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Politics

In tight spot on the trail, McCain falls back on his hard Iraq line

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 12, 2007

LEXINGTON, Va. - John McCain has rolled the dice on Iraq. Linked to the unpopular four-year war, the Republican had little choice amid his faltering presidential campaign but to embrace the conflict anew.

"It is necessary and just," the Arizona senator said Wednesday, demanding that the U.S. strive for victory and accusing anti-war Democrats, including the party's White House contenders, of valuing electoral politics over sound policy.

Speaking to a friendly audience of Virginia Military Institute cadets, McCain staked his candidacy on Iraq in a speech that amounted to a full-throated appeal to the majority of Republicans who still back a war most Americans call hopeless. His criticism of Democrats were words certain to energize GOP voters.

Trailing in national polls and fundraising, the failed candidate of 2000 hopes GOP voters will view him as a principled leader for his unflinching war stance in the face of political pressure and, ultimately, will reward him with the 2008 Republican nomination.

"In Washington, Democrats view it as a political opportunity and Republicans view it as a political burden," McCain said of the war. "Our nation's interests should prevail over any parochial or party interests we might have, or any election."

Perhaps eager to rally their own base, Democrats pounced.

"What we need today is a surge in honesty," Sen. Barack Obama, a top Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement. He challenged McCain's assessment of improved security in Baghdad and argued that the Republican was measuring progress using "the same ideological fantasies" that led the United States into war.

Along with drawing such criticism, McCain's strategy carries risks.

Unlike most Americans who have turned against the war, three in four Republicans call it a worthy cause and a majority still agree with the decision to invade Iraq. But their continued support is no guarantee. The conflict has entered its fifth year, resulted in almost 3,300 U.S. deaths and cost some $350-billion.

Just Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that tours of duty for active-duty soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan would last 15 months - three months longer than usual.

"This is what he believes and it would be tremendously awkward for him to back off at this point," said Dan Schnur, a GOP strategist and former McCain aide who said "he's going to be elected president, or not, based on this issue."

Underscoring the gamble, Schnur said: "Even loyal Republicans who aren't going to jump ship from the president are beginning to have concerns."

Fresh from his fifth trip to Iraq, McCain sought to reinvigorate his faltering campaign with the first of three major policy speeches as well as shift attention from an embarrassing brouhaha that threatened to undermine his signature political issue - defense.

In Baghdad, McCain said he was cautiously optimistic of success and saw signs of improved security even as he toured the capital under heavy military guard. Iraqis accused him of painting too rosy a picture and U.S. critics said he was disconnected from reality.

In his speech, McCain did not mention Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney or any other GOP rivals. The senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee cast himself as the best candidate to counter Democratic calls to leave Iraq.

"I know the pain war causes," the Vietnam prisoner of war said. "But I also understand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war."

He portrayed himself as above politics when it comes to Iraq, repeating a signature line: "I would rather lose a campaign than a war."

[Last modified April 12, 2007, 01:51:20]