John McCain is flailing. He's followed Bush blindly on Iraq -- and his performance over the past week has been astonishingly bad. McCain has lost most, if not all, of his credibility. But, he's got a solution. Just like Bush has done so many times, McCain is going to give a big speech on Iraq. Seriously, that's his solution:
At the same time, Mr. McCain will, upon his return from Iraq, deliver what his aides said would be a major speech at the Virginia Military Institute that will argue that the troop escalation was showing signs of success and urging Americans to back the war effort. The speech will take place on April 11, the day on which Mr. McCain had been scheduled to formally enter the race.How many "major speeches" has Bush given on Iraq? I've lost count, but none of them have done anything to make the situation over there better. And like his buddy George Bush, we know that just because John McCain says something, doesn't make it true.
The candidate’s coming speech on the war, too, comes as Democrats are assailing Mr. McCain as having an overly optimistic view of conditions in Iraq, where he toured a Baghdad market while clad in a bulletproof vest and protected by helicopters and armed guards.
Democrats suggested that Mr. McCain had become so committed to building up forces, a stance he has long favored, and that he had linked his fortunes to the war so much that he failed to appreciate what was happening there now.
McCain's "major speech" tactic reeks of desperation.
