McCain Alone on Withdrawal

clipped from www.politico.com President Bush, who’d been opposed to any timetable for removing American forces from Iraq, reached an agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to set a “general time horizon” for a withdrawal. “It’s a devastating blow to the McCain campaign — not just that Maliki moved to Obama’s position but that Bush did as well,” said Richard Holbrooke, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations for the Clinton administration. For the first time in the national security debate, Obama’s advisers believe that McCain has been placed on the defensive, since his reluctance to support a “time horizon” now differs not only with the position of his Democratic opponent but also with those of the White House and the Iraqi prime minister.

What Team McCain had thought would be their candidate's greatest strength is turning into a weakness. McCain's "steadfastness" on Iraq is looking more and more like the mulish obstinacy it actually is.

At a time when even the White House is moving toward the obvious reality, McCain stands in opposition to the inevitable.