Obama: Channeling Neville Chamberlain

"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is 'peace for our time.' Go home and get a nice quiet sleep." So said British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on September 30, 1938. On the eve of World War II, Chamberlain had just returned to London from the infamous Munich Conference of 1938, where he had a nice chat with "Mr. Hitler." Chamberlain told the British people that Germany was their friend, and the future looked bright. Flash forward to Charleston, South Carolina on July 23, 2007. Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama participated in a YouTube debate: Q: Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea? OBAMA: I would. And the reason is this: the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them--which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration--is ridiculous. Ronald Reagan constantly spoke to Soviet Union at a time when he called them an evil empire. He understood that we may not trust them and they may pose an extraordinary danger to this country, but we had the obligation to find areas where we can potentially move forward. And I think that it is a disgrace that we have not spoken to them. (Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate) Obama did not advise his audience to go home and have a nice quiet sleep. Note: Chamberlain was quite relieved to have spoken with Mr. Hitler. Until, at least, the German bombs started falling on London.