Obama Calls Out McCain, Bush

Senator Barack Obama responded today to George W. Bush and John S. McCain's double-team attacks from Thursday, which likened Obama to a Nazi appeaser. Video of his response is below. Obama points out that Bush is using speeches to foreign governments to campaign for John McCain, and challenges Bush and McCain to a debate on protecting America:

If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate I am happy to have any time, any place.

The White House, meanwhile, did its level best to back away from the attack, playing the wide-eyed schoolgirl. From the NY Times:

During the White House press gaggle today in Saudi Arabia, Dana Perino and Ed Gillespie expressed shock (!) over the widespread Democratic outrage toward President Bush's remarks to the Knesset in Jerusalem yesterday.

Missing from the White House's shocked reaction was a repudiation of McCain, who did specifically mention Obama.

It's a little gutless, if you ask me, but then again, so is having a diplomatic strategy that involves negotiating only after your adversary has capitulated to the demands youwish to negotiate for:

Tucker Bounds, one of the spokesman, said:

There should be no confusion, John McCain has always believed that serious engagement would require mandatory conditions and Hamas must change itself fundamentally – renounce violence, abandon its goal of eradicating Israel and accept a two state solution. John McCain's position is clear and has always been clear, the president of the United States should not unconditionally meet with leaders of Iran, Hamas or Hezbollah.

So, once all that is done, they can sit down and negotiate what? A pre-nup?

Obama's response was right on the money. If the press isn't going to challenge the ridiculous notion that the Bush/McCain foreign policy has made America safer, perhaps it is best if Obama did it, face-to-face. Looks like the Bush administration, at least, doesn't have the stones for that fight. We'll see about McCain.