Trip to Iraq

Michille Malkin seems puzzled that apples and oranges don't always look alike.

Barack Obama doesn’t want to go to Iraq and re-evaluate the situation there. John McCain has invited him along on an Iraq junket, where he could meet with Prime Minister Maliki and some troops as well. Obama still says no.

As Baldilocks points out, that’s sort of an odd double standard. Obama won’t go meet with our ally, Iraq, yet he has offered to meet, without preconditions, with the leadership of North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela.

Obama isn't even the official democratic nominee yet. It would be a little premature for him to plan a trip to Iraq and even then the security requirements of such a visit certainly diminishes the stunt value of such a visit.

And she got that part wrong anyway. He hasn't been in a while, but he hasn't said he doesn't intend to go. What he's said is that he's not going to go just to provide a photo op for McCain -- he's not going to go with McCain. That's a little different than the way she's characterizing it.

The real difference is that she's comparing a trip to Iraq to a meeting with Iran. He's never said he intends to go to Iran and meet with them. He's said he's willing to meet with them. The comparable meeting would be for the current head guy of Iraq to come to Chicago and visit Obama.

There's not reason for Michelle to think Obama would stiff him if he made the trip and asked to visit with him.