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Cleveland, OH — As Democrats use the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” Iraq speech to blast Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee distanced himself from the phrase and condemned what he says was an atmosphere that contributed to the use of that banner.

“To state the obvious, I thought it was wrong at the time. I thought phrases like ‘a few dead-enders,’ ‘last throes,’ all of those comments contributed over time to the frustration and sorrow of Americans because those statements and comments did not comport with the facts on the ground,” McCain said at a media availability Thursday. “I complained loud and long that the strategy was failing and we couldn’t succeed…I was one of the strongest advocates, of changing to adopt the surge, an advocate for General (David) Petraeus, and I think that history will judge me that I thought it was wrong and I knew what was right.”

Asked if Bush bore responsibility for the placement of the “Mission Accomplished” banner posted above him at the speech, McCain took a big picture approach.

“Do I blame him for that specific banner? I have no knowledge of that. I can’t blame him for that. But I do, do say statements were made-’a few dead-enders,’ ‘last throes’…(that) were contradicted by the facts on the ground,” McCain said, rebuking famous quotes by former Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney respectively.

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While April was the bloodiest month for U.S. troops in Iraq in more than six months, McCain touted recent progress, criticizing a BBC reporter who premised her question by stating that there had been little political progress in Iraq.

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McCain + 100 years in Iraq comments + President Bush’s approval rating = Democratic Victory

That is the equation MoveOn.org is hoping will work out for them this fall and they are planning to spend $1 million in May alone to hammer that message home. The liberal advocacy group is launching it’s newest ad, “Candles,” in Iowa and New Mexico tomorrow as part of the effort–on the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s now infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech. The spot, above, comes on the heels of a new DNC ad which also hits on McCain’s 100 years in Iraq comments.

“Voters need to know Senator McCain would continue President Bush’s failed policies - in Iraq and elsewhere. A vote for him is basically a vote for a third Bush term.” said MoveOn Executive Director Eli Pariser.

The RNC quickly responded this morning, blasting the group and calling on Barack Obama to denounce the group.

“MoveOn.org is attempting to smear Senator McCain just like it smeared General Petraeus. MoveOn.org is joining Barack Obama and the DNC in maliciously misquoting John McCain,” RNC spokesman Alex Conant said. “At nearly every event, Obama bemoans the ‘negative tone’ of politics, even while groups that support him are now running negative ads. Now, Obama should prove his rhetoric is more than ‘just words’ and stand up to MoveOn.org.”

UPDATE—Pariser responds to the RNC: “Senator John McCain’s position on Iraq has been clear-he intends to keep our troops there for decades. This is not a one-time gaffe. It is the truth about John McCain’s and George Bush’s reckless foreign policy.”

The Democratic National Committee continues to use McCain’s ‘100 years in Iraq’ comments in it’s latest TV ad, as part it’s ongoing attempt to cast a potential McCain administration as third Bush term. To hammer home it’s point, McCain’s exchange with a New Hampshire townhall-goer is repeated twice in the ad which also showcases explosions and some of the more grim statistics from Iraq.

The dispute over McCain’s 100 years exchange has been ongoing for nearly five months: McCain is talking about a 100 year-plus peacetime troop presence while Democrats are construing the remarks to argue that the presumptive Republican nominee is in favor of 100 years of war. Since a number of media outlets called the Democrats out on distorting McCain’s words, Sens. Clinton, Obama and the DNC have backtracked a bit from much-criticized early language and now stick to stating that McCain endorses a 100-year occupation of Iraq (closer to the truth but still not completely accurate).

In this ad, the DNC takes the simple approach and tries the McCain’s words speak for themselves (albeit without the full context). Of course, the RNC was quick to put a statement Sunday calling the ad a “distortion.”

“Over the course of the next six months, we expect the DNC to wage a respectful and honest campaign, which means adhering to the law. Howard Dean and the DNC should immediately cease and desist from airing these advertisements. And if the DNC fails to act, both Senators Clinton and Obama should immediately call on them to do so,” the statement read.

While Barack Obama has softened his attacks on John McCain’s Iraq policy after the Arizona Senator accused him of mischaracterizing his position on keeping US troops in the country, he’s not giving McCain a pass on the issue.

At a Town Hall Meeting in Gary, IN, Obama criticized McCain not for wanting to continue the war in Iraq for 100 years, as he’s said in the past, but for being “willing to have a US presence in Iraq for as long as 100 years” — and for whining about Obama’s critique.

“When I criticized him he said, ‘wait wait wait that’s not fair. don’t criticize me. I didn’t say I wanted war for 100 years. I said if US troops weren’t being injured or killed we could have them there for 100 years,’” he said.

According to Obama, that strategy is no better in terms of US treasure and reputation around the world. “That would cost us a trillion dollars or more to keep our troops there. That means investments that we are not making here in the United States. And so he doesn’t even take into account the costs that are involved as well as the message that is sent around the middle east if we have permanent bases there,” he said.

“Because the thinking will be ‘you see? The US just went in there because they were interested in oil. They were just interested in dominating this region.’ That’s what they say. Even if its not true, even if that wasn’t our motives, that’s what they say about us and it doesn’t help us build the kinds of alliances over the long term that are going to be helpful in creating peace.”

Pensacola, FL — McCain Senior Adviser Steve Schmidt accused Barack Obama of “dishonesty” and “nonsense talk” regarding his plan for a post-war “strike force” and accusation that McCain supports a 100 year war in Iraq.

“The lofty rhetoric of change, coupled with I’m different, ‘I will run a campaign for the American people that is different,’ has been reduced through this instance to nonsense talk,” Schmidt told a group of assembled press in the aisle of the McCain campaign plane during a flight to Pensacola.

Schmidt also referred to Obama as “detached from reality,” engaging in “old-style Chicago politics,” a practitioner of the “politics of distortion,” and “absolutely dishonest.”

Schmidt held court for more than 20 minutes, describing Obama as “dishonest” at a rate of at least two times a minute—more than 40 times by my count.

The McCain campaign is responding with vigor and force every time Obama accuses the presumptive GOP nominee of willing to fight a 100-year war or maintain an occupation for that long in Iraq. Schmidt reiterated today that McCain is talking about a century-long post-war presence like current missions in Japan and Germany–as opposed to a 100-year military conflict. More here.

Initial highlights: (more coming)

Schmidt on the strike force:

• “It speaks to somebody who has a very ill-conceived plan, that’s not well thought out, based on a lack of experience and preparation. What is a strike force? Who is in the strike force? Is it a joint strike force? What is its composition? Where is this so called strike force going to be based at?”
• “It’s nonsensical, it makes no sense. It makes no sense at any level.”
• “If we send all the troops out of Iraq, is the strike force not inherently a combat force?”

Schmidt on Obama distorting McCain’s comments about a 100-year post-war presence in Iraq:

• “It’s rhetoric again that is detached from reality.”
• “I actually think that Senator Obama has done the country a great service on this 100 years comment because now the American people have the information they need to have to know that he is not being honest–that he is being dishonest when he gets out and makes that charge.”
• “It’s not a question of John McCain said ‘X’ and your opponent said ‘Y’…Barack Obama is deliberately misleading the American people. He is deliberately misleading people. He knows he is misleading people. It’s absolutely dishonest. And Barack Obama then gets to give up his claim of being the practitioner of a new type of politics, which is above the politics of distortion. He doesn’t get to have it both ways.”
• “Its old-style Chicago politics. It’s old school, ‘lets distort, (and) take things out of context.’”
• “The lofty rhetoric of change, coupled with I’m different, ‘I will run a campaign for the American people that is different,’ has been reduced through this instance to nonsense talk.”
• “There is no shade of gray here….this is a debate over Barack Obama’s honesty. He is being dishonest with the American people.”

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Washington, D.C. — Sen. John McCain slammed Sen. Barack Obama Monday after the IL Senator again alleged that McCain is willing to wage a 100-year war in Iraq.

“In all due respect he does not understand…the fundamental elements of national security and warfare,” McCain told reporters aboard his plane during a flight to the Washington area, where he is set to deliver a speech at his high school in Alexandria, VA on Tuesday.

Obama has been hammering McCain for comments he made at a January town hall meeting where the AZ Senator said he would be comfortable with a century-long U.S. troop presence in Iraq. While McCain was alluding a peace-time military force, Democrats have used the comments to make the case that McCain is willing to fight a 100 year war in Iraq.

While the non-partisan factcheck.org gives more merit to McCain’s argument, the presumptive GOP nominee has still had to repeatedly explain what he meant while on the trail. Today he provided the context as a side entree to a main course of Obama roast.

“It displays a fundamental misunderstanding of history and how we’ve maintained national security, and what we need to do in the future to maintain our security in the face of the transcendent challenge of radical Islamic extremism. And I understand that because he has no experience or background in any of it,” McCain said. “(He) either hasn’t read or (doesn’t) understand…the history of this country in warfare, and the way that we secure alliances and secure the peace–and that’s through military government to government agreements that call for United States presence and mutual defense. Not only in that country itself, but also in the region. Our troops in Japan maintain a military presence in Asia. Our troops in Japan and South Korea maintain stability in Asia. The same thing was true after World War II about our troops in Germany.”

Asked if he is concerned whether Obama’s 100 years argument will win out, McCain said he trusts voters and took a second shot at the Democrat. “I think the American people are smart enough to figure that out….and they’ll understand over time if they don’t know that he has no experience or background on these issues,” McCain said.

Rocky River, OH — Continuing to take heat from Democrats for saying last month that “he would be fine” if the U.S. remained in Iraq for 100 years or longer, Sen. John McCain tried again Monday to clarify his statement.

“My friends, the war will be over soon. The war for all intents and purposes, although the insurgency will go on for years and years and years. But it’ll be handled by the Iraqis not by us. And then we decide what kind of security arrangement we want to have with the Iraqis,” McCain told a town hall meeting in the Buckeye State this morning.

His latest remarks come in response to repeated attempts by Sen. Barack Obama and other Democrats to argue that McCain supports maintaining troops for a 100 year war in Iraq. Instead, McCain has repeatedly said on the trail during the past few weeks that he is talking about a long-term post-war military presence similar to the ones the U.S. has with South Korea, Japan and Germany–where the U.S. has maintained troops for more than 50 years.

• See his 100 years remarks (here)
• He also discussed a 1,000-10,000 year commitment in a January CBS News interview (here)

“You might know that we have major base in Kuwait because the first the gulf war, after we won, we had a base arrangement with the Kuwaitis. In Korea we’ve had as you know, ever since the Korean war we’ve had a military presence in South Korea,” McCain said. “So my Democrat friends like to distort that comment, but the fact is that…every single day (the situation) is improving and we take American young men and women out of harms way.”

McCain’s remarks also come as a group of anti-Iraq war orgs (MoveOn.org, Americans United for Change, and VoteVets.org) announced plans on a conference call today for a multi-million dollar ad campaign to target McCain.

“From now through the election, every second we get we will continue to hold him accountable for his failed policies,” said VoteVets.org Chairman Jon Soltz.

The groups have launched a new ad featuring a female Iraq veteran, Rose Forrest, holding her infant son and asking whether McCain if he is making a similar “commitment” to her child. (script after jump)

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