Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
March 27, 2008
Pg. 8
By Elizabeth Holmes
LOS ANGELES -- John McCain displayed a softer tone as he laid out his view of America's place in the world, emphasizing diplomacy over force but reiterating his support for an indefinite troop presence in Iraq.
Fresh from a trip overseas, including a stop in Baghdad last week, Sen. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, emphasized cooperation and communication with allies in a speech Wednesday before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Among other things, he highlighted his support for action against climate change, said he would work to eradicate malaria and called for a reduction in nuclear weapons in nations including the U.S.
"The United States cannot lead by virtue of its power alone," Sen. McCain said. "Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want."
At the same time, he defended U.S. policy in Iraq and said success won't come until Iraq is a "peaceful, stable, prosperous, democratic" state. He didn't say how long he thought that would take.
Sen. McCain didn't discuss the run-up to the war, when many allies opposed the U.S. decision to invade, which inflamed opinion in many areas. Randy Scheunemann, the senator's senior foreign-policy adviser, said later that this matter was "backward-looking" and said the campaign didn't want to review decisions that led to the invasion.
While many of the views expressed weren't new, the Arizona senator adopted a more moderate tone. He never mentioned President Bush, but the speech seemed a response to the perception among Democrats and some allies that his policies have damaged the U.S. abroad.
Sen. McCain has said his success this November will rest largely on how voters view U.S. involvement in Iraq. He argues a withdrawal of troops would lead to chaos and give insurgents an opportunity to declare victory. Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both advocate a drawdown of troops.
In his speech, Sen. McCain also called for a successor to the Kyoto treaty on climate change and suggested a free-trade agreement be developed between Europe and the U.S.
"Sen. McCain went out of his way to be conciliatory to America's allies," said James Lindsay, director of the Robert S. Strauss Center at the University of Texas at Austin, who isn't allied with any campaign. "That's good policy and good politics."
Dr. Lindsay said Sen. McCain has labeled himself a "realist idealist," a direct response to the hope- and change-filled language of his Democratic opponents -- especially Sen. Obama. He said the term isn't new to Sen. McCain -- former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, among others, has used it -- but its use hints at the McCain strategy: positioning himself as the candidate who best knows how the world works.
Democrats immediately sought to link Sen. McCain and his remarks to the Bush administration's foreign-policy agenda. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, called Sen. McCain's softer approach "empty rhetoric." Both Sens. Clinton and Obama released statements asserting that Sen. McCain's desire to stay in Iraq would amount to a third term of the Bush administration. They also condemned the war overall, which Obama spokesman Bill Burton said cost "thousands of lives and billions of dollars."
The U.S. military recorded its 4,000th death in Iraq this week.
Sen. McCain acknowledged the sacrifice of American lives in a personal way. The Navy veteran began his address to the crowded ballroom with an anecdote about his family's military involvement. "I detest war," he said, later adding, "Not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves can glorify war."
In his 1999 memoir, Sen. McCain wrote about how he clamored to be sent into combat, later serving in Vietnam. "Nearly all of the men in my family had made their reputation at war," he wrote. "It was my family's pride."
Sen. McCain was most animated in his remarks about Iraq. He again argued against a swift withdrawal of U.S. troops, citing the need to continue the fight against al Qaeda and the desire to avoid leaving behind "horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide."
"It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people," he said.
--Laura Meckler contributed to this article.
March 27, 2008
Pg. 8
By Elizabeth Holmes
LOS ANGELES -- John McCain displayed a softer tone as he laid out his view of America's place in the world, emphasizing diplomacy over force but reiterating his support for an indefinite troop presence in Iraq.
Fresh from a trip overseas, including a stop in Baghdad last week, Sen. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, emphasized cooperation and communication with allies in a speech Wednesday before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Among other things, he highlighted his support for action against climate change, said he would work to eradicate malaria and called for a reduction in nuclear weapons in nations including the U.S.
"The United States cannot lead by virtue of its power alone," Sen. McCain said. "Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want."
At the same time, he defended U.S. policy in Iraq and said success won't come until Iraq is a "peaceful, stable, prosperous, democratic" state. He didn't say how long he thought that would take.
Sen. McCain didn't discuss the run-up to the war, when many allies opposed the U.S. decision to invade, which inflamed opinion in many areas. Randy Scheunemann, the senator's senior foreign-policy adviser, said later that this matter was "backward-looking" and said the campaign didn't want to review decisions that led to the invasion.
While many of the views expressed weren't new, the Arizona senator adopted a more moderate tone. He never mentioned President Bush, but the speech seemed a response to the perception among Democrats and some allies that his policies have damaged the U.S. abroad.
Sen. McCain has said his success this November will rest largely on how voters view U.S. involvement in Iraq. He argues a withdrawal of troops would lead to chaos and give insurgents an opportunity to declare victory. Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both advocate a drawdown of troops.
In his speech, Sen. McCain also called for a successor to the Kyoto treaty on climate change and suggested a free-trade agreement be developed between Europe and the U.S.
"Sen. McCain went out of his way to be conciliatory to America's allies," said James Lindsay, director of the Robert S. Strauss Center at the University of Texas at Austin, who isn't allied with any campaign. "That's good policy and good politics."
Dr. Lindsay said Sen. McCain has labeled himself a "realist idealist," a direct response to the hope- and change-filled language of his Democratic opponents -- especially Sen. Obama. He said the term isn't new to Sen. McCain -- former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, among others, has used it -- but its use hints at the McCain strategy: positioning himself as the candidate who best knows how the world works.
Democrats immediately sought to link Sen. McCain and his remarks to the Bush administration's foreign-policy agenda. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, called Sen. McCain's softer approach "empty rhetoric." Both Sens. Clinton and Obama released statements asserting that Sen. McCain's desire to stay in Iraq would amount to a third term of the Bush administration. They also condemned the war overall, which Obama spokesman Bill Burton said cost "thousands of lives and billions of dollars."
The U.S. military recorded its 4,000th death in Iraq this week.
Sen. McCain acknowledged the sacrifice of American lives in a personal way. The Navy veteran began his address to the crowded ballroom with an anecdote about his family's military involvement. "I detest war," he said, later adding, "Not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves can glorify war."
In his 1999 memoir, Sen. McCain wrote about how he clamored to be sent into combat, later serving in Vietnam. "Nearly all of the men in my family had made their reputation at war," he wrote. "It was my family's pride."
Sen. McCain was most animated in his remarks about Iraq. He again argued against a swift withdrawal of U.S. troops, citing the need to continue the fight against al Qaeda and the desire to avoid leaving behind "horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide."
"It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people," he said.
--Laura Meckler contributed to this article.