Obama website's opposition to successful surge gets deleted

A funny thing happened over on the Barack Obama campaign website in the last few days.

The parts that stressed his opposition to the 2007 troop surge and his statement that more troops would make no difference in a civil war have somehow disappeared. John McCain and Obama have been going at it heavily in recent days over the benefits of the surge.

The Arizona senator, who advocated the surge for years before the Bush administration employed it, says the resulting reduction in violence is proof it worked with progress on 15 of 18 political benchmarks and Obama's plan to withdraw troops by now would have resulted in surrender.

When President Bush ordered the surge in January 2007, Obama said: "I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse,"  a position he maintained throughout 2007. This year he acknowledged progress, but maintained his position that political progress was lacking.

Tuesday, while Obama gave a speech on foreign policy, the New York Daily News was the first to notice the removal of parts of Obama's campaign site listing the Iraq troop surge as part of "The Problem." An Obama spokeswoman said it was just part of an "update" to "reflect changes in current events," as our colleague Frank James notes in the Swamp. The update includes a new section on the rise of Al Qaeda violence in Afghanistan.

But some might see the updating as part of Obama's skip to the political center now that he's secured the Democratic nomination. "Today," McCain said Tuesday, "we know Sen. Obama was wrong" to oppose the troop surge.

An old quote of Obama's criticizing the "rash war," which helped him with the left wing of his party and helped differentiate his stand from that of Sen. Hillary Clinton, a primary opponent who voted for the use of force in Iraq, has been replaced on his site by one saying that ending the Iraq war will make America safer. That's more of a general election message.

And hat tip to the folks over at the Wake Up America blog for their continuing trenchant analyses of the summer campaigns in general and, specifically, for highlighting the video below that contrasts Obama's pre-surge position with a more recent interview of David Axelrod, his chief campaign strategist, denying Obama's statements. A reminder of how carefully voters must listen during these last four campaign months.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[rrr]

Uh oh, you criticized Messiah. Look what came out of the woodwork . . .

[Jaime]

FLIP FLOP, Whimper, FLIP FLOP, step on Hillary and force her out, FLIP FLOP, avoid debating John cause you're scared people may find out who you really are, FLIP FLOP, throw your pastor under the bus, FLIP FLOP, denounce public money even after you said you'd take it, FLIP FLOP, FLIP FLOP, FLIP FLOP, FLIP FLOP, DING!

Now imagine it coming from a president

Obama has judgement problems(as in he's not good at it), like 20 years of pastor wright, like ayers, like everything that he "changes" back and forth like a windsock in a field

Wake up Obama supporters! Don't elect someone for the color of their skin. We need a president, not a person that goes with the flow of the biggest lobbyist and FLIP FLOPs on the real issues!

NOBAMA!!

[RadianChalant]

People bashing Barack Obama must be Republicans. We all change or minds about things almost on a daily basis. Barack Obama has to adjust for changes in the economy, the environment, etc.; he must continue to make adjustments. Barack is a Christian. When you call him a Muslim, trying to put him down, you are putting down Muslims here in the USA and abroad; this has to stop. I will continue to vote and support Barack Obama.

[Calculating]

A complete article would include the URL where this information was. I for one would like to go to the web archive or the google cache before it i gone from there and get my own copy.

[Michael]

Nice to know you go to right wing nutcase blogs for info.

Yeah if you want more war McCain is your man!

After 8 years of Republican incompetence, it amazes me that there are still so many ignorant people in this country that want to give them another 4.\

I could care less whether the "surge" works or not, it's still a illegal, unjust, and unneeded war.

[isaac bowen]

... Than /any/ politician?

[drjohn]

The most amusing part of all of this is watching the Obamatons shift their beliefs as Obama shifts his positions. They will believe. Period.

They abandon their own core values. Obama seems to have none.

[JAL]

Weird. There are actually a number of people posting here who state that the surge did not work. (And I guess are saying that post Saddam Iraq is not improving.)

How about some facts (besides "35 Iraqis killed!" in what has become a rare bombing by an Islamic terrorist?).

What are you using to measure?

Do you read anything by the people on the ground in Iraq who are not anti-war kumba ya pacifists?

Obama radically alters his website (who knows what his position on anything really is these days) and it's no big deal?

Words have meaning for a reason guys.

It's called communication.

[Farmer McDonald]

This is funny, every time I read about what Obama says or did not say I start to hear the tune for old mcdonald:

O Obama had an opinion, e i e i o
and in that opinion he made a criticism e i e i o. With a criticism here and a criticism there, here a cism there a cism everywhere a cism cism. O Obama had an opinoin, e i e i o.

[cowl]

Why do i even bother reading articles about the candidates. Both choices are mediocre at best. I might as well throw my vote away and vote libertarian lol.

[Brahmin]

I suggest all those who are upset with the "Wake Up America" crowd to click on down the web to the "fair and balanced" crowd at MoveOn, Code Pink, and the Huffington Post. Or, maybe they can find another objective reporter like Dan (fired) Rather. Obama has more postions than the Kuma Sutra - what feels best at the moment !

[Jim]

When the incredible lightness of His Messianic Being is exposed, it is amusing to watch Obama supporters cover their ears and say "I can't hear you" over and over. Witness the comments here.

[marc Christophe]

Blogger Wright alleges that the surge did not cause a reduction in violence but, rather "political reconciliation" between factions. This is a classic example of partisan distortion and an emotional and intellectual inability to recognize and admit the truth. The "reconciliation", Mr. Wright, only became possible when our military provided the support that made it safe for various factions to come out and support the new government. Prior to the surge, these groups were afraid to speak out or support the govt. My son was in Iraq prior to the surge, and was asked by an Iraqi recruit "why" the Iraqi recruits should do anything if the US was going to abandon them. To the Iraqis, another US retreat (or abandonment) meant that it made more sense not to fight the radicals than to support westernization. Are you liberals so utterly brain dead that you cannot see the point? Ok, you like Obama and you believe in depressing and sovietizing the free people of America, but must you constantly lie on top of it?

[Robert Mack]

Obama is a nice man I'm sure. I doubt that many of us could get mad at him after knowing him however, he's just not the man I want in charge when people are trying to kill us.

If McCain gets in with Mitt Romney as his V.P.......we're in good shape. I had a chance to hear Romney recently and he is very intelligent man concerning financial issues. When asked a question....he goes right to it and needs not search for the right words.

He did venture stuff in China and wow did he go around all of the 'red' tape. This guy knows how to make the banks solvent and the trains run on time.

[Ben Vivet]

It's amazing that some people who write in these columns fail to use their common sense when analyzing things. The reality couple of years ago is quasi different today. So, as a leader what should OBAMA do? Of course he should adjust his policy accordingly. Is there anything more decent, elegant and normal than that? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor so-called journalists???

[roneida]

It is always laughable how furiously people will get all lathered up to defend a politician that they do not know, will never meet and will never see her/him made to stand up and be counted for the ridiculous things they say and pledge to get elected. Most of the frustration comes from not having the foggiest idea of what is going on but swearing ever true allegience to someone who says she/he does. Hitler got a long way with verbal inducement.

All politicians are liars. the only ones who do not lie, are the ones never heard from.. save your passion for your lover.

[Paul]

Speaking of deleting information from web sites, I insist that you delete the word "successful" from your headline. That is incredibly misleading; Obama was opposed to the surge, but the way you've presented the information implies he was opposed to a successful war effort. Furthermore, the words "successful surge" do not appear anywhere else in the article - your headline is not supported by the body of the article. Please fix this poor journalism promptly.

[marti]

Vote Third Party. Vote McKinney or Vote Nader. You do NOT have to fall in line and choose from one plate of beans or another plate of beans. It's still beans. Choose third party and you are NOT stealing anyone's votes! They do not belong to the presumptive nominee. I am not voting for either and it is funny how both sides think my vote belongs to THEM

[Dr. T]

Now if the mainstream media would only cover McCain's myriad blunders, reversals, and distortions.

But why would rich people want to stop the Bush-McCain gravytrain? Tax cuts, croneyism, lobbyists, no-bid contracts, and tax-payer subsidized bailouts all in service of the superrich. If I owned a newspaper or TV station, I suppose it would be hard for me to go against that.

[kt]

Senator Obama was WRONG on the surge. Senator Obama origianlly did not know how he would have voted for the war, but once he started running for president, he knew he would have voted against the war. He is not ready to become commander in cheif.....he is scary!!

[art]

lots of blunders magicly disappear from obamas website check it out

[ksl]

CHANGE....KEEP THE CHANGE!!!

[DavidH]

"Can you say puppet?"

Yes I can... George W. Bush

[Dr. T]

Yeah, the surge is "successful" but for some reason the democratically elected government of Iraq wants a timetable for withdrawal.

[Chris Killingsworth]

Lots of Obama apologists here- it's funny to see them talk around the facts. He can do no wrong, right?