McCain's Iraq gambit
John McCain’s suggestion, first floated by his close ally Senator Lindsay Graham, that he and Obama visit Iraq together is smart politics not least because it has got out there that Obama has not visited since 2006. But on a broader level this ties in with McCain’s offer of joint town halls and unmediated Lincoln-Douglas style debates, it puts Obama on the back foot by making him either accept something that plays to McCain’s strengths or erode his post-partisan appeal by turning down or kicking into the long grass an event that the public—and perhaps more importantly, the press—would like to see.
McCain also needs to push Iraq as an issue. This might seem bizarre given how unpopular the war is, but McCain needs to focus public attention on it in an effort to show voters how improved things are there. These improvements are, in large part, a result of the surge; a policy that John McCain led a long and often times lonely fight for in Washington.
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murray
May 27th, 2008 10:32pmI am sorry to keep piping up here, but look at what a house of cards the dems (and the media) have built: a 4 year senator with good looks and great stage presence...and that is it...this thing is not even going to be close (and again, they could have cleaned up by nominating a moderate with experience-I'm not saying Hilliary who is a lightening rod)
TGF UKIP
May 27th, 2008 10:46pmMcCain's problem on the surge with Obama is that he can counter with "we should never have gone there." However, like virtually the entire Democrat Party he did very vocally oppose the surge and McCain should nail him over and over again. What would be helpful to McCain, though, would be if the Iraqi Government were more cooperative with the US. Stopping US forces going into and sorting out the Mahdi Army in Sadr City is only the most recent example of Maliki's obtuseness and Shia partisanship. Perhaps, the real success might come not in Baghdad but, at the expense of British shame, in Basra. Even the BBC are reporting, very quietly and almost secretly, surprising progress there.
Hal
May 28th, 2008 11:00amI think that a joint visit to Iraq could help Obama. The lazy assumption out there is that McCain knows foreign policy and national security issues. This trip could place Obama on a more nearly equal footing in the public mind. It also gives Obama a chance to venerate the troops and look patriotic.
Limited progress in Iraq, along with ongoing, endemic Iraqi tensions, can justify the U.S. beginning to pull out at (Obama's position) at least as much as staying for 100 years (McCain's).
Ganpat Ram
May 28th, 2008 11:58amHal:
You advise Obama to visit Iraq to "venerate (sic!) the troops and look patriotic"?
Obama? A guy who hasn't heard a shot even at a pumpkin at a fair?
Alongside McCain, a legendary American military hero?
The troops will die LAUGHING.
"Venerate the troops and look patriotic", eh?
Obama? A man who has never heard a shot fired even at a pumpkin?
Alongside on of America's greatest military heroes?
The troops will die LAUGHING !!!
Ian C
May 28th, 2008 1:26pmIt's alright Ganpat, we're not deaf!!
McCain has been damned clever here. If BO goes it's as a result McC's agenda. If he doesn't he is not so inclusive as well as effectively sticking two fingers uo to the military. It also highlights that he probably does not know enough about to take the position he has as he hasn't been since '06.
He's shown him up beautifully. AIt seems like a master-stroke.
Ganpat Ram
May 29th, 2008 12:21pmIan C:
Apologies for the inadvertent repitition! Hit the keys too hard in my amusement at the whole thing.
Craig Strachan
May 29th, 2008 10:22pmObama should agree to go to Iraq with McCain. Together, they could visit the same street market McCain visited a year ago, when he had to be protected by hundreds of US soldiers and a couple of helicopter gunships. (I wonder if McCain is confident enough in his claims of "progress" to dispense with that level of security this time?)