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Obama's Positions On Important Issues Has Changed
1/31/08|AHN| by Linda Young, AHN Editor

Presidential candidate Barak Obama (D-IL) has objected to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) assertions that he has changed his position on some issues over the years and maintained that he hasn't done that.
However, videotape of candidate debates from his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2004 reveal that the senator from Illinois has changed his position on at least a half-dozen issues.

The Washington Times newspaper obtained and watched videotapes of the candidate debates during Obama's successful run for the U.S. Senate seat four years ago and it reported Thursday on the numerous instances where Obama's stand then differs from his stand now.

One instance of Obama changing his position was his stand on whether using and possessing marijuana should be a crime.

He has been enormously popular in California, where college professors and students are drawn to his opposition of medical marijuana raids.

California laws conflict with federal law and allow medicinal marijuana use by patients when prescribed by a doctor as a treatment for a disease or health problem.

That position and others drew a large crowd for Obama Wednesday night at a "Faculty for Obama" rally at California's Stanford University.

However, it turns out that Obama favors more than just upholding California law on medicinal marijuana use. He stands alone among the presidential candidates of either party in supporting changing federal laws that criminalize marijuana, despite indicating that he supported those laws last fall.

During a presidential debate last fall, Obama raised his hand when the candidates were asked if they favored keeping marijuana use illegal.

However, according to the Times, during a 2004 debate, Obama said he was in favor of eliminating criminal penalties for possession or use of marijuana.

The Times reports that it asked Obama's campaign about the conflicting stands. It further reports that the campaign initially tried to dodge the question and then finally confirmed that Obama had always favored decriminalizing marijuana and that Obama had mistakenly raised his hand as being opposed to decriminalizing marijuana during the presidential debate.

That makes Obama the only candidate to support decriminalizing marijuana.

According to the Times, the other changes in Obama's stands on issues over the past four years range from ending the embargo against Cuba to providing health care for illegal immigrants.

More of Obama's half-dozen policy shifts will be detailed by the newspaper on Friday, the Washington Times said.

The last Democratic debate before the Super Tuesday primaries is scheduled for Thursday night.

Complete Title: 2004 Videotapes Show Obama's Positions On Important Issues Has Changed

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