McCain Rips Obama on Defense

John McCain blasted Barack Obama’s “shifting positions” on Iraq during a speech before a veterans group today, the New York Times reports. McCain slammed Obama for a vote against troop funding, and anti-surge statements. “Both candidates in this election pledge to end this war and bring our troops home,” he said. “The great difference … is that I intend to win it first.”

Before the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, McCain also reiterated his view that Russia should be isolated by the world’s democracies. “The Cold War is over, the Soviet empire is gone, and neither one is missed,” he said. Obama’s campaign dismissed the Republican’s “bluster, distortions and negative attacks,” saying McCain is “intent on spending $10 billion a month on an open-ended war.” (More John McCain stories.)