Despite absence, McCain battles Obama
Posted: Thursday, May 22, 2008 2:14 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Congress
From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann and NBC's Ken Strickland and Mark Murray
IRVINE, CA -- Today, McCain's pick for "Person of the Year" -- Gen. David Petraeus -- was appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which the Arizona senator serves as the ranking member. Also, a GI bill that McCain actively debated came to the Senate floor and was passed as part of a larger war-spending bill.
But while Obama and Clinton both left the campaign trail to return to Hill, McCain happens to be in, well, California, where (among other things) he's attending a town hall with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A McCain spokesman said the Arizona senator's absence was due simply to a scheduling conflict. "We have a schedule that is set far in advance," spokesman Brian Rogers said. (Per a Senate Armed Services press release, the Petraeus hearing was scheduled eight days ago, on May 14.)
But McCain's absence didn't stop the Arizona senator from sparring with Obama over an education bill authored by Sen. Jim Webb, a Vietnam vet who might be a possible Obama veep pick.
McCain, a fellow vet, tried to amend that bill last week after raising objections to the Webb plan, which offers education benefits to service members that would be so attractive that some Republicans (including McCain and President Bush) were worried that the Armed Forces would face declining retention rates as a result. McCain's version failed after being tabled by the Senate last week. But today, the Webb measure passed as part of a larger domestic spending bill.
On the Senate floor today, Obama blasted McCain's opposition to the Webb bill. "I respect Sen. John McCain's service to our country. He is one of those heroes of which I speak. But I can't understand why he would line up behind the President in his opposition to this GI Bill. I can't believe why he believes it is too generous to our veterans. I could not disagree with him and the president more on this issue. There are many issues that lend themselves to partisan posturing but giving our veterans the chance to go to college should not be one of them."
McCain, however, shot back with this fiery response, which included a sharp jab at the fact that Obama didn't serve in the military.
"It is typical, but no less offensive that Sen. Obama uses the Senate floor to take cheap shots at an opponent and easy advantage of an issue he has less than zero understanding of," the Arizona senator said in a statement. "I know that my friend and fellow veteran, Sen. Jim Webb, an honorable man who takes his responsibility to veterans very seriously, has offered legislation with very generous benefits. I respect and admire his position, and I would never suggest that he has anything other than the best of intentions to honor the service of deserving veterans. Both Sen. Webb and I are united in our deep appreciation for the men and women who risk their lives so that the rest of us may be secure in our freedom."
McCain added, "And I take a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans. And I will not accept from Sen. Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did."
