Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday took aim at his Democratic rival’s opposition to the troop surge in Iraq, deriding it as the “audacity of hopelessness.”
Speaking to Latino veterans at Grand Hyatt Denver hotel, McCain said he and Barack Obama faced a choice 18 months ago when the situation in Iraq had deteriorated. The Arizona senator called it a “real-time test for a future commander in chief. America passed that test.”
McCain advocated sending more troops to Iraq before the Bush administration decided to follow that strategy. Obama has opposed it and said again last week that he did not think the surge alone contributed to reduced violence in Iraq.
“I believe my judgment passed that test,” McCain told the crowd of about 500 attending the American GI Forum. “And I believe Sen. Obama’s failed.”
McCain added: “Sen. Obama said this week that even knowing what he knows today that he still would have opposed the surge. In retrospect, given the opportunity to choose between failure and success, he chooses failure. I cannot conceive of a commander in chief making that choice.”
Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton countered in a release: “The American people are looking for a serious debate about the way forward in Iraq and Afghanistan, and angry, false accusations will do nothing to accomplish that goal.”
The American GI Forum, an organization formed after World War II to address issues of Latino veterans, is holding its national conference in Denver. The group also was scheduled to hear from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
McCain used his address to reiterate his commitment to the care of U.S. troops.
“As president, I will ensure that those who serve today and who have served in the past have access to the highest quality health, mental health and rehabilitative care in the world,” he said. “The disgrace of Walter Reed will not be forgotten. Nor will we accept a situation in which veterans are denied access to care due to great travel distances, backlogs of appointments and years of pending disability evaluation and claims.”
McCain received most of his applause when he spoke about health care for veterans.
The Obama campaign release retorted that McCain “has repeatedly opposed increased funding for veterans health care.”
Gratitude to Latinos
McCain closed by expressing gratitude to Latinos who have contributed to the security of this country.
“I represent Arizona, where Spanish was spoken before English was and where the character and prosperity of our state owes much to the Arizonans of Hispanic descent who live there,” he said. “And I know this country, which I love more than almost anything, would be poorer were we deprived of the patriotism, industry and decency of those millions of Americans whose families came here from Mexico, Central and South America.”
McCain’s appearance set off a small protest outside the hotel that included demonstrator Carol Kreck, the 60-year-old with ProgressNowAction who received a trespassing ticket outside a McCain campaign event two weeks ago while carrying a “McCain = Bush” sign.
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
