HE'D SOLD YOU OUT LONG BEFORE THE CREDIT CRUNCH:

Obama's Iraq Challenge (Robert Dreyfuss, December 1, 2008, The Nation)

In 2006, when the Democrats recaptured the House and Senate, there wasn't any doubt about the antiwar mandate. That election was widely seen as a referendum on the Iraq War, and the new Democratic majority felt empowered by it. In 2008, though, it isn't so clear. According to voter surveys and exit polls, the economy is now first and foremost on voters' minds; and judging by Barack Obama's first steps as president-elect, it's the number-one thing on his mind, too.

There's no question that for the vast majority of voters, Obama was seen as the antiwar candidate. Throughout the campaign, he said repeatedly, "I will end this war," and he outlined an unconditional, sixteen-month timetable to withdraw US combat forces. According to exit polling, nearly two-thirds of those who voted disapproved of the war in Iraq, and those who strongly disapproved voted for Obama by a margin of eight to one.

Still, when the financial crisis exploded in September, Iraq receded as a front-burner issue. According to those same exit polls, only one voter in ten identified Iraq as their top concern. That could make it harder for Obama to claim that he has a mandate to end the war. But claim it he must, because as president-elect and then as president, he is going to face enormous pressure to abandon his pledge to withdraw.

It was this Summer that the UR scrubbed his website of opposition to the surge. Once he'd won the nomination he shifted Right on use of force, predictably.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 25, 2008 3:00 PM