I Hate What You Just Said

John McCain’s stance on the war in Iraq just got bitchslapped by . . . the leader of Iraq:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months.

In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.

“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.”

I’m not really sure how McCain wriggles out of this one. If you disagree with the democratically-elected leadership of Iraq you end up looking like the imperial overlord. But if you change your position, now you’re a deceitful flip-flopper who caved in on the defining issue of your campaign. Good luck with that.