McCain Camp Dismisses Obama's Plan To Visit Iraq
The McCain campaign -- which has said they want Barack Obama to visit Iraq -- is already reacting dismissively to today's news that he will indeed be going to Iraq and Afghanistan some time this summer.
"I think first it's a very good thing that Barack Obama has decided that he will visit the reality on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan," top McCain adviser Carly Fiorina said on a conference call with reporters. "And hopefully he will be moved by the facts on the ground. He will have to acknowledge that the surge is working, and perhaps this will cause him to change his position."
I suppose that all depends on how many helicopters and tanks will be needed to escort Obama when he goes to a marketplace.
Seriously, the Obama visit will be big news when it happens, and the McCain camp will be hard-pressed to spin it as a negative.
Al Gore Endorses and will appear with Obama on stage in MI. Share your opinions here:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/al-gore-endorses-your-views-on.php
TPM, take timeout from Hillary Obituary, you're yet to report bug news of the day.
June 16, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
What took him so long?
June 16, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Obama has the bad luck to have a Blackwater security team assigned to protect him instead of the U.S. Army, he'd better watch his back.
June 16, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
yeah really. the mccain camp are just mad that obama is going to iraq so now they can't attack obama on this trivial issue.
http://sensico.wordpress.com/
June 16, 2008 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just love how McCain tries to make Iraq all about the surge.
Just because the surge is working (we'll grant McCain's premise for the sake of argument) that doesn't mean that we should have gone into Iraq in the first place.
When is obama going to hit McCain for not having the judgment to see through the lies and propaganda of the bush administration?
Just because McCain was right about the surge, doesn't mean he was right about the war.
And yet, in all the skirmishes between the two campaigns over Iraq, i've yet to hear this line of critique from Obama's side.
June 16, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
No! I don't grant the premise. Why does everyone forget the original mission of the splurge and then rewrite the mission so that sucksess is a priori? It's bullshit and these people need to be called out on the bullshit EVERY TIME, ALL THE TIME.
June 16, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Guys, Fiorina will not be an asset for McCain. People simply don't like her, her HP tenure was a disaster and women won't be able to identify with her. I met and talked to her for business once and I can tell you she is the most insincere, pandering, manipulative fake you'd ever want to meet. If this is McCain secret weapon for the woman's vote, he's screwed!
June 16, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, WTF does she know about Iraq? Why are they using her for foreign policy? Can she really even talk about business, given how her tenure went at HP?
June 16, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
well she planned hp's business move into Iran, so maybe she really does know something about the region...
June 16, 2008 9:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Eric, you get a lot of flack around here, but you nailed it with this one line.
June 16, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
As soon as Obama returns from the visit it will be spun negatively if he doesn't acknowledge the sucksess, or it will be spun as pandering if he does. I hope Obama keeps harping on McStain to visit the war-ravaged towns of America while Obama is visiting Iraq. And by "war-ravaged" I mean the economic war being waged on Americans by the Corporate Elite every day.
June 16, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gore to endorse Obama tonight! This will wash out any mention of McCain in the news today!
June 16, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hard pressed to spin it as a negative?
LOL! I'll say.
June 16, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just wait until they report on the soldiers flocking around Obama and compare it to McCain's visit.
June 16, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's going to be amazing, inasmuch as the troops heavily support Obama,as I understand it.
June 16, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
It doesn't need to have a negative spin. I'm waiting to see what he says when he comes back. Like the Bush hater McDermott who pissed the Democrat leadership by telling the truth about what he saw.
June 16, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
He suld take Shinseki, Ibouye and Powell with him.
June 16, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Facts on the ground"
4000 Americans Dead
100,000+ Iraqis Dead
Oil Price March 2003 (per barrel)- about $25
Oil Price June 2008 (per barrel)- about $135
Here's a good AP rundown of the current situation, mentioning the reduction of violence, but no correspondong political progress.....
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFHCdXPYYqWpPohEoakRO5XADpgwD91BB5R05
We can argue all day that continuing the American presence will lead to more "progress", and likely it will....but Americans don't want this kind of War. We want to fight, win and come home. There is no stomach for an endless counter-insurgency/nation building presence anywhere, especially not in the heart of the Arab world. The longer it takes McCain to understand this, the longer his odds this Fall become. We don't like to be patronized, and McCain is doing just that by suggesting he is smarter than majority of Americans who think the War can't be won, and want withdrawal sooner rather than later.
http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm
June 16, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I suppose that all depends on how many helicopters and tanks will be needed to escort Obama when he goes to a marketplace."
Exactly. Who in there right mind thinks that the experience the either candidate has while visiting Iraq will give them any indication of what the "real facts" are on the ground. There visits are like micro-surges, temporary increase in man power to give politicians a chance to work their angle.
June 16, 2008 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
No one.
But there is something to be said about going to see our military there and letting them know you are trying to take care of them.
And there's nothing wrong with showing their families that and going there will have that effect.
June 16, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have to admit I'm having trouble imagining how a trip like this could be productive rather than theatre. Can Obama find something more meaningful to do with his time over there than another "market stroll"?
June 16, 2008 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Political theatre is often dismissed as unimportant but it does have a worthwhile role to play. Obama will be seen in a "Commander in Chief" environment relating to soldiers and meeting with generals and that will hold some sway with voters back here who are questioning Obama's experience. If he does well, and I'm sure he will, it'll be a sharp contrast to McCain's market stroll.
June 16, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah - you actually nailed this much better than I did. It is useful, given his lack of military experience, to have him perceived as someone who is fully capable of being CIC. I know this doesn't prove anything - it is theater, as you say. But this is a campaign and that's pretty much all they are.
June 16, 2008 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
He should take Shinseki, Inouye and Powell with him. (Sheesh we need edit function)
June 16, 2008 3:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can we please leave Colin Powell out of this? I do not understand why people cannot seem to get this - he is not an honorable man. He is a war criminal. He was part of the group that discussed in revolting detail just what torture they were going to use and it's all a war crime.
I despise Colin Powell.
June 16, 2008 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I see Powell as an otherwise honorable man who let his loyalty get the best of him. He'll regret his mistakes until the day he dies.
June 16, 2008 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well I don't. Dude, this is a pattern. Do you know how Powell went up the ladder? He covered up My Lai.
He is not an honorable man.
June 16, 2008 4:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
With all due respect, Powell was among the few in this administration that got Iraq right (if you break it you own it). He gave advice to Bush I, Clinton and Bush II. He was loyal to all three and left when it was no longer tenable.
Shinseki rightfully disagreed with the Neocons and was shown the door.
Inouye voted against the Iraq Invasion and is the head of the Defense Appropriation Committee.
The Delegation would be made up of the Following:
2 Democrats- Obama-Inouye
1 Non Affiliated - Shinseki
1 Repulican - Powell
If Obama truly wants an informed view, this delegation would help.
June 16, 2008 4:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Eric, you got the headline wrong.
"Unindicted white collar criminal and corporate failure criticizes man for visiting US troops in a warzone" gets to the heart of the matter.
June 16, 2008 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Carly Fiorina is talking about Iraq? Really?
June 16, 2008 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. I was wondering if anyone on the conference call inquired as to what special knowledge Carly Fiorina has to make her some sort of expert on Iraq. Did anyone ask when she might be going there herself?
June 16, 2008 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
And Peninsula Matt - the "loyalty excuse" is almost word for word the same excuse Albert Speer used. You know, Hitler's architect?
Loyalty be damned. We're talking about war crimes and torture and there is no gray area there, dude. Not for me. It's straight up immoral. Anyone and everyone involved is a war criminal.
Hell man, even Ashcroft was scared enough to run. Please spare me the weak ass excuses for war crimes.
June 16, 2008 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey carly: You state "I think first it's a very good thing that Barack Obama has decided that he will visit the reality on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan," top McCain adviser Carly Fiorina said on a conference call with reporters. "And hopefully he will be moved by the facts on the ground. He will have to acknowledge that the surge is working, and perhaps this will cause him to change his position."
I can't find a reference of any visit you've made to Iraq or Afghanistan; how do you know what the "facts on the ground" are or that the "surge is working"?
Are you just running your mouth?
June 16, 2008 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
The issue isn't "reality on the ground." The issue is that the surge is strategically ruinous to our military preparedness. We cannot maintain this level of commitment in Iraq and adequately address our security needs elsewhere in the world. Just as important, the level of violence squelched by the surge is impressive, but the benefits have not been reciprocated by progress political/religious reconciliation between Shiites and Sunnis (and their many fractured political entities). And, the surge hasn't stopped Iran from favorably exerting its economic influence...the longterm relationship/alliance that permanent bases cannot prevent.
June 16, 2008 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain's pissy because he doesn't get to tag along. He's desperately trying to control Obama's schedule - first with the "invitation" for a joint trip to Iraq, and now with the "invitation" for the series of town halls. They want to say when/where Obama goes because they know their candidate can't keep pace. McCain looks more tired with each passing day, whereas Obama looks like he's just getting started. The desire for "joint" appearances, travel, etc. is based on a need to set the pace, as well as a means to (hopefully) neutralize Obama's ability to campaign in places like VA, NC, NM, CO, etc. McCain doesn't really care about the Iraq trip per se, he's just trying to find any opening in the Obama full-court press.
June 17, 2008 2:48 AM | Reply | Permalink