UPDATE -- HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR MCCAIN -- Knowing What He Knows Now Obama Would Still Oppose Surge -- All In For Defeat I Guess

Update:  This could be a HUGE opportunity for McCain!

McCain is comfortable making jokes about his age, how about this one:

"Wow, I though the old guy was supposed to be stuck in his ways in spite of the evidence.  Next Obama will be telling us to get off his lawn and turn that damn music down!"

Well, this presents McCain with an opportunity to frame Obama for the rest of the campaign as a staid, inflexible fool who can't seem to understand that the world doesn't revolve around his failed, inflexible policies!  It also covers McCain for changing his mind on drilling.

It hits at the premise that judgment is not just riding one decision 6 years ago but one has to have the wisdom to adjust to the changing world!
---------------------------------- End Update ------------------------------------



Special Report reported on the question asked to Obama.  His answer was useless but basically said he would still oppose the surge.  See if you can make sense of it:


Via Redlasso

Huh?
DKK

Update -- here is the text of the exchange:

Q: If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?
A: No, because, keep in mind that…
Q: You wouldn’t?
A: Keep in mind… These kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. Hindsight is 20/20. But I think that, what I’m absolutely convinced of, is that at that time we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with.

DKK

Additional -- Obama wouldn't be able to go sans flak jacket if it weren't for the surge.
DKK

In Spite Of Obama;s Fabled Judgment™ -- The Surge worked

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s forced to admit that he was wrong about Iraq — and Republican Sen. John McCain was right.

Obama told reporters that he spoke on the phone with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar zebari.

“I emphasized to him how encouraged I was by the reductions in violence in Iraq but also insisted that it is important for us to begin the process of withdrawing U.S. troops, making it clear that we have no interest in permanent bases in Iraq,” Obama said.

In other words the Surge worked.

Had we listened to Obama, the troops would have been home 3 months ago and there would have been a bloodbath that would make the fall of Saigon look like kindergarten.

There’s your change.

Your chump change.

DKK

Don Surber -- The Surge Worked

New Allies Refuse To Accept The Left's Characterization Of Bush

In an interview, Sheik Ahmad al-Rishawi told The New York Sun that in April he prepared a 47-page study on Afghanistan and its tribes for the deputy chief of mission at the American embassy in Kabul, Christopher Dell. When asked if he would send military advisers to Afghanistan to assist American troops fighting there, he said: "I have no problem with this; if they ask me, I will do it."

(...)

"Al Qaeda is an ideology," Sheik Ahmad said. "We can defeat them inside Iraq and we can defeat them in any country." The tribal leader arrived in Washington last week. All of his meetings, including an audience with President Bush, have been closed to the public, in part because the Anbari sheiks, while likely to win future electoral contests, are not themselves part of Iraq's elected government.

Of his meeting with Mr. Bush, Sheik Ahmad said he was impressed. "He is a brave man. He is also a wise man. He is taking care of the country's future, the United States' future. He is also taking care of the Iraqi people, the ordinary people in Iraq. He wants to accomplish success in Iraq."
(...)
In Washington, Sheik Ahmad also met with some members of Congress. He said he told them that American soldiers should stay in Iraq for at least as long as it takes to rebuild Iraq's national army. The Democratic majority in Congress has tried and failed to mandate deadlines for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq regardless of conditions on the ground.

DKK

NY Sun -- Iraqi Sheik Offers To Take Fight To Bin Laden

Winning Iraq -- Fingers Crossed!

A spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq on Wednesday said that a further withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq is on the cards, reiterating his country's assertions that negotiations with Iraq on the long-term security agreement are moving forward.

"Four of the five brigades, which were added to the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq in June 2007, have pulled out. In July 2008, the remaining brigade, along with two Marine battalions, will follow suit," General Kevin Bergner said during a Baghdad-based press conference today.

Bergner said that a further troop withdrawal will be possible after commanders submit their reports about the progress of the security situation to the top commander.

A loss in Iraq is not an acceptable option in the War On Terror, the left doesn't understand that and never will.
DKK
Gateway Pundit -- US Spokesman Announces Further Troop Cuts From Iraq

Obama's Position Shifts Ever Again

On MSNBC today, David Axelrod said that Barack Obama "never disputed the fact that if you throw a surge of American soldiers in an area that you can make a difference."

Oh really? Here's what Obama said on January 14, 2007: "We can send 15,000 more troops, 20,000 more troops, 30,000 more troops: I don't know any expert on the region or any military officer that I've spoken to privately that believes that that is going to make a substantial difference on the situation on the ground."

DKK

Watch it at The Weekly Standard.

Two Surges That Are Working!

Meanwhile, the president of the San Francisco Fed is sounding cautiously optimistic about the economy.

(...)

Democrats counting on the two issues of Iraq and the US economy to help them this November, need to start paying attention. The reality is that in both instances, a “surge” has brought stability out of the turmoil. The comparison is obvious.

And George W. Bush isn’t running for the third term.

DKK
Say Anything Blog --The “Other” Surge - A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Al Qaeda In Iraq Weakest Since Invasion

The Al Qaeda terror group in Iraq appears to be at its weakest state since it gained an initial foothold in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion five years ago, the acting commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Wednesday in an Associated Press interview

.

Osama said it was the key just a few months ago -- earlier this week I figured he signaled surrender when he didn't mention it in his last tape. So what do the Dem's do? Why surrender right back, that will show them!
DKK
Gateway Pundit -- Al-Qaeda At It's Weakest Since US Invasion of Iraq 5 Years Ago

But, Harry Reid Assured Me We Had Lost!

Great news: the Coalition Forces in Iraq are on pace to report the lowest monthly casualties since the Iraq War began. This is testament to the success of the surge, and the political and military progress made by the Maliki government.

DKK
Say Anything Blog -- Time To Break Out The Ticker Tape?

Media Gets Pwned!

Want a real "inconvenient truth?" Progress in Iraq is powerful and accelerating.

But that fact isn't helpful to elite media commissars and cadres determined to decide the presidential race over our heads. How dare our troops win? Even worse, Iraqi troops are winning. Daily.

(...)

Developments just keep getting grimmer for the MoveOn.org fan base in the media. Iraq's Sunni Arabs, who had supported al Qaeda and homegrown insurgents, now support their government and welcome US troops. And, in southern Iraq, the Iranians lost their bid for control to Iraq's government.

Bury those stories on Page 36.

Our troops deserve better. The Iraqis deserve better. You deserve better. The forces of freedom are winning.

He is absolutely correct, we do deserve better.

DKK

Ralph Peters in the NY Post -- Success in Iraq: A Media Blackout

Via Ace