Over on NBC, in a story about the political fight over whether to withdraw troops from Iraq, David Gregory framed McCain's Tuesday morning Senate floor comments around how his stance on Iraq is what has “undermined” his campaign: “Just back from Iraq, Senator John McCain, whose presidential campaign has been undermined by his support for the war, gave the President a big boost.”
On ABC's World News, George Stephanopoulos refrained from blaming any policy view for the troubles facing the McCain campaign.
While McCain may be more outspoken than other GOP candidates in his persistence about the need to keep U.S. troops in Iraq, every Republican presidential candidate but Ron Paul has stuck with President Bush on Iraq.
A partial transcript of Gregory's July 10 NBC Nightly News story:DAVID GREGORY: Today the White House tried to shore up support among Republicans, who have argued the U.S. cannot wait until September to move beyond the surge. Just back from Iraq, Senator John McCain, whose presidential campaign has been undermined by his support for the war, gave the President a big boost.
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN ON THE SENATE FLOOR: From what I saw and heard while there, I believe that our military, in cooperation with the Iraqi security forces, is making progress in a number of areas.
GREGORY: McCain quoted former Secretary of State and advisor to the Bush White House Henry Kissinger, who wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece today that an American withdrawal now would be a quote 'geopolitical calamity, spreading the war to neighboring countries.' Democrats, who will seek a vote on withdrawal this week, argue a pullout is the only way to force political reconciliation in Iraq....