involve in preparation in getting ready for the diplomacy, but clearly, John, we've got to start talking. We have to start working through the differences we have, and of course I'd meet with them." Roberts: " But he clearly said, clearly agreed that he would meet without precondition." Daschle: "Well, without precondition simply means we wouldn't put obstacles in the way of discussing the differences between us. that's really what they're saying, what Barack is saying." (CNN's "America Morning," 5/20/08)

WEDNESDAY: Gov. Bill Richardson And Former Rep. David Bonior Both Confused Obama's Position:

Gov. Richardson Said That Obama Only Wants To Talk To Leadership Of These Countries. Fox News' Steve Doocy: "Governor, doesn't Senator Obama want to talk to Ahmadinejad?" Gov. Richardson: "He [Obama] wants to talk to the Iranian leadership. He wants to talk to North Korea. But he wants diplomatic preparation before doing that with Cuba, look, this embargo hasn't worked. And what Obama is saying that let's talk to the Cuban leadership." (Fox News' "Fox And Friends," 5/21/08)

Former Rep. Bonior Said That Obama Would Not Meet "Unconditionally" With Rogue Leaders. Bonior: "What Senator Obama is saying is that we're not going to have -- we're not doing this unconditionally. Of course we are going to have preparations, talks, low level discussions, at the proper place and time with these leaders..." (MSNBC's "News Live," 5/21/08)

FRIDAY: Sen. Biden And Obama Adviser David Axelrod Continued Backtracking On Obama's Stated Position On Meeting With Foreign Leaders:

Today, Sen. Biden Changed His Position From Sunday And Said He Would Meet With Leaders Without Preconditions. Sen. Biden: "Sen. Obama is right that the U.S. should be willing to engage Iran on its nuclear program without "preconditions" - i.e. without insisting that Iran first freeze the program, which is the very subject of any negotiations. He has been clear that he would not become personally involved until the necessary preparations had been made and unless he was convinced his engagement would advance our interests." (Sen. Joe Biden, Op-Ed, "Republicans And Our Enemies," The Wall Street Journal, 5/23/08)

Obama Senior Adviser David Axelrod Tried To Backtrack On Obama's Statements On Unconditional Meetings With The World's Worst Regimes. Brzezinksi: "We'll have Joe Biden on later, he responds to Joe Lieberman's piece in The Wall Street Journal. I want to read you piece of that, it's about your candidate's foreign policy. 'There are of course times when it makes sense to engage in tough diplomacy with hostile governments. Yet what Mr. Obama has proposed is not selective engagement, but a blanket policy of meeting personally as president, without preconditions, in his first year in office, with the leaders of the most vicious, anti-American regimes on the planet.' ... Is there a concern he's going to look weak on this?" Axelrod: "Well, first of all, everyone should go back and review the question that was asked in the debate last summer in which this was started. The question was would you be willing to sit down? And of course, the answer was yes, I would be willing and any president should, if there is an opportunity to advance our interests and to advance, you know, the causes that we care about and the causes of peace and so on, we should be willing to do that if there is that chance and that's what Barack Obama is saying." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 5/23/08)

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2008-05-23 17:10:36 0369937 PRNEWSWIRE