Only now that ole Barack Obama has a chance to win the Democrat party nomination are
folks beginning to take a closer look at his record and it's not a pretty sight:
Barack Obama, the senatorial candidate of 2004, might have a bone to pick with Barack Obama, the presidential candidate of 2008.
Videotapes of debates and speeches that were obtained by The Washington Times show that Mr. Obama took positions during his Senate campaign on nearly a half-dozen issues ranging from the Cuba embargo to health care for illegal aliens that conflict with statements that he has made during his run for the White House.
For example, in MSNBC's Oct. 30 presidential debate, Mr. Obama hesitantly raised his hand and joined with most of his Democratic rivals to declare he opposed decriminalizing marijuana.
But as a U.S. Senate candidate, Mr. Obama told Illinois college students in January 2004 he supported eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana use or possession, a debate video shows.
...
When confronted with the statements on the video, Obama's campaign offered two explanations to The Times in less than 24 hours. At first, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the candidate had "always" supported decriminalizing marijuana, suggesting that his 2004 statement was correct. Then after The Times posted copies of the video on its Web site, www.washingtontimes.com, yesterday, his campaign reversed course and declared he does not support eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana possession and use.
You can see the videos by following the link and while you are there check out some of the other things Barack used to be for but now opposes (in a nuanced way, of course):
- Giving children of illegal aliens the same benefits as children of citizens including in-state tuition
- Unilaterally ending the Cuba embargo
- Abolishing minimum criminal sentences
- Creating a single-payer, universal health care plan
It takes a big man to fill John Kerry's flip-flops, I guess.