The campaign of Senator John McCain is trying to capitalize on some potentially ambiguous words from Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, at a Seattle fund-raiser Sunday night.
Mr. Biden predicted that Senator Barack Obama, if he is elected president, will quickly face a challenge from some hostile power or terrorist group eager to test the resolve of the rookie chief executive.
“Mark my words,” Mr. Biden warned at the Seattle fund-raiser, according to reports from network producers traveling with him, “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember, I said it standing here, if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”
He added, “He’s going to have to make some really tough – I don’t know what the decision’s going to be, but I promise you it will occur. As a student of history and having served with
seven presidents, I guarantee you it’s going to happen.” He said he could envision four or five scenarios that might arise to challenge the new president, citing Russia or the Middle East as possible
sources of trouble.
He then called on the donors to be prepared to rise to Mr. Obama’s defense because he will need to make some difficult and unpopular choices in response. “I’ve forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know, so I’m not being falsely humble with you,” Mr. Biden told the donors, by way of reassuring them of his and Mr. Obama’s toughness and preparation. “I think I can be value added, but this guy has it. This guy has it.”
Mr. Biden was not clear about the “testing” Mr. Kennedy underwent upon taking office. His biggest early debacle – the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 – was conceived by the CIA under the Eisenhower administration, not by some foreign power. His biggest test, the Cuban missile crisis, came in October 1962.
In July of this year, Senator Joseph Lieberman, a staunch ally of Mr. McCain’s also warned of potential crises that would confront the next president although he stopped short of saying an Obama presidency would be more likely to attract a terrorist threat. On ABC’s “This Week,” Mr. Lieberman cited additional history:
George Stephanopoulos: Are you saying that the election is going to trigger an attack and an attack is more likely if Obama gets elected?
Mr. Leiberman: No. But let me make clear, history tells us this — in 1993, the first years of the Clinton administration, al Qaeda hit the World Trade Center with a truck bomb; in 2001, 9/11, the first year of the Bush administration, al Qaeda hit the World Trade Center.
Our government is worried about the Iranians or the terrorists testing a new president. What I’m saying is we need a president on January 20th, 2009, who’s ready to be commander-in-chief on day one. I think by his life experience, by his long service in the Senate, by his passing tests under pressure, by his introduction of the 9/11 Commission and support of the 9/11 legislation, by his support of the Patriot Act and the Wiretapping Act, John McCain is ready to protect the security of the American people. I’m not saying Barack Obama is not prepared. I’m saying John McCain is ready on day one, and that’s what we’re going to need.
The McCain campaign has been e-mailing the Biden remarks around, citing them as evidence that electing Mr. Obama would be risky. Mr. McCain, in remarks prepared for delivery at a campaign rally in Missouri this afternoon, was preparing to say that the United States cannot afford to elect an untested chief executive who might be a temptation to terrorists or others who wish the nation ill.
“The next president won’t have time to get used to the office,” Mr. McCain is planning to say, according to excerpts released by the campaign. “We face many challenges here at home, and many enemies abroad in this dangerous world. Just last night, Senator Biden guaranteed that if Senator Obama is elected, we will have an international crisis to test America’s new president. We don’t want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars.
“What is more troubling is that Senator Biden told their campaign donors that when that crisis hits, they would have to stand with them because it wouldn’t be apparent Senator Obama would have the right response. Forget apparent. Senator Obama won’t have the right response, and we know that because we’ve seen the wrong response from him over and over during this campaign. He opposed the surge strategy that is bringing us victory in Iraq and will bring us victory in Afghanistan. He said he would sit down unconditionally with the world’s worst dictators. When Russia invaded Georgia, Sen. Obama said the invaded country should show restraint.”
He is planning to add, “We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: hoping for our luck to change at home and abroad. We have to act. We need a new direction, and we have to fight for it.”
David Wade, spokesman for Mr. Biden, released a statement to explain what Mr. Biden intended.
“With our nation facing two wars and 21st century threats abroad, Senator Biden referenced the simple fact that history shows presidents face challenges from day one. After eight years of a failed foreign policy, we need Barack Obama’s good judgment and steady leadership, not the erratic and ideological Bush-McCain approach that has set back our security and standing in the world.”
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