Richard Holbrooke: "It's a devastating blow to the McCain campaign, ...

... not just that Maliki moved to Obama's position but that Bush did as well,"


Obama's reception in Iraq puts McCain in difficult spot
51 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — First to call for a "surge" in Iraq, Republican White House hopeful John McCain may be the last to endorse the idea of a timetable for the withdrawal of US soldiers.

His rival Barack Obama left Iraq on Tuesday after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki voiced support for the departure of US combat troops by the end of 2010, a deadline similar to what the Democratic candidate has proposed.

Maliki's stance gave a boost for Obama and presented McCain with a dilemma.

McCain could embrace the idea of a timetable for troop withdrawal and sacrifice one of his principal arguments against Obama, or continue to argue against a timeline as "surrender" and risk appearing intransigent.

Neither option looks attractive for the Arizona senator, according to analysts and pundits in the US media.

The Iraqi prime minister's stance gave Obama "a measure of credibility as a prospective world leader," wrote The New York Times, while the move had "complicated Mr. McCain's leading argument against him: that a withdrawal timeline would be tantamount to surrender and would leave Iraqis in dangerous straits."

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McCain's "reluctance to support a 'time horizon' now differs not only with the position of his Democratic opponent but also with those of the White House and the Iraqi prime minister," the political website Politico wrote.

"It's a devastating blow to the McCain campaign, not just that Maliki moved to Obama's position but that Bush did as well," said Richard Holbrooke, former US ambassador to the United Nations for the Clinton administration.


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if it is something that might actually do some good.

I'm loving the jam that this puts Gramps in. He either has to agree with Bush and Obama and risk being called a flip-flopper--and loses one of his most-used talking points, or he has to stubbornly insist that the Iraqis don't know what they're talking about and appear stupid and intransigent.

With the economy in tatters, they don't want one of their own in charge when the shit hits the fan.

I think there are 2 things at work here. Since Dubya had said we'd leave if they wanted us to, it was difficult for him to say differently now. And, there is really no love lost between Bush and McCain. And he's childish enough to want to make McCain sweat.

I'm kinda enjoying it, too.

just like we knew he would.

and McLame just looks lost!

Take a shiite,Old Man...and go collect another unneeded SS check

Someone needs to tell McCain that you cannot 'win an occupation.' Yet he desperately clings to totally anachronous and unrealistic mind-set.

Why are the bushits asking for a timeline?

positions-He's getting screwed from every direction!

Funny, how George's number one requirement for his employees is loyalty, and funny how it's something he never gives to others, no matter how much he stands to profit from it.

He needs Gramps to cover his tracks and take the white house. He's so stupid, he doesn't even know when he's harming himself.

Honestly-Could it really be true that Laura likes the little chimp?