Something new for Joe Klein to wet himself over. HuffPo notes that Maverick tweaked this charge during his speech this morning to a group of veterans, stating that Obama would rather win in Afghanistan by losing in Iraq. Blitzer presses him here to see if the old formulation still applies. Answer: Yup, pretty clearly it does, although McCain is careful to emphasize that he’s not questioning Obama’s patriotism, just his judgment. Is it possible to accuse someone of subordinating the national interest to their own personal ambition without, in essence, questioning their patriotism? I don’t know. Is it possible to “support the troops” while believing they’re carrying out an aggressive criminal conspiracy in violation of international law to line the pockets of oil interests? If you think neoconservatism (or Republican foreign policy more generally) is a cancer on America that’ll bring about the apocalypse unless it’s stopped, then what could be more patriotic than seeing it humbled in Iraq — without any further loss of life, natch, hence the focus on withdrawal — and Barack Obama elected to undo the damage? Not sure if that’s the argument McCain’s making here, but he’s bound to be asked about it again so further nuance is doubtless forthcoming. Exit question: How come he didn’t use his new killer line? Click the image to watch.
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