Clinton and Obama on Blackwater: Where They Stand May Surprise You

It's an excellent article. I think it answers the question about Obama well.

If you look back at the seed from DailyKos called something like "I refuse to buy into the Obama hype" or something like that, you'll see that Mrs. Clinton has a habit of proposing legislation she doesn't follow through on. There's a sharp comparison between the two candidates on that point.

This article wonders why she has proposed this bill at this particular point in time. Why not do that when Blackwater was caught red-handed doing dreadful things, instead of at a strategic point in primary season? It's not too big a leap to feel she's doing it as part of her campaign and not out of genuine outrage at Blackwater.

It will make quite a good sound bite, to be able to say "I've proposed legislation to get rid of Blackwater and Obama says he'll keep them." If you read this article through, you'll see his choice is based on common sense, not politics. He's clear he disapproves of Blackwater. Given the state of U.S. ground forces (completely beat up, depeleted, exhausted and burned out) he's going to need a certain number of people to help him keep order in Iraq while he gets us out.

A much more revealing bill, proposed by Obama not in the middle of a hotly contested political race, is one that constructs a format for prosecuting Blackwater under the same rules the military gets prosecuted under. I'd say that shows two things: 1. an understanding of why Blackwater is bad and 2. only proposing legislation he feels strongly about, instead of grandstanding.