Obama tells VFW he's patriot same as opponent

By Margaret Talevand William Douglas - McClatchy Newspapers

ORLANDO, Fla. — Democrat Barack Obama used his appearance Tuesday at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention to attack Republican John McCain's critique of him to the same group a day earlier, but he got a cooler reception than the Vietnam veteran did.

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, continued to hammer away at his Democratic rival Tuesday, posing atop an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and charging that Obama doesn't have a realistic grasp of energy issues.

Obama denied McCain's accusation that he favored failure in Iraq or that he was shifting his anti-war stance out of expediency or tailoring his foreign policy in an attempt to win the presidency. ”Let's have a serious debate, and let's debate our disagreements on the merits of policy — not personal attacks,“ Obama said.

Obama said he wouldn't attack McCain's support for the Iraq war because ”I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest“ and that ”now, it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same. I will let no one question my love of this country.“ He also said that he knew there were Democrats and independents as well as Republicans in the audience.

Although initially perceived as lower key in his response to recent Russian aggression against Georgia, Obama told the veterans Tuesday that, ”I reiterate my demand that Russia abide by the cease-fire“ and that ”Russia must know that its actions will have consequences.“

Saying that he supports aid to the nation of Georgia for rebuilding after the Russian invasion, Obama also invoked the name of ”my friend Sen. Joe Biden“ of Delaware, who just returned from a visit to Georgia and is calling for reconstruction aid.

In Orlando, Obama drew applause for his pledge to expand health care coverage for veterans and for saying that he had ”no greater priority“ than routing al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

”For all of his talk about following Osama bin Laden to the Gates of Hell, Senator McCain refused to join my call to take out bin Laden across the Afghan border. Instead, he spent years backing a dictator in Pakistan who failed to serve the interests of his own people,“ Obama said, a reference to former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who resigned Monday.

McCain focused Tuesday on energy instead of international affairs or veteran's issues, which he addressed before VFW conventioneers on Monday. On a visit to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the Arizona Republican senator renewed his call for more offshore oil drilling.

”Senator Obama opposes new drilling,“ McCain said on a rig that he said sits atop 160 million barrels of oil. ”He has said it will not "solve our problem' and that "it's not real.' He's wrong, and the American people know it.“

Obama campaign officials dismissed McCain's blast as talk from someone who's been part of the energy problem.