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John McCain tried to capitalize Wednesday on what he sees as a weakness for his potential Democratic opponent, Barack Obama — his positions on Iraq.

McCain ridiculed the Illinois senator for a comment he made in a debate with Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night. Obama was asked if he would send soldiers back to Iraq to quell an insurrection or civil war if Al Qaeda in Iraq re-surges there. He responded that as president, he would take action “if Al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq.”

McCain, who has staked much of his political fortunes to political and military successes in Iraq and his own national security credentials, suggested his anti-war colleague’s response was either naive or uninformed.

“When you examine that statement, it’s pretty remarkable,” McCain told a crowd in Tyler, Texas.

“I have some news. Al Qaeda is in Iraq. It’s called ‘Al Qaeda in Iraq,”‘ McCain said, drawing laughter at Obama’s expense.

The dig triggered a back-and-forth that continued long-distance through much of the day.

Obama quickly answered back, telling a crowd at Ohio State University in Columbus, “I do know that Al Qaeda is in Iraq.”

“McCain thought that he could make a clever point by saying ‘Well let me give you some news Barack, Al Qaeda is in Iraq,’ like I wasn’t reading the papers,” he said. “But I have some news for John McCain, and that is that there was no such thing as Al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq.”

While an Illinois state senator in 2002, Obama gave an anti-war speech that the Iraq conflict would strengthen Al Qaeda’s ability to recruit.

Noting that McCain likes to tell audiences that he’d follow Usama bin Laden to the “gates of Hell” to catch him, Obama said Wednesday: “All he (McCain) has done is to follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq.”

McCain said he had not watched the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night but was told of Obama’s response to the Iraq question.

Obama did not say whether he’d send troops in the event of an insurrection but responded: “As commander in chief, I will always reserve the right to make sure that we are looking out for American interests. And if Al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the American homeland and our interests abroad.”

The exchange previewed the likely flash-points for the candidates if they do in fact face off during the general election.

The latest head-to-head Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, taken Feb. 21-25, showed McCain besting both Democratic candidates in a hypothetical general election — but a race with Obama looks more competitive.

The poll showed McCain with a 46-to-40 percent advantage over Hillary Clinton, but with a slim 44-to-42 percent lead over Obama. Most recent head-to-head polls show Obama beating McCain by a hair and McCain edging out Clinton in a general election. The poll’s margin of error was 3 points.

In an effort to highlight his own security credentials, McCain has throughout the primary season repeatedly attacked both Obama and Clinton for saying they would withdraw troops from Iraq.

“And my friends, if we left, they (Al Qaeda) wouldn’t be establishing a base,” McCain said Wednesday. “They’d be taking a country, and I’m not going to allow that to happen, my friends. I will not surrender. I will not surrender to Al Qaeda.”

He said that withdrawing troops would be “waving the white flag.”

In the debate, Clinton did not answer the question about re-invasion of Iraq on grounds it contained “lots of different hypothetical assessments.”

For years, McCain has urged sending more troops into Iraq, even before President Bush adopted such a strategy about a year ago.

“I knew enough from talking to the men and women who are serving that this new strategy was what we needed, and I’m telling you, it is succeeding,” McCain said. “So what needs to happen, we need to continue this strategy. It should be General Petraeus’ recommendation, not that of a politician running for higher office, as to when and how we withdraw.”

He was referring to Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq.

As he began a swing through Bush’s home state of Texas, which holds a presidential primary election on Tuesday, McCain made sure to play up a line he always uses.

“I also think it might be nice for President Bush to get a little credit that there’s not been another attack on the United States of America,” he said to applause.

FOX News Molly Henneberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Barack Obama, John McCain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.