'Backtrack' Obama Puzzled over Press Reaction to his Iraq Comments

By Rick Moran

Barack "Backtrack" Obama is "puzzled" by the reaction in the press to his two completely opposite statements he made last Thursday on Iraq and is blaming the McCain campaign for the confusion:

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: Sen. Barack Obama told reporters he was "puzzled" by the press coverage he received on Thursday when he held two separate press conferences to explain his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

On Thursday in Fargo, N.D,, Obama told reporters in a morning press conference that he will "continue to refine" his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq in 16 months.

Reporters immediately jumped on the comments that showed that Obama's expressed openness to adjust his long-held 16-month withdrawal plans was at odds with the stance that he took during the primary campaign.

At his second hastily called press availability Thursday, Sen. Obama insinuated that the McCain campaign had primed the press and were to blame for the interpretation of his position.

En route to a speech in St Louis today, the Senator told reporters on his plane that the news cycle his comments caused was perplexing.

"I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement, which is that I am absolutely committed to ending the war," he said.

Obama reiterated his commitment to his withdraw plan again. "I will call my joint chiefs of staff and give them an assignment and that is to end the war," he said. "I think what's important is to understand the difference between strategy and tactics. I have always believed that our invasion of Iraq was a strategic blunder."

It is apparent that Obama thinks we're idiots, that we forget from moment to moment where he stands on an issue. It isn't "nuance." It isn't a "pivot" toward the center. It is rank pandering. When he calls a statement supporting the Washington D.C. gun ban made last year "inartful" while coming out and praising the Supreme Court decision striking it down, it only shows how much the candidate holds us in contempt.

But he's right. By election day all of these flip flops will probably be forgotten as an avalanche of ads will obscure whatever positions Obama took to get the nomination by pandering to his liberal base. Unless McCain can find a way to highlight these naked flip flops, he will be in deep trouble as both candidates will sound eerily similar to the ear of the average voter.