McCain Rejects ‘Audacity of Hopelessness’ for Iraq

DENVER — Senator McCain, ridiculing Senator Obama for “the audacity of hopelessness” in his policies on Iraq, said today that the entire Middle East could have plunged into war had American troops been withdrawn as his rival advocated.Speaking to an audience of Hispanic military veterans, Mr. McCain stepped up his criticism of Mr. Obama while the Illinois senator continued his headline-grabbing tour of the Middle East and Europe. The Arizona Republican contended that Mr. Obama’s policies — he opposed sending more troops to Iraq in the “surge” that Mr. McCain supported — would have led to defeat there and at Afghanistan.“We rejected the audacity of hopelessness, and we were right,” Mr. McCain said, a play on the title of Mr. Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope.”McCain laid out a near-apocalyptic chain of events he said could have resulted had Mr. Obama managed to stop the troop buildup ordered by President Bush: American forces retreating under fire, the Iraqi army collapsing, civilian casualties increasing dramatically, al-Qaida killing cooperative Sunni sheiks and finding safe havens to train fighters and launch attacks on Americans, and civil war, genocide, and a wider conflict.“Above all, America would have been humiliated and weakened,” he said. “Terrorists would have seen our defeat as evidence America lacked the resolve to defeat them. As Iraq descended into chaos, other countries in the Middle East would have come to the aid of their favored factions, and the entire region might have erupted in war.”Noting that the buildup was unpopular with most Americans, Mr. McCain said: “Senator Obama told the American people what he thought you wanted to hear. I told you the truth.”Mr. Obama has called for a withdrawal over 16 months. McCain again criticized him for advocating “a politically expedient timetable” and for voting against funding for troops. Mr. McCain had raised eyebrows earlier this week by charging that Mr. Obama “would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.”With once exception, Mr. Obama has voted for every spending bill for troops at war. In 2007, Mr. Bush vetoed a bill that provided funding on condition of troop withdrawals, and Mr. Obama joined 13 other senators who opposed the measure that took its place.Mr. McCain’s speech at Denver came at the conclusion of a week in which he struggled against Mr. Obama’s overseas tour de force. Yet amid the awkward moments, Mr. McCain managed to campaign busily in key battleground states and to raise millions of dollars at fundraisers.Polls in many swing states are close, and some are tightening. The Arizona Republican sought to turn this to his advantage in what was clearly a difficult week to be a stay-at-home candidate.Mr. McCain repeatedly emphasized his long military and congressional background, scolded Mr. Obama from afar on foreign policy, and kept playfully fueling speculation that he was close to picking a running mate. His address to the group of Hispanic veterans also gave him a chance to court the valued Hispanic vote.Mr. McCain was to visit the Dalai Lama at Aspen, Colo., his first meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader and a chance to express criticism of Chinese treatment of those who live at Tibet just weeks before the Olympics in Beijing.Mr. McCain also was to spend the weekend in Arizona and make a round of television news shows on Sunday.Everywhere he went in recent days — at New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and here at Colorado — the Arizona senator drew warm and appreciative crowds.Mr. McCain responds philosophically when asked about being overshadowed by his rival’s overseas trip and outsize attention: “It is what it is.”Mr. McCain has inched ahead of Mr. Obama in Colorado, come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in these battleground states. The polls, taken for The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com, showed voters in each state saying energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq.

McCain Rejects ‘Audacity of Hopelessness’ for Iraq

McCain Rejects ‘Audacity of Hopelessness’ for Iraq

More from the New York Sun

Dolly Parton’s Artistry Transcends Her Legend

DOJ Says Kennedy Center May Be Demolished If Trump’s Name Not Added to the Building

In Major Victory for Trump, Darline Graham Wins South Carolina Republican Primary for Full Term in the Senate

As 11,000 Exemption Bids Pour In, City Delays Pied-à-Terre Deadline Again

Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro Backtracks on Data Centers and AI Growth, Threatening Keystone State’s Tech Boom

How Chatbots Are Sending Users Spiraling Into a Delusion Dubbed ‘Sycophantic AI’

Democratic Congresswoman Urges Congressional Leaders To Let Lawmakers Add Pictures Into Legislation

The Met’s Understated Madonna: A Rare Leonardo da Vinci Masterpiece Now Discreetly in Full View

More from the New York Sun

Dolly Parton’s Artistry Transcends Her Legend

DOJ Says Kennedy Center May Be Demolished If Trump’s Name Not Added to the Building

In Major Victory for Trump, Darline Graham Wins South Carolina Republican Primary for Full Term in the Senate

As 11,000 Exemption Bids Pour In, City Delays Pied-à-Terre Deadline Again

Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro Backtracks on Data Centers and AI Growth, Threatening Keystone State’s Tech Boom

How Chatbots Are Sending Users Spiraling Into a Delusion Dubbed ‘Sycophantic AI’

Democratic Congresswoman Urges Congressional Leaders To Let Lawmakers Add Pictures Into Legislation

The Met’s Understated Madonna: A Rare Leonardo da Vinci Masterpiece Now Discreetly in Full View