Media Meme: This election is all about Obama, forget McCain.

Obama's Mideast tour: Prepare to see it backfire
By ABRAHAM KATSMAN

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By contrast, as early as November 2003, McCain was saying both that "victory can be our only exit strategy" and that troop levels were inadequate, stating that we needed at least another 15,000 soldiers on the ground, a sharp dissent from the Bush Administration's position at the time.

President Bush eventually came around to McCain's position, and great results have come fast: in a matter of months, Iraq has achieved 15 of 18 benchmarks set by Congress last year to measure security, political and economic progress. Obama, however, still claims (without providing any basis) insufficient progress, and still advocates withdrawal over a 16-month period-a plan not endorsed by any commander on the ground. Earlier this month, he promised that on his first day in office, he'd order the Joint Chiefs of Staff to end the war immediately.


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It's good that Obama's team finally got him to Afghanistan and post-surge Iraq: at least now he can say he's been there. It's good that he's seen, even briefly, the incredible success of the McCain-advocated surge which he can't find the words to praise. But as the disconnect grows between Obama's slick slogans and the realities on the ground that all can see, so grows the public's understanding that this whirlwind campaign photo-op visit is no match for McCain's 25 years in Congress, experience as the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, multiple real visits to the war zones, and 22 years of military experience. And, of course, getting the surge exactly right.

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till, it is the Iraq portion of the trip that is likely to damage Obama most. Even after his visit, Obama refuses to acknowledge the obvious success of the surge. The most he'll say is that violence is now lower than it was, not even crediting the US military with the major role in reducing it. His position sounds stubborn and grudging, and either dishonest or detached from reality. He spouted gibberish to reporters explaining why even in hindsight he would not have supported the surge, although they flinched from pinning him down: with few exceptions, the same press that once howled for President Bush to acknowledge mistakes regarding Iraq is not anxious to hear Obama admit the obvious: he was wrong; the surge worked. Defending the surge even though his then-unpopular position would jeopardize his candidacy, McCain once stated, "I'd rather lose a campaign than lose a war." What about Obama?
US Democratic presidential...

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Obama has inadvertently highlighted his biggest weaknesses. That he is calling for the identical Iraq withdrawal timetable now, with victory in sight, as he did back when he was ignorantly chanting the meaningless mantra that "there is no military solution in Iraq" makes one thing increasingly evident to the public: John McCain understood Iraq better five years ago than Obama does even today.