McCain Sharpening His Attack

Barack Obama routinely reminds us how low an opinion he has of the US as an actor on the world stage. He apologizes for our conduct, feels "embarrassed" around Europeans, etc.

He hesitates to see the US as the "good guys" because "the danger of using good versus evil in the context of war is it may lead us to be not as critical as we should be about our own actions.”

Yes, send these guys into battle, where they lose life and limb, but for God's sake don't tell them that what they are sacrificing for is "good."

Why would we elect a President so ashamed of America? How did we get to the point in this country where one of our major parties nominates somebody who gets his panties in a bunch wrestling with the question of whether the US is the good guys or the bad guys?

And tell me again why we question his patriotism?

I am gratified to see John McCain sharpen his attack on Obama to make exactly this point. From an Aug. 26 AP story:

Republican John McCain on Tuesday questioned rival Barack Obama's belief in American leadership in world affairs with two days to go before the Democratic senator accepts his party's nomination for U.S. president.

McCain, 71, suggested Obama, 47, had failed to express confidence in America as "the greatest force for good on this earth" when he gave a speech in Berlin last month before more than 100,000 people.

"He was the picture of confidence. But in some ways confidence itself and confidence in one's country are not the same," McCain he told a group of American war veterans.

McCain, himself a war veteran imprisoned for more than five years in Vietnam, accused Obama of appearing to link the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 to Russian military action in Georgia in recent weeks.Obama last week condemned Moscow's actions in Georgia and said Russia could not "charge into other countries" but he also said: "Of course it helps if we are leading by example on that point." His remarks were widely seen as a criticism of the war in Iraq, which Obama opposed. McCain used the comments to raise broader questions about Obama, suggesting he lacked the clarity and vision to lead America and the world. "If he really thinks that by liberating Iraq from a dangerous tyrant, America somehow set a bad example that invited Russia to invade a small, peaceful and democratic nation, then he should state it outright because that is a debate I welcome," McCain declared.

"Confusion about such questions only invites more trouble, violence and aggression," said McCain, who as a senator has specialized in defense and foreign affairs issues and has put national security at the center of his campaign.He and Obama are running neck-and-neck in opinion polls.