Obama, McCain in war of words over war, spelling

Nick Juliano

Published: Friday May 25, 2007 Print This Email This

Presidential candidates wasted little time Friday before tossing rhetorical bombs each other's way over Thursday night's vote to fund the war for another four months, not to mention their spelling ability.

Sen. John McCain released a statement equating votes against the funding bill from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to "waving a white flag to al Qaeda."

Obama responded that McCain and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- who also had jumped into the fray -- were forcing US troops to police a burgeoning civil war in Iraq.

"And if there ever was a reflection of that, it's the fact that Senator McCain required a flack jacket ... to stroll through a market in Baghdad just a few weeks ago," Obama said in a response released by his campaign.

That didn't sit too well with McCain, famous for his service in the Vietnam war, who said his "conversations with military leaders on the ground" inform his belief that the president's surge strategy must be given a chance to work.

"By the way, Senator Obama, it's a 'flak' jacket, not a 'flack' jacket," McCain chided, by way of pointing out his military service.

A McCain aide went even further, telling a Politico blogger, "Obama wouldn't know the difference between an RPG and a bong."



