Like several of his GOP colleagues, John McCain says he had hoped Wednesday’s debate in Des Moines would focus more on Iraq and immigration. done

At times, dark horse candidate Alan Keyes seemed to dominate the discussion with his anti-establishment rants, cutting down on time for other candidates to speak. done

Senator McCain raised eyebrows in the press room during the debate, when he promised to push for “oil independence” for the U.S. in five years. He later clarified that remark, saying he meant “oil security.” done

Former NATO commander Wesley Clark is hitting the airwaves for Hillary Clinton, who he endorsed earlier this year. In a new TV ad airing in Iowa, the ex-presidential candidate says “I’ve known Hillary Clinton for 24 years. I know she has what it takes to end the war in Iraq, avert war with Iran, and restore our country’s standing in the world.”

Iran is a major issue in Iowa, where Hillary is still asked about her months-old vote calling on President Bush to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Her critics have accused her of aiding and abetting the president’s “rush to war” with Iran; she says the resolution promotes more aggressive diplomacy.

Since the National Intelligence Estimate revealed that Iran dismantled its nuclear weapons program in 2003, her rivals have turned up the heat on her vote. This ad, though planned before the NIE was released, could help on that front.

The RNC, meanwhile, points out that Clark once advised a candidate for the House to vote for the Iraq resolution in 2002, saying “it is only fitting Hillary Clinton would run an ad with someone that has a stance on Iraq as inconsistent as her own.” Spokesman Danny Diaz also points out that Clark may not have much sway in Iowa — he skipped the caucuses when he ran for president in 2004.

done

Greensboro, NC — Rudy Giuliani usually lambastes Democrats for advocating retreat and defeat from Iraq but today took a moment to praise a rival for admitting that the surge is making progress.

“One of the Democratic congressman just recently returned from Iraq and he said something suggesting that the surge in Iraq is working. Now this is someone who had been a critic of the surge–had said that it wasn’t working before and had said that he didn’t think it could work so I reallly commend him and his honesty and candor in going there and–at least on that one aspect–changing his mind,” Giuliani said during a speech to North Carolina women’s group.

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), a usually vocal critic of the war, told reporters Thursday, “I think the surge is working,” but did temper his praise by adding that the U.S. is still failing diplomatically in Iraq. For his part, Giuliani focused on Murtha’s first comment.

“It seems to be pretty obvious now that what a lot of people thought was impossible four or five months ago now seems to be working better,” Giuliani said.

Giuliani also praised Murtha in interviews this morning with radio stations in a number of primary states (NH, IA, SC, FL), according to a campaign aide.

So says Hillary’s traveling spokesman Jay Carson, who also says the former president’s claim that he opposed the Iraq war from the beginning is not inconsistent with his previous statements (his claim that he supported “the Iraq thing” because it was important to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists, for instance) because he’s always believed the Iraq resolution authorizing force was merely leverage to use against the Iraqis in order to force them to allow weapons inspectors to finish their job. Carson says President Clinton trusted President Bush to take the case to the UN instead of invading, as did his wife.

As for her vote for that Iraq resolution, Carson says “Senator Clinton has been clear that this was a sincere vote based on the information she had at the time.” Check out the rest of Carson’s explanation for Bill Clinton’s controversial comments. done

…not Bill vs. Hillary, but Bill vs. Bill. President Clinton told an Iowa audience today that he’d “opposed Iraq from the beginning.” But Clinton opponents were quick to point out instances where he seemed to say the opposite.

The RNC notes a June, 2004 article in Time Magazine, in which the former President was quoted as saying “So, you’re sitting there as President, you’re reeling in the aftermath of [September 11], so, yeah, you want to go get bin Laden and do Afghanistan and all that. But you also have to say, Well, my first responsibility now is to try everything possible to make sure that this terrorist network and other terrorist networks cannot reach chemical and biological weapons or small amounts of fissile material. I’ve got to do that. That’s why I supported the Iraq thing.”

And a rival campaign accuses President Clinton of either rewriting history, or failing to convince his wife to share his view and oppose the war. A campaign aide cites a May, 2003 AP article quoting President Clinton as saying “I supported the president when he asked for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”

Hillary spokesman and former aide to President Clinton Jay Carson says the ex-prez was merely giving a shorthand version of his usual answer — which is that while President Bush was right to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, weapons inspectors should have been given the time to do their jobs. Carson says Clinton has often said that he felt how, when, and why the invasion was carried out were wrong — citing a quote in that same June ‘04 Time piece in which Clinton said “I would not have done it until after Hans Blix finished the job,” as well as a December 2005 interview on CNN, when Clinton said “I didn’t agree with what was done when it was done. But we are where we are.”

Regardless of whether Clinton’s been technically consistent on the issue, expect Hillary’s Democratic and Republican rivals to jump all over this comment on Wednesday.

done

Hudson, NH — Confronted by a New Hampshire voter about his plans for Iraq, Rudy Giuliani said Sunday that his strategy is simple, “victory.”

At a diner stop during the second day of his bus tour through the first primary state, Roger Latulippe, 67, queried Giuliani about his position–asking for more nuance from the Republican candidate.

“What is your plan to get our troops out of Iraq,” asked Latulippe, a self-described Democrat and supporter of an immediate troop withdrawal.

“Our plan is success–have success in Iraq. Victory,” Giuliani responded with his normal mantra on the stump, adding that the U.S. should stay in in Iraq for however long it takes “to win.”

Disgruntled with the answer, Latulippe continued to prod Giuliani for nearly two minutes. “Our young men and women are dying over there right now…..we would like victory too, but I want it sooner then later.”

The former New York City mayor was unmoved, saying that as far back as the Civil War, Americans became impatient with war after witnessing initial battle losses. “I don’t agree with that. I think it’s time for us to focus on winning in Iraq, giving our young men and women a chance to have victory on Iraq and success…and that’s a stable Iraq, in which they act as an ally for us in the war against terror. It would be a shame to pull them out and give (our troops) a loss,” he said.

Giuliani, who often says that the U.S. focuses too much time on Iraq rather than the overall war on terror, has also been critiqued by candidates from both parties for lacking substance and nuance when it comes to Iraq and his overall foreign policy. Republican Arizona Senator John McCain attacked Giuliani for lacking national security experience today during an appearance on Fox News Channel.

“I don’t know what experience he has…he has no national security experience that I know of. He has never been to Iraq. He was a member of the Iraq Study Group and was either fired or quit–from a very important commission that was trying to figure out the way forward in Iraq,” McCain said. (See Video)

A couple of Hillary bites to wrap up the day. Asked about a New York Times article arguing that Democrats may be softening their rhetoric on Iraq because of the success of the troop surge there, Sen Clinton said tactical successes are inevitable — but they’re not making the Iraqi government move any faster towards a political solution to the violence, and they won’t stop her from withdrawing US troops from the country.

done

And asked what she thought of national campaign co-chair and fmr Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack’s somewhat controversial claim that she was the face of the Clinton administration’s foreign policy, Hillary rattled off a list of her trips and accomplishments from that era before asserting that, in many ways, she WAS that face — saying that she, along with the president and secretary of state, made up a foreign policy team.

done

John McCain’s latest trip to Iraq over Thanksgiving seems to have reaffirmed his unshakable support for the troop surge. Appearing on ABC this morning, McCain said progress in Iraq has accelerated since the surge, but admitted the Maliki government is still not functioning effectively.

McCain criticized Democrats who want to pull out the troops—something he does frequently on the campaign trail.
“… all of the Democrats said we had to withdraw six months ago. If we’d have withdrawn six months ago, my friend, Al Qaida would be trumpeting all over the world how they’ve defeated the United States of America.”

On the topic if the upcoming Mideast peace summit in Annapolis, MD: McCain says he’s not sure an all-encompassing major summit can produce results. In the past he’s advocated sustained behind the scenes diplomacy.

Iowan Anthony Cortez won’t be caucusing for Barack Obama - rather the 19-year-old will soon be deploying to Iraq with the Iowa National Guard for a year-long rotation. But the young man did get a special recognition from Senator Obama at a Knoxville, Iowa, town hall event. The candidate has said if elected he will end the war in Iraq and remove combat troops from the nation within 16 months.

done