As Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan draws intense media coverage, Republicans attempted to throw cold water on the hype by painting the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee as a candidate who lets the political winds dictate his policy on ending the war.
Republican members of Congress on Thursday handed out a five-minute DVD of clips showing Obama contradicting himself on various aspects of his war policy, from when to withdraw troops to whether the recent troop surge has been effective.
The event took place at the Republican Capitol Hill Club. A few minutes after it ended, Democrats down the street at the Democratic National Committee headquarters handed out a DVD showing clips of McCain contradicting himself on the Iraq war, “in the spirit of fairness,” one DNC aide said.
Obama’s upcoming trip has garnered intense interest from the media. All three network anchors are traveling with him, while none of the anchors has ever accompanied McCain on one of his many trips to other countries.
Republican Rep. Eric Cantor, of Virginia, said that Obama has no official meetings scheduled with foreign leaders on the trip.
“The question really needs to be posed, is this type of coverage fair?” Cantor said. “This is nothing but a political stunt.”
The Republicans’ DVD, titled “The Obama Iraq Documentary,” started with a clip of the candidate in January 2007 saying the troop surge would make the situation worse in Iraq.
“My assessment is the surge has not worked and we will not see an improvement,” Obama said in another 2007 clip.
Later in the DVD, Obama praised the surge. “It is indisputable the surge has reduced violence” in Iraq, he said in a clip from earlier this year.
Other clips showed Obama changing his mind on withdrawal tactics, at one point opposing “hard and fast” withdrawal dates, then setting a firm time frame for a final exit from the country.
He also gave different opinions on whether residual troops in Iraq would be left to merely guard the U.S. Embassy or fight terrorism.
The Democratic video was equally unflattering for McCain. It showed various clips of the Arizona senator giving different dates for troop withdrawal ranging from two years to 100 years, and it included a now infamous response of “It’s not too important” when “Today Show” host Matt Lauer asked when there would be a better estimate for troops to come home from
Iraq.
“Senator Obama has a plan for a reasonable drawdown for our forces in Iraq,” said Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, of Washington. “Senator McCain has a plan for a permanent presence in Iraq. All the Republicans can do is try to distract you from that issue.”
