Graham: Obama ‘Timid and Passive’ on Iran

Re healthcare conversation with Sen. Dodd and Sen. Lindsey. Sen. Lindsey states if we had putlic health care, the government would be making the decision regarding who gets treated. Aren’t the insurance companies doing that now in order to insure their bottom line profits? I support a health care plan for all those who not have insurance. Jane Escobar

Graham added, “Any time America stands up for freedom we’re better off. When we try to prop up dictators or remain silent it comes back to bite us.”
Egypt anyone? Who have we propped up there for years? How long have you been speaking out about the democratic elections and crackdowns there, Senator? Yeah, thought so.

Obama is the President of the United States and Iran is a country of its own for God sake. Give this guy a break. The Repulicans want to critise this guy left and right but the fact is he is a million miles a head of them. What do this Senators want him to do? Take airforce one to Iran and remove that crazy guy from office.Do they think talking tough is gonna change Iran?

I think he is pursueing the right directions. If we were to take the GOP’s hardline stance in support of the demonstrators, we may be playing right into the regimes hands.
Our severe criticism could lend support that the uprising and opposition leaders are the puppets of America. Even at the opposition rallies, they have been chanting “death to america”.
A nation voted. We do not know if they there was fraud or not, nor the extent. By supporting freedom of speech and to gather in groups, we are supporting freedom without meddling in the internal affairs of a soverign nation. if we are too open in our criticims, then we risk uniting the people behind the Supreme Leader in their distrust of the US. We have to be careful.
The rallies indicate deep fissures in the government. I think we should let events there follow their own course and to weaken the theocrats hold on power. We screwed up with uninlaterial support of the Shah, lets not do it again.

Oh, yeah, read everything that is said for the next two weeks as, “Don’t talk about Ensign, Craig, or our other 30 sex scandals of the last 20 years.” Nothing shouts its virtues louder than Hypocrisy.

I think that I agree with Senator Dodd. The President is taking the middle road. Coming out in support of Democracy, but not taking ownership of the movement. In the end, the fate of Iran is in the hands of the Islamic oligarchy. And Ahmadinejad is their hand-picked man. So, we can do little except watch as the protest is either crushed or turns into a civil war. If it turns into a civil war, then the USA will have to take a more definitive position. Presumably, for freedom. My personal hope is that it can still be resolved peacefully between the various factions.

Why Graham is wrong as per Layman’s perspective?
1. Pictures shown about Iran on newspaper does not demonstrate Iran govt. brutality as it can caused by the drug high members of rallys who are causing destruction. US has no proof that it is caused by govt and I see more public on road than government official. Whom should US talk to as no one seems to be in control?
2. Everything seems to be preplanned, rallys, destruction etc. How can someone gets million people on road immediately after election results were declared? It takes months to prepare for big rallys.
3. Twitter cannot be relied as People can lie on twitter
4. US crackdown on people who cause public destruction so how it is different from Iran govt crackdown on people who are causing public destruction.
Situation need to be calm down to work with Iranians, you can UNITED STATES MAY END UP SUPPORTING WRONG CAUSE, SO, Mr. GRAHAM SHOULD keep his mouth shut.

Whatever happens in Iran is none of our business. The Ayatollah of Iran is the Supreme leader and makes all the decisons. The fight for the pretend presidency is a power struggle between Ahmajenedad and Mousavvi.
Which ever of the two is President of Iran the country’s diplomacy will not change.
(America) needs to stop telling other countries how to do things. All sabre rattling from a U.S. President can accomplish in Iran, would be to allow the Ayahtollah to blame the whole counter revolution on we the people.
We (C.I.A) messed with their government in 1953 replacing an American friendly SHAH with an elected official. Then again in 1973 after the revoulution we accepted the Shah into our country.
If you bother to read recent remarks made by the current Ayahtollah, he said
” if the gatherings do not stop, then the blood shall be on their (protestors) own hands.”
Do you think he meant they were going to shoot thenselves?
He is blaming the peaceful protestors for orders he is giving troops to fire upon them.
Hezballah troops are being called in to do some of the dirty work.
Open your eyes Mr. Graham.
Look for WE THE SHEEPLE* coming soon, to a blog site in your neighborhood.
Simple plain talk, everyone can understand. Not Republican, Not Democratic, Not Libertarian. Just a place where Americans can easily and quickly get the real story on Corporate America, its hold on the Government and what phrases , stand alone government health insurance really means, put into plain and simple terms.
We all deserve Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness, on an even playing field.
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The president is doing the right thing…sitting back and observing what’s happening before taking action.
Where are the so sayers when we had US citizens in New Orleans on top of their rooftop crying for help? Where are they when US citizens are losing jobs, homes and many do not have healthcare and we do not have a fair imigration law? This is where the outrage should be.

What are these BOJOS talking about the international pressure and nuclear threat? These folks are clueless on dealing with crisis management and seemed to be very excited when they were called for interview.
1. House Republican Leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio – U.S. should move immediately toward tougher sanctions against Iran and stop all gasoline sales to the country (FOLKS Iran is a part of OPEC cartel. Watch the gas prices at your local gas station)
2. Chris Dodd – any international pressure must focus on curbing the Iranian nuclear threat. ( Yeah right. Chris Dodd do you really think What was not done before election can be done in this chaos? )

Graham must really miss Cheney & Bush since he seems to want Obama to start another war with Iran which GWB would probably already have done. He loved the name the “war president”. The problem I see here with the GOP is that Obama is too d— smart for them. I think Obama is doing exactly what the leader of another country should do, keep his nose and country out of a civil disturbance. I didn’t see anyone come to our rescue when GWB cheated Gore out of the election in 2000 with the help of the SC. Where were our votes and rights then? Right where the Iranians’ vote is now, up the creek without a paddle. It’s there problem to solve, not ours.

The ridiculous posturing we have seen from Republicans like Boehmer, McCain, and Graham, jumping on the bandwagon to criticize the President’s response to events in Iran, just fritters away whatever credibility these politicians might still have. Thank God some in Washington are listening to the sage advise of Iran experts.

I don’t understand Senator Lindsey Graham & other reppublicans that have spoken out about president Obama not being aggressive enough with his address to the leaders of Iran.
Have they not learned anything?
Why would any American want to give amunition to powerful Irnaians to blame these riots on the U.S?
Have these Republicans forgotten that there are millions of us around the world as well as millions of Americans that believe the American President was selected & not elected in 2000?
Stop plying polotics & do what is best for these brave iranians who are risking their lives for freedom.
I wish the Iranian people safety & hope.

Mr. Graham the president did his job with his speech recently. His way is to wait and see like he did with the captain who was taken prisoner. He worked quietly and efficiently. The people of Iran know he supports them and he has made an impression on them. Just look at the signs “Yes We Can” and “Change”. They like him and want to be friends with America. I’d say he did his job and does not deserve any criticism from anyone republican or democrat.

Where was the Republican outcry for involvement in Myanmar to support protesters there? I smell opportunistic opposition here. Shame on Republican’ts.

Lindsey Graham is right. Obama has been weak and passive – an now Obama is irrelevant.
Instead, Obama has been swatting at flies, and stuffing his face with ice cream.

Graham please do America a “BIG FAVOR”
“SHUT-UP”

I support Sen. Dodd’s remarks and feel
the Republicans may be “posturing” too much. But Mousavi and his wife’s participation in his campaign appear to
support women. To me this is a big
difference between the two.

Like we really need to listen to the Republicans. If we did what they wanted we’d just give ammunition to Ahmadinejad and he’d be able to say the protestors are a tool of the US. Republicans are really stupid. They failed our country in both domestic AND foreign policy, but now they’re ‘big experts’. If we listen to them we just will get more failure. These right wing dumb-balls never learn. They just keep spouting the same tired garbage that put us all in the dumps we are in today. I wish Linday Graham would just dry up and blow away. He is wrong on everthing he thinks and stands for and we don’t need or want his advice.

It is great to see that so many people understand that this is a time when we need to work quietly and effectively instead of making wild threats against any faction in Iran. President Obama understands that it is the people of Iran who have to make changes. It is their country and we should not force an issue which could lead to another war where only the people of Iran could be hurt. President Obama is once again showing his understanding of the situation in being subtle.
As for quoting Graham on anything, it is absurd journalism. He represents South Carolina, the most anti american government in this hemishere. This attempt to incite another war is just a ploy to keep the focus on international politics instead of cleaning up the wholesale corruption for which South Carolina exists to promote internally and throughout this nation.
Ignore Graham, please.Support the wisdom of Obama.

Did everyone really forget the type of election we had in November 08, with bought votes and with people brought in by the bus-full for registering to vote?
How is this any different from what is going on in Iran?
As much as I feel for the people in Iran, the US can and should not police the whole world: first of all, it shows arrogance, second, we can not afford anything anymore.

OMG! Proof that the GOP are war-mongers! When will they stop looking for excuses to “get into a war” without thinking of the consequences! So quick to jump in there in areas where they don’t belong. Thanks to Bush we got into a war we should never have gotten into and here the GOP is trying to do it again. My dad once said (he’s a GOP supporter) that the only time we get this country going is when we go to war – that’s so ‘old school’ and the GOP needs to figure that out! Get real GOP – your days are numbered.

I agree with George Wills on the matter of Obama holding off on commenting about Iran. The Republicans forget after Bush Sr. bombed Iraq and urged it’s citizens to rise up against Saddam and then Saddam crushed them.

Not only Lindsay Graham, but also John McCain, who brought this thought in an interview that “It’s not even about Iran, it’s about ideals as the leader of the free world”.
For conservatives, they would probably love nothing more than the Iranian protestors to fall on the swords of their oppressors, like their calls for the people to rise up, without caring about the consequences, like the Kurds in the 1990′s and the Hungarians in the 1950′s.
It’s never been about the people of Iran, it only been about their ideals.

Healthcare – we are already rationing healthcatre in this country, the Ins Co decide if your treatment is covered and how much they are going to pay. Its called “capitation”. What we used to have was a “fee-for-service”, you go to the Doc, you (or Ins) would pay the Doc. There were no kickbacks, no discounts for insured patients, it was your decision to see the Doc and your course of treatment. Now with capatition, youi and the Doc will submit a course of treatment to the Ins Co and hope they approve. And on Graham, all he does is complain, why do we care to listen to him? More people approve of Obama yet they repubs are continuing to be against public opinion. What? Are they going to tell us that we must trust the repubs because we don’t know any better? Thats what it sounds like. NO, never trust a politician, what ever party they belong to!

“The signs are in English.”
Yes, come to think of it, I’ve noticed that since DAY ONE.
There has been this incredibly obvious collusion with the western media that has had only one interest which has/had been abundantly clear since the days BEFORE this election even started. Definitive and preponderant propaganda that has shaped this story through planning from the start.
Nazi fascism couldn’t have had a better start with their revolution. Except that this revolution HIGHLY EXAGGERATES the pluralism of support.
For this to succeed, the world AND Iran would have to completely subdue democracy through the entitlement and arrogance of propaganda entirely. An achievement that would in itself be a stunning evolution in the capacity of propaganda to actually both purporte democracy while denying it to the majority.
It wouldn’t be the first time that the internationally community forced a new election until it got desireable results (and when I say desireable, this would of course be the desire of hive-mind societies like the U.S. to have this determined on their behalf by the media or and of the government and/or AIPAC).

Talk is easy and cheap. And just what, specifically, would Graham recommend?
Specifics, not more glittering generalities. As hard as it may be, the President is right to wait this out.
Tipping our hand only supports the propaganda about US interference. And, more importantly, where is the evidence
that the opposition leaders are truly democratic? If they were, the religious leaders would never have allowed them to run.

Lindsey Graham wouldn’t know the difference between “timid and passive” and “cautious and calculating” if his life depended on it. Then again, maybe he DOES, and just chooses petty and foolish bickering because he’s a republican. Iran needs to be handled CAREFULLY… NOT Texas-Bush style!

Sen. Lindsey Graham demonstrates again how the Republicans earned their well-deserved minority status. The mindless knee-jerk reaction advocated by Senator Graham is what got America into an unnecessary and extremely costly war in Iraq. It seems the senate might fair better with fewer Republicans.

It is apparent most Republican politicians either care only for their own party or are too dumb to be entrusted with leadership of our country. They still do not comprehend how bad they have been for our country in the last 8 years.
President Obama is on the right track. He knows the Republican static is best ignored.

So should the US support Mousavi? People seem to forget he was a staunch supporter of the Ayatollah Khomeini and very anti America. If the president did come out more strongly Graham would be screaming that Obama was supporting an Islamic extremist. What we’re seeing in Iraq is the supporters of one extremist bashing on the supporters of another extremist. Sorry but yes Mousavi is also an extremist. He’s simply not the extremist in power at the moment.

it is quite simple, president obama is CORRECT in his careful response and approach to the iranian election debacle.senator graham and mccain are typical neo con republican idiots! every time mccain opens his damned mouth i am glad i voted for mr.obama and that mr. obama is president and mccain is not!! 8 disastrous years of republican lead cowboy foriegn policy is way too much. just look at where our country is now after bush and cheney,s neocon policies!!no more!!!wake up and wise up america,vote neocon warmongers out of office,they are just too dangerous to america and to the world!

Are McCain, Pence, Gramham and all the other idiots…claim the President should take a stronger stance in Iran…
Are they just STUPID????
We are already involved in two wars already and we have plenty of stuff to keep us busy here at home…
Just because the Iranians use English in their signs doesn’t mean they want our involvement… dingalings!!!It simply means they are very aware that the world is watching…The young college people are internet savvy.
Our involvement has not been requested nor is it wanted.
This is just yet another assault on our intelligence by the GOP…

hi.i’am from Eran.as a person who lives in such a …country i have the same belief of senator graham.