McCain Backs Away From Toughest Hit On Obama ... Or Maybe Not! [Updated]
***UPDATED BELOW***
Earlier this week, when John McCain said "it seems to me that Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign," Time's Joe Klein called the political hit "as intemperate a personal attack as I've ever heard a major-party candidate make in a presidential campaign."
In response, Obama himself told NBC's Brian Williams:
Yeah, I-- I was disappointed by that language. You know, John McCain and I disagree on policy. You know, we disagreed on going into the war in Iraq. We disagreed, until recently, about the need to get more troops into Afghanistan. But I've never questioned-- that he wants to make America safer. And for him to suggest that I don't-- for him to suggest that somehow -- I'm less concerned about the safety of my wife and daughter-- than he is I think -- was -- was unfortunate.
So is McCain now backing away from directly impugning Obama's desire to keep America safe? Judging from prepared remarks emailed to reporters ahead of the Arizona Republican's speech to the American GI forum Friday afternoon, it would appear so. The closest his speech comes to that previous line of attack is when it declares: "He [Obama] would choose to lose in Iraq in hopes of winning in Afghanistan. But had his position been adopted, we would have lost both wars."
Of course it's unlikely that Obama would see his preference to re-focus on Afghanistan as choosing to "lose" in Iraq. But at least McCain is now framing Obama's position as a balance of priorities as opposed to an out and out desire to fail the country as a way to reap some political benefit. So while McCain is still prepared to go after Obama's symbolic vote to cut off troop funding and his stated opposition to the surge, it appears he may have realized that a frontal assault on Obama's wish for America to succeed is counter-productive.
2:05 PM UPDATE: Perhaps we spoke too soon. CNN reports that John McCain defended his previous attack on Obama during an interview with Wolf Blitzer that will air later this afternoon.
"I am accusing, I am stating the facts. The facts are that I don't question Sen. Obama's patriotism. I'm sure that he's a very patriotic American," he said in an interview from Denver, Colorado, where is making a speech and will later meet with the Dalai Lama."I question his judgment because he lacks experience and knowledge, and I questioned his judgment. ... Sen. Obama just views this war as another political issue, which he can change positions," McCain said.
Stay tuned.
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First Posted: 07-25-08 11:12 AM | Updated: 08- 2-08 05:12 AM