The Sidekick Chronicles, Lie #1: Meeting With Iran

I was right - there are a number of things in the debate last night on which Biden was either grossly misrepresenting the truth or outright lying.  Rather than put them all into one huge post (and it would be huge), I thought I'd start doing them an issue at a time.  [For the record, I'm going to skip over any of Palin's perceived flubs, gaffes, or lies.  The MSM apparatus will more than adequately cover them, and I'm more interesting in counterbalancing from the other direction.]

One of the biggest, of course, is the question of whether or not Obama will meet with dictators (specifically Iran) without preconditions.  Last night, Biden said this:

Can I clarify this? This is simply not true about Barack Obama. He did not say sit down with Ahmadinejad.

Now consider the following:

Democrat Candidates Debate, July 23, 2007: 

QUESTION: …  [W]ould you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries? OBAMA: I would. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them — which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration — is ridiculous.

 

NR's Byron York report on Sen. Joe Biden's comments about Obama after that debate: 

Afterward, other candidates echoed Clinton's criticism. Sen. Joseph Biden, who has emerged as the clear-eyed antiwar realist in the Democratic race, told National Review Online that the idea of a president meeting with Ahmadinejad, Chavez, and others was "naïve." "World leaders should not meet with other world leaders unless they know what the agenda is, so you don't end up being used," Biden said.

Obama's website: 

Diplomacy: Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions…. [Note:  Ahmadinejad is the president of Iran.]

For some supporting video, click here.

Clearly, what Biden said last night is absolutely inaccurate.  Obama has pledged on the record to meet with Iran, Biden himself chastised Obama for pledging to meet with Iran, and Obama's own website pledges to meet with Iran, all without pre-conditions.  There is no doubt.  This was lie #1.

There's my two cents.