dcpolitico's Blog

    Polls show that a majority of Americans oppose the war in Iraq. But the issue becomes far more complicated when it centers on a plan for the withdrawal of American troops.
    While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have debated endlessly on various timetables for the return of U.S. troops, John McCain has clearly set himself apart from the Democrats with his support for a continued U.S. presence in Iraq. On the surface, according to the polls, this is a politically risky move. But it poses far fewer risks than a “cut and run” policy that could have disastrous regional and global implications.
    On Memorial Day, McCain told the AP that Obama “really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time.”  The Arizona Senator said Obama has not visited Iraq since 2006 when he declared the “war lost.” Tough talk, but McCain has such an enormous advantage over Obama in the foreign policy arena that the only response from the Democratic frontrunner was through a spokesman that failed to address the subject: “Senator Obama thinks Memorial Day is a day to honor our nation's veterans, not a day for political posturing."
    This is just another example that when Obama tries to test the political winds of foreign policy, he is blown off-course. The Illinois Senator recently said he was willing to meet with the leaders of countries that are U.S. adversaries such as Iran, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela without preconditions. When McCain pounced on such a ludicrous statement, the Obama campaign said that did not necessarily mean a meeting with the warm and fuzzy Iranian President Ahmadinejad. He’s the gentleman who referred to Israel as a “stinking corpse.”
    It is far easier to be a diplomat on the campaign trail than in the White House.  Americans may have grown weary of the war in Iraq, but they are far less willing to permit “on the job training” in the White House. 

Tom DiBacco