According to this report, John McCain has been offering advice to the President-elect. We get this tidbit about the November 16 meeting between McCain and the Obama camp:

Mr. Emanuel said he did not remember any discussion of Iraq. “Barack has been clear that he is going to stick to his responsible reduction in forces, and he hasn’t changed from that,” he said.

But Mr. Graham, who accompanied Mr. McCain to the meeting, said Mr. Obama took a notably different tone toward Iraq than he had during the campaign, emphasizing the common ground in their views.

“He said that he understands that we had differences but he wanted to let us know that he also understands that we have got to be responsible in how we leave Iraq,” Mr. Graham recalled. “What the Obama-Biden administration has talked about is not losing the gains we have achieved. ”

He added, “Obama does not want to be the guy who lost Iraq when it is close to being won.”

On one level this is comforting — confirming that the President-elect understands the stakes in Iraq and will carry out essentially the same policy which his opponent would have. On the other hand, it is mystifying why the President-elect’s public rhetoric and private conversation differ so sharply. Why not talk to the country about Iraq as “close to being won”? After all, the policies he intends to pursue will require money and continued sacrifice from Americans, most specifically from those serving in the armed forces. Shouldn’t we explain why that continued expenditure of treasure and life is critical?

You hope that episodes like this are not revealing of character, but simply reflections of the difficulty in transitioning from partisan candidate to commander-in-chief. It isn’t a good sign that Emanuel “can’t recall” the conversation accurately or that the President-elect seems unwilling to acknowledge the assumptions underlying his national security policy. This isn’t remotely the type of “transparency” we have been promised.

One hopes the rhetoric and policy align and that, unlike his predecessor, the new President is both candid and articulate in explaining to the American people what is required in the months and years ahead in Iraq. If we learned anything in the past eight years, it is that you can’t hide the ball from the public and expect to sustain a costly war.