On McCain, Obama and a Hamas Link<br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>But important nuances appear to have been lost in the partisan salvos, particularly on Mr. McCain’s side. An examination of Mr. Obama’s numerous public statements on the subjects indicates that he has consistently condemned Hamas as a “terrorist organization,” has not sought the group’s support and does not advocate immediate, direct or unconditional negotiations with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president.<p><hr></blockquote><p>

Obama needs to nail McCain on the fact that a nominee for president of the United States of America should not legitimize the attempts of foreign terrorist groups to intervene in American elections. <br><br>

in respect to the quotes you provided me with a few days ago, the NYT article Michael cited might be interesting.<br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>An examination of Mr. Obama’s numerous public statements on the subjects indicates that he has consistently condemned Hamas as a “terrorist organization,” has not sought the group’s support and does not advocate immediate, direct or unconditional negotiations with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president.<p><hr></blockquote><p><br>The same old approach after all?<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

Yeah, I saw that ... a little disappointing, I must say -- especially the preconditions themselves ...<br><br>I wonder if that applies to just Presidential- or Ambassadorial-level negotiations, or if that means he wouldn't support talking with Iran at all without meeting preconditions ...<br><br>However, the article paraphrases Obama's statements in that passage, and I'm a little more encouraged by the direct quote from one of his foreign-policy advisors (ironically named "Dr. Rice"):<br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>Mr. Obama believes “that engagement at the presidential level, at the appropriate time and with the appropriate preparation, can be used to leverage the change we need,” Dr. Rice said. “But nobody said he would initiate contacts at the presidential level; that requires due preparation and advance work.”<br><br>Mr. Obama has been clear in making a distinction between his willingness to talk “not just to countries we like, but those we don’t,” as he puts it, and Hamas and other political movements similar to it. “Hamas is not a state,” Mr. Obama told a Jewish group last month. “Hamas is a terrorist organization.”<p><hr></blockquote><p>So, of course a little more nuanced explanation than the one he gave in those links I provided earlier, and probably not going quite as far as I would like ... but I think it's still clear Obama would at least be willing to consider chatting with Iran is situations where the other two candidates might consider otherwise ...<br><br>Turn up the signal, wipe out the noise ...