A Precursor to a McCain-Obama Match-up?: Cable and Streaming
Obama-McCain on Israel, Iran, Iraq & Hezbollah: A Precursor to a McCain-Obama 2008 Presidential match-up?
To watch this week's show with Senator McCain, Senator Obama and 8th CD Republican Nominee David McSweeney on your computer, [Watch here]. To find out more about the show, including its airing schedule, and to read a partial transcipt of the show go here. For another partial transcipt of the show, continue reading, below.
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Jeff Berkowitz: One last thing, just on Iraq... Milton Friedman is interviewed and he states that he agrees with you that it was a mistake to go into Iraq, but he says, once there, it’s important that we succeed. Now I know you’ve said before, that we can’t just get out of Iraq, though you vigorously argued against getting in, but as of July 22nd, 2006, is it still the case that you think it is important that we succeed in Iraq?
Senator Barack Obama: I think that it is important for us to stabilize Iraq. I think the measure of success should be that there is not an all-out civil war. That there are not terrorist bases inside Iraq. That there has not been a melt-down of Iraq that draws its neighbors into escalating conflict. That should be our criteria. And, I think that can still be accomplished, although it is getting tougher and tougher, because increasingly what we’re seeing is sectarian warfare as opposed to insurgency as the primary source of instability.
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This week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," features Senator John McCain [R-AZ], Senator Barack Obama [D-IL] and 8th Cong. District Republican Nominee David McSweeney [Barrington Hills]. For more about the setting for the show, the airing schedule and a partial transcript of McCain's comments on the show, as well as links to the Public Affairs podcast page which houses the McCain-Obama-McSweeney show and twenty five other episodes of Public Affairs, go here. An additional partial transript of the show, including remarks by 8th CD candidate McSweeney and remarks by Senator McCain on Hezbollah, Israel and Iran will be posted on this blog later in the week.
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A partial transript of this week's suburban edition of Public Affairs is included, below.
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Jeff Berkowitz:... Now we go over to the other side of the aisle. Barack Obama, the junior senator from the state of Illinois. Senator Barack Obama met with some small business people in the Austin community on the West Side of Chicago on July 22nd, of the year 2006. And after that meeting, we spoke with Senator Barack Obama, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, about a number of foreign policy issues…As usual, Senator Barack Obama demonstrated his ability to speak articulately and thoughtfully about a number of local issues relating to small business folks in Austin. And after that, in our interview, he demonstrated the ability to leap from those local issues to the national issues and to do so in a thoughtful and articulate way…
Jeff Berkowitz: I am standing here on July 22nd, speaking with Barack Obama, who just finished speaking to West Side businesses and business people, correct?
Senator Barack Obama [D-IL]: Had a terrific town hall meeting with a lot of business people here in the Austin community, and one of the things I’ve been trying to encourage is communication with my office and small businesses all across the state. Because, as you know, Jeff, over half of the people who are employed in the United States are employed in small businesses, and we want to make sure that we are encouraging that kind of entrepreneurship at every level.
Jeff Berkowitz: You’re also on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, right?
Senator Barack Obama: I am.
Jeff Berkowitz: So, you must be very involved, at least in thinking about what’s going on with Hezbollah and Israel. And you just made very brief reference to it. What do you think? Should there be an immediate cease fire as the UN calls for?
Senator Barack Obama: Well, look. I don’t fault Israel for wanting to rid their border with Lebanon from those Katyusha missiles that can fire in and harm Israeli citizens, so I think that any cease fire would have to be premised on the removal of those missiles. Unfortunately, Lebanon does not have its own army sufficient to disarm Hezbollah’s militias. But one of the problems we’re seeing, not just in the Middle East-- but all across many parts of the world-- is militias, non-state actors, having access to extraordinarily powerful weaponry. And we’ve got to have a situation in which nation-states have control of who has arms inside their borders, because it’s not acceptable to have people who can launch missiles into states. Now, I think that Israel needs to show restraint in this process and I think Israel needs to take more initiative in dealing with the Palestinian crisis, which is different from the crisis with Hezbollah. But I think when it comes to Hezbollah, this was initiated by Hezbollah, and the fact of the matter is Israel has a legitimate interest in not having missiles aimed at towns all across its borders.
Jeff Berkowitz: It looks like it’s U.S. policy to wait a week or two, give the Israelis a few weeks perhaps to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and let them go in and try to find Hezbollah and remove those missiles. Is that the U.S. policy and would you support that?
Senator Barack Obama: Well, I don’t think that we should wait to engage. Part of the problem here is that the United States has been disengaged from relationships between Israel and the Palestinians or Israel and Lebanon, dealing with Syria and some of the others who are using Hezbollah as proxies, and the results over the last five years have not been good. So I think policies of engagement as opposed to disengagement, direct talks where necessary, tough talk, but nevertheless being part of the process of trying to come up with more equitable approaches to the issues in the Middle East—I think all that is important. I don’t think that we should suffer terrorists in these regions, but we also have to recognize that the hearts and minds of the Arab world are the battlefield now. It’s not just arms. It’s also creating environments where moderate Arabs, those who want to embrace a modern economy are encouraged, and we’ve been so bogged down in Iraq, and so focused on the use of force, as the only tool in the toolkit, as opposed to just one of the tools in the toolkit, that I think we missed some opportunities to bring about a more stable situation in the region.
Jeff Berkowitz: Do you think Iran is behind this, that using Syria, they are stirring up Hezbollah as a way of trying to distract the world community and the U. S. from dealing with their issue, which is doing something about the burgeoning and likely nuclear capability of … Iran. Is Iran doing this as a distraction? Are they behind this?
Senator Barack Obama: I have no evidence of this. We know that Iran historically has provided material support to Hezbollah. We also know that Iran is trying to develop at least nuclear capacity. Whether they are actually intent on taking it all the way to a nuclear bomb is suspected but not confirmed. My attitude is that we should, rather than rattling sabers and threatening nuclear bombs on Iran, we should be in the process of gathering our allies like China and Russia to put pressure on Iran, but also tell Iran, if you behave yourself, if you are not exporting terrorism, then we’re not interested in regime change just for the sake of regime change. And I think that unfortunately that’s not the message that we’ve been sending.
Jeff Berkowitz: One last thing, just on Iraq- because you mentioned Iraq. In a July 22nd Wall Street Journal op ed column that we talked about briefly [earlier]—[Nobel prize winning economist] Milton Friedman is interviewed and he states that he agrees with you that it was a mistake to go into Iraq, but he says, once there, it’s important that we succeed. Now I know you’ve said before, that we can’t just get out of Iraq, though you vigorously argued against getting in, but as of July 22nd, 2006, is it still the case that you think it is important that we succeed in Iraq?
Senator Barack Obama: I think that it is important for us to stabilize Iraq. I think the measure of success should be that there is not an all-out civil war. That there are not terrorist bases inside Iraq. That there has not been a melt-down of Iraq that draws its neighbors into escalating conflict. That should be our criteria. And, I think that can still be accomplished, although it is getting tougher and tougher, because increasingly what we’re seeing is sectarian warfare as opposed to insurgency as the primary source of instability.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s the show, folks. It’s very interesting, because Senator Barack Obama, who denies that he’s running for President of the United States in the year 2008 very well could be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008, and John McCain says he hasn’t decided whether he is running for President in 2008, he will decide in early 2007, but be that as it may, the match-up for President of the United States in 2008 could very well be Senator John McCain taking on Senator Barack Obama. Senator Obama, who is only in his second year as a U. S. Senator, has a great command of the issues, is very thoughtful and articulate, has a nascent national organization, has national name recognition, and matching many of those traits is Senator John McCain, who adds to that a top military record and more than two decades of federal legislative experience. So the theme very well could be “Experience vs. The New Frontier” when Senator John McCain takes on Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States in 2008. We’ll see.
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Transcript draft prepared by Amy Allen, who also does research for “Public Affairs,” and has her own political blog [See here].
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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To watch this week's show with Senator McCain, Senator Obama and 8th CD Republican Nominee David McSweeney on your computer, [Watch here]. To find out more about the show, including its airing schedule, and to read a partial transcipt of the show go here. For another partial transcipt of the show, continue reading, below.
*******************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: One last thing, just on Iraq... Milton Friedman is interviewed and he states that he agrees with you that it was a mistake to go into Iraq, but he says, once there, it’s important that we succeed. Now I know you’ve said before, that we can’t just get out of Iraq, though you vigorously argued against getting in, but as of July 22nd, 2006, is it still the case that you think it is important that we succeed in Iraq?
Senator Barack Obama: I think that it is important for us to stabilize Iraq. I think the measure of success should be that there is not an all-out civil war. That there are not terrorist bases inside Iraq. That there has not been a melt-down of Iraq that draws its neighbors into escalating conflict. That should be our criteria. And, I think that can still be accomplished, although it is getting tougher and tougher, because increasingly what we’re seeing is sectarian warfare as opposed to insurgency as the primary source of instability.
*******************************************************
This week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," features Senator John McCain [R-AZ], Senator Barack Obama [D-IL] and 8th Cong. District Republican Nominee David McSweeney [Barrington Hills]. For more about the setting for the show, the airing schedule and a partial transcript of McCain's comments on the show, as well as links to the Public Affairs podcast page which houses the McCain-Obama-McSweeney show and twenty five other episodes of Public Affairs, go here. An additional partial transript of the show, including remarks by 8th CD candidate McSweeney and remarks by Senator McCain on Hezbollah, Israel and Iran will be posted on this blog later in the week.
**************************************************
A partial transript of this week's suburban edition of Public Affairs is included, below.
*************************************
Jeff Berkowitz:... Now we go over to the other side of the aisle. Barack Obama, the junior senator from the state of Illinois. Senator Barack Obama met with some small business people in the Austin community on the West Side of Chicago on July 22nd, of the year 2006. And after that meeting, we spoke with Senator Barack Obama, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, about a number of foreign policy issues…As usual, Senator Barack Obama demonstrated his ability to speak articulately and thoughtfully about a number of local issues relating to small business folks in Austin. And after that, in our interview, he demonstrated the ability to leap from those local issues to the national issues and to do so in a thoughtful and articulate way…
Jeff Berkowitz: I am standing here on July 22nd, speaking with Barack Obama, who just finished speaking to West Side businesses and business people, correct?
Senator Barack Obama [D-IL]: Had a terrific town hall meeting with a lot of business people here in the Austin community, and one of the things I’ve been trying to encourage is communication with my office and small businesses all across the state. Because, as you know, Jeff, over half of the people who are employed in the United States are employed in small businesses, and we want to make sure that we are encouraging that kind of entrepreneurship at every level.
Jeff Berkowitz: You’re also on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, right?
Senator Barack Obama: I am.
Jeff Berkowitz: So, you must be very involved, at least in thinking about what’s going on with Hezbollah and Israel. And you just made very brief reference to it. What do you think? Should there be an immediate cease fire as the UN calls for?
Senator Barack Obama: Well, look. I don’t fault Israel for wanting to rid their border with Lebanon from those Katyusha missiles that can fire in and harm Israeli citizens, so I think that any cease fire would have to be premised on the removal of those missiles. Unfortunately, Lebanon does not have its own army sufficient to disarm Hezbollah’s militias. But one of the problems we’re seeing, not just in the Middle East-- but all across many parts of the world-- is militias, non-state actors, having access to extraordinarily powerful weaponry. And we’ve got to have a situation in which nation-states have control of who has arms inside their borders, because it’s not acceptable to have people who can launch missiles into states. Now, I think that Israel needs to show restraint in this process and I think Israel needs to take more initiative in dealing with the Palestinian crisis, which is different from the crisis with Hezbollah. But I think when it comes to Hezbollah, this was initiated by Hezbollah, and the fact of the matter is Israel has a legitimate interest in not having missiles aimed at towns all across its borders.
Jeff Berkowitz: It looks like it’s U.S. policy to wait a week or two, give the Israelis a few weeks perhaps to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and let them go in and try to find Hezbollah and remove those missiles. Is that the U.S. policy and would you support that?
Senator Barack Obama: Well, I don’t think that we should wait to engage. Part of the problem here is that the United States has been disengaged from relationships between Israel and the Palestinians or Israel and Lebanon, dealing with Syria and some of the others who are using Hezbollah as proxies, and the results over the last five years have not been good. So I think policies of engagement as opposed to disengagement, direct talks where necessary, tough talk, but nevertheless being part of the process of trying to come up with more equitable approaches to the issues in the Middle East—I think all that is important. I don’t think that we should suffer terrorists in these regions, but we also have to recognize that the hearts and minds of the Arab world are the battlefield now. It’s not just arms. It’s also creating environments where moderate Arabs, those who want to embrace a modern economy are encouraged, and we’ve been so bogged down in Iraq, and so focused on the use of force, as the only tool in the toolkit, as opposed to just one of the tools in the toolkit, that I think we missed some opportunities to bring about a more stable situation in the region.
Jeff Berkowitz: Do you think Iran is behind this, that using Syria, they are stirring up Hezbollah as a way of trying to distract the world community and the U. S. from dealing with their issue, which is doing something about the burgeoning and likely nuclear capability of … Iran. Is Iran doing this as a distraction? Are they behind this?
Senator Barack Obama: I have no evidence of this. We know that Iran historically has provided material support to Hezbollah. We also know that Iran is trying to develop at least nuclear capacity. Whether they are actually intent on taking it all the way to a nuclear bomb is suspected but not confirmed. My attitude is that we should, rather than rattling sabers and threatening nuclear bombs on Iran, we should be in the process of gathering our allies like China and Russia to put pressure on Iran, but also tell Iran, if you behave yourself, if you are not exporting terrorism, then we’re not interested in regime change just for the sake of regime change. And I think that unfortunately that’s not the message that we’ve been sending.
Jeff Berkowitz: One last thing, just on Iraq- because you mentioned Iraq. In a July 22nd Wall Street Journal op ed column that we talked about briefly [earlier]—[Nobel prize winning economist] Milton Friedman is interviewed and he states that he agrees with you that it was a mistake to go into Iraq, but he says, once there, it’s important that we succeed. Now I know you’ve said before, that we can’t just get out of Iraq, though you vigorously argued against getting in, but as of July 22nd, 2006, is it still the case that you think it is important that we succeed in Iraq?
Senator Barack Obama: I think that it is important for us to stabilize Iraq. I think the measure of success should be that there is not an all-out civil war. That there are not terrorist bases inside Iraq. That there has not been a melt-down of Iraq that draws its neighbors into escalating conflict. That should be our criteria. And, I think that can still be accomplished, although it is getting tougher and tougher, because increasingly what we’re seeing is sectarian warfare as opposed to insurgency as the primary source of instability.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s the show, folks. It’s very interesting, because Senator Barack Obama, who denies that he’s running for President of the United States in the year 2008 very well could be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008, and John McCain says he hasn’t decided whether he is running for President in 2008, he will decide in early 2007, but be that as it may, the match-up for President of the United States in 2008 could very well be Senator John McCain taking on Senator Barack Obama. Senator Obama, who is only in his second year as a U. S. Senator, has a great command of the issues, is very thoughtful and articulate, has a nascent national organization, has national name recognition, and matching many of those traits is Senator John McCain, who adds to that a top military record and more than two decades of federal legislative experience. So the theme very well could be “Experience vs. The New Frontier” when Senator John McCain takes on Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States in 2008. We’ll see.
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Transcript draft prepared by Amy Allen, who also does research for “Public Affairs,” and has her own political blog [See here].
***************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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