WASHINGTON–John McCain has accused his Democratic opponent Barack Obama of trying to pass laws to ensure American failure in Iraq, a sign the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is prepared to use the unpopular war to showcase his national security credentials.
In one of his harshest attacks yet, McCain told a convention of war veterans in Florida yesterday Obama's self-interest trumped national interest and added that, while the Illinois senator has the ambition needed to be president, he may lack the necessary judgment.
"Both candidates in this election pledge to end this war and bring our troops home," McCain said.
"The great difference is that I intend to win it first."
McCain said Obama first opposed the U.S. troop surge in Iraq, predicted it would fail, then tried to stop funding for the troops.
"Not content to merely predict failure in Iraq, my opponent tried to legislate failure," McCain said.
"This was back when supporting America's efforts in Iraq entailed serious political risk. It was a clarifying moment. It was a moment when political self-interest and the national interest parted ways."
McCain was referring to a Senate vote cast by Obama last year in which he opposed funding for troops because the bill did not include a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
The Obama campaign responded immediately.
"The difference in this race is that John McCain is intent on spending $10 billion a month on an open-ended war, while Barack Obama thinks we should bring this war to a responsible end and invest in our pressing needs here at home," spokesperson Bill Burton said.
Obama's chief economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, linked the war to the faltering U.S. economy in a PBS interview last week, saying the final Iraq tab could top $1.5 trillion.
"Iraq doesn't cause the recession, but look, if we are going to spend a trillion dollars, 1.5 trillion dollars in Iraq, imagine all the problems we could have solved if we had been willing to make the investments that we have been skimping on so that we could spend the money in Iraq," he told Charlie Rose.
While both candidates sharpened their tones yesterday, the presidential race is about to enter a new phase, with Obama expected to announce his choice of running mate as early as today. Weeks' worth of speculation has come full circle with talk yesterday that Hillary Clinton is under consideration.
Another name to surface at the last moment was the party's 2004 presidential nominee, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry.
Names that have been mentioned for weeks include Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and former Georgia senator Sam Nunn, who Obama cited at a faith forum on Saturday as a particularly wise adviser in his life.
