Obama: I Welcome Bush Coming Around On Iraq

[babylonsister]

snip//

Campaigning Thursday in Virginia, Obama said, "They are working on a plan that looks, lo and behold, like the plan that I've been advocating. I will encourage the administration to move forward with it."

McCain campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said, "We're monitoring closely and will have something to say when an agreement is finalized."

U.S. political activists seem uncertain how the proposal might affect the Obama-McCain race.

"At this point, Obama looks a little less reckless than he might have a few months ago," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution. O'Hanlon, who once backed Obama, has often criticized him for refusing to acknowledge the achievements of the U.S. "surge" in troop numbers and for sticking to his 16-month withdrawal goal even as events in Iraq have changed.

O'Hanlon said the proposed agreement faces substantial political and military hurdles.

Polls suggest most U.S. voters are much more concerned about the economy than the war. The proposed agreement could make Iraq even less of an issue this fall.

Steve Elmendorf, a Washington lobbyist and former Democratic leadership aide in Congress, thinks that is unlikely, however.

"I don't think this gets the issue off the table," he said. "Between now and Election Day, not a lot of troops are going to come home" even if the proposal is enacted.

"Most Americans want this thing to end," Elmendorf said, and McCain "still talks of continued engagement." Many Americans, he said, "will vote for who will get us out."

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/THE_IRAQ_PITFALL?SITE=MAFIT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Brotherjohn]

1. See the forest for the trees, guy! A LOT more people now see that maybe, just maybe, this war...

... should not have even been fought! That will always be "on the table". It really is irrelevant how many troops come home before the election.

[yodermon]

2. "..criticized him for refusing to acknowledge the achievements of the U.S. "surge""

Lie. Obama always prefaces his "surge" comments by expressly "acknowledging" it's effects on violence levels.

[Alter Ego]

3. It might siphon off some of those people who inexplicably think that

McCain is somehow better on foreign policy than Obama.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. It's nice to see that Bush is following Obama's advice!!!!

[No Elephants]

5. Yep, Bush and McCain are following the leader (Obama) on this.