Notable & Quotable

Then-Senator Barack Obama, speaking during a hearing with Gen. David Petraeus:

"This isn’t a criticism of either of you gentlemen, it’s a criticism of this President [Bush] and the administration, which has set a mission for the military and our diplomatic forces that is extraordinarily difficult now to achieve.

"And there has been no acknowledgment of that on the part of this administration, so we have the President in Australia suggesting somehow that we are, as was stated before, kicking A-S-S.

"How can -- how can we have a President making that assessment?"