Here's what Obama said:
I've always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed," he said. "And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.
Of course, that's a perfectly sensible comment, and not in any way a flip flop or a change to John McCain's position of eternal occupation, but rather a statement that he will adjust tactics in a way to ensure that we exit Iraq carefully, in a way that is safest for ourtroops and Iraq.
It is inconceivable that our media overlords don't understand this. But, apparently, they do not. And the last remaining shreds of faith in our mainstream media's competence and intellect has almost completely collapsed.
Josh, of course, understands, and takes the so-called journalists to task:
The McCain camp seems to have a lot of reporters eating out of its hands since many journalists don't appear to grasp the basic distinction between strategy and tactics. I've even had normally sensible journalist colleagues forwarding me RNC press releases like they're passing on the revealed truth. McCain's campaign actually put out a statement claiming that Obama "has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground."
I've watched this campaign unfold pretty closely. And I've listened to his position on Iraq. He's been very clear through this year and last on the distinction between strategy and tactics. Presidents set the strategy -- which in this context means the goal or the policy. And if the policy is a military one, a President will consult closely with his military advisors on the tactics used to execute the policy.
Josh then drives his point home:
For the McCain campaign to put out a memo to reporters claiming that Obama has adopted McCain's policy only shows that his advisors believe that a sizable percentage of the political press is made up of incorrigible morons. And it's hard to disagree with the judgment.
The simple truth is that this campaign offers a very clear cut choice on Iraq. One candidate believes that the US occupation of Iraq is the solution; the other thinks it's the problem. John McCain supports the permanent deployment of US troops in Iraq. That is why his hundred years remark isn't some gotcha line. It's a clear statement of his policy. Obama supports a deliberate and orderly withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. It's a completely different view of America's role in the world and future in the Middle East. Reporters who can't grasp what Obama is saying seem simply to have been permanently befuddled by George W. Bush's game-playing over delegating policy to commanders.
These fools have spent so long just reading the RNC releases as if they are fact, and spitting out the nonsense verbatem. The Fourth Estate continues to fail us.
