Today, Republican Senator John McCain will kick-off a two-day visit Michigan to campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Senator McCain will visit West Bloomfield and Holland today, before making two appearances tomorrow in Kalamazoo. In 2000, Senator John McCain won Michigan's Republican Party primary and the amount of support that he gains in Michigan may be a critical barometer of his potential success. According to an article citing a McCain spokesperson in the Grand Haven Tribune, McCain is coming to Michigan to promote "his strong record on national defense, the war in Iraq, winning the war on terror" which she argues "resonates with Michigan voters."

McCain's Michigan appearances come a day after a major policy speech that McCain delivered at the Virginia Military Institute in which he pledged support for the ongoing occupation of Iraq, which he described as a "frustrating war." He argued that there have been recent "glimmers" of success in Iraq that are "cause for very cautious optimism." Among these "glimmers" were the fact that his delegation could drive rather than take a helicopter into Baghdad, that some Sunni leaders are working with the United States, that there is a commitment by United States and Iraqi military commanders to clear Baghdad neighborhoods of "militias and terrorists," and a favorable reception of a new Iraqi oil law. McCain attributed his belief that the security situation has improved due to President George W. Bush's surge, with McCain touting improvements "even though only three of our five additional brigades have arrived." He reminded the audience that he has called for more troops be sent to Iraq since 2003 and has long advocated for a "counter-insurgency approach that separated the reconcilable population from the irreconcilable population."

McCain placed his support for the war within the context of a clash of civilizations, arguing "this is a contest of ideas and values." The war was characterized as "a struggle between humanity and inhumanity; between builders and destroyers." Support for the ongoing war was described by McCain as necessary in "preventing the emergence of Iraq as a Wild West for terrorists." Leaving Iraq, McCain asserted, has the "potential consequence of... another 9/11 or worse." McCain, echoing he words of former Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, argued that the intentions of the "terrorists" in Iraq are not "limited solely to the borders of that country [Iraq]" and that "we Americans are their ultimate target." McCain further claimed that if the United States leaves Iraq "prematurely" the government will collapse and threaten the stability of other countries in the region. He also asserted that withdrawing from Iraq "will be coupled with a genocide of which we are complicit."

McCain associated recent votes in the House of Representatives and Senate as votes "to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out" their duties in Iraq. He accused the Democrats of celebrating "defeat" and "surrender" and declared that the "defeat" of the United States in Iraq is cause for "mourning" not "celebrating." Democrats have a responsibility to pass a spending bill backing the new strategy, with McCain arguing that while Democrats might receive an "advantage" by not doing so in the next election, they will ultimately lose because "this is an historic choice, with ramifications for Americans not even born yet." He called for Democrats to put "our country's interests before every personal or political consideration," which to McCain means supporting the ongoing occupation of Iraq.

His Iraq speech closely followed a visit to Iraq earlier this month. In that visit, in which McCain walked around a Baghdad marketplace and later claimed that his walk was proof of earlier statements that there "are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk." McCain later had to retract his comments after they became a public relations disaster when it was revealed that his ability to "walk freely" in a Baghdad marketplace was dependent on 100 US troops and three Blackhawk helicopters that protected him. A day after McCain's walk in the supposedly "safe" marketplace, snipers fired shots into the market.

McCain's walk has been compared to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's visits to Vietnam in the 1960s, with McNamara claiming to see "progress" despite continued setbacks for the United States military. Pre-walk comments by McCain were ridiculed by CNN Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware (http://mediamatters.org/items/200703290009) who said that he does not "know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad." Already this month, 47 soldiers have been killed and US deaths in Baghdad have increased, while Iraqi civilians continued to be caught in the crossfire of both a civil war that continues to be exacerbated by the United States' presence and the United States' counter-insurgency campaign. Already, more than 655,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. Meanwhile, veteran reporter Robert Fisk has charged that the new counter-insurgency campaign in Baghdad, aside from dehumanizing the population by restricting movement and splitting the city into regions restricted to those carrying proper identification, is likely to fail to quell the insurgency based on historical examples in Vietnam and Algeirs.

However, McCain's favorable assessment of the situation in Iraq is only the most recent issue on which McCain's claims may be less than accurate. While McCain has been praised in the media as a "straight talker," who is "honest" and "authentic," the corporate media has largely failed to challenge McCain on his statements. Moreover, McCain has in recent months repeatedly contradicted himself, further calling into question his "straight talker" label. Last month, McCain admitted that he was "stumped" over his own HIV policy. In response to questions from reporters about whether or not he believes "contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV," McCain stated "you know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was." This has happened with increasing frequency, with McCain changing positions or misstating his position on issues ranging from abortion to the Iraq War.