The Democratic party is unleashing stalwarts Bill Clinton and vice presidential candidate Joe Biden at prime time to combat John McCain and the Republican Party during the convention's national security night. The AP outlines the recent GOP attacks Clinton and Biden will likely try to tear down.
Anticipating Wednesday night's focus on national security at the Democratic National Convention, Republican John McCain contended in a new TV ad that Obama showed he was "dangerously unprepared" for the White House when he described Iran as a "tiny" nation that didn't pose a serious threat.
"Iran. Radical Islamic government. Known sponsors of terrorism. Developing nuclear capabilities to 'generate power' but threatening to eliminate Israel," says the ad, which was being run in key states. "Terrorism, destroying Israel -- those aren't 'serious threats'"?
Missing from the ad was the context of Obama's remarks last May in which he compared Iran and other adversarial governments to the superpower Soviet Union. "They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us," he said in arguing for talks with Iran. "You know, Iran, they spend one-100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance."
The McCain ad signaled a shift from trying to stir up Hillary Clinton's supporters with her primary-season criticism of Obama to raising fears about Obama's ability to handle international threats. Clinton closed the book on her 2008 presidential bid Tuesday night with an emphatic plea for the party to unite behind Barack Obama.
The Democratic convention spotlight was turning to her husband, the former president, as he prepared to take the prime-time television stage Wednesday night. He is expected to launch attacks on McCain and on the Bush administration, particularly on the state of the U.S. economy.
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Obama's choice as a running mate, will get prime-time exposure as well.