"Yeah, I have a timetable, it's called now"

Presidential candidates Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards had some tough words for Barack Obama in a Tuesday night candidate's forum hosted by MoveOn.org.

Obama has said that even though he voted to authorize the war, he was against it from the beginning. And he continues to support funding the war, even though he claims to be against it. From USA Today:

"Given that Bush is determined to veto a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, Congress has little realistic choice but to approve money for the war," Obama said.

"I think that nobody wants to play chicken with our troops on the ground," said Obama. "I do think a majority of the Senate has now expressed the belief that we need to change course in Iraq.

So, Obama is essentially repeating the Republican talking point that implies if we cut funding, we'll be leaving our brave soldiers to die in a lonely desert because they can't afford bullets. Of course, if it came to it, I'm sure we could easily raise enough money through private donations to transport every single American soldier back home. The American people are so fed up about this war, I'm sure we'd reach the required goal within a month.

John Edwards called Senator Obama on his words. From The Raw Story:

"This is not the time for political calculation, this is the time for political courage," said former Senator John Edwards in at the forum.

Edwards, who is generally seen to be in third place in the campaign, made it clear with a subsequent comment that he was referring to Obama.

"This is not a game of Chicken. This is not about making friends or keeping Joe Lieberman happy. This is about life and death," he added.

And Rep. Kucinich also had some plain talk for the Senator:

The reaction of one of his challengers to this position showed that some Democrats will continue criticizing Senator Obama as failing to take a strong enough stance against the war.

"That's not a surprise, the degree to which people are surprised is the degree to which they've been sleeping," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who voted against authorizing the Iraq War in 2002 and is running for president for the second time. "He's voted to fund the war at least ten times, each time, it's like reauthorizing it all over again. If they keep voting to fund the war, it's not credible to say they are for peace."

Kucinich also questioned Obama's approach of proposing a timeline for withdrawal.

"Yeah, I have a timetable, it's called now," he quipped. "There's no reason why Democrats should give the president any money, they have the power to end the war now."

It's past time for the rest of our legislators to adopt the plain talk and honesty of Dennis Kucinich. Rather than making a big show of passing a bill the President will veto, and then turning around and giving him all the money he wants.

Because people are finally seeing through that bullshit. And we're calling you on it.