McCain attacks Bush’s handling of Iraq war

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – In a bid to revive his troubled presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., took broadsides at the Bush administration on Wednesday, most notably its handling of the Iraq war.

He also joined the ranks of lawmakers calling for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a longtime Bush aide, to resign.

McCain, whose support for the Iraq war has proved a major political liability, did not name President Bush as he assailed the administration in a speech formally announcing his White House candidacy.

But McCain, vanquished by Bush in the contest for the 2000 GOP presidential nomination, left no doubt he was targeting his onetime rival. Speaking to hundreds of supporters at a waterfront park overlooking a naval yard, McCain declared he would not lead “a country with a bloated, irresponsible and incompetent government.”

Focusing on Iraq, he bemoaned U.S. “mistakes” in its military involvement there, even as he cited “a little progress” in recent efforts to quell sectarian violence that has racked the country.

“America should never undertake a war unless we are prepared to do everything necessary to succeed, unless we have a realistic and comprehensive plan for success, and unless all relevant agencies of government are committed to that success,” he said. “We did not meet this responsibility initially, and we must never repeat that mistake again.”

McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, long has criticized the administration’s initial efforts to establish security in Iraq after U.S.-led troops toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

Still, he steadfastly has backed the continued U.S. military commitment in Iraq – and the emphasis he placed on administration failures Wednesday was an attempt to distance himself from Bush.

He pressed that effort further in an interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live” show when he called for Gonzales to step aside because of the controversy over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.

“I think that out of loyalty to the president, (a resignation by Gonzales) would probably be the best thing that he could do.”