Tuesday, December 01, 2009

BARACK OBAMA, HORSERACE

Will Afghanistan Be a 2010 Campaign Issue?

Hotline notices three Democrats running for Senate - Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter - are opposing the surge of additional troops in Afghanistan. (Yes, in the Keystone State, the Democrat who is actually a Democrat, Joe Sestak, is more supportive of sending additional troops, although he's quick to add he wants to see an exit strategy.)

Here's a Brunner comment that will probably be of use to her likely GOP rival, Rob Portman: "I doubt that General Stanley McChrystal is the leader whose advice we should follow without significant validation of his recommendations. Gen. McChrystal recommended the deployment of additional troops in a "surge" modeled after the one in Iraq. Also, General McChrystal's previous association with the abuse of detainees and with the incident surrounding Pat Tillman give me pause as I evaluate his recommendations."

Is Brunner going to argue that the surge in Iraq failed?

At first glance, one might think that foreign affairs and war don't often play a large factor in midterm elections. But then again, in 2002, Democrats found that their emphasis on the economy and health care didn't resonate with an electorate primarily worried about the threat of terrorism.

12/01 08:58 AMShare