McCain, Obama General Election Fight Preview

Amanda Carpenter | February 27, 2008 2:14 PM

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain and the new Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama are trading jabs over Iraq policy with nary a word from Hillary Clinton.

The spat started when Obama said in the Democratic presidential debate last night he would permit stirkes in "if al-Qaida is forming a base in Iraq" in Cleveland, Ohio.

This morning McCain told reporters he has "some news" for Obama at a stop in Tyler, Texas. "Al-Qaida is in Iraq," McCain said.

"It's called 'al-Qaida in Iraq," he quipped.

Apparently, McCain struck a nerve with Obama. The Illinois senator indignantly responded, "I have some news for John McCain and that was that there's no such thing as al-Qaida in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq!"

Obama also said, "I've got some news for John McCain: he took us into a war, along with George Bush that should have never been authorized or waged. They took their eye off hte people who were responsible for 9/11, and that would be al Qaida in Afghanistan that is stronger now than anytime since 2001."