Harbinger? Come on, Barack, we thought you were smarter and better than that:
If Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John Kerry or Joe Biden had said that American lives lost in Iraq were “wasted,†a media firestorm would have erupted.
And yet there was Sen. Barack Obama, just 24 hours after his presidential campaign announcement over the weekend, saying the nation had “seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted.â€
Immediately following his off-the-cuff remark during an Iowa town hall meeting — and after huddling with horrified aides — the Illinois Democrat told the Des Moines Register that he regretted his choice of words, and wished he had instead said “their sacrifices are never wasted.â€
Despite the mea culpa, Obama’s gaffe caused no break in the media gushing over his budding candidacy. But if he does win the nomination, expect Republicans to play that tape over and over, arguing that it shows a lack of respect for soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
And if any number of other people had said it, they would have gotten applause. The fact that the effort in Iraq is a waste, and the potential of all the people who died there since we invaded is a TOTAL waste is the truth.