A question of credibility

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), this morning:

“Americans are sad, they’re frustrated, they’re angry, and they want out. And I understand that; there were four years of failure under Rumsfeld. As you know, I spoke out early on, in November of 2003, saying that strategy was doomed to failure.”

McCain, in December 2003:

“This is a mission accomplished. They know how much influence Saddam Hussein had on the Iraqi people, how much more difficult it made to get their cooperation.”

McCain, in March 2004:

“I’m confident we’re on the right course.”

McCain, in December 2005:

“I do think that progress is being made in a lot of Iraq. Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course. If I thought we weren’t making progress, I’d be despondent.”

When war supporters like McCain wonder why they have credibility problems when it comes to Iraq policy, this might offer a hint.