| To review what this is about:
Each week I will solicit from the campaigns a single paragraph asking the campaigns to define what makes them DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER CANDIDATES on a specific issue, i.e. Iraq, Energy Policy, Health Care, etc.
The two rules of the response are this -- the paragraph has to begin with the phrase "I am the only candidate who..." and must deal with policy or approach, not resume (although if you are the only candidate that voted for x bill, etc., that qualifies as policy).
A big thanks to all the campaigns that participated.
Additional note/update on number of paragraphs: In direct emails to the campaigns, I expressed to the candidates that two paragraphs was OK, but to watch the length. So while I think it's valid to discuss whether responses were succinct, the paragraph breaks are irrelevant.
The subject this week was what makes the candidates different from each other on Iraq. So without further ado, here are the responses we got in the order we received them:
From Chris Dodd for President:
"I am the only candidate with a plan that will immediately begin redeploying our troops from Iraq within 30 days and responsibly end this war by March of 2008. Earlier this year, I was the first and only candidate to co-sponsor the Feingold-Reid-Dodd amendment, and later this week, I will introduce an amendment to the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill that expands on the ideas set forth in Feingold-Reid-Dodd. The Dodd Amendment will begin redeployment of combat troops from Iraq within one month to be completed no later than March 31, 2008 and tie that deadline to funding for the war. In addition it will also hold the Administration accountable for redeployment through regular progress reports to Congress and enforceable benchmarks. The Dodd Amendment will provide clarity for the Iraqi government to get its house in order and finally end America's involvement in Iraq's civil war."
From Biden for President '08:
"I'm the only candidate who has a plan not only for getting our troops out of Iraq, but for what we leave behind. Leaving Iraq is necessary, but it is not enough. We have to ensure that as we leave we do not trade a dictator for chaos in Iraq and the region. We can't pull this generation of Americans out of Iraq only to have to send the next generation back in. More than a year ago, I proposed a detailed plan for a political settlement in Iraq that offers the possibility of leaving behind something stable. Like we did in Bosnia, it calls for giving the warring factions breathing room in regions, with control over the fabric of their daily lives like the police, education, jobs, marriage and religion. A limited central government would be responsible for common concerns like defending the borders and distributing oil revenues. Everyone recognizes there is no purely military solution in Iraq -- we need a political solution, but I'm the only candidate to offer one.
"I am also the only candidate who voted to protect our troops [Vote #181, 5/24/07, 80-14] and provide them with the necessary equipment they need to protect themselves, such as mine resistant vehicles (MRAPs). I want to bring our troops home as soon as possible, but as long as a single soldier remains in harm's way, I will vote for the money to protect them. That's what the other candidates said too, but they changed their mind."
From John Edwards for President:
"I am the only candidate who supports an immediate withdrawal - today, not in four months - of 40,000-50,000 troops, to trigger Iraqis and regional powers to find a political solution, which is the only way to resolve the situation. I also believe Congress should have stood strong against the President's veto and sent the supplemental appropriations bill funding the troops - including a timetable for withdrawal - to President Bush over and over again, until he agreed to change the course of this disastrous war. And I have admitted my 2002 vote for the war was a mistake."
From Kucinich for President 2008:
"I am the only candidate for president who organized opposition to the Iraq war in Congress, who voted against allowing President Bush to go to war, and who has voted 100 percent against funding the war. I am the only candidate who as a member of Congress was not fooled by the Bush/Cheney lies about the reasons for going to war and who published a complete analysis of the Bush/Cheney doctrine exposing it for the fraud it was. I am the only candidate who has consistently and forcefully called the Administration to task for its war policies. I am the only candidate who has introduced HR 1234, a 12-point plan for getting the United States out of Iraq and helping Iraq and its neighbors bring peace and stability to the region. I am the only candidate who has called for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney because of his repeated violations of the U.S. Constitution in connection with the start and conduct of his war."
From Bill Richardson for President:
"I am the only candidate in this race who believes we must get all US troops out of Iraq with no residual forces left behind. None. Those who say we should leave behind a residual force must answer this question: how long does that force need to be in place before we can leave? One year? Two years? Five? Ten? So long as there are American troops in Iraq, we will lack the diplomatic leverage we need to get others to cooperate. This is why I believe that we must remove ALL American forces as quickly as possible. Some of my friends, including other Presidential candidates such as Senators Clinton and Obama, say we need to "get out of Iraq," but when you look more closely at their proposals, they leave behind 20,000 or more troops for many years to come. So long as there are US troops in Iraq, they will be targeted by Al Qaeda. Our presence will continue to be exploited for propaganda purposes. The war will go on. Once we leave, say experts such as Lawrence Korb and Bruce Riedel, the Iraqis themselves will drive out the Al Qaeda foreigners. Moreover, with our ground forces no longer tied down in Iraq, our soldiers and marines will be redeployed to where they can be most effective; the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. There they can combat Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and save Afghanistan from becoming yet another of this administration's casualties."
From Obama for America:
The campaign has promised something presently -- if they get it to us within the hour we'll put it up.
Update: here it is:
I am the only "top-tier" candidate who opposed this war from the beginning and who has energized the grassroots to pressure Congress to listen to the American people and bring the troops home. In 2002, Senator Barack Obama publicly opposed the war because he knew that even a successful overthrow of Saddam Hussein would result in a war of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. The disastrous course of the war has affirmed that foresight. "The single most important judgment a President or Member of Congress can make is the decision to send our troops into harm's way,"Senator Obama said yesterday. "When I opposed this war before it began in 2002, I was about to run for the United States Senate and I knew it wasn't the politically popular position. But I believed then and still do that being a leader means that you?d better do what's right and leave the politics aside, because there are no do-overs on an issue as important as war."
In January of 2007, Obama introduced legislation to get our troops out of Iraq responsibly. His plan called for redeployment with the goal of removing all combat troops by March 31, 2008 -the timetable passed by Congress and vetoed by the President this Spring. Since that misguided veto, Senator Obama has been urging Americans to tell their senators to vote to bring our troops home - and it's working. Here in New Hampshire, more than 550 Obama volunteers circulated a petition calling on the state's Republican senators to vote the right way. New Hampshire's two senators now support a bill calling for phased redeployment. As a former community organizer, Obama understands that this is how change happens - from the bottom up. As Obama said yesterday, "If the President continues to stubbornly ignore the realities of Iraq, we intend to force vote after vote until we overcome his veto or he finally understands that we have to change course." Senator Obama has vowed to keep the pressure on to end this war as soon as possible.
From Hillary Clinton for President:
The campaign did not send a statement for the straw poll, but New Hampshire communications director Kathleen Strand will post a diary on this topic shortly.
Mike Gravel for President 2008
No response.
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