TPM: At Jordan Presser, Obama Keeps Co-Opting GOP Language On Terror [View All]

At Jordan Presser, Obama Keeps Co-Opting GOP Language On Terror
from TPM Election Central by Greg Sargent

Obama's presser in Jordan has now wrapped up, and one thing that was striking is how aggressively -- again -- he moved to appropriate Republican rhetoric about the war on terrorism.

Obama said he'd decided to go to Afghanistan first because it's the "central front in the war on terror," the place "where 9/11 was planned" and where terrorists are "plotting new attacks against the United States."

"We have to succeed in taking the fight to the terrorists," Obama said at another point, calling for a broader policy that defeats terrorists, reduces the spread of nukes, and achieves "true energy security."

As we've noted here before, with John McCain painting Obama's Iraq policies as a "surrender," a central political challenge Obama faces is driving home the message that his national security policies constitute going on offense against global threats. He tried to do precisely that today by appropriating language the GOP uses about Iraq and instead using it to describe Afghanistan, his first stop on the trip.

And there was one other nice touch.

When discussing the fact that there's support building domestically for more military resources to be invested in Afghanistan, a position McCain himself has now embraced, Obama sidestepped a chance to name McCain

"I'm glad that there's a growing consensus at home that we need more resources in Afghanistan," Obama said.

Obama was clearly aware that a partisan attack would undermine the presidential optics he's trying to project.

Overall, the image of this particular American Democrat in the Mideast, using tough language about terror but weaving it into a broader global vision that includes an emphasis on multilateralism and true energy reform -- even as Republicans are embracing some of his war-on-terror policies -- is an undeniably powerful one.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/at_jordan_presser_obama_keeps.php