I wrote on Friday about an emerging pattern: McCain's attacks on Obama are so crappy that the press is actually debunking them in the same story reporting the attack. In other words, instead of an attack lingering on Drudge unchallenged, then hitting Politico et al before finally getting debunked, the press actually just debunks the bogus charge upfront. Striking, really.
The latest version? McCain adviser Randy Scheunemann accused Obama of changing his position to follow McCain - on the idea that troop levels should be "entirely conditions-based."
But not exactly. From NBC's First Read:
But the remark the McCain campaign is jumping on -- from Obama's interview with Newsweek's Richard Wolffe -- pertains to residual forces, not withdrawal from Iraq. From the interview...Obama: I also think that Maliki recognizes that they're going to need our help for some time to come, as our commanders insist, but that the help is of the sort that is consistent with the kind of phased withdrawal that I have promoted. We're going to have to provide them with logistical support, intelligence support. We're going to have to have a very capable counterterrorism strike force. We're going to have to continue to train their Army and police to make them more effective.
Wolffe: You've been talking about those limited missions for a long time. Having gone there and talked to both diplomatic and military folks, do you have a clearer idea of how big a force you'd need to leave behind to fulfill all those functions?
Obama: I do think that's entirely conditions-based. It's hard to anticipate where we may be six months from now, or a year from now, or a year and a half from now.
Keeping residual forces in and around Iraq is something that Obama has consistently talked about. As Obama told the late Tim Russert at the MSNBC debate in September 2007: "The only troops that would remain [in Iraq] would be those that have to protect U.S. bases and U.S. civilians, as well as to engage in counterterrorism activities in Iraq."
It's striking really.
Maybe tomorrow McCain will try again on timetables.
This seems like a positive development - some in the traditional media doing their job to apply scrutiny to McCain. But I worry it foreshadows something about the dark direction McCain and his party will begin to take against Obama. Absent any traction whatsoever on policy, it's a pretty good bet that the Republican slime machine will return in full force. They probably don't have many other options.
|
|
|
Permalink :: 24 Comments :: Post a Comment
|
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
