McCain Campaign image:41930:1::0

The full statement was as follows:

This is a clear choice that the American people have. I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.

Many have agreed with that statement and just as many have disagreed with it, with the contrasting opinions running along political divides.

Joe Klein from The Swamp, called it desperate and unpresidential, but he also stated something that I haven't seen anywhere else where he says, "The reality is that neither Barack Obama nor Nouri al-Maliki nor most anybody else believes that the Iraq war can be 'lost' at this point."

This, of course, started my search for Democratic politicians, such as Harry Reid who once declared "Iraq was lost", that have changed their positions to not only admit that the situation in Iraq has progressed to the point where the gains seen are irreversible but that have publicly stated that the war in Iraq cannot be lost.

Despite a change in keywords and the use of multiple search engines, I cannot find any Democratic leader that has stated publicly that the war has been won.

The American people, according to the latest Rasmussen poll, believe by a majority of 51 percent, that the US and it's allies are winning the war on terror. That number is up from 36 percent of American voters last year in July.

While the polls show that American voters believe we are winning the war on terror itself, there are still no numbers on how many believe the war in Iraq can be declared as a clear "irreversible" victory yet.

A plurality of voters, 42 percent, also believe that the situation in Iraq will improve over the next 6 months and that numbers has risen 5 percentage points in just the last week alone, and risen 19 points from a year ago when the question was asked.

While members from both sides of the political aisle have stated that there has been progress and a number of factors has led to optimism, even John McCain admits that the enemy is "not completely defeated".

He concludes his comments in Rochester with, "We have succeeded. Sadr city is safe. Basra is safe. Mosul is safe. The people of Iraq are now leading normal lives. There will continue to be spectacular attacks. They are not completely defeated... We have to continue with this strategy that has succeeded."

Many have expressed the desire to see Democratic politicians, men and women that fought so hard against the new counter-insugency strategy that was implemented when General David Petraeus took over the operations in Iraq last year, admit that they have worked to the point where victory could be proclaimed, but as of now, despite numerous searches, I cannot find the type of statement that Mr. Klein has claimed.