by Naftali Bendavid
The McCain campaign evidently believes it's found a strong line of attack against Sen. Barack Obama--hammering on the fact that Obama has been to Iraq just once, and that was two years ago.
Sen. John McCain has taken to repeatedly making that point on the stump, and the Republican National Committee has joined in with a countdown of the number of days since the Illinois senator last visited Iraq.
The potential effectiveness of this message is that it seems to encapsulate McCain's argument that Obama is a study in empty eloquence, with lots of lofty-sounding ideas but little experience. McCain notes that he has been to Iraq many times, and argues that his position--that the U.S. needs to keep pursuing the war until victory is achieved--is based on facts on the ground, while Obama's, that American troops should be carefully but steadily withdrawn, is based on ideology.
McCain recently issued a fundraising appeal based on this argument, coupling it with his criticism of Obama's willingness to talk to hostile foreign leaders.
"He has only been to Iraq once, on a trip two years ago," McCain writes. "Senator Obama speaks openly about his willingness to sit down with our enemies and engage in open talks, but he hasn't gone to Iraq in over two years to meet with our leaders and see that progress is being made on the ground. Something is wrong with your judgment when you want to sit down unconditionally with Raul Castro and Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but you don't take the opportunity to sit down with General Petraeus and learn about the situation in Iraq firsthand."
But in truth, this tactic reflects in part a serious and stark dilemma McCain confronts regarding Iraq: He is a strong supporter of the war it while the public is strongly against it. As his criticism of Obama suggests, McCain may deal with this by emphasizing his own identity as an seasoned figure on national security and contrasting it with Obama's relative inexperience.
The Obama camp, for its part, is not taking any of this quietly. Obama's aides emphasize that he was against the war from the very beginning, reflecting a soundness of judgment they say McCain has conspicuously lacked. Beyond that, they say Obama will not visit Iraq as part of a photo op, and they cite McCain's much criticized visit to Iraq last year, when he walked, heavily guarded, through a market, and pronounced the security situation improved when few others agreed.
Yet the exchange may put pressure on Obama to visit Iraq once the Democratic nomination fight is concluded. One of his broad vulnerabilities in the general election, if he is the nominee, may be his relative lack of experience in national security overall. Supporters believe one way to counter that would be a visit to Iraq, Israel, Europe, and/or other places where Obama could take a statesmanlike tour and demonstrate his facility with foreign affairs. McCain himself went overseas shortly after wrapping up the Republican nomination, and it's a fairly common move for presidential candidates.
Obama may well have been contemplating a trip to Iraq anyway. If nothing else, McCain may have positioned himself to claim that any trip now is a response to his criticisms.
Also, there is always the danger of a gaffe that would defeats the trip's purpose; McCain himself appeared to mix up Sunnis and Shiites during a recent trip to the Middle East. And Obama faces a more practical problem: the Democratic primary has dragged on for so long that he has to campaign and work to unify the party in a relatively short period, potentially leaving him little time for foreign visits.
But he may have little choice.
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Comments
"41OO DEAD SOLDIERS SPEAK"
NO GEORGE BUSH NEEDS TO VISIT IRAQ AND "ATTEST" TO HIS OWN "ATTESTATION" OF HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS.
NO DICK CHENEY, NEEDS TO VISIT IRAQ AND "ATTEST" TO HIS OWN "ATTESTATION" OF HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS!
NO CONDI RICE, KARL ROVE, DAVID ADDINGTON, FRED FIELDING, NEED TO VISIT IRAQ AND "ATTEST" TO THEIR OWN "ATTESTATION OF HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS!
GENERAL TOMMY FRANKS NEEDS TO VISIT "IRAQ" AND TELL HIS MEN, I WAS JUST FOLLOWING THE POLICIES OF THE COMMANDER AND CHIEF! THEN I RESIGNED!
MADAME SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI NEEDS TO VISIT IRAQ AND APOLOGIZE TO THE MEN AND WOMEN STUCK IN GEORGE BUSH'S "CHANGE WE DIDN'T DESERVE"
PAUL WOLFOWITZ NEEDS TO VISIT IRAQ AND "ATTEST" TO HIS OWN "ATTESTATION" FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANOR.
JOHN MCCAIN NEEDS TO VISIT IRAQ AND "ATTEST" TO HIS OWN ROLE IN "THE WAR ON TERROR"
UNTIL THEN, JUST BRING BACK HOME THE TROOPS AND STOP SENDING OUR TREASURY TO ALL THE NO BID "UNCONSTITUTIONAL" CONTRACTORS THAT ARE GETTING PAID TO CONTINUE TO DECEIVE AND THEIVE FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THE AMERICAN MILITARY MIGHT!
Posted by: Roger Morris | May 29, 2008 7:34 PM
Obama will go to Iraq when the primary season is OVER, you nutty Wingnuts!....and I'm sure he'll take a more honest look at the situation than this guy did:
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http://www.wrapped-in-the-flag.com/images/581_Bahgdad-Tours.jpg
Posted by: John E | May 29, 2008 8:06 PM
No, Obama does not need to visit Iraq at this time. McCain wants Obama to go to Iraq as a ploy. What better way to have Obama's blood on the hands of the enemy rather than an American. Who has to provide protection for Obama while he is in Iraq? Think about it why at this point McCain is so keen on having Obama go to Iraq. i certainly hope Obama doesn't play into this ploy. There will be time for Obama to go to Iraq; now simply isn't the time.
Posted by: Mary | May 29, 2008 8:09 PM
Yes, yes, yes Obama needs to visit Iraq. When he becomes president he should indeed visit Iraq and see how the withdrawal is proceeding and to attend a peace conference at which neighboring countries will sign a non-aggression pact and develop a regional economic development plan.
Posted by: GW | May 29, 2008 8:10 PM
And McCain is so proud for visiting Iraq under heavy (and expensive) security numerous times on taxpayers' account, while US servicemen in Iraq cannot get decent bulletproof vests, while the plumbing system at Ft. Bragg NC military base does not work properly? Do Americans need more of this opportunistic and bombastic but hollow leadership???
Posted by: Joe Hannes | May 29, 2008 8:28 PM
Obama needs to keep playing a 40 something petulant racist Marxist child ( which he is ) for about for about 6 more months...thne we can forget Obama AND Chelsie's Mama FOREVER ( and it won't come a minute too soon...
Posted by: Fred | May 29, 2008 8:31 PM
Obama's been campaigning
since early 2007.
So it's understandable.
It's also understandable that
McCain would do this in attempt to score political points since he came against the GI Bill. McCain also has a poor voting record regarding veterans.
Posted by: Mr.UniteUs | May 29, 2008 8:54 PM
Not really !! President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and Senator " Questionable Conduct " McCain have all visited Iraq and what good did it do, for our soldiers or for the battered people of Iraq. Not anything good, it may have even contributed to the ongoing incompetence that this administration has displayed and Senator McCain has supported. If that doesn't bother you, America, than nothing will !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | May 29, 2008 9:41 PM
In a word no. That's why we have people like Joe Biden to consult. I can't think of anyone who has a better grasp on Iraq.
Posted by: Anton Chigurh | May 29, 2008 10:10 PM
Well, hasn't John McCain been over to Iraq 6 or 8 times. Besides walking around in the green zone with twenty body guards he hasn't acquired any knowledge. He still does't know the difference from a shite or a sunni or where they live. Seeing he finished near the bottom of his class, maybe Obama could hold his hand and walk him through Bagdad, and be his mentor. John McCain was in Nevada today and stated, " Nevada, Nevada, Nevada. Nevada is a western state and I am a western Senator!" What in the hell is that!! Is he getting so senile he has to repeat so he can remember? whiteagle38
Posted by: Whiteagle38 | May 29, 2008 10:50 PM
WHY WOULD OBAMA WANT TO VISIT IRAQ? THERE ARE ONLY 235 DAYS UNTIL HE IS SWORN IN AS OUR 44 TH PRESIDENT. GET THEM COWBOYS OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!whiteagle38
Posted by: Whiteagle38 | May 29, 2008 11:06 PM
Obama will look into Irag when he wins the nomination. He's also going to meet with the Generals. Now that the story is out about Bush and the run up to the war, Congress will start to shut down America's involvement in Irag-remember Obama will not become President until Jan 09 so he can gather intele to bring the troops home. Obama is working on a policy now to take care of the troops when they return. Some have done FIVE rotations already, McCain only wants to pat himself on the back about getting torchored in Viet Nam, another war the United States had no business being in. Go figure
Posted by: jac66 | May 29, 2008 11:08 PM
Well, when Obama visits Iraq, he must be careful. The situation is still very grave and his entourage can be demolished by a roadside bomb. There's already a bad omen of Senetorial Presidential candidates being killed. Especially if its in the month of June and they have close ties with the Kennedies. No wonder the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in June 1968 is the reason Hillary Clinton cites for overstaying her welcome to the candidacy. But let brave Barack Obama visit Iraq not on the terms of a directionless Republican soldier called John McCain.
Posted by: Henry Gichaba | May 29, 2008 11:23 PM
The trip Obama needs to make is to Afghanistan and he needs to remind McCain that this is where Bush dropped the ball. This is where our efforts should have focused and were not and if and when Obama does visit Iraq it will be on his timetable as the nominee of the democratic party and then commander and chief and not before. I am sure Obama will do more than run through the marketplace with a bullet proof vest saying how very safe the place has become. Obama will not have bookend ventriloquist puppets flanking him politely correcting his blunders because Obama has the intellegence not to make them!
Posted by: Kimberly | May 29, 2008 11:35 PM
Does Obama need to visit Iraq?
If he wants to pick up some nice deals on rugs like Sen. Lindsey Graham did he does.
Other than that, he only needs to visit Iraq if a draft is instituted, his number is drawn and the Army tells him. Of course, he could volunteer but I believe he is beyond the cut-off age for new recruits.
So the answer to the question, "Does Obama need to visit Iraq?" is "No." While wearing a flag pin IS required in some circles, going to tie up troops who have better things to do than to escort VIPs is a waste of everyone's time.
If Sen. Graham thinks Obama needs to visit Iraq because things have changed, I suggest Graham go solo the next time, take a video camera and tour Baghdad and give a show-and-tell presentation from the Senate floor that will verify that Iraq is as safe as Italy or France or England and that Kirkuk is a most see destination for Americans this summer.
Posted by: Bud McFarlin | May 30, 2008 12:11 AM
All the 57 states should demand that Obama visits Iraq!
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | May 30, 2008 12:27 AM
Yes, along with McCain and hold a townhall and let the iraq people ask them questions about the future of their country. This would be the most watch debit in the history of debates.
VJ Machiavelli
Posted by: VJ Machiavelli | May 30, 2008 3:53 AM
Okay--here's the thing--Obama's gonna be more a let down for the left than Bill Clinton was (and if you RECALL--Hillary fought him on this--there was a whole line of stories).
AND ALREADY he's shown signs of SELLING OUT and supporting 'clean coal', the WAR, the nuke power plants and the Mainstream Media bashing of Hillary.
But now with the Wright and Pfleger videos--it is CLEAR Obama is a Black nationalist type and the mainstream media he THINKS is now his friend will TURN on him if and when he EVER is 'selected' as the Dem candidate.
Too bad the dem party is involved in an internecine battle for control over the party leadership the next 4 years, instead of letting Hillary begin the ONLY WINNABLE fight we dems will have for the White House and to concentrate on our great chances to get congress back.
Obama's chance is NOT now--it's 8 years from now.
Posted by: Obama is a FAKE AND CANNOT WIN IN THE FALL! | May 30, 2008 7:34 AM
I'd like to see him go! Then when we can see pictures of the enthusiastic soldiers who support him crowding around him for pictures and autographs we can listen to Rush, Sean, Bill O', Michelle, and Anne call them "FAKE SOLDIERS"
Posted by: jackson | May 30, 2008 10:01 AM
It is useless for any politician (including McCain and Obama) to travel to Iraq. What is the purpose? All it ever winds up being is a photo op and "face time" with the Iraqi leaders to make it look like they are doing something about a deplorable situation that we should have NEVER gotten into in the first place.
Posted by: Independent | May 30, 2008 10:29 AM
Paolo: YOU campaign as much as Senator Obama has as see if you never misspeak!!!! You know good and well that someone who graduated Harvard Law School knows how many STATES there are!!!
Whiteeagle38: cute...and very much true...post!!!
Posted by: Mary in Ft. Madison | May 30, 2008 5:24 PM
Mary in Ft. M,
Don't take Paulo seriously. He never says anything of merit.
Posted by: C.Morris | May 30, 2008 9:56 PM
If our troops don't anything better to do than give tours of the green zone to politicians looking to one-up their opponents, maybe it's time we brought them home. If McCain wants to tour more markets with hundreds of troops around him and attack helicopters overhead so he can prove how safe things are over there...well, we can all use a good laugh, but that would be a whole lot funnier if our soldiers could watch his antics from their own homes.
Posted by: Tom O | May 31, 2008 12:11 AM
Well, I for one, am a military officer who couldn't care less if Barrack Hussein Obama visits Iraq or John McCain for that matter. To me, those are just names and faces that will be captioned underneath their photo-ops in the media. You see, America's sons and daughters don't want POLITICIANS visiting them in hopes of receiving kudos, praise, photo-ops, votes, or the appearance of support attached with alterior motives. We want our commander-in-chief (whoever it may be). A commander-in-chief, not only cares unceasingly for the accomplishment of the mission, but he also cares for the welfare of the men and women under his charge. So, visit us when you are the commander-in-chief and let the ground commanders and the American people assess the situation. The war in Iraq and the entire theater of operations, for that matter, needs to end. But, it has to end at the right time and the right time is when the majority says "it's the right time." Obama is at the current time, a "bullhorn" much like the ones that you may see at a carnival...voistrous, loud, full of gimmick, and persuasive. So, come right up! Take a chance and vote for him. You can see a great number of prizes behind the counter. It doesn't mean you will win anything. God Bless America even though we can't seem to get above the politics right now. We are still the greatest nation under the sun and thank the Good Lord for that priceless fortune.
Posted by: ArmyMike | July 2, 2008 2:02 AM