Obama and McCain's "Hundred Years War"
Obama's got to quit saying that McCain thinks it'd be o.k. for the war in Iraq to go on for a hundred years, or whatever it is that he's been saying. (Clinton, too...but she's hopeless.) What McCain said (originally, anyway) was that it'd be o.k. if U.S. troops were in Iraq for a hundred years if Iraq ended up like South Korea (peaceful, prosperous, democratic, etc.). That's very different.
It's still a funny thing to say, as it isn't clear how this would happen unless there were an analog to North Korea involved. (Note: Iran won't do the trick.)
But it's an important difference, and exactly the kind of difference that Obama himself seems to be committed to respecting for the sake of civility. So he needs to straighten up and fly right on that score.
Obama's got to quit saying that McCain thinks it'd be o.k. for the war in Iraq to go on for a hundred years, or whatever it is that he's been saying. (Clinton, too...but she's hopeless.) What McCain said (originally, anyway) was that it'd be o.k. if U.S. troops were in Iraq for a hundred years if Iraq ended up like South Korea (peaceful, prosperous, democratic, etc.). That's very different.
It's still a funny thing to say, as it isn't clear how this would happen unless there were an analog to North Korea involved. (Note: Iran won't do the trick.)
But it's an important difference, and exactly the kind of difference that Obama himself seems to be committed to respecting for the sake of civility. So he needs to straighten up and fly right on that score.
posted by Winston Smith at
12:35 PM
6 Comments:
Winston,
Still not convinced it'd be OK "if Iraq ended up like South Korea", since the South Koreans welcomed our presence, while the Iraqis, especially for the past few years, have wished for us to leave.
Actually, what I meant to say is I'm still not convinced it'd be OK for US TROOPS TO REMAIN IN IRAQ FOR 100 YEARS if the Iraqis didn't approve.
Well, I'm not saying that McCain is right. I'm saying that Obama (and Clinton) are misrepresenting what he said.
You're right, Winston. My bad.
No worries.
Well observed, WS. And in the interest of fairness, McCain himself, whom I think has handled himself very well, pulled something similar on Mitt Romney on the issue/non-issue of timetables on Iraq.
And I think both you and I, as conscientious observers of the game, are most disappointed when such sophistries seem to be effective.
Dang. Even the Obamessiah and the Straight Talk Express aren't immune to the temptation to play a little dirty pool.
We're all sinners, I tellya, sinners.
[The Nork reference very astute, per our previous. Cheers.]
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