McCain: Obama More Worried About '08 Campaign Than Losing a War

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McCain: Obama More Worried About '08 Campaign Than Losing a War

July 22, 2008 4:05 PM

ABC News' Jennifer Duck Reports: Sen. John McCain used some of his strongest words yet comparing his judgment to his opponent’s saying Sen Barack Obama "would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.”

“This is a clear choice that the American people have. I had the courage and the judgment to say that I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Sen. Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign,” McCain said in Rochester, New Hampshire today around the same time Sen. Obama was speaking with reporters overseas.

McCain continued to attack his Democratic opponent on the surge.

“He was wrong then, he's wrong now, and he still fails to acknowledge--he still fails to acknowledge that the surge succeeded. Remarkable. Remarkable,” McCain said. “He's just received his first briefing ever from Gen. Petraeus. And he declared his policy towards Iraq before he left, before he left.”

Obama was asked during a press conference in Amman, Jordan if voters should give McCain credit for his support for the surge.

“I will leave it to the voters to make that decision. And, you know, my hope is to avoid a colloquy with the McCain campaign over the next four or five days,” Obama responded.

“I think that Senator McCain deserves great credit for caring deeply about the safety and security of the American people," Obama added. "And I think he's made a series of decisions based on his best judgment of what would be good for American safety and security. I've differed with him on a range of those judgments. But I think that in each instance he's made those decisions based on what he thinks makes the most sense.”

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M, told reporters on a conference call that Obama is “frighteningly inexperienced” when it comes to foreign affairs and national security policy. Wilson also said McCain would like to have troops out earlier than the 16 month time frame Obama has proposed.

"He would like troops to come home earlier than 16 months if the conditions allow it," Wilson, who is a surrogate for McCain, said on the call. "Senator Obama has said it's a 16 month timeline no matter what."

McCain was later asked if he agrees with Wilson.

“I think that they can be home dependent on conditions on the ground,” McCain told a small group of reporters. “The surge has succeeded. It has succeeded. We are winning the war. If we’d have done what Senator Obama wanted we’d have lost.”

McCain regularly holds town hall style speeches across the country and today one anti-war New Hampshire resident caused a McCain-friendly crowd to boo as she asked three questions about the invasion of Iraq. McCain calmed the crowd admitting those questions are on many Americans minds.

The Arizona Republican admitted the first four years of the war were “badly mishandled” but continued support for a conditioned based withdraw.

“Everybody recognizes, including Prime Minister Maliki, that we have to have conditions based withdraw. And we’re going to withdraw. We will withdraw. The fact is whether we withdraw in victory or whether we withdraw in defeat,” McCain said. “We have succeeded. Sadr City is safe, Mosul is safe, Basra safe. The people of Iraq—and I have been there—are leading normal lives.”

McCain said, “there will continue to be spectacular attacks” adding Al Qaeda has not been “completely defeated” but they have been “set back enormously” because of the surge strategy.

ABC News' Sunlen Miller contributed to this report.

July 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (104)

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OBAMA is being propped up!!! I question the media's relationship with Obama, BIG TIME. He is a liar and a phony (period).

Posted by: mj | Jul 22, 2008 4:08:58 PM

Obama stutters and stammers and lies. That is about all he does, and he does it well.

Posted by: bpower | Jul 22, 2008 4:10:17 PM

Thats a FLIP-FLOP. report it as one. If it was Obama, it would have been all over the news. Mccain supports anything that polls well.

Posted by: vuzous | Jul 22, 2008 4:10:45 PM

mj,

Give it a rest. McCain once proudly said that the media was his "base". Now hopefully the media will start covering McCain in all his bumpy glory.

They can start by covering the flip-flop McCain did last Friday at the GM TEch Center regarding car emissions. McCain has always said he was for Federally regulated emissions standards, but told the crowd on Friday that he now favors state regulated emissions standards (a death knell for US automakers).

Posted by: Jane Hussein | Jul 22, 2008 4:15:46 PM

McCain supporters today are saying we MAY be able to pull out sometime in 2012 or 2013. Five or six YEARS! How much will that cost???

Posted by: Jane Hussein | Jul 22, 2008 4:18:27 PM

Obama didn't vote against a general petreaus betrayus ad because of pressure from move.org.

Posted by: Steve | Jul 22, 2008 4:19:26 PM

Obama has had the stated the same Iraq policy since Nov 2006. The McCain camp is so desperate now, they just make up stuff as they go along!!

They try to create these fake controversies in hopes that the media plays along. Hopefully by now the media is catching on to what many Dems already knew: McCain campaign is spinning out of control!!!

Posted by: Jennifer | Jul 22, 2008 4:20:04 PM

I fully agree with McCain, Obama just wants to win the campaign, not care for the country.

Not only in the competitionon between Obama and McCain, but also in the competition between Obama and Hillary, it has shown that Obama just wants to win the campaign. All he did just wanting to win, not care what's good for the country.

All I have learned from Obama is, not hard work, but point out what's wrong with others'.

The young generation was misled.

His campaign is totally negative. He is a truely opportunist. He claimed he doesn't like war, is only because he wants to attract the votes. After he visited Iraq, he claimed no timetable for withdrawl, which proved McCain is right and more trustworthy.

Posted by: golfgirlusa | Jul 22, 2008 4:20:47 PM

lol

mccain is so pathetic, and all you repubs know it too

obama is looking like a president right now

and mccain is looking like a babbling senior

Posted by: bhrandon | Jul 22, 2008 4:22:01 PM

McCain said we can withdraw in as soon as 2 years.

McCain said it has to be conditions based of the iraqis taking over.

Obama wants to run out without turning it over to the iraqis.

Obama will leave a vacuum.

Obama said u.s troops more u.s troops in iraq would create more violence. Now he is saying they reduced violence before saying the military didn't affect anything.

Obama is flip flopping all over the place.

In his first two years in the senate Obama voted for more funds for the troops until he voted agaisnt the funds to win political points during the primary.

Posted by: Steve | Jul 22, 2008 4:22:21 PM

McSame, said that 100 years in Irak is good and that the withdraw of troops is not a priority. But if McSame wants Irak as a future friend and ally of the US, then the occupation has to end, you do not continue to occupy a friend and that is what Obama is about, he can build a good relationship with Irak and keep that country as a very close ally in the future. Boots diplomacy and cowboy talks will not make it, McSame has to know about that. God bless America and God bless Obama. OBAMA08.

Posted by: BKMC | Jul 22, 2008 4:25:32 PM

Steve wrote:
McCain said we can withdraw in as soon as 2 years.
************
No McCain said today 2012 or 2013.

Posted by: Jane Hussein | Jul 22, 2008 4:25:37 PM

Does anyone remember at the start of this process when McCain said he was going to run a clean campaign? Day in and day out Obama treats McCain with respect, and in turn the McCain camp attacks Obama endlessly.

Peace

Posted by: Jen | Jul 22, 2008 4:26:23 PM

How can you lose a war that you went into based on lies? McCain, Bush and all the others, lied to the American people, they took us into the war on lies, we should never have gone into Iraq, for the Republicans to keep using the excuse that those people needed to be free, is like china coming here and telling us we should not.
McCain has a lot of nerve to say anything about this war. Bush had no plan, McCains plan is to keep Bushes going. The Republicans are so bad that they are now using Obama's plan to end this war to try to make McCain look good. They make my stomach turn.

Posted by: becky | Jul 22, 2008 4:28:48 PM

Oh golfgirl...c'mon. . .I think the American people have figured out that the current crop of Republicans are the real "phonies" out there. Isn't it bad enough that conservatives love America sooooo much that they have to engage in outright lies and deception to get support from the American people?

And yet the GOP trots out the very same candidate they threw under the bus eight years ago - in favor of George W. Bush - and expects us to trust them that they can make a good decision THIS time.

No thanks. You had your chance, and the American people are paying heavily for that mistake.

Posted by: kevinbgoode | Jul 22, 2008 4:30:51 PM

McCain wanting credit for the surge is like someone setting your house on fire and then wanting a pat on the back for calling 9-1-1!

Posted by: Jane Hussein | Jul 22, 2008 4:31:44 PM

Talk about "inexperienced". . .the media hauls out wingnut/dominionist Heather Wilson as if that moron possesses an objective brain cell in her head?

I can't imagine what Heather Wilson has ever done to give her "experience" in identifying the needs of the presidency. Last I read, she is going to be struggling to hold onto her own congressional seat this year.

Posted by: kevinbgoode | Jul 22, 2008 4:33:36 PM

Wasn't the Surge supposed to mean we could start withdrawing US troops? Wasn't that the point? So how come McCain says its been succesful but we can't start withdrawing troops? I think McCain is clinging onto one thin hope that people will think the Surge is working. Otherwise he could go down to a very heavy defeat. And histopry will say that he lost because at least in part, he didn't take full advantage of that coupld of months head start he had in the national campaign.

Posted by: markymark | Jul 22, 2008 4:36:10 PM

McCain said we can withdraw in as soon as 2 years.

McCain said it has to be conditions based of the iraqis taking over.

Obama wants to run out without turning it over to the iraqis.--Steve
-------------
What are you talking about? McCain said he could imagine most U.S. troops home by 2013. I think he's unsure what his position is now. Both sides are talking about a timetable or a "time horizon," as the Bush Administration is now calling it, so McCain isn't sure where he stands anymore. He supported establishing permanent bases in Iraq--as did President Bush. He also thought it was a great idea to invade the country. That demonstrated good judgment, didn't it? Obama has never talked about withdrawing troops without evaluating conditions on the ground. He wants to have the country run by Iraqis--it's their country, isn't it?

Posted by: mary | Jul 22, 2008 4:36:56 PM

McCain is still whining like a baby complaining that Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election.Senator McCain is pathetic he thinks that what he says is Gospel and anything Senator Obama says is always wrong.McCain wants to force his views on Senator Obama and let no one else speak. He is upset that Senator Obama has more coverage than he does, so he cries about it and makes ridiculous statements just to get air time. He is an angry old man who is just stuck in his old ways and will not listen to anybody elses reasoning.Senator Obama keep doing what you are doing to get ready for the Presidency.

Posted by: Aziz Jackson | Jul 22, 2008 4:39:03 PM

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