Legal Commentary

Did Obama Win On Iraq? No

By Big Tent Democrat

Kevin Drum agrees with this:

[M]y guess is that if she had voted against the war Clinton would be the Democratic candidate. Given the closeness of the race, her inherent advantages going in, and that the war had to be a liability it's hard to imagine that she wouldn't have prevailed without the Iraq albatross.

If that were true, then it would be a great thing. But I think it is not. Consider the exit polling. In Iowa, Obama and Clinton won the same number of voters who said the economy was the biggest issue as said Iraq was the biggest issue. In Wisconsin, perhaps Obama's most important win, 45% of voters said the economy was the most important issue, and Obama carried them 57-41. He carried Iraq voters 60-39.

It would be nice if people chose Obama based on Iraq. That does not seem to have been the case.

By Big Tent Democrat

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 09, 2008 (boomark / email).