No Retreat on Iraq Stance, McCain Insists
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DES MOINES
Almost from the moment he took the stage at his first event here since forming his presidential exploratory committee, Mr. McCain made clear that he was not backing down when it came to the war, and that in political terms, he might see an advantage in presenting himself to the first Republican voters in the nominating process as an unapologetic advocate for the war in Iraq.
He attacked Senate Democrats for what he called “a political stunt” in trying to join the House in passing a nonbinding resolution opposing President Bush’s plan to send more troops to Baghdad. He warned of catastrophic consequences if the United States abandoned its effort in Iraq.
He belittled the White House for falsely raising hopes by asserting early American successes in the war. And he spent nearly 60 minutes fielding questions and challenges from an audience of Republicans, many of them clearly with Mr. McCain on the issue but others anguished over the war.
“I know how tough it is for the American people, I know how frustrated Americans are, I understand your frustration,” Mr. McCain said. “I understand your frustration. But I also want to tell you that I believe if we fail, the consequences of failure are catastrophic.”
To be here, Mr. McCain skipped the debate in the Senate — he called the rare Saturday session in the Capitol “insulting to the public and our soldiers” — but the war was as omnipresent in the Des Moines hotel ballroom as it was in Washington.
It brought to life what has become a central strategic gamble for the McCain campaign: that his support of the war in Iraq would help him among the select groups of Iowa Republicans who will caucus here next January. It is a position that gives him an opportunity to reassure Republican activists here who have not forgotten or forgiven his frequent criticisms of the administration in the earlier years of Mr. Bush’s presidency, according to state party officials.
“Even if it’s not popular in the general election, everybody in the Republican primary process is supporting the surge,” said Mark McKinnon, one of Mr. McCain’s senior advisers.
In many ways, Mr. McCain finds himself in the opposite situation of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. He has embraced a position that may lift him through the primaries, but that could complicate his prospects against an antiwar Democrat in the general election, his own advisers said.
Mr. McCain’s aides could barely contain their frustration, as Mr. McCain sailed off on this maiden voyage of his campaign, at the extent to which perhaps the most important factor in determining the 2008 race was beyond of their control. One aide, who was granted anonymity in order to offer a rather gloomy appraisal of Republican hopes for holding the White House in 2008, said that if the situation Iraq deteriorated or even stayed the same, it would be a major liability for the Republican who won the presidential nomination.
“Republicans are in a tough spot — there’s nobody running for president who controls the destiny of what happens there,” the aide said. “I do think as Republicans we have to get to a difference place on Iraq or we are in trouble as a party.”
Mr. McCain’s first stop Saturday suggested just how torn Americans are about this war, regardless of party. A questioner who introduced himself as a veteran of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan drew an ovation that lasted nearly 60 seconds. But moments later, Mr. McCain faced skeptical questioning from Marty Baddeloo, a business coach who lives in West Des Moines and who said he had a son who served in Iraq, about how much money — and how many lives — would be needed for Mr. McCain to accomplish his mission.
“I’d like to know what it’s going to cost to be successful in Iraq,” Mr. Baddeloo said. “Assuming you are elected president, if your plans are implemented, what is it going to cost in terms of time and dollars for us to be successful in Iraq?”
Mr. McCain, holding a wireless microphone and wearing a loose-fitting brown leather jacket, answered with a subdued tone. “I’d like to be able to give you an answer, sir,” he said. “And you reflect the frustration that many Americans feel.”
While the war in Iraq looms as a political liability for the major Republican contenders — Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, have also expressed support for Mr. Bush’s war policy — none have been as closely identified with the war effort as Mr. McCain. And Mr. McCain showed no signs of walking away from a war that, his advisers said, he arguably owns as much as Mr. Bush does.
“I don’t know what the other options are,” Mr. McCain said when one questioner asked what would happen if this escalation of 21,500 troops — fewer than Mr. McCain had advocated — failed to work. “Because if we fail here — I’m going to give you very straight talk here — it’s not going to maintain the support of the American people. I can give you lots of options, but I’m hard-pressed to find one that will get the support of the American people.”
And he was disdainful of Senate Democrats, mocking them for pushing through a procedural vote in the Senate on a Saturday. “I’m more than willing to discuss Iraq and my views, but I think it’s insulting to the public and our soldiers to pretend we are discharging our responsibilities in any meaningful way.”
Mr. McCain said again at a news conference on Saturday morning that political factors played no role in his views. “I’ve said all along I cannot be concerned or will not be concerned if it helps me or hurts me with anyone,” he said. “Its an issue that transcends any political ambitions I might have.”
Still, that is something that Mr. McCain’s advisers — thinking about both the primary battle and a general election fight — have given much thought to. Mr. McCain’s advisers said they thought that he could be insulated to some extent by a failure of American policy in Iraq because of the fact that he has long been critical of the way the war was handled; he called for an increase in troop strength there long before Mr. Bush acted.
“The fact of the matter is McCain has been saying this for three years and maintained from Day 1 that we don’t have enough troops there,” said Dave Roederer, the Iowa chairman of Mr. McCain’s campaign.
And Mr. McCain was openly scornful of the White House for raising expectations among the American public by making statements that conveyed that the effort in Iraq was far more successful than it actually was.
“We raised people’s expectations: mission accomplished, a few dead-enders, last throes,” he said. “All those comments that made Americans believe we were on the verge of getting this thing done when in reality on the ground, as you saw, it was a long, hard struggle that we should have told people that it is.”
Mr. McCain’s aides said they saw one upside for Mr. McCain now: that his position on the war could help him through the months ahead.
“In the Republican primary, this is going to be good for Senator McCain,” said Russ Schriefer, Mr. McCain’s media adviser. “It makes him more of a Republican. To those who might have been uneasy about him not being enough of a team player it shows him as very much a team player on this issue.”
