CONCORD, N.H. -- Democratic presidential hopeful Tom Vilsack on Friday dismissed Republican Sen. John McCain's call for more U.S. troops in Iraq, arguing it would be wrong to "make a big mistake bigger."
Vilsack, who announced his candidacy for the White House on Thursday, questioned McCain's proposal to send another 20,000 combat troops to Iraq to quell the insurgency. The Arizona senator, considered the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, has stood alone in calling for additional troops.
"I fundamentally disagree with Senator McCain on this. I think he is wrong. We cannot afford to make a big mistake bigger," the Iowa governor said to a burst of applause at the New Hampshire Technical Institute.
And this is as good a time as any for a note going forward. Praise or criticism of the actions and statements of presidential candidates should not (except when it's obvious cough joe biden cough) be taken as endorsement, support, or detraction of that person's candidacy. There will come a time when people will get behind candidates and some of them will regularly assume bias, bad faith, or just general failure on my part to support their person sufficiently. Statements that I make will be seen by some not as what they are in and of themselves but as part of some larger meta-strategy to promote or detract particular candidates. It will all get very annoying at some point.
I doubt I'll actually get behind any particular candidate, but I won't hide the fact that I have opinions about them. I'll try to avoid getting sucked into the day to day food fight when it comes, but I'm human so I can't promise to be perfect.