This story on Iraq featured on the McCain team’s new website makes the point that Barack Obama needs to and perhaps already is shifting fast on the war, given the fact the surge has succeeded far better than the Democrats imagined. However the tone of the piece is somewhat curious.  The spin is that “both candidates have shifted on Iraq.” But that is simply hogwash.

John McCain has always supported the war (which may be a problem with many independents), was critical of the Bush pre-surge management of the war, supported the surge and says he will stay to complete the job. So what has changed? The report points to his prediction that the “hot” part of the war would be over by the end of his first term. But this is not a change at all, of course. He’s not committing to do anything other than what he’s always said he’ll do: win the war.

But if the report were straight forward and entirely accurate the conclusion would be painfully obvious: Obama has been shifting with the winds and the fortunes of the war which was determined by others and McCain has shaped the outcome and adhered to his longstanding views. Yikes. They can’t say that, can they?

It is progress in mainstream reporting, I suppose, to at least have an admission that Obama’s denigration of the surge is now a problem and that reality is at odds with his dogma.

+ A A -
You may also like
Share via
Copy link