Obama's so wrong we better copy him.
Andrew Sullivan at the Times has a very good article on how Bush and McCain have sought to distance themselves from Obama's policies, whilst actually embracing them.
On Iran:Obama has famously argued that the US should deal directly with the mullahs, negotiate the nuclear question and have talks without the precondition that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment. This was a clear and vital difference, we were told only a short time ago, between a reckless, appeasing Obama and the resolute, Churchillian Bushies. And yet last week Bush authorised William Burns, a high-level State Department official, to attend talks with Tehran’s representatives on the Iranian nuclear question. By putting oomph behind the six-power talks with Tehran, Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, moved the Bush administration clearly in the direction laid out by Obama.
On Iraq:Obama’s position has long been that troops should be withdrawn expeditiously but with care, and that the US military should shift its emphasis towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. And, lo and behold, last week we were also told that Bush was considering accelerating the exit of Iraq troops to beef up the Afghan mission. For good measure, McCain also gave a speech backing what he calls a “surge” in Afghanistan, with more troops and a counterinsurgency strategy in the style of General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces.
At the moment McCain is bouncing around like a piece of used toilet paper in the Blackpool surf, trying to sound as if he represents a break from the Bush years, whilst Bush appears to be embracing all of Obama's foreign policies.
Which is why McCain now says "victory" has been achieved in Iraq. This will allow him to embrace Maliki's timetable for withdrawal and insist that Obama was wrong whilst doing what Obama has called for all along.
It's really not a good time to be a Republican.
Click title for full article.
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