McCain's 'Tiny' Iran ad against Obama is 'misleading': AP analysis Associated Press

Published: Wednesday August 27, 2008





Print This Email This TITLE: "Tiny."



LENGTH: 30 seconds.



AIRING: In key states where McCain is on the air.



SCRIPT: Announcer: "Iran. Radical Islamic government. Known sponsors of terrorism. Developing nuclear capabilities to 'generate power' but threatening to eliminate Israel. Obama says Iran is a 'tiny' country, 'doesn't pose a serious threat.' Terrorism, destroying Israel, those aren't 'serious threats'? Obama - dangerously unprepared to be president."



John McCain: "I'm John McCain and I approved this message."



ANALYSIS: The ad is misleading because it states that Obama said Iran is "tiny" and "doesn't pose a serious threat" without noting that Obama was comparing the threat Iran poses today to the Soviet Union, the nuclear-armed adversary of the U.S. during the Cold War.



The nature of the threat from Iran, which the U.S. believes has nuclear ambitions, and how to deal with it are at the heart of a key policy debate for Obama and McCain. The ad seeks to boil down Obama's position to one that supports the McCain drumbeat that Obama isn't ready to be president.



For his part, McCain wants tougher sanctions on Iran and, like President Bush, doesn't support high-level talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both Republicans see talks with such adversaries as legitimizing them and bringing them unwarranted attention.



Obama has said he would meet with Ahmadinejad without precondition but, after criticism from Republicans and some Democrats, now questions whether Ahmadinejad would be "the right person" with whom to discuss U.S.-Iran relations. Still, Obama argues that direct diplomacy with Iran would help the U.S. press for tougher international sanctions.



Last May in Pendleton, Ore., Obama reiterated his belief that the U.S. is strong enough to talk with its adversaries. In calling Iran "tiny" compared to the Soviet Union and having a small fraction of the Soviet military force, he noted that direct diplomacy with the Soviets was a bipartisan policy for decades in spite of their threat.



"Strong countries and strong presidents talk to their adversaries," Obama said at the time. "I mean, think about it. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela - these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, 'We're going to wipe you off the planet.'"



KEY IMAGES: Photographs of Ahmadinejad and a sign that reads, "Don't forget to say death to America," the image of an industrial plant, a photo of Ahmadinejad looking at machinery, a photo of Obama that is followed by armed foreign soldiers, a terrorist and the Israeli flag before another photo of Obama. The spot ends with a photo of McCain.



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Analysis by Douglass K. Daniel









