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Read other letters about this article
http://cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript
CNN / YouTube
Democratic presidential debate transcriptCOOPER: Let's go to another YouTube video.
QUESTION: In 1982, Anwar Sadat traveled to Israel, a trip that resulted in a peace agreement that has lasted ever since. In the spirit of that type of bold leadership, would 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. [ . . . ] (APPLAUSE) [ . . . ]
CLINTON: Well, I will not promise to meet with the leaders of these countries during my first year.
- - CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate transcript
Obama didn't "promise" to meet those leaders. He didn't promise to fly to their countries.
Clinton didn't say she wasn't "willing" to meet those leaders. She said that she would want proper diplomatic groundwork before such a meeting, but she didn't say that she would demand preconditions from those leaders before meeting with them.
They chose to present their position in different ways, and they chose to criticize each other's presentation, but there was no fundamental disagreement.
