Republicans blast Democrats' anti-McCain Iraq ad
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Republicans on Wednesday slammed a Democratic Party campaign ad they said misrepresents the views of their presumed presidential candidate John McCain on US troops in Iraq.
The ad, unveiled this week by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) "falsely and maliciously accuses Senator McCain of stating that prolonging the Iraq war for '100 years' would be 'fine' with him," the Republican National Committee (RNC) said in a statement.
"Senator McCain made no such statement," it said.
McCain is seen as vulnerable on the Iraq question because, unlike his Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the Republican senator favors continuing the US troop presence in Iraq.
That position has scant public support among US voters, who have soured on the war and want the troops to come home, according to opinion polls.
In the 30-second ad, a questioner at a campaign stop is remarking to McCain that "President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years."
McCain answers: "Maybe 100. That would be fine with me."
Several legends then appear on the screen in succession, superimposed over violent images from the war, referring to the years since it started, its cost and the number of dead US troops: "Five years," "500 billion dollars," "Over 4,000 dead."
At the end of the spot, an announcer asks: "Is John McCain the right choice for America's future?"
Republicans urged broadcasters not to air the ad, insisting that it is not McCain's view that the war should drag on for 100 years.
"Your station is under no legal obligation to air this advertisement," the RNC wrote in a letter to US broadcasters this week, urging that they "immediately cease and desist the broadcast of this advertisement."
