Robert Novak, writing in the Washington Post, says that presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is increasingly finding himself alone on the troop surge in Iraq. It is a plan that former North Carolina Democratic Senator John Edwards labeled the “McCain Doctrine.”
Both McCain and Edwards are either running or considering a run for the presidency in 2008. Announced and potential candidates — Edwards, Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois), Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Governor Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico), Governor Tom Vilsack (D-Iowa), Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), and Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) — have all publicly opposed McCain’s plan.
As the architect of the surge, McCain, naturally, supports an increase in U.S. forces in Iraq. It is a position that Dick Bennett, president of the American Research Group, says “appears to be hurting him.”
Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) chose not to “weigh in” on the troop surge plan in a recent Human Events interview.
The Washington Post reports that Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) may have conditional support for a surge.
In early December, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said it would be a “terrible mistake” for the U.S. to leave Iraq. He quit the Iraq Study Group this past May and was replaced by former U.S. Attorney General, Ed Meese. Statements on a possible increase in U.S. presence are coming up empty in cursory searches.
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California is “skeptical” and prefers an Iraqification, of sorts, from “safer provinces” and into Baghdad.
But in the case of Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska), rumored to be an ‘08 candidate or retiring altogether, there’s no question where he stands on the issue.
“It’s Alice in Wonderland,” Sen. Chuck Hagel, second-ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, told me in describing the proposal. “I’m absolutely opposed to sending any more troops to Iraq. It is folly.”
Democratic candidates are unified in opposition to a “troop surge,” or escalation of U.S. involvement, and Republicans are going in all different directions. Americans, however, support a surge with roughly 10 to 15 percent, depending on the poll.
3 Responses to “Troop Surge: Where the Candidates Stand”
[...] Following up on Matt O’s post on where the Republican candidates stand, here is a longer breakdown of some statements on the Iraq war by McCain, Romney, Giuliani, Huckabee, Gingrich, Pataki, and Brownback. It’s long, so the text is in the extended entry. [...]
[...] a round-up of where the presidential candidates stand on escalation, check out my post on The Right’s Field. This is a perfect opportunity to fragment Republicans on foreign policy. [...]
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January 1, 2007 at 7:58pm