Obama Answers GOP Criticism of His Vote on War Funding Bill

Good for Obama for hitting back hard in response to McCain's attack:

"Sen. McCain required a flak jacket, 10 armored Humvees, two Apache attack helicopters, 100 soldiers with rifles by his side, so he could stroll through the market in Baghdad just a few weeks ago for a photo op," Obama said. "That's the truth in Iraq. The truth is this war has cost us thousands of lives and made us less safe."

Late Friday, President Bush signed the bill at Camp David and applauded bipartisan efforts to get the measure to his desk by the Memorial Day recess.

In his speech, Obama said the status quo in Iraq is no longer acceptable.

"I know the toll of this war," he said. "And what I know is that what our troops deserve is not just rhetoric. They deserve a new plan."

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Obama Answers GOP Criticism of his Vote on War Funding Bill

By John McCormick
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 26, 2007

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama_satmay26,1,1229456.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

Making a relatively rare public appearance in his home state, Sen. Barack Obama responded Friday in Chicago to Republican criticism that his vote this week against an Iraq spending bill is the equivalent of "waving a white flag" to terrorists.