McCain tonight: I know the situation in Iraq.

But McCain Has Never Had It Quite Right On Iraq. . .

2002, 2003: Winning In Iraq Would Be Easy.  In the run up to War with Iraq, McCain repeatedly emphasized that the conflict would be easy.  Speaking in September 2002 about the prospect of invading Iraq, McCain said he thought it would not be a difficult conflict.  McCain said, I believe that the success [in Iraq] will be fairly easy. In January of 2003, McCain again predicted the same about invading Iraq, saying, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily. [CNN, 9/24/02; CNN, 1/22/03]

2003: The End Is Very Much In Sight. Senator McCain was asked At what point will America be able to say the war was won?” McCain said there were oil fields to secure and die-hards to take care of but it’s clear that the end is very much in sight, and today I think Americans should be very proud of their leadership, their technology…There are still some foreigners, Syrians and others hanging around. But it won’t be long. It will be a fairly short period of time, but this happens in wars. I’m confident that once they are confident the area is no longer a threat to the Marines and to or army troops that they’ll start imposing discipline. In the meantime, we’ll have a short period of chaos.  [ABC News, Good Morning America, 4/9/03]

2005: McCain Said That Another Year Will Prove Stay the Course Is Working. McCain believes that the U.S., and the cause of Iraqi independence, are moving forward in Iraq, a little bit at a time.  I think the situation on the ground is going to improve, he says. Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.  [The Hill, 12/8/05]

2006: McCain Said That Iraq Was “On The Right Track” As The Country Moved Closer To Civil War.  Speaking on the “Imus in the Morning” radio show on March 1, 2006, McCain played down the increasing civil violence in Iraq.  When Imus remarked that Iraq already looks like a civil war, McCain responded, saying, I keep trying to look at the bright side of this because we have to because the consequences of failure are catastrophic.  But the gathering of the seven most respected religious leaders the day before yesterday, calling for calm and calling for some kind of reconciliation, I think, was important. I think, at least we’re on the right track here.  [MSNBC, Imus in the Morning, 3/1/06]

2007: First, McCain Claimed He Could Safely Walk Around Certain Baghdad Neighborhoods.  McCain’s latest problem began before he left for the region, when he told Bill Bennett on the radio that there are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk today. After Michael Ware of CNN’s Baghdad bureau accused the senator of living in Neverland, McCain charged that it’s reporters who are living in a time warp of three months ago.  [Newsweek, Alter, 4/16/07 edition]

Then McCain Was Forced to Admit He Misspoke When He Failed to Mention His Massive Security During Baghdad Market Trip.  Wearing a bulletproof vest and surrounded by 100 soldiers in Baghdad’s central market, McCain said: Never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today. Headlines soon after called his statements propaganda and a magic-carpet ride.  The Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon, declared: Brainwashed McCain is a straight-talker no more.  An op-ed in the Rocky Mountain News called McCains staged walk through a Baghdad market a truly Orwellian publicity stunt, that was turned into a desperate attempt to give some sliver of credence to claims that the dreaded liberal media are failing to report on all the wonderful things happening in Iraq…Chastened, McCain issued a half-hearted apology a few days later, saying he mis- spoke when he pointed to his little walk under the protection of several platoons from the world’s most powerful military as evidence of Baghdad’s excellent shopping opportunities.  [Washington Post, 4/7/07; Rocky Mountain News, 4/10/07]