Obama apparently lied about whether he answered a candidate questionnaire in 1996

The Politico nails him here:

During his first run for elected office, Barack Obama played a greater role than his aides now acknowledge in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion– positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he’s projected during his presidential campaign.

The evidence comes from an amended version of an Illinois voter group’s detailed questionnaire, filed under his name during his 1996 bid for a state Senate seat.

Late last year, in response to a Politico story about Obama’s answers to the original questionnaire, his aides said he “never saw or approved” the questionnaire.

They asserted the responses were filled out by a campaign aide who “unintentionally mischaracterize(d) his position.”

But a Politico examination determined that Obama was actually interviewed about the issues on the questionnaire by the liberal Chicago non-profit group that issued it. And it found that Obama – the day after sitting for the interview – filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes adding to one answer. . . .

Consider the question of whether minors should be required to get parental consent – or at least notify their parents – before having abortion.

The first version of Obama’s questionnaire responds with a simple “No.”

The amended version, though, answers less stridently: “Depends on how young – possibly for extremely young teens, i.e. 12 or 13 year olds.” . . .

Both versions of the 1996 questionnaires provide answers his presidential campaign disavows to questions about whether Obama supports capital punishment and state legislation to “ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.”

He responded simply “No” and “Yes,” respectively, to those questions on both questionnaires. a fact sheet provided by his campaign flatly denies Obama ever held those views, . . . .

This is the Obama who I knew on guns. The Obama who I knew supported a ban on handguns. In one discussion that I had with Obama back in the mid-1990s, he told me that he didn't believe that people should be able to own guns. My recollection is that he didn't even limit his statement to handguns. He was unwilling to discuss the issue and the conversation simply stopped after he made the statement.

Fox News also has something here.