Obama to receive endorsement of Rep. Patrick Murphy, Iraq war vet who opposes the war

First Read, First Thoughts
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro

*** She Said What? As we mentioned before, perhaps the biggest story so far in the Democratic presidential contest has been Hillary Clinton’s steady evolution from a hawk on the Iraq war to a dove. That transformation, in fact, has coincided directly with her rise in the national polls. But speaking yesterday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City, she said something that might raise some Democrats’ eyebrows: that some elements of the troop surge are working. Per the New York Times, “‘We’ve begun to change tactics in Iraq, and in some areas, particularly in Al Anbar Province, it’s working,” ... ‘We’re just years too late changing our tactics. We can’t ever let that happen again. We can’t be fighting the last war; we have to be preparing to fight the new war.’” Of course, she isn’t the only Democrat who has said the surge is producing some results (see Carl Levin’s statement), but can the Democratic presidential front-runner say this? Will she be alone among the Democratic presidential candidates to praise parts of the surge?

*** More VFW Politics: McCain followed Clinton yesterday in addressing the VFW convention. While she received a tepid, polite reception, he got plenty of applause. The same thing will probably occur today when Obama (who opposes the Iraq war) and Fred Thompson (who supports it) speak at the confab. What will Obama say about the surge? Somehow, we think it will be a bit different than what Clinton said. Before he addresses the VFW, Obama holds a conference call with reporters announcing the endorsement he’s picking up from freshman Rep. Patrick Murphy (D), an Iraq war vet who opposes the war.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/21/325629.aspx