9/11 Commission Chair Backs Obama
Obama Wins Backing of 9/11 Commission Co-Chairman Lee Hamilton By Julianna Goldman
April 2 (Bloomberg) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won the support of one of his party’s top foreign policy figures, Lee Hamilton, a former U.S. House member from Indiana, where an important primary vote occurs May 6.
Hamilton, who co-chaired the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and headed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he was impressed by Obama’s approach to national security and foreign policy.
“I read his national security and foreign policy speeches, and he comes across to me as pragmatic, visionary and tough,” Hamilton said in an interview yesterday. “He impresses me as a person who wants to use all the tools of presidential power.”
Hamilton, 76, also sided with Obama, 46, on two foreign policy stances that have been criticized by Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Obama’s rival for the Democratic nomination, and Senator John McCain of Arizona, 71, the presumptive Republican nominee. Both have dismissed the Illinois senator, saying he doesn’t have the experience to deal with critical foreign policy matters.
Source: vbdems.org via politisite
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