COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 15, 2008
McCain: Most Troops Can Be Home By 2013
GOP Candidate Outlines Vision For First Term — Says Iraq War Can Be Won, Osama Bin Laden Dead Or Caught
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Play CBS Video Video McCain: Bin Laden Will Be Dead "CBS News RAW": Republican presidential candidate John McCain outlined his Iraq war strategy, stating that by 2013 U.S. troops will be leaving Iraq and Osama bin Laden will be captured or dead.
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Video Eye To Eye: The McCains Katie Couric speaks with the presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his 96-year-old mother, Roberta Wright McCain, about his campaign journey towards the White House.
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Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., delivers his speech, Thursday, May 15, 2008, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
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Timeline McCain's Quest Mileposts in the Arizona senator's race for the GOP nomination and the presidency.
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Photo Essay John McCain Some call him a hero, some a maverick. Will Americans call him Mr. President?
Outlining his vision for Iraq, McCain said that "by January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom."
"The Iraq war has been won," McCain said, anticipating a key achievement of his administration. "Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced."
"The United States maintains a military presence there, but a much smaller one, and it does not play a direct combat role," he added.
Speaking to reporters afterward, McCain denied that by saying the war would be won by 2013 he was setting a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq something he has criticized former rival Mitt Romney for doing.
"It's not a timetable, it's victory, it's victory I've always predicted," McCain said. "I'm not putting a date on it. It could be next month, it could be next year, it could be three years from now."
"McCain’s vision of a victory in Iraq and the return home of most U.S. troops by 2013 is much different than that painted by the Democratic Party for a McCain presidency," notes CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "After weeks of being pounded for saying he’d be comfortable with a U.S. presence in Iraq for '100 years,' McCain is clearly trying to adjust those perceptions."
Democrats challenged McCain's comments, led by presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In a statement, the New York senator dismissed McCain and said he "promises more of the same Bush policies that have weakened our military, our national security and our standing in the world." The Barack Obama campaign said that while the candidate agrees with some of McCain's sentiments, "you cannot embrace the destructive policies and divisive political tactics of George Bush and still offer yourself as a candidate of healing and change."
On domestic issues, the Republican presidential contender also envisions April's annual IRS angst replaced by a simpler flat tax; illegal immigrants living humanely under a temporary worker program; and political partisanship stemmed by weekly news conferences and British-style question periods with joint meetings of Congress.
McCain concedes he cannot make the changes alone, but he wants to outline a specific governing style to show the accomplishments it can achieve.
"I'm not interested in partisanship that serves no other purpose than to gain a temporary advantage over our opponents. This mindless, paralyzing rancor must come to an end. We belong to different parties, not different countries," McCain said in the capital city of Ohio, a general election battleground. "There is a time to campaign, and a time to govern. If I'm elected president, the era of the permanent campaign will end; the era of problem solving will begin."
To the disdain of some fellow Republicans, the presumed GOP nominee has worked with Democrats on legislation aimed at overhauling campaign finance regulations, redrafting immigration rules and regulations and implementing government spending controls.
While that has cultivated a maverick image for McCain, the Arizona senator has also been accused of exhibiting a nasty temper - swearing even at fellow lawmakers from his own party - and unabashed partisanship.
In particular, McCain has clashed with the leading Democratic presidential contender, Barack Obama. After tangling with the Illinois senator on lobbying reforms, McCain questioned Obama's integrity in a publicly released 2006 letter.
McCain wrote he had thought Obama's interest in ethics legislation "was genuine and admirable," before adding: "Thank you for disabusing me of such notions." He accused Obama of "partisan posturing."
While calling for Congress to drop mindless partisanship, McCain also chided the media - with whom he has enjoyed a generally positive relationship - for fueling contention with its campaign coverage.
"Campaigns and the media collaborated as architects of the modern presidential campaign, and we deserve equal blame for the regret we feel from time to time over its less-than-inspirational features," he said.
In outlining potential achievements of a first term, the 71-year-old McCain implicitly was suggesting he would seek a second term, an attempt to mute suggestions he would serve only four years after being the oldest president ever to take office for a first term.
He also sees a world in which:
McCain also pledges to halt a Bush administration practice of enacting laws with accompanying signing statements that exempt the president from having to enforce parts he finds objectionable.
"I will respect the responsibilities the Constitution and the American people have granted Congress," the senator said, "and will, as I often have in the past, work with anyone of either party to get things done for our country."
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Add a Comment See all 675 Comments
- " 2012!!! " Come On..."MAYBE" to "START" coming home in 2012!NO WAY MR. MCBUSH! WIN? RETREAT?
THERE IS "NO" WINNING/THERE IS "NO" RETREAT! THIS IS THE BIGGEST MESS/that "WE" started!WE "WILL" BE OUTTA THERE STARTING JAN.''09/NOT 2012!Wherever these "stats" came from/probably;"Republican Weakly"/are off about 100%!ALL THE "WAR MONGERS AND WAR LOVERS" OUT THERE/ARE YOU "CIVIL WAR REMNANT/VET''S"?IT''S A BALL-GAME with"NO"Winners,if you haven''t noticed:I thought Elephants never forget? From the moment troops set foot in Viet Nam/DID WE "WIN" OVER THERE-NO!Should never have been in that one either! McCain should know better/He''s not forgotten being a POW & fellow comrads not treated well after their service-all these years later/Sent our youth there in error,too-to die for what?Can''t just wrap it up with force and "WIN"/It''S "NOTHING" LIKE DAYS OF OLD!WWII,was the last with OLD tactics/THANK GOD IT WORKED WITH HITLER''S DEMISE. BUT this is DEALING WITH A BRAND NEW DECK!/CAN''T TRUMP TERRORISTS!YOU KILL 10-100 TAKE THEIR PLACE OVER THERE/Unfathomable numbers of their youth are being ushered & set up to be just like dear ole dad,brother,uncle/anybody with 26 virgins in Heaven for their deeds as a reward!Dealing with Numbnut Arabs with no honor for life/ours or theirs!A HORNET''S NEST STIRRED UP @ THE WRONG ADDRESS!Not 2012.....2009! Should have been Mission Accomplished...4100 lives lost/ago! - Reply to this comment
- "Boy oh boy! Amazing how much improvement we have seen in just a few short weeks! Never saw that coming!
Posted by briannorwood at 09:59 AM : May 16, 2008"
Let''s see if somebody can come with an earlier date :-) - Reply to this comment
- 2013??!!! Well I would certainly hope so.
- Reply to this comment
- And when we call LIBS surrender monkeys you probably get all warm and fuzzy too.
Posted by mbcsmith at 09:21 AM : May 16, 2008
Whatever bolsters your ego... - Reply to this comment
- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/60minutes/main592330.shtml
- Reply to this comment
- Great news! McCain has reduced his timetable for withdrawal from Iraq from 100yrs. to less than 4yrs.
Boy oh boy! Amazing how much improvement we have seen in just a few short weeks! Never saw that coming! - Reply to this comment
- This must be the LIB "fair and balancd".
Posted by mbcsmith at 09:47 AM : May 16, 2008
If you want Gallup, I''ll give you Gallup.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/106783/Opposition-Iraq-War-Reaches-New-High.aspx
Opposition to Iraq War Reaches New High
Sixty-three percent say U.S. made mistake in sending troops
PRINCETON, NJ -- The most recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds 63% of Americans saying the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, a new high mark by one percentage point.
http://www.gallup.com/video/104944/Majority-Americans-Want-Troops.aspx
March 13, 2008
Majority of Americans Seek Iraq Withdrawal
With the five-year mark of the start of the Iraq war approaching, Gallup finds that 60% of Americans would like to see a timetable set for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and 59% say the war was a mistake. - Reply to this comment
- This must be the LIB "fair and balancd".
Posted by mbcsmith at 09:47 AM : May 16, 2008
If you want Gallup, I''ll give you Gallup.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/106783/Opposition-Iraq-War-Reaches-New-High.aspx
Opposition to Iraq War Reaches New High
Sixty-three percent say U.S. made mistake in sending troops
PRINCETON, NJ -- The most recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds 63% of Americans saying the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, a new high mark by one percentage point. - Reply to this comment
- A new poll by International Communications Research
Posted by abbe91 at 09:39 AM : May 16, 2008
LOL...LOL again. I went to their website and found no mention of your SUPPOSED poll. I did find that these people hire themselves out to drug companies, foreign governments and a whole slew of people who can get their "answers" for a fee.
This must be the LIB "fair and balancd". - Reply to this comment
- This does not look like a real poll. Where can we see it?
Posted by elz523 at 09:33 AM : May 16, 2008"
From USA TODAY but probably far from today ...
Posted by abbe91 at 09:41 AM : May 16, 2008
I think mbcsmith made this up. The answers don''t go together. Look at the response choices.
17% want out of Iraq Now
40% We will win
20% Invasion Wrong - But must stay
10% Makes no diffrence
12% Pessimistic
"Invasion wrong but must stay" and pessimistic do not look like they belong together as responses in a poll on this issue. - Reply to this comment
- "Let''''s see. Obama is in favor of the president of the United States having unconditional talks with a counry that is a state sponsor of terror, ...
Posted by mbcsmith at 09:39 AM : May 16, 2008"
On the contrary, he expressed much criticism against Pakistan. - Reply to this comment
- LIB political fortunes are pinned to U.S. failure as this post proves.
Posted by mbcsmith at 09:33 AM : May 16, 2008
To Bush failure, maybe, but Bush is not the US. - Reply to this comment
- "This does not look like a real poll. Where can we see it?
Posted by elz523 at 09:33 AM : May 16, 2008"
From USA TODAY but probably far from today ... - Reply to this comment
- Let''s see. Obama is in favor of the president of the United States having unconditional talks with a counry that is a state sponsor of terror, is actively killing our troops and building a nuclear weapons program in defiance of the world.
What''s he going to say? Stop it? Barrack is a dangerously naive man. - Reply to this comment
- May 5th, 2008
Poll: 68% Want Troops Out Of Iraq Within Six Months
A new poll by International Communications Research found 68% of Americans want Congress to use the power of the purse to bring all troops home from Iraq within the next six months. This is up from 54% last September.
Should Congress:
Give President Bush 100 billion dollars to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for the rest of 2008 and beyond
13.4%
Give President Bush 170 billion dollars to keep U.S. troops in Iraq in 2009 and beyond
9.8%
Give President Bush 50 billion dollars to bring U.S. troops safely home within 6 Months
16.8%
Require President Bush to use existing funds to bring U.S. troops safely home within 6 months
51.2%
Don%u2019t know
5.8%
Refused to answer
3.0% - Reply to this comment
- This does not look like a real poll. Where can we see it?
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Posted by elz523 at 09:33 AM : May 16, 2008
As he clearly stated USA Today/Gallup. LIBS need the someone to do everything for them. - Reply to this comment
That is a dream. What will he do that Bush has not done? If he has such a great plan kets start now. Why wait till next January?
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Posted by elz523 at 09:26 AM : May 16, 2008
Because he won''t be president until January 2009.- Reply to this comment
- A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found that four in 10 Americans are relatively unified in supporting the Iraq invasion and opposing timetables for withdrawing U.S. troops. Among the six in 10 who oppose the war, however, there are significant differences about what to do now. Here''''s a look at how public opinion divides:
17% want out of Iraq Now
40% We will win
20% Invasion Wrong - But must stay
10% Makes no diffrence
12% Pessimistic
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Posted by obama8years at 09:29 AM : May 16, 2008
This does not look like a real poll. Where can we see it? - Reply to this comment
- Not my day. The day of those who want it sustained, not won. The very same who started it. Look behind the smoke screen ...
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Posted by abbe91 at 09:31 AM : May 16, 2008
LIB political fortunes are pinned to U.S. failure as this post proves. - Reply to this comment
- 2013...what happen to "slam dunk," and that big banner, "Mission Accomplish." Bin Ladin never pursued or captured. No bid contracts and financial corruption and lack of accountability...the Republicons are loosing...and so is McCain...McBush.
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Posted by zoe2006 at 09:29 AM : May 16, 2008
Your MORON.ORG LIES and falsehoods make you either incredibly stupid or a LIB with hopes of U.S. failure. Maybe both. - Reply to this comment
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
