McCain Tries to Lump Romney with Dems

(ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.) — Republican John McCain tried to lump Mitt Romney with Democrats who want a timetable for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.

But Romney never called for the kind of public withdrawal date or timeline that Democrats in Congress sought last year. Romney did indicate at one point, however, that there should be private timetables or benchmarks for gauging Iraq's ability to survive without U.S. support.

McCain, battling Romney in a tight primary race in Florida that culminates Tuesday, alleged Romney wanted a withdrawal date that "would have meant disaster." Romney protested. "That's simply wrong, and it's dishonest, and he should apologize," he said of McCain.

McCain is trying to shift the campaign debate away from the ailing economy, a stronger suit for Romney, a former venture capitalist and business consultant, toward the war in Iraq, a strength for McCain, a Vietnam war hero.

Iraq has aided McCain's resurgence in the campaign, according to surveys in Iowa, New Hampshire and other states. Thus far, he has done best among voters who chose Iraq as country's biggest problem, according to exit and entrance polls for The Associated Press and the television networks.

THE SPIN:

McCain, at a town hall in Fort Myers, said Friday: "Now, one of my opponents wanted to set a date for withdrawal that would have meant disaster."

He was talking about Romney, and linked the former Massachusetts governor to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has said she would begin to withdraw troops within 60 days of becoming president, if elected in November.

"If we surrender and wave a white flag, like Senator Clinton wants to do, and withdraw, as Governor Romney wanted to do, then there will be chaos, genocide, and the cost of American blood and treasure would be dramatically higher."

THE FACTS:

Romney never embraced the idea of a public withdrawal date. When Clinton and other Democrats sought a public date or timetable last year, Romney said in an interview that the U.S. should have timetables, but not public ones.

Here is the quote McCain cited, from ABC's "Good Morning America" in April 2007.

Question: "Do you believe that there should be a timetable in withdrawing the troops?"

Romney: "Well, there's no question that the president and Prime Minister (Nouri) al-Maliki have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about. But those shouldn't be for public pronouncement. You don't want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you're going to be gone. You want to have a series of things you want to see accomplished in terms of the strength of the Iraqi military and the Iraqi police, and the leadership of the Iraqi government."

Romney's campaign said he was talking about benchmarks toward success, not dates for withdrawal, when he said the U.S. and Iraqi presidents "have to have a series of timetables and milestones."

McCain insisted he wasn't distorting Romney's quote; he said any timetables were the wrong idea. "This statement is looking for the blinking `exit' sign," McCain told reporters Sunday, reading Romney's quote from a handwritten 3-by-5 inch card he pulled from a pocket.

McCain said Saturday: "The only timetable and milestone there should have been is victory. Victory. Success. And that should have been his answer, if he was supporting this surge, as he claimed that he was."

Romney's campaign countered by pointing out that McCain, too, suggested in January 2007 that he might consider benchmarks for the U.S. to stay in Iraq.

1. Most Obnoxious Tourists? The French
2. Your Laptop's Dirty Little Secret
3. Can General Motors Recover?
4. Disabled Models: A UK Reality TV Hit
5. Does Green Tea Help the Heart?
6. The Supreme Court's Group Hug
7. Mark Twain: Our Original Superstar
8. Canoes Crushed in Dam, 8 Killed
9. Green Tea, Black Coffee
10. A Cure for Cold Sores?