Republican debate in Iowa did not let Barack Obama off the hook

At the Republican Debate in Des Moines, Iowa the presidential candidates took their chance to lash out at Barack Obama and his foreign policy.

Republican debate in Iowa did not let Barack Obama off the hook The only issue which united all the Republican presidential candidates during the Iowa debate was the foreign policy of Barack Obama. Although the focus of the Republican debate was to discuss the stance of the candidates on issues such as taxes and abortion, the recent comments of the Democrat were addressed by the attendees in Iowa.

Last week Barack Obama mentioned that his foreign policy would include meeting with leaders of hostile countries, such as Iran and Cuba, during his first year as President of the United States. Late last week, Obama also made a promise to attack terrorist cells in Pakistan and Afghanistan, even without the permission of the local government.

From the Republican candidates, Rudy Giuliani was the nicest, saying that Obama “didn’t express it the right way”, but attacking terrorist targets inside of Pakistan should be an option left on the table.

Mitt Romney was a little harsh, saying that Barack Obama had “gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week”. John McCain took the usual stance against Obama calling his foreign policy "naive". McCain also took the chance to cement his view on the Iraq war - the U.S. troops were winning the battle and "we must succeed." Ron Paul commented that the U.S. should withdraw the troops from Iraq, as they entered under false pretenses in the first place.

Addressing the comments of the Republican candidates at the Iowa debate, the Barack Obama camp issued the following statement: "The fact that the same Republican candidates who want to keep 160,000 American troops in the middle of a civil war couldn't agree that we should take out Osama bin Ladin if we had him in our sights, proves why Americans want to turn the page on the last seven years of Bush-Cheney foreign policy."

Despite the heavy seas, Obama continues to sail ahead with odds on winning the 2008 Presidential Elections set at 9/2, passed only by Hillary Clinton listed at 2/1 by the online betting company Bodog Sports. The odds on Barack Obama to be chosen as the Democratic candidate for the 2008 US Presidential Election are still healthy 2/1.

Published on 08/05/2007