How Will Good News in Iraq Affect Obama Vs. McCain?a.abcnews.com
How Will Good News in Iraq Affect Obama Vs. McCain?
Added 1835 days ago in Politics
abcnews.go.com — Their strong views on the Iraq War helped them stand out from their competitors during the presidential primaries.

And Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama's sharp policy differences on the conflict continue to define them as the presumptive nominees prepare for the general election.

But the recent spurt of good news out of Iraq - from the drop in American casualties to the increasing political stability of the Maliki government - presents new challenges for both candidates and could change the dynamic of the race.

Recent success in Iraq "would seem to hurt Obama, but it seems as though many Americans have a fixed opinion about this and are impervious to changing facts," said James E. Campbell, chairman of the political science department at the University of Buffalo.

"It will take some time and continued success in Iraq to change those numbers."

Obama, who touts his early opposition to the war and was skeptical of the surge policy last summer that increased the number of American troops on the ground, has acknowledged that things have improved in Iraq. But Obama has said that good news only reinforces his argument that troops should start withdrawing from Iraq.

McCain, who repeatedly promoted a surge policy until the Bush administration took action, has basked in the apparent success of the surge and criticized Obama for supporting a withdrawal, telling ABC News' Charles Gibson, "I believe if we'd done what he said - and I think it's becoming clearer to the American people - there would have been chaos

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Posted by HStern
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Is good news in Iraq a testament to McCain's good judgment?
Yes, he shows more depth & understanding
34%
No, I'm still of the opinion that we should leave
66%
This is not a scientific survey, click here to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding and voting descrepencies.
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Charles43
Posted 1835 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
We should leave - but that is unlikely for sometime in the future. We should not have attacks Iraq and only focused our attention of fighting terrorism.
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