WASHINGTON–Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) is revising the speech he is delivering Monday morning in Chicago to slam Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over what he considers the “absurd” nature of playing down the threat of Iran, previewing the tough nature of the upcoming presidential contest of the two likely rivals.
Triggering the last minute addition to the speech to the National Restaurant Association were remarks Obama gave in Oregon late Sunday night, suggesting if Iran ever threatened the U.S., they wouldn’t “stand a chance.”
from the McCain campaign….
Senator Barack Obama Calls The Threat Posed By Iran, Cuba And Venezuela “Tiny” And Not A “Serious Threat.” “Strong countries and strong Presidents talk to their adversaries. 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. Now, that has to be the kind of approach that we take.
You know, Iran they spend one-one hundredth of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn’t stand a chance. And we should use that position of strength that we have to be bold enough to go ahead and listen. That doesn’t mean we agree with them on everything. We might not compromise on any issues, but at least, we should find out other areas of potential common interest, and we can reduce some of the tensions that has caused us so many problems around the world.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Pendleton, OR, 5/19/08)
