Questioning speech, forgetting Canada
Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2008 3:35 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC's Mark Murray
In his interview with NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, which will air on NBC's Nightly News tonight, McCain questions whether Obama should have given a speech in Berlin before becoming president.
"I would rather speak at a rally or a political gathering any place outside of the country after I am president of the United States," McCain told O'Donnell. "But that's a judgment that Sen. Obama and the American people will make."
However, on June 20, McCain himself gave a speech in Canada -- to the Economic Club of Canada -- in which he applauded NAFTA's successes. An implicit message behind that speech was that Obama had been critical of the trade accord. Also, McCain's trip to Canada was paid for by the campaign.
VIDEO: At a town hall in Pennsylvania, Republican presidential candidate John McCain says Obama's failure to understand the success of the surge in Iraq is a huge problem.
Other excerpts of O'Donnell's interview with McCain:
O'Donnell: Do you believe Obama really would be willing to lose the war in Iraq?
McCain: I think it’s very clear that he took the position that would enhance and maybe the reason why he won the nomination of his party. He doesn’t understand that the consequences of failure in Iraq would have disastrous consequences for America's national security. And he still doesn’t acknowledge that the surge succeeded, which is remarkable any rational observer who saw the conditions two years ago and sees them now.
O'Donnell: What is your best estimate in time for a significant drawdown [from Iraq]?
McCain: I'm sure by the end of my first term that we will be largely out of there. But the point is, the reason that I cant set a specific date is because as Gen Petraeus says, we have to have the conditions on the ground.
