As you know, John McCain and the RNC are pressuring Obama to go to Iraq and see all the progress we've made. The RNC has even posted a clock on their website telling us how many days it's been since Obama went to Iraq. Currently, the number is 871.
Obama's campaign has mocked McCain's idea:
John McCain's proposal is nothing more than a political stunt, and we don't need any more 'Mission Accomplished' banners or walks through Baghdad markets to know that Iraq's leaders have not made the political progress that was the stated purpose of the surge.
But they should go further. First, Obama should say that this isn't about how many Washington politicians go to Iraq. This is about how many American soldiers come home from Iraq.
Next, he should post two clocks on his website.
- Days Until Obama Brings the Last Soldier Home: 717 days
- Days Until McCain Brings the Last Soldier Home: 36,525 days
Obama has already stated that he will start bringing troops home as soon as he is inaugurated (237 days), and hopes to finish the job another 16 months later.
But it's hard to nail down when McCain will bring our troops home. As you know he is against deadline and timetables, and he thinks coming home from Iraq would be "surrender". His campaign has speculated that troops could be home by 2013 (1,697 days) or we could be there as up to a million years (365,000,000 days).
Until McCain clears this up, I'd like to stick with 100 years, or 36,525 days, since that's "fine" with him. (thanks to dufffbear for the leap year calculation)
The Obama camp could also just put ???? marks into the clock, so folks like Michael Dobbs at the WaPo fact checker don't get all worked up into a lather.
Needless to say, this is yet another bogus argument that Obama will win. Think of this as a high stakes poker game, McCain and the RNC on one side, Obama on the other. It's really hard to win when you've got nothing in your hand, the deck's empty, and the opposing player is more than ready to call your bluff.
In case you aren't paying attention, Obama is calling McCain's bluff. And he's doing it with gusto.
I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to this general election.