John McCain on Wednesday repeated his challenge to Barack Obama to take a ride with him over to Iraq and see the situation on the ground before concluding that U.S. efforts have failed to get the war-torn nation back on track.
Speaking in a town hall meeting in Reno, Nev., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said he was surprised Obama's campaign considered it a political stunt when McCain proposed earlier this week that the two travel together to Iraq.
"The security of this nation is more important than any political campaign. To say that we failed in Iraq doesn't comport with the facts on the ground," McCain said to applause.
He also borrowed a line from Hillary Clinton and took a swipe at Obama for his tenure at the helm of a Foreign Relations subcommittee, saying: "He has not held one single hearing on Afghanistan, where young Americans are in harm's way as we speak."
McCain has hitched on to a talking point that is echoing through Republican chambers of late - that Obama would more readily meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than hold a one-on-one with U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, the head of Multinational Forces in Iraq.
"He could meet Gen. Petraeus and he could meet Ambassador [Ryan] Crocker, and he could see - he could see the fact that Sadr City is quiet. He could see that the Maliki government has taken control of Basra. He could see that the Iraqi military is leading the fight in these places with the support of American troops," McCain said.
McCain has visited Iraq eight times since the war began. Obama has been to Iraq once, in 2006, before the surge credited with allowing the oil-rich nation a chance to rebuild .
That sounds fair enough. Go see for yourself the situation before you make a judgement about a particular issue. Just about everyone can agree that that is a reasonable request right? But here's where the fun begins:
McCain suggested the two forget their political differences and see for themselves results on the ground. Obama's campaign responded earlier this week by calling the suggestion, which was proposed over the weekend, "political posturing."
Obama said Tuesday that McCain's desire to plug onward in Iraq continues a failed policy of the Bush administration.
Rather than say "ok", Obama's campaign is claiming that this is "political posturing" and not even bothering to go to Iraq to see things for himself? Doesn't that strike you as odd that someone would be willing to make such a major decision based upon hearing about Iraq from second or third person perspectives?
Then of course, here comes the "political posturing" that Obama's camp talks about:
"I don't think we want to continue a misguided foreign policy and an endless war in Iraq that has cost us thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars while making us less safe and less secure," he said.
"That's the choice in this election. On issue after issue, John McCain is offering more of the same policies that have failed for the last eight years."
McCain is dead right on this. He should continue to exploit Obama's willingness to meet with enemy nations but not willing to meet with US generals about foriegn policy issues. It's a direct attack on Obama that can't be portrayed as racist or any other type of spin that the media will put on such a threat.
"Senator Obama has been to Iraq once - a little over 2 years ago he went and he has never seized the opportunity except in a hearing to meet with Gen Petraeus," McCain said at a campaign event in Reno, Nevada. "My friends this is about leadership and learning."
Again raising the issue of Obama's willingness to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, McCain also said of the Illinois senator, "he wants to sit down with the president of Iran but hasn't yet sat down with Gen. Petraeus, the leader of our troops in Iraq?"
What's funny is the comments in the story from readers. None of them can explain why the idea of Obama going to Iraq and seeing the progress is a bad one. They're all about name calling and not making a good counter point:
| Bob Gormley | May 28th, 2008 4:05 pm ET What twisted logic McCain has. | HillarySkank on myspace | May 28th, 2008 4:05 pm ET To borrow the phrase of another republican, Mr McSame, you are full of crap. | ||
| Debbie,NJ | May 28th, 2008 4:06 pm ET And why would a Senator sit down one on one with the General of the US Armed forces? Has any other Senator? You're coming down McCain you and the entire Bush Adminstration. | ||||
| Joe | May 28th, 2008 4:06 pm ET Grow up McCain. It's a little easy to go anywhere you want when you've had the Republican nomination sewn up for months. You don't get to frame the issue of Iraq when you've been wrong since day by voting for the war! | ||||
See what I mean?
Travis
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