The Quote of the Day from Marc Ambinder:
This could be one of those unexpected events that forever changes the way the world perceives an issue. Iraq’s Prime Minister agrees with Obama, and there’s no wiggle room or fudge factor. This puts John McCain in an extremely precarious spot: what’s left to argue? to argue against Maliki would be to predicate that Iraqi sovereignty at this point means nothing. Obviously, our national interests aren’t equivalent to Iraq’s, but… Maliki isn’t listening to the generals on the ground…but the “hasn’t been to Iraq” line doesn’t work here.
So how will the McCain campaign respond?
Read ALL of his post…which is extremely blunt (it contains a word we don’t use on TMV but one that some TMV readers have used in a suggestion, along with the suggestion about where I need to shove my computer..)
Ambinder is correct. But never underestimate the ability of Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals and (yes) even moderates and independents to come up with a way to spin themselves out of having to admit their position has been undermined. Just as sure as gas prices will not go down to $2 a gallon this weekend, there will be a rationalization and then a lock-step use of it by partisans on the radio and on the Internet. Or, Obama will stumble and that will be used to change the subject.
But imagery matters in U.S. politics, and this represents one more day when McCain can’t show McGain.
UPDATE: McCain’s campaign responds. And Ambinder gets a second response. (See my comments above.)
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.