THIS WEEK IN CHANGE VI

Obama Continues Breaking Pledges And Shifting Stances In Search Of The Most Politically Expedient Position
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Click Here To View Obama Talk About Shifting Positions.

ON HIS OWN SHIFTS

This Week, Obama Acknowledged A "Shift" On His Rhetoric And Positions:

Headline: "Obama Acknowledges 'Shift In Emphasis' On Issues." "The Senator tells PBS' Gwen Ifill he has shifted his focus on issues like faith-based initiatives and campaign finance." (Mark Halperin, "Obama Acknowledges 'Shift in Emphasis' On Issues," Time's "The Page" Blog, thepage.time.com, 7/15/08)

Obama: "So the broader point, Gwen, is if you compare sort of my shift in emphasis on issues that I've been proposing for years, like say, faith-based initiatives, which have raised questions in the press..." (PBS's "Newshour With Jim Lehrer," 7/15/08)

Earlier This Month, Obama "Forcefully" Refuted Charges That He Was Shifting Positions:

Obama Claimed Charges Came From People Who "Haven't Been Listening To Me." "Senator Barack Obama on Tuesday forcefully addressed concerns that he had moved too quickly to the political center, acknowledging complaints from 'my friends on the left' about his statements on Iraq, his approaches to evangelicals and his remarks on other issues that have alarmed some of his supporters. 'Look, let me talk about the broader issue, this whole notion that I am shifting to the center,' he told a crowd gathered at a town hall-style meeting in this Atlanta suburb. 'The people who say this apparently haven't been listening to me.'" (Michael Powell, "Obama Says His Critics Haven't Been Listening," The New York Times, 7/9/08)

WEBSITE

Obama Purged His Website Of Criticism Of The Troop Surge In Iraq:

"Barack Obama's Campaign Scrubbed His Presidential Web Site Over The Weekend To Remove Criticism Of The U.S. Troop 'Surge' In Iraq, The Daily News Has Learned." (James Gordon Meek, "Barack Obama Purges Web Site Critique Of Surge In Iraq," [New York] Daily News, 7/14/08)

Obama's Old Website Called Troops Surge A "Problem" And Said It Was "Not Working." "The presumed Democratic nominee replaced his Iraq issue Web page, which had described the surge as a 'problem' that had barely reduced violence. 'The surge is not working,' Obama's old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks - not U.S. military muscle - for quelling violence in Anbar Province." (James Gordon Meek, "Barack Obama Purges Web Site Critique Of Surge In Iraq," [New York] Daily News, 7/14/08)

Obama's New Website Cites An "Improved Security Situation" And "Improved Counterinsurgency Tactics." "Obama's campaign posted a new Iraq plan Sunday night, which cites an 'improved security situation' paid for with the blood of U.S. troops since the surge began in February 2007. It praises G.I.s' 'hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics and enormous sacrifice." (James Gordon Meek, "Barack Obama Purges Web Site Critique Of Surge In Iraq," [New York] Daily News, 7/14/08)

IRAQ

Earlier This Month, Obama Said His Plan On Iraq Would Be Based On Conditions On The Ground And The Advice Of Military Commanders:

Obama Said The Pace Of Withdrawal From Iraq Would Be Determined In Consultation With Commanders On The Ground And The Iraqi Government. Obama: "If current trends continue and we're in a position where we continue to see reductions in violence and stabilizations and continue to see some improvements on the part of the Iraqi army and Iraqi police, then you know my hope would be that we could draw down in a deliberate fashion in consultation with the Iraqi government, at a pace that is determined in consultation with General Petraeus and the other commanders on the ground and it strikes me that that's something we can begin relatively s oon after inauguration. If on the other hand you've got a deteriorating situation for some reason then that's going to have to be taken into account." (Sen. Barack Obama, Interview With Military Times, 7/2/08)

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But This Week, Before Meeting With Commanders And Seeing The Conditions On The Ground, Obama Announced His Plan For Immediate Withdrawal:

"After Hinting Earlier This Month That He Might 'Refine' His Iraq Strategy After Visiting The Country And Listening To Commanders, Mr. Obama Appears To Have Decided That Sticking To His Arbitrary, 16-Month Timetable Is More Important Than Adjusting To The Dramatic Changes In Iraq." (Editorial, "The Iron Timetable," The Washington Post, 7/16/08)

ENVIRONMENT

Today, USA Today Reported On Obama's Shifting Stances On Environmental Issues:

Obama Has Shifted On The Kyoto Protocol. "In May 1998, at the urging of the state's coal industry, the Illinois Legislature passed a bill condemning the Kyoto global warming treaty and forbidding state efforts to regulate greenhouse gases. Barack Obama voted 'aye.' The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee now calls climate change 'one of the greatest moral challenges of our generation,' and proposes cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050. But as a state senator, from 1997 to 2004, he usually supported bills sought by coal interests, according to legislative records and interviews." (Ken Dilanian, "Obama Shifts Stance On Environmental Issues," USA Today, 7/18/08)

Obama Has Shifted On Coal To Liquid Fuel. "Obama also drew criticism for sponsoring a bill in January 2007 to devote $8 billion in subsidies to a technology to convert coal to liquid fuel. The Sierra Club says liquid coal 'releases almost double the global warming emissions per gallon as regular gasoline.' As the presidential campaign was well underway in June 2007, the Obama campaign issued a clarification: He would not support liquid coal processes unless they emit a fifth less carbon than conventional fuels." (Ken Dilanian, "Obama Shifts Stance On Environmental Issues," USA Today, 7/18/08)

HEALTH CARE

Obama's Original Health Care Plan Contained A Mandate With Only A Vague Exemption For "Some Small Employers":

Obama's Plan Required Employer Coverage Similar To The Failed Clinton Health Care Mandate Of 1993. "Obama would require almost all employers to offer insurance to workers or face a tax penalty, an idea that many businesses abhor and that is also in Edwards's proposal. This employer mandate drove much of the opposition to the Clinton plan in 1994." (Anne E. Kornblut and Perry Bacon Jr., "Obama Says Washington Is Ready For Health Plan," The Washington Post, 5/30/07)

Obama's Campaign Website Says "Some Small Employers" Will Be Exempt From Providing Health Insurance To Employees. Obama For America: "Employers who do not offer meaningful coverage to their employees will have to contribute a percentage of their payroll to help offset the cost of providing coverage to all Americans. ... Some small employers will be exempt from this requirement." (Obama For America Website, "Background Questions And Answers On Health Care Plan," www.barackobama.com, Accessed 4/9/08)

The Mandate Would Have "The Biggest Impact" On Small Businesses, Resulting In Lower Wages For Small Business Employees. "Mandates that require employers to provide health benefits or pay a percentage of their payrolls as a tax -- a proposal backed by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- would result in lower wages for some employees. ... The biggest impact would be on small businesses, which are less likely to offer health benefits, and industries that employ more low-wage workers."

(Guy Boulton, "Better Benefits Or Higher Wages?" The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/5/08)

But Obama Shifted His Health Care Plan To Now Include A New Tax Credit For Small Businesses To Provide Health Care - An Idea Previously Offered In Sen. Clinton's Plan:

Obama Is Now Offering A Tax Credit To Small Businesses For The Costs Of Insurance - An Idea Included In Sen. Clinton's Health Care Plan. "Senator Obama today unveiled a new tax credit for small businesses that offer quality healthcare to their employees. ... In summary, Senator Obama's plan will ... Reduce the burden on small businesses in our economy by offering a new Health Tax Credit to small businesses that provide quality health care to their employees. This idea - which has been championed by Hillary Clinton - will help small businesses grow and create good jobs with health care here in the U.S." (Obama For America, "Senator Barack Obama Announces Plan To Provide A N ew Health Care Tax Credit For Small Businesses," Press Release, 7/13/08)

Obama Said His Plan Will Now Offer A Tax Credit To Help Small Businesses Afford Health Insurance. Obama: "And today, I'm announcing my plan to provide real relief for small business owners crushed by rising costs, an idea championed by my friend Hillary Clinton, who's been leading the way in our battle to insure every American. ... And under my plan, if you're a small business that wants to provide health care to your employees, we'll give you a tax credit to make it affordable." (Barack Obama, Remarks At The National Council Of La Raza Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, 11/13/08)

JERUSALEM

Last Month, Obama Said He Supported Jerusalem Being The Undivided Capital Of Israel:

In June, Obama Said Jerusalem Will Remain The "Undivided" Capital Of Israel. Obama: "And Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks To The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, Washington, DC, 6/4/08)

In An Interview On Sunday, Obama Backtracked:

When Asked About The Statement, Obama Blamed "Poor Phrasing" And Said All He Meant Was "We Don't Want Barbed Wire Running Through Jerusalem." CNN's Fareed Zakaria: "One area where you're outside the international consensus -- and certainly, perhaps, some others -- is the statement you made in a recent speech supporting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Now, why not support the Clinton plan, which envisions a divided Jerusalem, the Arab half being the capital of a Palestinian state, the Jewish half being the capital of the Jewish state?" Obama: "You know, the truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. And we immediately tried to correct the interpretation that was given. The point we were simply making was, is that we don't want barbed wire running through Jerusalem, similar to the way it was prior to the '67 war, that it is possible for us to create a Jerusalem that is cohesive and coherent. I was not trying to predetermine what are essentially final status issues. I think the Clinton formulation provides a starting point for discussions between the parties." (CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," 7/13/08)

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