Al Franken ad misleads about Norm Coleman Iraq stance

There's a picture here of a full-page ad Al Franken (aka Stuart Smalley) will be running in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. It features a picture of president Bush together with Minnesota Senator - and Franken opponent - Norm Coleman with this quote from the latter:

"We are going to be in Iraq a long time."

From that you might assume that Coleman supports the present strategy for an indefinite period. His actual stance appears to be a bit more nuanced, and it's certainly more realistic than the Smalley strategy of beginning a withdrawal immediately.

"We are going to be in Iraq a long time. I am not supporting dates, specific dates, timetables for withdrawal," [Coleman] said. "When my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about redeployment, they are talking about getting out of Iraq. I'm not. And simply because that's the reality."

Those who say U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by September are "missing reality," he said...

"Time will prove me right. I'm up for election in '08. If I'm wrong, folks, they'll have a chance to articulate that but I'm fairly confident, as I kind of look at the lay of the land, that we will have a change of mission, we will have significant drawdown but we're doing it without telling the enemy this is when we are getting out of here, without cutting off any funds, any support for the troops," Coleman said...

Posted in StuartSmalley at July 19, 2007 07:29 PM