McCain's 'No Surrender' Show on the Road

Sept. 14, 2007 — -- After President Bush's speech Thursday night, it's clear there will be a showdown in Congress — not so much over how much progress there's been, but over how many troops should come home.

Bush's goal includes bringing home 23,000 troops by July and in his speech the president sought to outflank his critics.

"Now, because of the measure of success we are seeing in Iraq, we can begin seeing troops come home," he said.

Throughout the speech, Bush endorsed Gen. David Petraeus' plan for a modest downsizing and a continued surge.

"We believe this is a war of good and evil and we must win … even if it cost the life of our own sons. Freedom is not free," Bush said.

The Democrats' response has been scathing.

"Once again, the president failed to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rationale to continue it," said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.

McCain Continues to Back Surge

The 2008 presidential hopefuls are, of course, not without their opinion.

And one candidate is embracing the troop surge more explicitly than any other. That candidate is Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

McCain has always supported the Iraq war but was a sharp critic of the Rumsfeld strategy and began calling for more troops in August 2003.

To show his support for the surge, he has launched a "No Surrender" campaign tour.

"It is succeeding now, as I expected it would. We can afford to drawdown some. … There is no doubt in Anbar province and other parts of Baghdad, as well as other parts of the country, we are seeing progress," McCain said.

McCain admits there is significant progress to be made when it comes to helping Iraqis create and maintain an efficient government.

"We've got a lot of work to do, but we've made a lot of progress, and the whole strategy is to be able to withdraw American troops slowly as the Iraqis are able to take over more and more of their responsibilities," he said.

McCain was quoted in today's New York Times as saying he was "a little nervous" about Petraeus' recent plan.

"There is enormous political pressure to bring the troops home, and I have great trust and confidence in him. But I am a little nervous that it may be a bit premature," he said in a comment reflective of the "No Surrender" moniker.

In the 2000 election, McCain famously named his traveling bus the "Straight Talk Express."

"I believe if we fail and come home early, there is going to be chaos, genocide in the region, and we'll be back," McCain said.

McCain's support for the war and the surge is perhaps the result of his now-climbing poll numbers. When the surge was failing, his poll numbers were down. With the surge now believed to be working, his poll numbers are up again — a seemingly dependent campaign.

Poll numbers aside, though, McCain remained focused on his reasons for continuing the surge.

"My political campaign will pale in comparison to the other challenges we face."