“I voted against preconditions before I voted for them. In between, I got my rookie ass handed to me.”

Barack Obama has done a complete reversal on his signature foreign policy issue – talking to America’s enemies without preconditions. This policy was designed to provide a sharp contrast with President Bush’s “Cowboy Diplomacy.” Senator Obama’s proposal was so radical, even Hillary Clinton didn’t buy into it. From Reuters.

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is distancing himself from expectations he would meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and taking a more cautious stand on talking to other U.S. adversaries.

With criticism from Republicans turning harsher as Obama moves closer to winning the Democratic nomination battle against rival Hillary Clinton, the Illinois senator has shifted — but not abandoned — his position.

Shifted is a gold-plated political weasel word.

Here is his original, unequivocal, unshifted statement.

In a CNN presidential candidates debate in July 2007, Obama was asked if he would be willing “without precondition” to meet with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea during the first year of his administration.

“I would,” Obama said. “And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them — which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration — is ridiculous.”

Now, the new position.

Obama later said that though he would not set preconditions on meetings, there would be careful preparations.

~~~

But as Republicans have painted him as someone who would be willing to “cozy up” to foes like Ahmadinejad, Cuban leader Raul Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Obama and his advisers have emphasized preparation would precede any meeting with leaders of adversarial countries.

So he will have preceding preparations but not preconditions. I guess that would include flight arrangements, dinner menus, and tourist stops. But nothing substantive from a policy standpoint would be hammered out before the presidents would meet. Then again . . .

Preparations, by contrast, mean making sure that meetings begin “with low-level diplomatic engagement and that there’s a clear agenda so that any meetings would be constructive.” He also stressed a meeting doesn’t guarantee concessions.

Smells like freshly baked preconditions to me.

Oh, but wait, turns out he won’t meet with Ahmadinejad after all, regardless of the preconditions.

Obama said on Monday he would not guarantee a meeting with Ahmadinejad, since Iran is holding a presidential election in 2009.

“There’s no reason why we would necessarily meet with Ahmadinejad before we know that he was actually in power. He’s not the most powerful person in Iran,” Obama told reporters.

And he won’t meet Castro during the first year either.

In a speech on Latin America last week, Obama said he would be willing to talk to Castro’s communist government but “at a time and place of my choosing” and “only when we have an opportunity to advance the interests of the United States.”

The McCain campaign accuses Obama of backtracking and says that shows he lacks judgment on foreign policy matters.

No kidding.

Obama has just said he would not meet these thugs and dictators within the first year of his administration. He also said there would be a pre-set, clear agenda and no guarantee of concessions. That is not a “shift.” That is abandoning the policy.

The scary part is he folded on such an important policy matter when he was criticized by Americans. Imagine how he’ll do with the dictators.

Also find Bill Dupray at The Patriot Room