Dodd: A pox on both Clinton and Obama

by David Lightman

Chris Dodd jumped into the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama this afternoon, calling their feud over meeting with controversal world leaders a "false debate" that's little more than a "personal argument among politicians."

And, he said, the ongoing battle "certainly doesn't demonstrate a readiness to lead the nation when our reputation around the world is in tatters."

The Obama-Clinton debate began Monday night, when Clinton said she would not meet with certain leaders in her first year as president until her staff had cleared the way. Clinton said later Obama was "irresponsible and frankly naïve" for suggesting meetings with leaders of Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela.

Obama said he would be willing to meet without any such preconditions, and criticized Clinton, saying that laying out such conditions was in effect "continuing with Bush-Cheney policies."

Dodd, who rarely criticizes an opponent, called their initial responses to a question at Monday's debate "either overly simplistic or overly rigid."

Then he pointed out how he has been around these matters far longer than either candidate.

"I have helped resolve conflict from Latin America to Northern Ireland," said Dodd, the second-ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "and with experience you learn that neither of those approaches serves the interests of the United States."

He praised the power of diplomacy--but also warned that "there are some leaders, like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who denies the Holocaust ever took place--which cannot and should not be diplomatically rewarded with visits from the American president."

Here's Dodd's press release:

DODD SAYS CLINTON, OBAMA BOTH WRONG
Cautions Against Meeting with Ahmadinejad, Who Denies Holocaust Occurred

"Nothing new about this kind of politics and it certainly doesn't demonstrate a readiness to lead when nation's reputation is in tatters"

For Immediate Release

July 26, 2007

WASHINGTON - Senator and Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd issued the following statement today on the continued verbal sparring between Senators Clinton and Obama:

"With all due respect to both Senators Clinton and Obama, their responses to the question posed at the debate on Monday night about diplomacy were either overly-simplistic or overly-rigid.

"I have helped resolve conflict from Latin America to Northern Ireland, and with experience you learn that neither of those approaches serves the interests of the United States.

"Diplomacy is essential both to repair our nation's fractured world relationships and move forward with a more global perspective to our foreign policy. However, there are some leaders - like Iran's Ahmadinejad, who denies the Holocaust ever took place - which cannot and should not be diplomatically rewarded with visits from the American president.

"Unfortunately, this false debate, which has now lingered for days, has become just another personal argument among politicians and that's lamentable given the stakes in this election. There is nothing new about this kind of politics and it certainly doesn't demonstrate a readiness to lead the nation when our reputation around the world is in tatters."