Reid piles on over McCain Iraq quote

LAS VEGAS-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) had harsh words for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain this morning following a comment made by McCain on NBC's "Today Show."

Asked by NBC's Matt Lauer if he had a better estimate for when troops could return from Iraq, McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, said: "No, but that's not too important."

"What's important is the casualties in Iraq, Americans are in South Korea, Americans are in Japan, American troops are in Germany," said McCain. "That's all fine. American casualties and the ability to withdraw; we will be able to withdraw. General Petraeus is going to tell us in July when he thinks we are. But the key to it is that we don't want any more Americans in harm's way. That way, they will be safe, and serve our country and come home with honor and victory, not in defeat, which is what Senator Obama's proposal would have done. I'm proud of them. And they're doing a great job. And we are succeeding and it's fascinating that Senator Obama still doesn't realize that."

One of several Obama supporters to seize upon the comments, Reid said that they were a "crystal clear indicator that he just doesn't get the grave national-security consequences of staying the course."

"Osama bin Laden is freely plotting attacks, our efforts in Afghanistan are undermanned, and our military readiness has been dangerously diminished," said Reid. "We need a smart change in strategy to make America more secure, not a commitment to indefinitely keep our troops in an intractable civil war."

Other Obama supporters to respond to McCain's comments so far include former Democratic nominee U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.).

McCain's campaign has been quick to respond.

"The Obama campaign is embarking on a false attack on John McCain to hide their own candidate's willingness to disregard facts on the ground in pursuit of withdrawal no matter what the costs," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. "John McCain was asked if he had a ‘better estimate' for a timeline for withdrawal. As John McCain has always said, that is not as important as conditions on the ground and the recommendations of commanders in the field. Any reasonable person who reads the full transcript would see this and reject the Obama campaign's attempt to manipulate, twist and distort the truth."

The uproar over McCain's comments this morning have shifted the presidential campaign's dialogue back to national security issues and the war in Iraq instead of the economic themes that Obama has highlighted the last few days.

In Nevada, a battleground state, Obama leads McCain by 16 points among voters who view the war in Iraq as the most important issue, according to Rasmussen Reports' May 20 poll. McCain, however, leads Obama among voters who consider national security the most important issue, 90 to 10 percent.