Did True Majority Drop a Bomb or the Ball at the Philly Debate?

Don’t expect to hear Senator Obama’s "take no options off the table" remark booming from the IranMobile speakers any time soon.

Stephanopoulos persisted and attempted to close the deal, "So, you would extend our deterrent to Israel?" Obama replied, "As I’ve said before, I think it is very important that Iran understands that an attack on Israel is an attack on our strongest ally in the region, one that we - on whose security we consider paramount, and that - that would be an act of aggression that we - that I would - that I would consider an attack that is unacceptable, and the United States would take appropriate action."

Stephanopoulos then turned his attention to Clinton, "Senator Clinton, would you?" A subtle, yet uneasy feeling settled in for some as if George Stephanopoulos was negotiating an agreement between the candidates, the Bush administration and the government of Israel.

"Well, in fact, George," Clinton replied confidently, "I think that we should be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel. Of course, I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States, but I would do the same with other countries in this region."

Continuing, the junior senator from New York explained, "You know we are at a very dangerous point with Iran. The Bush policy has failed. Iran has not been deterred."

Feeding into the rhetoric and failing to acknowledge the intimidation in the Middle East by the seven-year reign of George W. Bush, Clinton stated "They [Iran] continue to try to not only obtain the fissile material for nuclear weapons but they are intent upon using their efforts to intimidate the region and to have their way when it comes to the support of terrorism in Lebanon and elsewhere."

To her credit, Senator Clinton acknowledged first the need for diplomatic engagement, but in a jab at her opponent remarked, "I would begin those discussions at a low level. I certainly would not meet with Ahmadinejad."

Clinton goes on to explain, "We’ve got to deter other countries from feeling that they have to acquire nuclear weapons. You can’t go to the Saudis or the Kuwaitis or UAE and others who have a legitimate concern about Iran and say: Well, don’t acquire these weapons to defend yourself unless you’re also willing to say we will provide a deterrent backup and we will let the Iranians know that, yes, an attack on Israel would trigger massive retaliation, but so would an attack on those countries that are willing to go under this security umbrella and forswear their own nuclear ambitions."

For those counting, in a span of less than three minutes, Senator Clinton threatened "massive retaliation" twice.

For the record, an email to NotAnotherWar.org shortly after the Philadelphia debate as well as an earlier email to True Majority regarding the perceived lack of attention towards Democrats have gone unanswered. A brief discussion with Aaron Rubin on Wednesday in Philadelphia did not elicit much information on the same issue. In fact, Rubin was "not sure" if either Democratic presidential candidate had signed on to the legislation that True Majority was promoting.

True Majority, as a progressive organization, certainly understands the gravity of the relations between the United States and Iran. That they may be engaging in a partisan approach to this makes one wonder if rather than "dropping a bomb" on the political discourse regarding an impending attack on Iran, they may very well be "dropping the ball."

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