These are exactly the kind of remarks that will draw praise from reporters and other admirers of John McCain’s style, but which aren’t nearly as impressive as the senator’s fans would like us to believe.
Republican Sen. [tag]John McCain[/tag], a staunch defender of the [tag]Iraq[/tag] [tag]war[/tag], on Tuesday faulted the [tag]Bush[/tag] administration for misleading Americans into believing the conflict would be “some kind of day at the beach.”
The potential 2008 presidential candidate, who a day earlier had rejected calls for withdrawing U.S. forces, said the administration had failed to make clear the challenges facing the military.
“I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required,” McCain said. “‘Stuff happens,’ ‘mission accomplished,’ ‘last throes,’ ‘a few dead-enders.’ I’m just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be.”
Clearly, the comments reflect a degree of criticism towards Bush and Cheney directly, since they’re the ones who made these dumb comments over the last few years. By making these remarks publicly, McCain is demonstrating the fact that he’s slightly less delusional about Iraq than some of ideological cohorts.
But as criticism goes, this is pretty tepid stuff.
The headlines on today’s story say, “McCain Faults Administration on Iraq.” But that’s not quite right — McCain actually finds fault in the administration’s optimism in Iraq.
McCain is trying to thread a small needle here. He agrees with Bush about the need for the war in Iraq, the goals of the “mission,” and the necessity of avoiding timelines, deadlines, and redeployment of any kind. In other words, on the substance of the war. But he also wants to distance himself from a failed and unpopular strategy, so he takes a high-profile shot, not at the policy, but at the president’s rhetoric about the policy.
What we’re left with is a senator who agrees with the president’s war in practically every way that matters, except he takes issue with the administration’s rosy rhetoric. He gets a gold star from the media (for criticizing Bush) and credit from the right (for sticking with the substance of the policy).
It’s a dynamic that we’re likely to see play out repeatedly over the next year or so. McCain is going to run as an insider and outsider, Bush ally and Bush critic, conservative and moderate, war supporter and war skeptic, loyal Republican and maverick.
It’s going to make Bill Clinton’s alleged drive to be “all things to all people” look mild by comparison.