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ARLINGTON, Va., July 2 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today, U.S. Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) held a press conference call to discuss Barack Obama's Iraq position in light of recent comments from his National Co-Chair Claire McCaskill:

Representative Eric Cantor: "My concern has to do with Barack Obama's National Co-Chair Claire McCaskill's statements on the news shows this week, responding to a question about whether Barack Obama was going to be changing his Iraq policy. And Claire McCaskill responded emphatically, no, that he would not change course. I just believe that that raises serious questions as to the sensibility of that position given what's going on in Iraq right now, what's going on, on the ground.

"And I think that if you look at Barack Obama's plan, what sounded sensible, perhaps to some, a year ago when he came out with a plan of one brigade a month, and it would take sixteen months, and we would automatically go into withdrawal. Now I believe, given the facts on the ground and the progress that has been made over the last year, I believe its disingenuous to the American people. And again it ignores the realities on the ground.

"I don't think there's any question that Barack Obama should change his plan in Iraq. His old plan is the wrong way to go. I think that it's clear from The Washington Post editorial board to pretty much, I don't want to say unanimous, but an overwhelming number of pundits saying that his plan of withdrawal is the wrong way to go, given the progress on the ground. I think he'll have to change it.

"The fact that Claire McCaskill demonstrated [Barack Obama's] unwillingness to change direction is sort of ironic in that the direction in her statement is ironic, that given the facts on the ground, the fact that he accuses current administration policy of not reacting to realities. The fact that he is now clinging to a very ideological commitment on his part, and frankly, commitment to some left-wing supporters that he won't change his mind. I find that interesting.

"But at the end of the day, we're talking about the country's national interests. We're talking about security. That's the purpose of this call to raise some of these questions as to why Barrack Obama would want to sacrifice the progress that has been made."...

McCain Spokesman Brian Rogers: "I guess the question is, if indeed he's going to go to Iraq and nothing that he sees will change or impact his decision-making on this, then why is he going? If it's just to check a box politically, then it represents the kind of cynical politics that the American people are pretty sick and tired off."

· Listen To The Full Conference Call Here: http://blip.tv/file/1044474

Yesterday, Obama National Co-Chair Senator Claire McCaskill Said "No" Obama "Will Not" Change Iraq Plan To Reflect The Reality On The Ground, No Matter The Consequences

Yesterday, Obama National Co-Chair Senator Claire McCaskill Says "No" Barack Obama Will Not Change His Position On Iraq Even If That Means Sacrificing The Progress Being Made. MSNBC'S MONICA NOVOTNY: "In this week's New Yorker, George Packer writes about Obama's original withdrawal plan in the context of what we're now seeing as a relative stabilization in parts of Iraq. He writes about Obama, 'He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded al Qaeda in Iraq, reenergize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia's recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse. The question is whether Obama will publicly change course before November.' Will he?" SENATOR CLAIRE MCCASKILL: "No. He will not. Senator Obama fundamentally disagrees with that assessment." (MSNBC, 7/1/08)

· Watch Sen. Claire McCaskill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PghSb7FbkRQ

· Currently, Barack Obama's Own Campaign Website Says He Will "Immediately Begin To Remove Our Troops From Iraq." "Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months." (Obama Campaign Website, http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/, Accessed 7/2/08)

Analysts And News Media From The New Yorker To The Washington Post Agree: Obama Iraq Plan "Outdated And Out Of Touch," And That Obama "Needs A Plan For Iraq Based On Sustaining An Improving Situation, Rather Than Abandoning A Failed Enterprise Now He Needs A Plan For Success"

The New Yorker: Obama's Iraq Rhetoric "Now Seems Outdated And Out Of Touch." "Obama has won the Democratic nomination, and Iraq, despite myriad crises, has begun to stabilize. With the general election four months away, Obama's rhetoric on the topic now seems outdated and out of touch, and the nominee-apparent may have a political problem concerning the very issue that did so much to bring him this far." (George Packer, "Obama's Iraq Problem," The New Yorker, 7/7/08)

· The New Yorker: "The Question Is Whether Obama Will Publicly Change Course Before November." "Obama, whatever the idealistic yearnings of his admirers, has turned out to be a cold-eyed, shrewd politician. The same pragmatism that prompted him last month to forgo public financing of his campaign will surely lead him, if he becomes President, to recalibrate his stance on Iraq. He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded Al Qaeda in Iraq, reenergize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia's recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse. The question is whether Obama will publicly change course before November. So far, he has offered nothing more concrete than this: 'We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.'" (George Packer, "Obama's Iraq Problem," The New Yorker , 7/7/08)

Time's Joe Klein: "It's time for him to reestablish contact with the improving, but fragile, situation on the ground." (Joe Klein, "Obama And Iraq," Time's "Swampland" Blog, www.time.com, 6/30/08)

ABC's Rick Klein: "Obama has a real challenge to overcome with his Iraq plan. As George Packer lays out in The New Yorker, he cannot in good conscience (or good politics) ignore progress on the ground in Iraq -- and if he does that, he'll be putting himself under more pressure to modify his one-brigade-a-month troop-withdrawal plan." (Rick Klein, "Peripatetic Pursuits," ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 6/30/08)

The Washington Post: Barack Obama "Needs A Plan For Iraq Based On Sustaining An Improving Situation, Rather Than Abandoning A Failed Enterprise." "Still, the rapidly improving conditions should allow U.S. commanders to make some welcome adjustments -- and it ought to mandate an already-overdue rethinking by the 'this-war-is-lost' caucus in Washington, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). ... Still, the likely Democratic nominee needs a plan for Iraq based on sustaining an improving situation, rather than abandoning a failed enterprise. That will mean tying withdrawals to the evolution of the Iraqi army and government, rather than an arbitrary timetable; Iraq's 2009 elections will be crucial. It also should mean providing enough troops and air power to continue backing up Iraqi army operations such as those in Basra and Sadr City. When Mr. Obama floated his strategy for Iraq last year, the United States appeared doomed to defeat. Now he needs a plan for success." (Editorial, "The Iraqi Upturn," The Washington Post, 6/1/08)

Timeline Of Political Positioning On The Surge In Iraq:

APPEALING TO HIS BASE, BARACK OBAMA PUT POLITICS AHEAD OF COUNTRY, OPPOSES THE SURGE AND SAYS THE SURGE IS NOT WORKING

October 2006: Barack Obama Says We Cannot "Through Putting In More Troops Or Maintaining The Presence That We Have, Expect That Somehow The Situation Is Going To Improve." Obama: "Given the deteriorating situation, it is clear at this point that we cannot, through putting in more troops or maintaining the presence that we have, expect that somehow the situation is going to improve, and we have to do something significant to break the pattern that we've been in right now." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 10/22/06)

January 2007: Barack Obama Says The Surge Would Actually Worsen Sectarian Violence In Iraq. Obama: "I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse." (MSNBC's "Response To The President's Speech On Iraq," 1/10/07)

January 2007: Barack Obama Says He Did Not Know Of Any Middle East Expert Or Military Officer That Believed That The New Strategy Would "Make A Substantial Difference On The Situation On The Ground." Obama: "We cannot impose a military solution on what has effectively become a civil war. And until we acknowledge that reality -- we can send 15,000 more troops, 20,000 more troops, 30,000 more troops, I don't know any expert on the region or any military officer that I've spoken to privately that believes that that is going to make a substantial difference on the situation on the ground." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 1/14/07)

March 2007: Barack Obama Warns The Troop Surge Would Not Make A Long-Term Difference. Obama: "[E]ven those who are supporting -- but here's the thing, Larry -- even those who support the escalation have acknowledged that 20,000, 30,000, even 40,000 more troops placed temporarily in places like Baghdad are not going to make a long-term difference." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 3/19/07)

May 2007: Barack Obama Says He Does Not Believe The Surge Is Working. Obama: "And what I know is that what our troops deserve is not just rhetoric, they deserve a new plan. Governor Romney and Senator McCain clearly believe that the course that we're on in Iraq is working, I do not." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks To The Coalition Of Black Trade Unionists Convention, Chicago, IL, 5/25/07)

July 2007: Barack Obama Says The Surge Had Not Worked In Iraq. Obama: "My assessment is that the surge has not worked and we will not see a different report eight weeks from now." (NBC's "The Today Show," 7/18/07)

September 2007: Barack Obama Claims The Strategy Failed Because It Had Not Brought About Political Reconciliation. Obama: "I've had a bill in since January that would begin bringing our troops home in a responsible, careful way. And it is my belief that if the president continues on this course, we are going to continue to have the same problems that we've had." (Sen. Barack Obama, Univision Democrat Presidential Debate, Miami, FL, 9/9/07)

November 2007: Barack Obama Says The Surge Has Not Worked, And Had Potentially Worsened The Situation In Iraq. Obama: "Finally, in 2006-2007, we started to see that, even after an election, George Bush continued to want to pursue a course that didn't withdraw troops from Iraq but actually doubled them and initiated a search and at that stage I said very clearly, not only have we not seen improvements, but we're actually worsening, potentially, a situation there." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 11/11/07)

AS THE CONDITIONS ON THE GROUND IMPROVE, BARACK OBAMA'S POSITION REMAINS THE SAME AND HE SPINS PROGRESS INTO FAILURE

January 2008: Barack Obama Downplays Reductions In The Violence In Iraq Due To The Surge. Obama: "Now, I had no doubt -- and I said at the time, when I opposed the surge, that given how wonderfully our troops perform, if we place 30,000 more troops in there, then we would see an improvement in the security situation and we would see a reduction in the violence. But understand, we started in 2006 with intolerable levels of violence and a dysfunctional government. We saw a spike in the violence, the surge reduced that violence, and we now are, two years later, back where we started two years ago. We have gone full circle at enormous cost to the American people." (Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Manchester, NH, 1/5/08)

March 2008: Barack Obama Said He Would "Immediately Begin To Remove Our Troops From Iraq." Obama: "In order to end this war responsibly, I will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. We can responsibly remove one to two combat brigades each month. If we start with the number of brigades we have in Iraq today, we can remove all of them 16 months." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Iraq, Fayetteville, NC, 3/19/08)

April 2008: Barack Obama Said That The Surge Has Reduced Violence, But The Iraqis Have Not Taken Advantage Of The "Breathing Room" That The New Strategy Provided. Obama: "I also think that the surge has reduced violence and provided breathing room -- but that breathing room has not been taken the way we would all like it to be taken." (Sen. Barack Obama, Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 4/8/08)

May 2008: Obama Communications Director Robert Gibbs Says That Barack Obama Would Go To Iraq To See How We Can Withdraw Troops. Gibbs: "You know, what they're doing over there is separated from their families, giving for their country. It's truly, truly amazing, and I think we would want to go over there and talk to them and see what sort of difficulties they're facing and see how it is that we can begin to carefully remove them and carefully bring them back to their families and bring them back to the United States." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 5/29/08)

May 2008: Obama Aides Make Clear That Possible Iraq Trip To Make "Clear That He Intends To Assess How Best To Withdraw U.S. Forces." "Obama aides said yesterday that the senator from Illinois is now considering a trip to Iraq as part of a long-deferred foreign tour. But they made it clear that he intends to assess how best to withdraw U.S. forces, not to reconsider whether they should be withdrawn." (Jonathan Weisman, "Campaign Jousting Returns To Iraq War," The Washington Post, 5/30/08)

May 2008: Barack Obama Said We Didn't Need More "Spin" About The Surge's Success. Obama: "We don't need more spin about how the surge is succeeding in doing what it was supposed to do which is to get the Iraqi's to stand up and take responsibility for their own future, so we can start sending our troops homes." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At Town Hall, Rapid City, SD, 5/31/08)

June 2008: Gibbs Downplays Progress In Iraq Saying "Everybody" Thought More Troops Would Lead To A Better Security Situation. Gibbs: "[W]ell, there's no doubt that the security situation has improved, much as everybody admitted it would if we put more troops on the ground." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 6/6/08)

July 2008: Obama Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Susan Rice Says Barack Obama "Said When The Surge Was Announced" That Security Would Improve. Rice: "[W]hat the surge has accomplished so far is improved security, which is important, and, indeed, as Barack Obama said when the surge was announced, anytime you put the finest men and women in uniform on the ground in greater numbers, you're going to have a positive security benefit, and, indeed, we have." (MSNBC's "News Live," 7/1/08)