McCain attack on Obama foreign policy heats up

An ad for McCain contends that Obama is unprepared. (Youtube.com)

Republican John McCain intensified his foreign policy assault on Barack Obama yesterday, launching a TV ad that uses a remark his Democratic rival made about Iran to call him "dangerously unprepared" for the White House.

McCain, who had no public appearances yesterday, also appears to be in the final stages of picking a running mate, with former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota the rumored front-runners and word of a decision coming as soon as today.

McCain is expected to appear for the first time with his vice presidential nominee tomorrow in Dayton, Ohio. The new ticket is then scheduled to go toward the GOP convention in St. Paul with rallies in two other swing states: an event in Washington, Pa., near Pittsburgh, on Saturday, and in O'Fallon, Mo., a St. Louis suburb, on Sunday.

Romney's schedule leaves open the possibility that he could be by McCain's side at the rally in Dayton. After making several stops yesterday in Nevada, Romney is slated today to attend some private events in California. Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said that he had no information about any stops by Romney tomorrow and Saturday. Former Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut are also believed to be under consideration.

The new TV spot, which McCain's campaign said would air in key states, is the latest to try to portray Obama as not ready to be commander in chief. While polls show Obama with an edge in voters' confidence in handling the economy and domestic issues, McCain has the clear advantage on national security. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released yesterday said voters think McCain would be better able to handle terrorism by a 60 to 36 percent margin over Obama, increasing McCain's advantage from 56 percent to 41 percent last month.

"Iran. Radical Islamic government, known sponsors of terrorism," the narrator says as images of Iranian leaders appear on the screen along with a wall painted with "Death to America." "Developing nuclear capabilities to 'generate power' but threatening to eliminate Israel.

"Obama says Iran is a 'tiny' country, 'doesn't pose a serious threat,' " the announcer continues. "Terrorism, destroying Israel, those aren't 'serious threats'?

"Obama - dangerously unprepared to be president," the announcer concludes.

The ad, however, appears to take out of context remarks that Obama made while campaigning in May in Oregon as he explained his pledge to talk to leaders of rogue nations by comparing them to the former Soviet Union. He said Iran was not the same threat as the Soviet Union, a nuclear-armed superpower, but did not say Iran was not a threat at all. Obama has also said he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

"Strong countries and strong presidents talk to their adversaries," Obama said. "That's what Kennedy did with Khrushchev. That's what Reagan did with Gorbachev. That's what Nixon did with Mao. I mean think about it. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela - these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying we're going to wipe you off the planet. And ultimately that direct engagement led to a series of measures that helped prevent nuclear war, and over time allowed the kind of opening that brought down the Berlin Wall."

Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan responded to the ad: "John McCain is distorting Barack Obama's words to cover up for the fact that it's the failed Bush-McCain approach to foreign policy and the Bush-McCain war in Iraq that that have strengthened Iran and endangered Israel."

Obama's campaign also noted that some of McCain's top advisers have lobbied for companies doing business in Iran. "At the same time, and despite all his bluster to the contrary, John McCain opposed closing a loophole that allowed foreign subsidiaries of American corporations to do business with Iran."